Letter Categories

 

WHY? initial sounds, categories

WHAT? 2 sheets of poster board of
different colors, marker

HOW? Cut the poster board into 4" squares.
You will need 23 squares of each color.
On one color print alphabet letters.
(Print "u & v" on the same card and "x, y, z"
on another card.) On the other color print
one of the categories below:

 

 

something in the yard	an animal
fruit or vegetable	movie star
something in the kitchen	a tool
river or lake	town or city
country or state	a machine
type of transportation	a food
something you wear	an action
something in the zoo	a plant
a toy	a book
a song	a boy
a famous person	a girl
something in the school	a game
a TV show	a feeling
a color	an occupation

 

Shuffle up each set of cards. Draw a card from the "letter pile" and a card from the "category pile." Encourage the children to make the sound of the letter. Can they think of a word in the category that begins with that sound?

MORE? When introducing this game, simply play it as a shared group activity and do not keep score. As children become more proficient, divide the class into teams and give points to the first team to come up with a word that fits the category.

Children may also enjoy playing this game in small group or with a partner. Adapt the categories to the age and ability of your students.

For example, you could use adjectives, adverbs, nouns, verbs, prepositions, or mammals for older students.