Dolch Word Games

Watch and Match!

cartoon eye doctor standing in front of an eye chart

Dolch word games can help beginning readers have fun while they practice reading important words.This game is especially helpful for students who need to work on visual discrimination.

We’ve intentionally selected commonly confused words such as saw/was, you/your and more. To play this game, young learners will need to study the letters of each word carefully. They must also try to remember where each word appears on the table in this matching game.

Directions:

Skill: Correctly read words that are commonly confused

Grade level: K-2

Players: 2

Objective: Make more matches than your opponent

Supplies: PDF game cards - 2 pages See a screenshot below of a few of the cards.

To Play:

Print off one or both pages of our game cards and cut the cards apart. Ideally, copy the pages onto stiff paper and laminate before cutting.
Select the words you want your students to practice. With young learners, it is best to start with just 10-12 different words at a time.
Place the selected word cards face down on the table, in orderly rows and columns.
Players take turns flipping over two cards. If the cards match, the player keeps the cards and takes another turn. If the cards do not match, the cards must be placed face down in the same position in which they started, and that player's turn comes to an end.
The game ends when all possible matches have been made. The player with the most cards is the winner.

Variation:

When a player makes a match, ask him to use the word correctly in a sentence before he can keep the cards.

More Dolch Word Games & Learning Games

We also recommend these early-learning reading games:

Tic-Tac-Numbers: Fun practice with number words. Grade level: 1-2

Sight Word Bingo: A ready-to-print Bingo game with some of the most basic sight words for beginning readers. Grade level: K-1

Let's Sort It Out!: Here's a great phonics game featuring short or long vowel sounds. Great for beginners. Also a fun bonus game on this page! Grades K-2

Rabbit Reading Race: Players read and complete sentences with high-frequency words as they race to be the first to the finish line. Grade level: 1-2

You can find lots more free phonics games at Spelling Words Well.