Some children take to learning to read like ducks to water. For others, though, it can seem like an endless chore. They find reading difficult and boring, so they don’t read very often, so they don’t get any better at it. If you can make learning to read fun, your children will want to practice more and will find that they can soon read more quickly and easily. The better they get, the more they will want to read.

One way to make learning to read fun is to use games. You don’t have to buy electronic games, computer software or expensive board games. The trouble with these is that they are unlikely to be at exactly the right level for your child, which can result in them being too hard and just downright frustrating, which is the last thing you want. The best games are the ones that you make yourself.

If your child has brought home from school a list of words or a set of flashcards to memorise, making a game to help them is a sure-fire route to success. The game that you make will cover precisely what they need to know, nothing more and nothing less. They will have the maximum chance of success, which will reinforce the pleasure and pride they feel when they can report back to their teacher that they’ve learnt all their words and are ready for more.

Here are some ideas for easy to make and play games to help your child learn a set of words:

• Lotto * Pelmanism * Snap
  
  
  
  Lotto: Let’s say that your child has twelve words to learn. To make a lotto game for twelve words, you will need three pieces of letter-sized or A4 card. Fold and cut one of the pieces to make twelve small rectangular cards. Write one of the words to be learnt on each small card. Use a pencil and ruler to draw six boxes (three across and two down) on each of the other two pieces of card. Write six of the words to be learnt on each card, one in each box. To play the game, place all the small word cards face down and give one six-word card to each player. Take turns to turn over a small word card and read the word (you will need to read the word yourself at first until your child has learnt them). Each player then checks their card to see whether they have a match. If they do, they keep the word card, placing it over the matching word on their own card. The winner is the first person to cover a row of three words. When you have played the game together a few times, you will find that your child will be able to read the words on their own.

Pelmanism: This is a traditional matching and memory game. You will need a set of small cards, such as index cards, twice as many cards as there are words to learn. Write each word on two cards to make a matching pair. Shuffle them up and spread them out face down. Take turns to turn over any two cards and read the words (at first, you will need to read each word for your child). If the cards match, the player keeps them and has another go. If they don’t match, turn them back face down and the other player gets a turn. When all the cards have been matched, the winner is the one with the most matching pairs. Before long, your child will recognise the words easily.

Snap: This game works best when used to revise words which your child has already learnt, as it’s faster-paced than the other two games. Small index cards work well for this. Write each word on four cards, so that if the child is learning twelve words, you will end up with a pack of forty-eight cards. Shuffle the pack and share the cards equally between yourself and the child. Take turns to turn over one of your words and read it (you will need to read it to the child at first). Each time a new card is turned over, check whether it matches the one before. If it does, the first person to shout “Snap!” wins all the cards in the pile.

The beauty of these games is that your child will gradually absorb the words without making any apparent effort. This is because they will look at the word while you say it aloud, then they will study the word more closely as they try to find a match for it. You could try making and playing a different game every time your child has new words to learn. With your help, learning to read can be more fun!

For more ideas to help your child learn, visit the Family Learning web site.