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" Abbey Storey

 " Phonics


" Word Bingo is a game played in the classroom in order for students to understand

the sounds associated with words and be able to recognize them. To play Word Bingo, a list of

words is shown to the students and they pick certain words to put on their bingo card in the

squares. To play, the teacher reads off words and students cross them off of their card if they

filled in the word read on their square.

 " Word Bingo fulfills many Illinois Learning Standards, which is important when

choosing an activity to teach the class. For example, standard CC.K-12.SL.2 states,

³Comprehension and Collaboration" Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse

media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.´ In Word Bingo, students are

visually looking at the list of words to choose which they wish to fill in the squares of their cards

with. Then, they are orally listening to the teacher as he or she reads off words from the list,

looking for them on their card. They are combining these senses for a well-rounded activity.

Standard CC.K-12.L.R.3 states, ³Knowledge of Language" Apply knowledge of language to

understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning
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or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.´ This standard applies to

Word Bingo because students are learning that language functions to represent a tangible item as

well as intangible concepts. This allows them to expand their vocabulary and will in turn allow

them to choose the right words to use in conversation and when asking for or describing

something. By knowing what words represent they will understand when reading them. The next

three standards all apply to Word Bingo for similar reasons. The three standards are, standard

CC.K.R.F.3 ³Phonics and Word Recognition" Know and apply grade-level phonics and word

analysis skills in decoding words,´ standard CC.K.R.F.3.c ³Phonics and Word Recognition"

Read common high-frequency words by sight,´ and standard CC.K.R.F.3.d ³Phonics and Word

Recognition" Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters

that differ.´ Word Bingo will allow students to decode the words on the list with the phonics

skills they already acquire when choosing them to fill into their squares. Through Word Bingo

students will be able to read the chosen high frequency words by sight after the game because the

game will help engrain the words into their memories. Word Bingo will also help students tell

the difference between two similar words through sounding them out and hearing the teacher

announce them. These are just a few examples of the many standards this activity supports.

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" Examples that can be used are words along with a book students are

reading, such as The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. Ten words (or more) for Word Bingo come

from the text chosen by the teacher. I would choose the words, ³thing, bump, tricks, fear, go,

saw, away, came, went and wish.´ Any words can be chosen from the ones listed in the book.

The students would be shown this list of ten words and would be asked to pick five words and

fill them in on their bingo chart. I would randomly read off the words and show the students
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where they are found in the story. If they have the word on their card they would mark it off until

someone called out Bingo!



" Some students may need an interpreter if they have a hearing impairment, to sign

them the words as I read them aloud to the class. Some students may need the word list and

Bingo cards to be in Braille if they have a visual impairment. Other students may need the words

to be read at a slower pace if they have a learning disability and have trouble processing what

they hear into cognition right away. This activity is adaptable in many more ways as well, and

ideally is possible to be used by all students. When I worked in a resource classroom with

students who have severe intellectual disabilities, Word Bingo was one of their favorite

activities.