Finding fun literacy and phonics games kindergarten and first grade kids can play independently during stations and centers just got easier. These 5 games use fast prep, paper cups to build literacy skills.

Here are the five games we are playing today. Make sure to get the printable phonics game for kindergarten, free. See the link below under “Resources”.

The prep is easy. Grab some small paper cups and a marker. Write one letter of the alphabet on each cup. Do this for both capital and lowercase letters. That’s it. If you want to play the 3rd game we talk about in this video you will also need the free printable that is available below.

Here are the games in the order they appear. Click the chapters below to get to the game you want quickly.

00:00 Intro
00:45 Matching Game
02:14 Alphabetize Game
03:49 This To That Game
08:05 Alphabet Capture The Cup
10:00 Word Builder
Other Tips and Teacher Hacks

Matching
Place the cups so the letters are facing down. Play by turning two cups over to reveal the letter. If you get a capital and the corresponding lowercase letter you get to keep the cups. If they don’t match then turn them back over and the next player gets a turn.

Alphabetize
Place the cups in alphabetical order.
For an extra challenge start with z and work to a.

This To That Printable Game
Use the cups to make a 3 or four letter word. (Depending on which printable you are using.)
Write your word on the first group of cups on the printable, one letter on each cup. Switch out one letter in the word for a new letter to make a new word. Write in the old and new letters as shown in the video and write the new word. Keep transforming your word one letter at a time until you complete the printable.
(Play this game again and again by placing it in a page protector.)

Alphabet Capture The Cup
Divide the cups evenly between players. At the same time, each player places a cup letter side down on the table. On the count of 3 each player flips over their cup to reveal the letter. Whoever has the letter closest to “A” is the winner and gets all the cups in play. Play until one player has all the cups.

Word Builder
Use multiple sets. Each player gets 10 cups. First player builds a word using the cups. The second player uses at least one letter to build another word onto the play area. This is going to look like a crossword puzzle or scrabble game when you are done


You’ve found 5 fun phonics games you can do with ordinary paper cups. It’s a cheap and easy tool that kids will love to use to master their letter and decoding skills.
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Thanks to:
**Special thanks to Dawn The Singing Nurse for the awesome music. Check out her channel.    / dawnginese  
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Free Sample: Independent Letter & Sight Word Practice https://www.makingthebasicsfun.com/si...
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Free Resources:
This To That Freebie: https://www.makingthebasicsfun.com/cu...


Other Resources:
The Blueberry Pancake Problem by Angie Kantorowicz : https://amzn.to/3BboU9e

TpT Store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/S...

Got Games? 60+ Independent (and fun) learning games for K-1 Students- Print and Play-
The Early Finisher Solution -Games & More Learning System for Busy Teachers:
–(Look for your free sample game by clicking the link)--
https://pages.makingthebasicsfun.com/...
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Listen To Podcasts?
Catch my podcast Rockin’ This Teacher Thing every other Tuesday to help you in your teacher life. Made just for the early primary teacher.

Find me on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and more.
or
Come to www.makingthebasicsfun.com/podcast to listen.
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Other Mentioned Resources--
Cups: https://amzn.to/3KeHKP7

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