Children's Games to Help With Reading

The Alphabet Game

• You can play this game with children as young as three. Parents recite the alphabet, then the child recites every other letter. Work up to the point where the child can recite the alphabet on his own. Once the child has mastered the alphabet, have him recite words beginning with the alphabet letters in order. For example, apple, ball, cat, etc. The next level involves restricting the word to one category, such as foods, toys or animals. Advance this level by having the child choose words in increasing numbers of syllables.

Car Games

• Chose a letter or letter diphthong such as "th" or "st." Have the children search billboards, traffic signs or signs on buildings for the letter or diphthong. You can also ask them to name sights or scenery they spot, such as vehicles, trees or flowers, people in uniform, trains or construction equipment that begin with the chosen letters.

  Instruct older children to find objects that are proper or common nouns or have a certain number of syllables. The children can list what they've seen in a notebook and use those words to write a story about the trip later.

  License plate games are always a favorite with kids. Have the children read the letters on a plate or decipher vanity plates. Have them identify plates from different states; the child with the highest number of different states wins.

Label Your House

• This game develops spelling, letter and word recognition skills. For preschoolers, make alphabet stickers and put them on articles in the house that begin with that letter. Ask them to find other articles in the house that begin with that letter. For school age children learning to read, write out the whole word. Once the child has mastered the word, have him point out diphthongs, such as "gr" or "th." As the child becomes more proficient, allow him to write out his own stickers.

Quizzes, Board Games and Crossword Puzzles

• Any board game that includes printed cards and directions is a good reading tool. Choose games according to the child's age level. Scrabble, Boggle and UpWords are educational and fun, and help children master letter and word recognition. By creating words from the game pieces, the children build their vocabulary and memory skills.

  Crossword puzzles teach reading, spelling and vocabulary and are excellent brain exercises. If the child is stumped by a clue, encourage him to look it up in a dictionary or thesaurus, thus exposing him to even more words and meanings. You can create your own "It Pays to Increase Your Word Power" quiz, use the one in the Reader's Digest or go online to find a word quiz. This game involves matching up a list of words and definitions.