This fun game will help your child learn the meanings of words from a story or book that you are working on. It also gives your kids a great chance for fluency practice if they get to read the words several times before they actually start reading the text. Or you can simply play it after a reading to reinforce the meanings.

  1. Choose several words from the selection you are about to read with your child (this can vary depending on your child’s age, reading ability, and/or difficulty of the text – but usually between 5-10 words).
  2. List the words on a white board or chart and have your child try to read them – blending them if necessary or you can read them together. Discuss the meaning of each word with your child. You can look them up together, talk about what they mean, use them in sentences, etc..
  3. Then tell your child that you will be playing a riddle game where they’ll have to guess which word matches your clue. They get to cross off each correct word they guess – maybe even win a treat (an m&m or extra minutes earned to spend on a favorite activity).
  4. For example: For the words mast, remote, and link, you can use the following riddles:

I’m tall, very strong, and you can attach sails to me.

I mean the opposite of being close or near to things or people.

If I’m missing, then you can’t keep the chain together.

Remember that you can keep this as difficult or as easy as you want depending on your child’s age and ability. Have fun with it!