Literacy and language skills are vital for success, both professionally and personally. Words enable us to communicate well with others, express our thoughts and feelings, and share our ideas.
Unfortunately, UK government statistics show that 35 per cent of primary students do not meet reading, writing, and math standards.
But it doesn’t need to be that way.
There are some things you can do to help build your child’s literacy skills, including engaging in fun word games for kids and finding an English tutor, such as one from School is Easy Tutoring, to advance their language skills. Read on to find out some word games that will help your child learn while they have fun.
What are the benefits of word games?
Word games can help enhance your child’s reading, writing, and overall language skills. Here are just some of the benefits of children’s word games.
Improve spelling skills
Literacy games help children improve their spelling skills in a fun and engaging way. Look for games that break down the words into letters so children can start understanding the letter sounds and how they fit together to form words.
Build memorization ability
Playing word games for kids can be a great way to exercise your child’s memorization skills. They can help build concentration and improve the ability to understand directions. By working out your child’s memory skills, you can improve both their literacy and numeracy abilities.
Expand vocabulary
Teach your child new words and help them expand their ability to communicate effectively with fun word games. Games that introduce new words and their definitions are ideal for helping your child develop their vocabulary.
Practice problem-solving
There are many activities that can give your child an opportunity to practice their problem-solving skills, including word games. Games that encourage logic and strategy to overcome a problem will build skills that your child will be able to use in real life.
Increase concentration
Fun word games introduce different puzzles to your kids, which increases their concentration and brain development. Search for games that are brainteasers or require you to find clues to help your child build their concentration capabilities. Be sure to find games for your child’s level to avoid frustration and slowly increase concentration.
Stress buster
Word games can also be a fun way to battle stress. They require you to focus on concentration on the game, which can allow your child to put aside their worries for a while.
From improving concentration and focus to building vocabulary and spelling skills, literacy games have so many benefits for your little ones.
Fun Word Games for Kids
Whether you’re looking for pen and paper games, board games, or games you can play on the go there are a variety of word games that you and your kids can play. Here are some of the best games to boost your skills while having fun.
Traditional Word Games
These games require very few supplies and can even be played on the go.
I-spy
I-spy can be played anywhere because it doesn’t require any special tools. It allows younger kids to practice their vocabulary to describe what item they are spying. The game also encourages younger children to focus and listen to others.
Word search
Finding words among a jumbled collection of letters improves children’s concentration and spelling skills. Kids will practice sounding out and decoding words, skills they’ll need to excel in grammar and English language classes.
Rhyming pairs
Younger kids love how rhyming words sound, and you can play a game where each participant thinks of a pair of words that rhyme. This game can be played at home or even on the road. It’s sure to bring lots of smiles to your child while improving their language skills.
Letter ladders
In this game, you write down a word at the top of a paper. The first player then changes one letter in the word to create a new word. It teaches kids about word sounds, improves concentration and focus, as well as enhancing spelling skills.
Board Games
Family game nights are a great opportunity for you to help your kids build their language skills while having a good time together. Here are some board games you can choose for your next family night.
Scrabble
One of the most common word board games is Scrabble, and for younger children, you can get Scrabble junior. This game helps children improve their spelling skills alongside their concentration and problem-solving skills as they try and make words from random letters.
Scattergories
For older students, a game like Scattergories can keep their language skills sharp. The game requires players to write down words with a specific beginning letter within a certain time frame. The sand timer adds pressure to help your child learn to problem-solve quickly. The more answers that players have written down, the higher their score.
Boggle
In this game, letter dice are rolled, and players must create as many words as possible from the letters on the dice while they are being timed. To make the game more challenging, players cannot use the same dice letter more than once. There is also a junior version of this game to help kids develop concentration and spelling skills.
Pen and Paper Games
Some of the best word games only require a pen and paper, making them a good, fun fit no matter where you are. Here are some ideas for kids’ word games.
Hangman
A long-time favourite, hangman helps players exercise their problem-solving skills as they try and guess letters to fill in the blanks before time runs out!
Mad libs
These word games combine learning and laughter by having players fill in the blanks of a story with random words. They will boost your child’s grammar skills by helping them understand nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. One player calls for suggestions for each blank word. When all the blanks are filled in, the story is read out loud, allowing everyone to have a laugh at a nonsense story.
Group storytelling
This activity challenges a group to write a story together, sentence by sentence. Start with one player who begins the story with a single sentence. The next player adds to the story by writing another sentence, and so on. You can also change the rules, so players build the story word by word.
Further English and Literature Help for Kids
Word games are one way you can help your kids keep learning, but it’s not the only way. Hiring a tutor to help with English and reading is a great way to help your child advance their skills.
Tutoring gives your child confidence and boosts their learning on a deeper level. It will also change your child’s attitude toward learning. Imagine what your child could accomplish if they started excelling in school.
Take your child’s skills to the next level, and book a tutor today! School is Easy Tutoring can help your child unlock their potential so they can achieve their academic and life goals!
