print add to favorites

Vowel Tic-Tac-Toe: An Exercise to Learn Vowel Sounds

by J.L. Shanker
Source: Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall
Topics: Elementary School, Reading Building Blocks, Phonics and Sound

Purpose: To learn vowel sounds

Materials:  Flash cards with the following written on them

Short a Long a R-controlled a
Short e Long e R-controlled e
Short i Long i R-controlled i
Short o Long o R-controlled o
Short u Long u R-controlled u

Procedure:

Have the two students who are playing tic-tac-toe draw a flash card. Then, instead of marking each square with X or O, the student writes words that have the sound on her card. If, for example, the first student gets short o and the second gets long a, then the first must write a word with short o when it is her turn to play, and the second must write a word with long a when it is her turn to play. An example of a partially finished game is shown in the following illustration.

Partially finished game:

Variation:

This is also a good learning device if the two participants have to draw a new flash card before each move. When playing the game this way, use two different colors of chalk or pencil to help remember which words belong to each player.

Take Action

  • this article with friends and family.
  • Have a question about Elementary School? Ask it here.
  • Publish your work on education.com.

Free Webinars for Parents

Join our free online seminar led by top specialists in their respective subject areas