Impactful and fun word study? Yes, you can have both! These W blend games help students spell words that begin with the blends TW, SW, and QU. Students practice with words like twin, twig, swan, swing, quilt, and quack in a partner word building board game and an independent word tower activity.
The games are aligned to Words Their Way: Word Sorts for Within Word Pattern Spellers (3rd Edition), Unit 6, Sort 41, but they work alongside any word study program. They were developed with 3rd-5th graders in mind and fit students in the late Within Word Pattern stage who have a firm grasp of long vowel patterns, r-controlled vowels, and diphthongs and ambiguous vowels and are ready to study how vowels affect consonants.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Panning for Gold Board Game (Partner Game)
Students draw word part cards and match them with the beginning blends on the game board to make a word. Friendly competition keeps students engaged, and the recording sheet makes it easy to check that students understood the complex consonants and stayed on task.
- Teacher directions
- Panning for Gold game board
- Word part cards
- Student-friendly directions
- Recording sheet
- Answer key
Layer On (Independent Activity)
Played much like a popular letter tile game, students spin TW, SW, or QU and match it with a word part card to make a word. Then they write or build the word and "layer it on" to a growing word tower, adding as many words as they can.
- Teacher directions
- Gridded mat for word building
- Word part cards
- Spinner with student-friendly directions
- Letter tiles for building words
- Recording sheet
- Answer key
ALSO INCLUDED
- Black and white and color versions of everything
- Word list of all included words
- Answer keys for both activities
HOW THIS RESOURCE HELPS YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS
- Gives students two engaging ways to practice the same beginning blends
- Works for partner centers, small groups, early finishers, and independent practice
- Recording sheets for both activities build in accountability and quick assessment
- Uses the same game format as most of Unit 6, so students don't have to learn new rules each week
- Layer On turns word building into a hands-on challenge with letter tiles and a growing word tower
- Ready to print and use with no extra prep beyond cutting cards
Want every game in this unit? This game set is included in the Initial & Final Consonant Blends Unit 6 Within Word Pattern Games Bundle | Complex Consonants, so you can get all of the Unit 6 games together and save.
ABOUT THE WITHIN WORD PATTERN STAGE
This stage is where students move past single-syllable short vowel spelling and begin studying vowel patterns in depth. Students at this level can spell most consonant sounds and short vowels correctly and are ready to explore long vowel patterns, r-influenced vowels, diphthongs, and complex consonant patterns. Instruction focuses on how the same vowel sound can be spelled several different ways, and students learn to recognize the patterns that signal each one. By sorting and comparing words, students strengthen spelling accuracy while building the pattern recognition that supports fluent reading.
NEED PRINTABLES FOR THE ENTIRE WITHIN WORD PATTERN LEVEL?
See the Within Word Pattern Printable Bundle (contains all 4 resources)
Or, Shop By Activity:
- Word Study Notebook
- Word Searches
- Fill in the Blank Word List Activity
- Weekly Spelling Homework & Word Lists
Copyright © Tammy Roose, Tarheelstate Teacher.
The purchase of this resource gives the buyer permission to download and copy for single classroom use only. Electronic distribution is also limited to single classroom use. Copying for other teachers, school-wide use, or school systems is only allowed with the purchase of additional licenses.
