What You Need:
- Paper
- Marker
- About 25 small place markers or chips (like Cheerios)
- 26 notecards or small slips of paper
What You Do:
- Draw a bingo board (5x5 box) or print out Marbles Alphabet Bingo Cards
- If making your own, randomly write one letter in each of the boxes, making sure to leave the center box open as a free space.
- Write one letter of the alphabet on each notecard.
- Shuffle the notecards.
- Choose one person to be the caller.
- When the caller reads out a letter, place a chip on that letter if it’s on your board.
- The first player to fill a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) wins!
Words to Use:
- Horizontal: Flat and level.
- Vertical: Pointing up in a line.
- Diagonal: Following a sloping angle.
What to Talk About:
- Make the letter sound when you call out the letter.
- Associate the letter with something familiar. Ex: A for Alligator
- Talk about what the letter looks like. Is it round? Straight? Does it have an open space or no space?
- Encourage subitizing. Ask how many Cheerios do you see?
- Count the cheerios on the board periodically.
Change It Up:
- Play with both uppercase and lowercase letters for even more variations (A vs. a).
- Make your own bingo boards with animals, foods, numbers, or symbols.
- Age it Down: In addition to saying the letter out loud, have the caller show the players the letter.
- Age it Up: Play with blends instead of single letters (th, sh, gr, st).
Learning Connections:
- Creativity
- Language Development
- Literacy
- Connection
- Critical Thinking
Curriculum Connections:
NC Standard Course of Study
- ELA: RF.K.4, RF.K.1, RF.K.3, RF.1.3
- Math: NC.K.CC.5, NC.K.CC.4, NC.K.CC.6