Sunrise Readers Book Two – Work and Play – Word Games

When all of the sight words for Sunrise Readers Book 2 Work and Play have been introduced to the learners, these games give enjoyment while practising and reinforcing the words. Some of the games suggested below can be played once the learners have been introduced to 4 – 6 words, using those words only.

These games can be played as individuals, in pairs, in groups or even as an activity for the whole class. (The teacher facilitates from the front, and calls up individuals to participate.)

Feed bananas to Monkey Sam!

This game can be played by individuals, or in pairs or in groups. It may also be played by the whole class. (There are 37 words in Sunrise Readers Book 2 – find them on the back cover of the book, and download the large banana-shaped word cards using the free downloadable PDF below).

1. Print the ‘Large Banana Game’ words on yellow (or yellow and green) card. (See the free downloadable PDF below.) Laminate them so that they can be used again and again. Cut the bananas out.
2. Print an A4 coloured picture of Sam the monkey on white card. Display him on your Word Wall. Laminate for durability. (Free downloadable PDF below.)
3. Lay the large banana word cards out face down.
4. The children take turns to choose a banana: pick it up, turn it over and read the word aloud. If the learner is correct, he/she shows the word to the other children who read the word three times.
5. If the learner is correct,  he/she keeps the word card until the end of the game. If the learner is incorrect, he/she repeats the word with the rest of the group and then replaces it back, face down. If played in pairs or a group, the winner would be the child with the most banana word cards.
6. Once the game is over, the learners may use stickistuff (blue-tack/press-stick) to place the banana word cards around Sam the Monkey on the Word Wall.

Matching Memory Game (recognising the words with lower case or capital letters):

The banana word cards are placed face down (Not ALL of the words have to be used; just the ones you are practising.)

Individuals take turns to do this one by one: i) Pick up a banana card. ii) Read the word aloud, and show it to the group, who also read it three times. iii) Try to find the same word with a capital or lower case letter. iv) To do this: turn one word over. Read it aloud and show the others. (If it is not the word they are looking for, they replace it face down in the place they had found it and someone else has a turn. If it is the matching word, the learner keeps the pair until the end of the game. This way, the children try to remember where the words are.) e.g.

Matching words:

As individuals, or in pairs or groups,  lay out the large banana word cards. Deal out (give) the small banana word cards to each player in equal numbers (e.g. 4 each). The learners:

• read their small banana word card aloud.
• show the word to the group, and they all read it aloud.
• Find the same word amongst the spread-out large word cards, and place the small one on top.

Matching Words /Bingo

1. Print out the pages of small banana words in black and white. Do not cut them out. Give each child a page of these.

i. Hold up a large banana word card. The children read it aloud.

ii. They look for the word on their page. If they find it, they put a counter on it. (Counters could be a bottle top, bean or any small object.)

iii. The first child/ children to put counters on all of the words can shout “banana” or “bingo!”

Alphabet/Letter Sounds:

If you are working with the letters of the alphabet, have the children take turns to pick a banana word card from the word wall and press-stick the word under the relevant Classroom Alphabet flashcard (“Word Wall”) e.g.

Bingo with Alphabet Letters

Teacher/ Parent holds up a large fish word:

General Practice: The learners read the word aloud and place a ‘counter’ (could be a bean, bottle top or any small object) on top of the letter the word starts with on their individual alphabet charts.

Competition: They read the word quietly and place the ‘counter’ on the correct letter on their individual alphabet charts.

Free downloadable resources for these games: