Orton Gillingham Read, Roll, and Smash: Free Games, Free Phonics Games

 Here are 10 free game cards for practicing reading skills using the Orton-Gillingham approach with a "Roland Smash" theme:

1. Syllable Smash: Write syllables on cardboard blocks or cups. Students read a syllable correctly, then get to "smash" it (knock it down). Build towers of syllables for students to read and smash.

2. Digraph Demolition: Create cards with words containing digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh). When students correctly read the word, they can "smash" a small toy with a toy hammer while saying the digraph sound.

3. Blend Builders: Write consonant blends on toy hammers and vowels on blocks. Students select a hammer and block, blend the sounds together, and if they form a real word, they get to gently "smash" the block.

4. Phoneme Smash Pockets: Create pockets labeled with different phonemes. Students draw word cards, read them, identify a target phoneme, and "smash" the card into the correct pocket.

5. Red Word Wrecking Ball: Write irregular "red words" on paper. When students read them correctly, they can crumple the paper into a ball and toss it at a target.

6. Sound Sorting Smash: Use boxes labeled with different sounds. Students read words on cards and "smash" them into the correct sound category box.

7. Sentence Builder Demolition: Create sentence strips with missing words. Students read decodable words on blocks and place the correct one in the sentence. After reading the complete sentence, they get to knock down the remaining blocks.

8. Suffix Smashers: Base words are written on one set of cards, suffixes on another. Students combine them to make real words, read them aloud, and then "smash" a small item for each correct word formed.

9. Roland's Reading Race: Create a game board with spaces containing words with specific patterns. Students roll dice, move spaces, read the word correctly, and get to "smash" a button or noise maker if correct.

10. Magnetic Letter Smash: Students build words with magnetic letters on a cookie sheet, read them aloud, and then get to "smash" or swipe them away with a magnetic wand when read correctly.

These games incorporate multisensory learning principles of Orton-Gillingham while adding the motivational "smash" element that many students find engaging.

I'd be happy to share games and activities from both Orton-Gillingham and Montessori methods for building phonemic awareness and alphabetic knowledge.

Orton-Gillingham Games and Activities

Phonemic Awareness

• Sound Tapping: Tap out each sound in a word with fingers or pencil
• Sound Manipulation: Add, delete, or substitute sounds in words
• Sound Blending: Blend individual sounds to make words
• Sound Segmentation: Break words into individual sounds
• Rhyming Activities: Identify and generate rhyming words
• Syllable Games: Clap out syllables in words

Alphabetic Knowledge

• Sand Tracing: Trace letters in sand or salt trays
• Air Writing: Write letters in the air using gross motor movements
• Alphabet Cards: Flashcards with letter-keyword-sound connections
• Letter Dictation: Write letters when hearing their sounds
• Elkonin Boxes: Use boxes to represent sounds in words
• Word Building: Use letter tiles to build words
• Red/Green Words: Categorize words as decodable or irregular

Montessori Games and Activities

Phonemic Awareness

• I Spy Game: "I spy something that begins with /m/"
• Sound Games: Sorting objects by their initial, medial, or final sounds
• Sound Baskets: Collecting objects that begin with a particular sound
• Language Objects: Matching miniature objects to their beginning sounds
• Sound Analysis: Breaking words into individual sounds using counters

Alphabetic Knowledge

• Sandpaper Letters: Tactile letters to trace while saying the sound
• Movable Alphabet: Arranging physical letters to build words
• Object Boxes: Matching objects to their corresponding initial letter
• Pink, Blue, and Green Series: Sequential phonetic reading materials
• Phonogram Cards: Cards with digraphs and other phonograms
• Three-Period Lesson: Naming, recognition, and recall of letters
• Metal Insets: Tracing shapes to develop pencil control for writing

Both approaches emphasize multisensory learning (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile), systematic instruction, and building foundational phonological skills before moving to more complex reading and writing activities. They differ in implementation but share the goal of developing strong literacy foundations.

Would you like me to elaborate on any particular activities or explain how they might be adapted for specific age groups or learning needs?