Beach Ball Bash – Phonics Game
Phonics Game – ‘Beach Ball Bash’ involves writing onset and rime onto different sections of a beach ball. When the students catch the ball they have to combine the sounds beneath their hands and say it aloud. It is a fun way to have a little fun practicing common blends and word endings.
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Free Phonics & Word Building Game
Beach Ball Bash

Phonics Beach Ball Game
Beach Ball Bash is a phonics-based onset and rime game. This download includes how to play the game based on bl, pl, cl, gl, sl, fl, ack, ap, ip, ed, ock & um. It also includes ideas for how to modify and extend the game. It is an ideal game to use as a ‘warm-up’ exercise of lesson transition.
Aim:
– To have a little fun practicing common blends and word endings.
When:
This is a nice end-of-session or lesson transition game.
What You Need:
– a cheap blow-up beach ball
– clear or colored contact
– a texta
Preparation:
- Cut out circles from the contact about 10cm diameter.
- Stick the contact onto the ball as shown.
- Write blends on the top of the ball and word endings onto the bottom.
How to Play:
- The teacher or group leader tosses the ball to a student and they must catch it with one hand on an initial blend and one on the word ending.
- The student combines the word elements, says it aloud to the group & tosses it back to the leader.

Free Phonics Game
Very versatile activity!! I can adapt this easily for my special needs students and it will go along with my beach themed classroom!! Thanks for the freebie!
Hints:
– When a child is unsure of which circle to read go with the letters closest to the student’s pointer finger.
– Write the letters in permanent marker. Parents tend to get a little ‘thingy’ about ink stains on school clothes 🙂
Experiment with onset and rime as well as blends and common word endings.
Taking it a Bit Further:
– How many words can be made in 1 or 2 minutes? Keep a record. Make a graph.
– Have children stand in a circle and pass the ball around the circle. How long to make a complete round? Record and graph the results.
– Children modify a playground game so it uses this ball?
– Catcher spells the word and the rest of the group calls out the answer.
– Cover the ball in single sounds and students have to say a word beginning with that sound.
– Using the single sound ball the students say a word that ends with the sound their right hand is nearest to.
– Base the ball on sight words.
– Base the game on compound words
– Base the ball on common classroom spelling misconceptions eg ‘as well’, ‘a lot’
– base the game on suffixes e.g. s, ‘es’, ‘ed’ & ‘ing’.
– Vocabulary to work on for older grades.
– 2 balls one with consonant blends the other with word endings
– play the game with a partner.
– play in a small group.
– Put up a piece of string or badminton net and play volleyball using the beach balls. NB The students must catch the ball in both hands and say the word.
– Get students to make up their own game.
– Create rules for ‘real’ words and ‘nonsense’ words to add a little variety.
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