Engage little minds and get kids busy practicing letter and letter sound recognition with this super easy game, Detectives & Magicians. It only requires three simple supplies!

Materials Needed:

• dry erase board
• dry erase marker
• eraser (we use a little sock)

Tip ~ If you don’t have a dry erase board simply slide a sheet of card stock or blank computer paper into a clear page protector. Dry erase markers work beautifuly on this DIY dry erase board!

How to Play:
Step 1 ~ Begin by choosing the letters you want to review and write them on the board. I like to work with 3 letters at a time. Today I am reviewing the letters p, t, and f. I always include the uppercase and lowercase letter.

The game starts with the kids being “Detectives”. They are on the hunt for letters and letter sounds.
• Say a letter or letter sound.
• The child finds that letter and circles it.
• The game continues until all letters have been found, identified, and circled.

Tip ~ As the child is circling the letter add an extra layer of learning. Have them say the letter as well as the sound. For example, when circling the letter t have them say t, /t/. This not only reinforces their letter recognition but letter sound knowledge as well.

Step 2 ~ Now that all the letters are circled, it is time for the kiddos to become “Magicians“!

• This time the child will make the letters disappear as you call out the letter or letter sound by erasing the circle and the letter.
• Continue with this until all letters have disappeared.

This game can easily be modified to practice other skills such as numbers, shapes, CVC words, and spelling words.

I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment and let me know your ideas on how you would adapt this game for your child or students?