Looking for fun ways to practice trick words? How do you even practice trick words? Trick Word Bingo is the perfect solution to keep your students excited about learning while mastering those tricky trick words!
Why Does Trick Word Practice Matter?
Trick words don’t follow the usual phonics rules, like “the” and “said,” and cannot be sounded out.
Since they appear so often in texts, kids need to memorize them to read smoothly.
When students can quickly recognize these words, it boosts their reading fluency and helps them focus on understanding what they’re reading.
A quick way to check whether students are actually retaining those words is to use short phonics exit tickets. They make it easy to see what’s sticking without adding more grading to your plate.
That’s why regular practice is so important, and turning it into something fun (like Trick Word Bingo) helps keep students engaged as they build this vital skill.
The Struggle We Often Face
Let’s face it: many trick word activities out there are just plain boring. They offer limited engagement, students tune out, and the repetitive nature with little reward can be frustrating.
I’ve been there, and I’m sure you have too!
As a firm believer in gamifying skills, especially the mundane, I was determined to find a solution.
So, I created a game for my second graders that not only made trick word practice enjoyable but also kept them engaged and excited!
ENTER—Trick Word Bingo🥳
Trick Word Bingo – Excitement for ALL!
Trick Word Bingo isn’t your typical trick word drill. It’s a fun game that makes learning fun while still giving students the repetition they need to master trick words.
Not to mention, it’s also:
- hands-on
- simple to play
- print-and-go
Because students greatly benefit from spiral review, I’ve included all trick words from Units 2-7, ensuring comprehensive practice.
Additionally, Trick Word Bingo is versatile and works well for both individual and group play.
Individual play provides a focused learning experience, while group play fosters collaboration and friendly competition.
Your free trick word bingo download will include the following:
- 30 unique Bingo Boards
- 30 calling cards
How to Play Trick Word Bingo
Here’s how you can use these game boards in your classroom:
- Prep: Print out the Bingo boards and calling cards—no fancy materials needed! Each student gets a unique Bingo board with trick words from Units 2-7, and you hold the calling cards.
- Game Setup: Shuffle the calling cards and call out one trick word at a time. Students will scan their boards and mark the word if they have it.
- Playing: Keep calling out words until a student gets five in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) and yells, “Bingo!” See variations below for how to mix it up.
- Wrap-Up: After the game, you can review any words that students struggled with, reinforcing what they’ve learned in a fun way.
Variations of Trick Word Bingo
To keep things fun, you can turn the game into a friendly competition by offering little rewards, like stickers or extra recess for the winners.
You can also mix things up with different gameplay options.
- Blackout Bingo – students must fill their entire board
- Speed rounds – who can mark off words the fastest?
- Four Corners – challenge students to fill in only the four corners of their Bingo boards
- Silent Bingo – hold up the Trick Word calling cards without saying them aloud
- Partner Bingo – pair up students and give them one board to work on together
These little twists keep students on their toes and make trick word practice feel fresh every time!
Download the Trick Word Bingo
I created these Trick Word Bingo boards for my own classroom as a way to make trick word practice more fun and less repetitive.
You’re welcome to download the printable boards below and use them however they work best for your students.
▶ Download the Trick Word Bingo boards here.
Want More Low-Prep Trick Word Practice?
If Trick Word Bingo works well for your students and you want a few more ready-to-use Level 2 activities, I put together a FREE Fundations Unit 1 Week 1 Grab Bag that gives you a feel for the types of phonics resources I create.
Inside you’ll find:
- Weekly overview (big-picture planning done for you)
- Daily exit tickets (formative assessment done for you) DIGITAL OPTION
- 3 Differentiated sentence scrambles (additional practice at your fingertips) DIGITAL OPTION
- Interactive trick words practice on Google Slides
▶ Grab the Unit 1 Week 1 Grab Bag here.
Additional Trick Word Games
Are you looking for more ideas for trick word games that aren’t boring?🤔
You’ll love this blog post with five trick word game ideas!
It’s Time!
Instead of the same old drill-and-practice routine, Trick Word Bingo brings energy and excitement to the classroom while still reinforcing trick words.
Give it a try and see how your students respond, then feel free to share your experiences in a comment below. I’d love to hear how it worked for your class!
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