Letter sound bingo: a 20-minute kindergarten phonics game
What it is: a bingo game for kindergarten where you say a word and students cover the letter that makes its first sound. Students connect sounds to letters, which is the heart of early phonics.
Time: about 20 minutes. Grade: kindergarten.
Materials: bingo cards with 9 letters each (make several versions), paper squares or dried pasta to cover the letters, and a list of picture words for each letter.
- Show a card. Read the letters together by sound, not by name: /m/, /s/, /t/.
- Say a word slowly and stretch the first sound: "mmmoon." Students say the first sound back.
- Students find the letter that makes that sound and cover it.
- Show the picture and the letter so students can check their card.
- When a student covers three in a row, they read the three sounds back to win the round.
Differentiation: students who need support play with a card of 4 letters and a partner. Students who are ready listen for the last sound instead. English learners can see the picture with each word.
Quick check: say three words and ask a student to write or point to the first letter of each.
Save this activity to your library so it is ready when you need it.
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About this resource
- Shared by
- @UpOnlyLearning · Curriculum team
- Posted
- Oct 30, 2026
- Type
- Lesson plan
- Grade
- Grades K–2
- Subject
- Reading
- Language
- English
- License
- Free for classroom, co-op and tutoring use. Please don't resell.