FREE AP Ending Words Board Game from Behind the Mom Bun

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The ap ending words board game is a fun way to learn the ap word family.

We are full swing into kindergarten at my house and my little reader is starting to learn ap ending words.

Teaching my daughter to read is taking me back in time to my first year of teaching kindergarten.

I have learned so much about reading since then that I often wish I could have that year back.

But here I am now with all the knowledge gained, teaching my very own kindergartener to read.

I want my daughter not only to love reading but to understand it as well. English can be tricky for even a native speaker, but when kids understand that words have structure and patterns, they can learn to decode any word.

Teaching word families is one way to help kids understand the English language.

What is a word family?

Before we can talk about individual word families like ap ending words, defining a word family is essential.

Simply put, a word family is a group of words that share a common pattern.

I love teaching word families, and I believe that they are essential for beginning readers.

How does teaching word families help kids learn to read?

Word families help kids develop phonological awareness.

Phonological awareness is having familiarity with rhyming words, syllables, and individual sounds.

Word families also help build a strong spelling foundation as kids recognize patterns in each word family.

Before you play this game or any word family game, be sure you have done the following.

Introduce the words to them. You might think about creating a poster or putting the word families into a reading journal.

Play oral games with the words:

Blending the words: You sat c-a-p, and they say cap.

Segmenting the words: You say cap, and they say c-a-p.

Rhyming Ping Pong: You say cap, they say tap, you say rap, they say lap, etc.

Practice the words with letter tiles or magnets.

Playing the AP Ending Words Game

I like this game because it is straightforward yet very powerful in practicing ap ending words.

The ap ending words game board is perfect for small group instruction or homeschooled kiddos.

Print out the game board. Make sure you change the orientation to landscape. If your printer is capable of printing to the end of the page, I would suggest you choose that option as well.

I recommend printing the game board on cardstock and then laminating so that it lasts a while. Once your kids are familiar with the game, they will want to play over and over.

Choose a game piece. I used counting bears, but you can make anything into a game piece. If you are stuck, swipe one from a board game you have on hand.

Grab some dice. You only need one, but if you have more than one kiddo playing, it will help each player to have their own.

Each player places their game piece at the start rectangle.

Determine who will go first, and then play continues clockwise.

Players roll their die and move their game piece the number of spots shown on their dice. Using a die is also a great way to practice one to one counting.

When the player lands on a rectangle, they must say the word that is on the rectangle. If they don’t know it, you can help. We want them to have fun and want to keep playing, so there is no consequence for not saying it correctly.

If kids do not feel as if they got it wrong, they will feel more confident in trying again next time. And that is precisely what we want them them to do, to keep trying!

Play continues to the next player, and so on.

Special Rectangles

There are two rectangles where players will either advance and move backward.

Ending the Game

The player who gets to the “FINISH” rectangle first is the winner. Players do not need to roll a specific number to get to the finish square, but you certainly can make that a rule if you want to make the game more challenging.

So that is it! Easy peasy! Once you have played this game with your kids, consider putting it in a busy binder or folder that they can pull out when they are “bored.”

I recommend playing this game often as kids tend to lose it if they don’t use it. I saw this first hand when I began to teach my daughter sight words. She was on a roll, and then we didn’t practice for a few weeks, and she forgot almost all of them. Repetition is essential when kiddos are learning something new, especially in reading.

While games are fun, there is absolutely no better way for kids to learn word families than to read them in books.

These can be a little tricky to come by, and I do plan on writing some soon. For now, you can check this set out from Amazon.

Another great place to grab word family books is from Lakeshore Learning.

As you read aloud to your kiddo, point out words that end in the word family you are working on. When you notice these words out loud, you are teaching your kiddos to notice them in their books.

Modeling is a powerful strategy that I try to use as often as possible.

Let me know what you like about the ap ending words game board by shooting me an email or leaving a comment below.

I love feedback as it helps me give you more things you are looking for or need.

Also, be sure to check out the super fun AP Word Family Bingo Games.

These games will help reinforce the ap word family. There are two ways to play. With these bingo games, kids get to practicing reading and writing words that end in ap.

There are a total of 20 playing cards plus the calling card sheet.

And as a thank you for checking out my blog, I would love for you to use the coupon code APFAMILY to receive 50% off the entire set.