Looking for a fun and hands-on way to strengthen important reading skills? This free printable Rocket Ride Digraph Matching Game is an interactive way for your students to practice digraphs. It’s great for small groups and literacy centers in Kindergarten and 1st grade!
*Pair with our Blends & Digraphs Centers and Activities for Early Learners!
Rocket Ride Digraph Matching Game
Living in the southeast, we have seen a ton of action at the space center recently. My own kids and many of my students want to know more about what’s going on in outer space! I’m always looking for a way to teach about current interests too.
Prepping outer space-themed activities like this Rocket Ride Digraph Matching Game plays off of interests while teaching important reading skills. And wouldn’t a rocket ride be so much fun?
What’s Included?
This digraph match includes 4 digraphs that early readers frequently come across – ph, sh, th, and ch. The printable activity has a recording sheet with 12 rockets on it. It also has twelve star cards that have a picture on them that begin with one of these common digraphs.
The pictures include: ship, sheep, shirt, chest, cherry, cheese, photo, photographer, phone, thorn, throne, and thread.
How to Prep and Play
Begin by printing the Rocket Ride Digraph Match file (download below). I recommend printing the star cards on cardstock and laminating them for repeated use.
Cut the cards apart on the gray dotted lines. Mix them up and set them in a pile face down or add them to a small basket to pull from. Now you’re ready to play!
The object of the digraph matching game is to identify all of the beginning digraphs and color in the coordinating rocket.
Students pick a star card from the pile, say what the picture on the star shows, and identify the beginning digraph. On the recording sheet, they will find the digraph that makes the sound they hear at the beginning of the picture.
Lastly, they color in the rocket with the matching digraph!
Kids can continue to pick star cards and find matching digraphs on the rockets until all of the stars are picked and all of the rockets are colored in.
I like to first introduce this activity during our whole group instruction. This way, going over the star cards and the digraphs together allows for less confusion when working independently or in small groups.
No matter if you play this activity in a small group or independently, everyone will enjoy their rocket ride to outer space!
Grab Your FREE Copy
Ready to blast off and grab your own digraph rocket ride game? Get your free copy by clicking on the large, yellow download button at the end of the post!
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Thank you for the freebie. Very generous!