Just Swap 1 Spelling Games

Besides the free word family readers, the Just Swap 1 Spelling Games from Learn to Read have been very popular with readers.

I love how it requires learners to really listen for individual sounds in words {known as phonemic awareness}, which is a very important reading and spelling skill.

*This post contains affiliate links.

 

Just Swap 1 Spelling Games

The idea is to start at the top and spell the first word with letter tiles. Each time you “move” on the game board, you only swap out one letter, such as cat to can.

Sometimes swap the first letter and sometimes you swap the last letter. Learners have to really pay attention to know which letter gets swapped. With the free Just Swap 1 games, the vowel stays constant for each board.

If your learner really struggles with this activity, it helps to separate the individual sounds in the word, so can would sound like: /k/–/a/–/n/. Ask the child to do it after you so she can “feel” the letter sounds he’s making with his mouth.

If she still swaps out the wrong letter, I like to ask leading questions like, “What sound do you hear at the beginning of the word?” or “What sound do you hear at the end of the word?” This can usually help to trigger listening ears. Of course, modeling how to do it before asking the learner to give it a try is always very helpful.

 

Just Swap 1 Spelling Game Links

You can find 5 free colored Just Swap 1 spelling games, one for each short vowel, by clicking on each of the links below. These Just Swap 1 games only include the three word families studied in that unit of Learn to Read.

For each link, scroll to the bottom of the post and click on the teal download button for the free printable.

• Just Swap 1: Short a Game {-at, -ad, & -an word families}
• Just Swap 1: Short o Game {-op, -og, & -ot word families}
• Just Swap 1: Short i Game {-it, -ip, & -ig word families}
• Just Swap 1: Short u Game {-ug, -ub, & -ut word families}
• Just Swap 1: Short e Game {-ed, -et, & -en word families}

 

*Please note: These are THE SAME games that are in my Learn to Read Bundle. If you’ve bought the bundle pack, you already have all these games!

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Because it’s been requested multiple times by readers, I’ve compiled all fourteen Just Swap 1 game boards from the Learn to Read Bundle Pack in one download*. This includes color & blackline word family game boards, single vowel game boards, mixed short vowel game boards, and letter “tiles” you can print & cut for learners.

*Reminder: These are THE SAME games that are in my Learn to Read Bundle. If you’ve bought the bundle pack, you already have all these games!

 

Enjoy!
~Becky