With so many digital games available, there are many that can be useful for student learning. While I don't want to promote more screen time than many kids already have, there is a time and a place for it. Many of the games you'll find on this list will work for early finishers, homework, or stations. Some are even good to use as everyday activities to warm up at the beginning of class. No matter how you chose to implement these, they will engage students.
1. Sight Word Bingo
ABCya is a favorite educational site for kids and this game is a blast. It uses Dolce sight words, kids have to find the words on their bingo board and then get 5 in a row! Who doesn't love Bingo?
Learn More: ABCYA
2. Sight Word Smash
Listen for the words then smash the blocks. If you get it wrong, then another block is added to the top. Once it hits the top, the game ends. I can see one engrossing kid to the point that they'd forget it is educational.
Learn More: Room Recess
3. Sight Word Memory
Memory games have been around for decades, so this online game is a no-brainer for sight words. I remember playing memory when I was a kid, which proves that it's an effective game for kids to play as well.
Learn More: Cookie
4. Kitten Hop
Cute kittens help school-age children learn their Dolce sight words. Race against other kittens by identifying the words said aloud. That sounds like fun to me. It is so important for kids to have a time limit when practicing their sight words, once they know enough of them.
Learn More: Arcademics
5. Online Boggle
Boggle is a great spelling adventure for school-age children and this online version makes it even better. It eliminates the noise and saves paper for your responses, as well as checks to make sure that the words you create are usable all in one spot.
Learn More: Classroom Boggle
6. Digital I Spy
I Spy, an old-fashioned word game, gone digital. Learning sight words gives kids confidence and makes them feel like they can read. This game does just that and it's done in a way that makes kids feel like it's not learning at all.
Learn More: I Teach Too
7. Word Crush
This game is created using Google Slides or Powerpoint, making it perfect for virtual learning. It's a standards-based game that helps kids practice phonics and can be customized to what skills you are currently working on.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
8. Vowel Teams
Google Slides or Seesaw can be used for this game. Kids have to fill in the missing vowel teams to finish the words. I love this game idea for young kids and it's s a great curriculum-aligned activity.
Learn More: Fun Learning For Kids
9. Digital Phonics
Here's a free bundle that includes CVC, long a, long e, long i, long o, long u, l-blends, r-blends, s-blends, digraphs, trigraphs, r-controlled, & diphthongs! Phonics are overlooked at times, so this game is the perfect way to get kids practicing.
Learn More: Simply Creative Teaching
10. Wordsmith
I love playing this type of game. Kids are given 3 letters to start and make as many words as they can. It only goes up to 5 letters and is presented in a kid-friendly format. It can be a challenging game for some, but tons of fun anyway.
Learn More: Poki
11. Word Ladder
Honestly, I didn't know what this game was, so I played it for a few minutes and it's great. There are different levels based on grade, the words are missing 1 letter each, and have a picture clue next to them. When you get the correct word, it reads it aloud as well. It's a great way to reinforce rhyming words and word families.
Learn More: Turtle Diary
12. Princess Pesto's Spectacular Spelling Play
Kids who love Super Why will love this game. It builds phonemic awareness skills, using uppercase and lowercase letters. Princess Pesto tells them a letter sound to look for and they have to click on the correct sound. The graphics aren't too flashy, but enough to grab the attention of little kids.
Learn More: PBS Kids
13. Reading Eggs
A free app that is a complete learn-to-read program. The lessons are based on the child's ability level and grow with them, similar to ABC Mouse, but it's made for ages 2-13. There are in-app purchases, so don't forget those passwords for purchases.
Learn More: Educational App Store
14. Outspell
Online Scrabble game that has different levels of play. Place your word on the game board and see what your opponent adds. While this game isn't providing specific instruction, it does help with spelling and problem-solving skills.
Learn More: Mind Games
15. Grammar Gladiator
Battle your way through punctuation, conjunctions, homophones, articles, and verb tenses. It took me a minute to understand what to do in this game, but once I did, it was fun. It's good for school-age children.
Learn More: Room Recess
16. Word Unscramble
Made for grades 1-5, this online game is easy to play, but really can make kids think. All they have to do is unscramble the words, however, it gets harder as they go. The dancing penguin is cute too.
Learn More: Turtle Diary
17. Aim 2 Spell
Vocabulary City is one of my favorite educational game sites. In this game, kids will hear a word and see a sentence with it missing. Once they know what it is, they aim the cat at the mice and shoot the letters they need.
Learn More: Spelling City
18. Make Your Own Wordle
With Wordle being so popular, this is amazing. You can either put in your own word for kids or they can play with a random one. When they are answering, it works the same way as the classic game. I would use this as an everyday activity, maybe as a warm-up.
Learn More: My Wordle Strive Math
19. Knoword
This online vocabulary game is tons of fun. You can play on your own or as a class to compete against one another, similar to Kahoot! This is a challenging game that can be used by middle or high school students. It can very easily be a standards-based game, as teachers can create their own set of questions as well.
Learn More: Play Knoword
20. Spelling Training
For this game, you can choose from a themed word list or enter your own. There's a collection of games on the site that kids can play, all of which are going to reinforce the spelling of the assigned words. It even allows for you to import the words, making it simple to use and a spelling adventure for students.
Learn More: Spelling Training
21. Compound Word Game
Children are asked to drag and drop the two words that make up a compound word. The voice used has a Southern accent, which may trip up some kids from time to time, but it's good to hear a different type of voice represented. It's not the most flashy game, but it does the trick.
Learn More: Tiny Tap
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