This I Spy Game is part of the HUGE I Spy Literacy Board Game Bundle: 35 Literacy I Spy Games

• 10 colorful I Spy game boards filled with engaging illustrations that highlight -R controlled vowel words.
• 40 picture/word cards featuring words like yarn, farm, germ, circle, north, and turtle for repeated phonics and vocabulary practice.
• 20 star tokens for competitive or cooperative play options.
• Step-by-step directions for I Spy “Flip” gameplay that make it easy for teachers, parents, or therapists to get started right away.
• Low-prep format – just print, laminate, cut, and you’re ready for hours of engaging phonics fun!

• -R Controlled Vowel Recognition – Students practice connecting tricky r-controlled sounds with images and words for better decoding.
• Phonemic Awareness & Sound Isolation – Learners build the ability to hear, say, and identify the /ar/, /er/, /ir/, /or/, and /ur/ sounds in different word positions.
• Vocabulary Development – With words like farm, scarf, burger, circle, and north, students expand their vocabulary while linking words to visual images.
• Visual Discrimination & Scanning – Kids sharpen attention to detail by searching busy game boards for target words.
• Reading Fluency Support – Quick gameplay gives students multiple chances to connect sounds to symbols, reinforcing decoding and confidence.

• Turn-Taking & Sportsmanship – Children practice waiting, cheering for peers, and celebrating wins together.
• Expressive Language Growth – Naming and describing the -R controlled vowel words encourages natural speech practice.
• Flexible Play Options – Can be played independently, cooperatively, or competitively to meet the needs of every learner.

1. Choose a game board – Select one of the bright and colorful I Spy boards featuring -R controlled vowel words such as farm, shark, germ, and circle. Place the board in the center where all players can clearly see it. This makes it easy to use in literacy centers, speech therapy sessions, or small groups.
2. Deal the image cards face down – Shuffle the 40 -R controlled vowel picture cards and deal them into even stacks for each player. For larger groups, place the cards in a shared draw pile. This step reinforces organization, fine motor skills, and cooperative play.
3. Flip and find the match – All players flip over their top card at the same time. The race begins as students scan the busy game board to locate the matching image. This step strengthens visual discrimination, vocabulary recognition, and phonics decoding of -R controlled vowel words.
4. Win a token for correct answers – The first player to spot the correct match collects a star token or keeps the card as a point. This part of the game helps children practice focus, quick thinking, and articulation goals as they name and pronounce each word.
5. Repeat until all cards are used – Continue flipping cards, finding matches, and collecting tokens until the deck is finished. The player with the most tokens at the end is declared the winner. This repeated practice provides multiple exposures to -R controlled vowel patterns, which is key for building fluency and confidence.

• This setup encourages focus, self-monitoring, and independent phonics practice.
• It’s perfect for literacy centers, homeschool routines, or early finishers who need a screen-free way to keep practicing.
• Independent play builds confidence with -R controlled vowel recognition, vocabulary development, and visual scanning skills without requiring competition.

• This format supports parallel play skills, cooperative learning, and peer modeling.
• It works beautifully in speech therapy, small group intervention, or ELL support settings, where some students may need personal space or a slower pace.
• Parallel play ensures every child has repeated exposure to -R controlled vowel sounds like ar, er, ir, or, and ur while practicing phonics decoding and articulation goals at their own level.

• Speech Therapy & Articulation Goals – This I Spy board game is an engaging way for students to practice producing clear -R controlled vowel sounds in words like farm, germ, and circle. The repeated opportunities for articulation help children meet speech therapy goals while playing a game they love.
• Occupational Therapy Sessions – Use the cards, boards, and tokens to support fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and visual scanning practice. Flipping cards, pointing to matches, and collecting tokens make this game a great fit for OT centers and small group interventions.
• Literacy Centers & Small Groups – Add this activity to your phonics centers, reading intervention groups, or small group rotations. The fast-paced play reinforces phonics decoding, vocabulary, and visual discrimination while keeping kids motivated and on-task.
• ELL/ESL Vocabulary Building – The colorful images paired with -R controlled words provide strong visual supports for English Language Learners. Students can connect pictures to new vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and gain confidence in academic language and phonics skills.
• Homeschool Learning – Easy to prep and reuse, this I Spy game is perfect for homeschool literacy lessons. It adds hands-on play to phonics practice, making it a helpful tool for phonics instruction, reading fluency, and family game learning at home.
• Early Finishers or Indoor Recess – Keep early finishers engaged with a meaningful, screen-free literacy activity that feels like play. It also works wonderfully for indoor recess, quiet time, or rainy day fun, ensuring kids continue practicing phonics and vocabulary without extra worksheets.

• RF.K.2d – Isolate and pronounce initial, medial, and final sounds (phonemes).
• RF.1.3a – Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs and r-controlled vowels.
• SL.K.1a – Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners.