Making Compound Words

Your child will put word parts together to make compound words and draw a picture of the compound words they make.

Learning Area(s): Reading and Writing

MATERIALS

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• 20 index cards, sticky notes, or pieces of paper
• pencil, crayons, markers, etc.

LET'S PLAY

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Before you play, choose 10 compound words and write each part on a card (see Tips for suggestions). You make a compound word when you put two words together to make a new word with a new meaning.

Mix up the cards. Line up the first part of the word on the left and the second part of the word on the right. Try not to have the parts that make a word next to each other. Say to your child, “We are going to use these cards to make words. I’ll show you.” Start with the card at the top left and show your child how to match the first word part to the second word part. “I have the word blue. Which word goes with blue to make a new word? Blue… store. No, that’s not it. Blue… chair. No, not that either. Blue… berry. Blueberry! These two word parts go together to make the word blueberry. Now I’m going to draw a picture of a blueberry.” 

Have your child make the other matches and, once they are finished, have them draw a picture for each compound word. If they aren’t familiar with the new word, look up a picture online for them to see.