• Four Square
Skill Application: Initial blends (Contractions sh, ch, st, th, wh)
Object: To be able to name words that start with initial blends.

Materials:

• Mat board or paper divided into 4 sections (2 on top and 2 on bottom)
• Initial blend contraction cards
• Die

To Play:

• Place a contraction card in each space on the board
• The player drops the die on the paper and reads the contraction in the square that the die has landed in.
• The player must tell the letters that the contraction stands for, say the sound(s) the letters make, and use them in words. (For example, “t-h, sounds like “th”, like in the words thank, think, thought”) The number of words is determined by the number rolled on the die.
• If there is a rule for using the contraction, that can be encouraged as well. (For example, ea can only be used in the middle of a word.)
• Cards can be moved and replaced as desired.