eigh Sound Words Christmas Game – FREE Printable Phonics FUN!

This week we have dived into the vowel team with eigh sound words. And with Christmas right around the corner, I knew we needed a fun, educational Christmas game to work on our new eigh words. I hope you enjoy this free printable vowel team game as much as my first graders have.

eigh sound words

So what is the “eigh” vowel team?

• In English words, the “eigh” letter combination often makes the “long a” sound, which sounds like the “ay” in words like “say,” “play,” or “day.”

However, it’s important to note that English is not a strictly phonetic language, and there are exceptions to pronunciation rules. The “eigh” pattern can have variations, and in some words, it might be pronounced differently, such as:

• “eight”: In this case, “eigh” makes the long “a” sound.
• “neigh”: Here, the “eigh” also produces the long “a” sound.

But here is an example where the “eigh” does not make the “long a” sound.

• “height”: In this word, “eigh” creates the “long i” sound.

Why Learn the “eigh” sound:

You may be wondering why we should take the time to teach a vowel team that isn’t used as often as some of the others.

Here are two reasons why.

1. Spelling Proficiency: Knowledge of vowel teams aids in spelling words correctly. It allows learners to recognize and remember how particular sounds are represented by various vowel combinations when writing words. And when our students practice reading and spelling words that have that vowel team they will know when to use the particular patterns.
2. Language Fluency: Understanding vowel teams contributes to overall language fluency. It assists individuals in speaking, reading, and writing English more proficiently by correctly using vowel combinations to produce accurate sounds and spell words.

eigh phonics

This game is a print-and-go game:

1. First, print off the game board that fits the level of your student.
2. Then, gather up game pieces and a die.

You are ready to go.

eigh sound

Players take turns in clockwise order.

1. Starting: Each player starts at square 1.
2. Roll: The player rolls the die and moves their game piece the number of squares shown on the dice. They read the word they land on.
3. Chimney: If a player lands on a square at the bottom of a chimney, they move their game piece to the top of the chimney, which is a picture of a Christmas item.
4. Coal: If a player lands on a square with a piece of coal, they must move their game piece down the chimney. They then read the word at the bottom of the chimney.
5. Turns: Players take turns rolling the die or spinning and moving their tokens until someone reaches the last square.

I hope your child enjoys this little Christmas game to work on the vowel team “eigh”.