Double Sounds Dominoes is an interactive phonics game designed to help children develop phonemic awareness and understand common digraphs – two letters that combine to represent a single sound. Through matching and comparing sounds such as ‘oo’, ‘ee’, ‘ey’, ‘sh’ and ‘ch’, students explore how letter combinations work within different words. Activities can also demonstrate that the same digraph may produce different sounds, such as ‘oo’ in “moon” and “hook”, while different spellings can produce similar sounds, such as ‘ey’ in “monkey” and ‘ee’ in “bee”. With multiple ways to play, the game can support students as they progress from basic sound matching to more complex phonics and word activities.
Applications and Use
• Develop phonemic awareness by identifying and matching common digraphs.
• Explore how two letters can combine to represent a single sound.
• Compare digraphs that have the same spelling but produce different sounds in different words.
• Investigate different letter combinations that can produce similar sounds.
• Sort dominoes according to sounds, spelling patterns and phonics relationships.
• Use digraphs as prompts for creating and discussing words or sentences.
• Incorporate into literacy rotations, phonics centres, paired activities and small-group learning.
Features
• Phonics-based domino game combines literacy learning with hands-on play.
• Includes a variety of digraph examples and sound patterns.
• Supports progression from simple sound matching to more complex word associations.
• Encourages auditory discrimination, listening and sound recognition skills.
• Promotes discussion and oral language as students identify and compare sounds.
• Interactive gameplay encourages turn-taking and collaborative learning.
• Lightweight format is easy to incorporate into classroom literacy activities and store between uses.
Specifications
• Phonics Focus: Double sounds and digraphs
• Digraph Examples: ‘oo’, ‘ee’, ‘ey’, ‘sh’ and ‘ch’
• Recommended Age: 5+ years
• Recommended Use: Phonemic awareness, phonics, auditory discrimination, sound recognition and early reading activities
