For your convenience, we have grouped the games into common categories:
1. Alef-Yud 2. Alef-Tav 3. Brother Letters (dot letters) 4. Look-Alikes 5. Final letters (sofis)
Note: Most games are adaptable – you may change the letters as needed.
1. Letters Alef-Yud
Treasure Hunt א־י (Smartboard)
Find the treasure behind the the letter! Move the letters to find the treasure hidden behind. Letters must be moved in order or else they swim back! This Smartboard game is great for reviewing letters Alef through Yud and their alphabetic placement.
Beehive Dive א־י
(Smartboard)
Bring two matching letter bees to meet at the flowers. If you are correct and they match, they will dive together into the beehive! This Smartboard game is good Alef-Yud practice, matching the shapes and naming the letters.
Letter Blast-Off! א־י (Smartboard)
Guess the letters behind each card and then blast off into the rocketships! This is a tried and true game, designed with help by a four year old. It encourages visual memory along with letter review. With lots of special effects, this Smartboard game can engage even the most difficult child. Play it and see for yourself!
Fishing Fun (Smartboard or pdf)
Two games in one: Have fun fishing for letters Aleph through Yud, swimming in the water. (They are not revealed. They must be discovered.) Name them as you find them. Then match them to their letter friends playing in the sand.
Smartboard Click to Download
2. Letters Alef-Tav
Letter Chutes & Ladders
Vrooom!!!
Ziggawat is taking some letters for a ride – can you figure out which ones? Look carefully – letter parts can be seen through the windows. “Vroom!” the car quickly to see the full letter. A great, fun exercise for visual discrimination and review. (Letters are changeable)
Smartboard Click to Download
Color-in Connect Four
A fun Alef Beis game that has the players coloring in the circles to connect four in a row. Includes 2 playing boards, with letters in and out of order. Great for review! (Tip: Use with sheet protector and dry erase markers for repeated use.)
Munch 'n Match
Involve all your senses as you place pretzel sticks over the stick figure letters and find their printed match. Then munch!
Color Click to Download
Black & White Click to Download
Letter Double Trouble
The letters appear d
ouble… don’t let them cause trouble! Move all your pieces from “start” to “home” as you review the Alef Beis letters in this popular children’s game.
Color Click to Download
Black and White Click to Download
Sound Match Concert (Smartboard)
It’s music time! Create your own concert by matching the letters that look different yet make the same sound. This Smartboard game requires some thinking, but it is quite motivating and fun to play!
Morah Devorah's Games (Smartboard)
Thank you, Morah Devorah, for contributing these Smartboard games; Four fun and creative ways to review the Alef Beis (may adapt as needed)
1) Pop the balloon
2) Spin the wheel
3) Sort and eat
4)Uncover the mystery
Caterpillar Filler (Smartboard or pdf)
Printable version: Help fill the caterpillar’s missing letters by drawing a line from the flying letters to their caterpillar spot.
Knowing the order of the Alef Beis letters is important for several reasons including finding the place in your chumash, siddur, tehillim…
Smartboard version: Find the letters hiding in the butterfly wings, and bring the letters to their correct spots. Then enjoy a transformation suprise!
Smartboard Click to Download
3. Brother Letters (Dot)
Lollypop Twins
Search for the twin brother letters, naming them as you go along. In the Smartboard version, letters are revealed when player selects a lolly. In the printable version, you can use coins or dry erase markers to hide and then discover the letters.
Smartboard Click to Download
Candy Train (Smartboard or pdf)
The sweet candies are covering something even sweeter: Alef Beis letters! Try to find the hiding letters and match them to the train. Watch out for the tricky look alikes! Available for interactive experience in Smartboard or pdf printable version.
Smartboard Click to Download
Swimming Brothers (Smartboard)
Help the brothers find each other! Each dot letter needs to be paired with its “brother letter” in order to swim into the aquarium. This Smartboard game is great for reviewing the Beis/Veis, Kaf/Chaf, Pey/Fey, Taf/Sav and Shin/Sin.
Baseball Brother Games (Smartboard)
Run around the bases hitting the dots out of the letters as you go along. Try to guess who is the real dot letter and who is the brother. Then hit the ball to see if you were right! This Smartboard activity contains four separate games for Kaf/Chaf, Beis/Veis, and Tav/Sav and Pey/Fey.
Kaf Candy Catcher (Smartboard)
Kaf lost his candy and looks like his brother Chaf.! Help find the true Kaf by giving him a candy. Watch out! Don’t give the candy to Chaf – he’s allergic. If you give the candy correctly to Kaf, he will keep it. If the letter is really Chaf, he will spit the candy out. When done, call out the twins’ real names!
4. Look-Alikes
Tzaddi Ayin Sort (Smartboard)
Send the baby letters back to their parents homes. If you send them to the wrong home, they will send them back! Thank you Morah Devorah for this game.
Samach Mem-Sofis Tic-Tac-Toe (pdf)
Play tic-tac-toe with a twist. Use this colorful board to complete letters as a Samach or a Mem Sofis to play your moves. Get three in a row of your letter and win!
Mem Tes Moo (Smartboard)
Moo-ve the Mem into his barn and listen to the delighted cow “moo!” Send Tes into his cave and hear him slide into the sand! A fun way to sort the letters. (Pictures are from the Ziggawat Alef Beis book collection.)
Snip the Samach (Smartboard)
Spin the dice to find your Mem Sofis challenge. Select your letters and then click on the corner to check if you’re right (the corner will appear to reveal if it is a Samach or Mem Sofis.) Score a point for each correct find!
Butterfly Garden (Smartboard or pdf)
These butterflies flap their wings as you fly them to find their matching flowers. Watch out for the tricky look-alikes! Get them all done and enjoy a sparkly surprise! Printable version is prettily designed as a draw- and-match activity.
Smartboard Click to Download
5. Final Letters (Sofis)
Ziggleland! (final letters)
Sofis Match and Change (Smartboard)
Watch the letters transform shapes before your very eyes! Draw lines to match each letter with its Sofis shape then watch the transformation to check if your correct. Fun bonus: Monkey and Elephant change their shape too!
Guess and Squirt! (Smartboard)
Call out each letter’s name before Ziggawat squirts out the flame! Children have to look carefully at the letter parts peeking out, to guess the correct letter. This Smartboard game is great for reviewing the final letters, and visual detail focus.
Guess and Squirt! (pdf)
For those who like old fashioned paper and crayon activities, here is a printable pdf version of the Guess and Squirt game. It includes two variations encouraging fine motor skills as well!
I came on to the site to say THANK YOU for posting the illustrations for the stories I have been reading to my girls, when I noticed that there’s even more activities that were uploaded on the site! I have already told all the parents in my class to check out ziggawat.com. I can’t wait for them to see all the exciting activities they have at their fingertips!
Thanks again. I will continue to check out your site regularly! Can you email me when new activities are uploaded?
Morah Esti
My pleasure! We’re trying to post a few activities daily during this “roll-out month” Some new additions will be displayed on the front page in the “latest material” section. Enjoy!
I love the games! is it possible to post the tzadi sofis mini book? I did not see it. thank you
Rivky
Thank you so much for creating this excellent resource! I am a special educator struggling to engage my students over zoom so they stick around long enough to review and hopefully learn something new. I found that using smart board games are an excellent way to engage my students which is why I was so excited to find materials and ideas that I can tailor for my students’ needs. You wrote in your terms that materials cannot be altered, does this apply for smart board games. Would you be okay with me switching the letters in your games with letters that are applicable to my students’ needs? Also, I created some smart board games that I would love to share with others. Would there be a way for me to send them to you so that you can see them and maybe post on your site for other educators?
Hello Devorah,
I am so glad to hear that the smartboard games are helping you and your students. Thank you for both reading the terms and for reaching out to ask, as I really want the material to be maximized. I’d love to team up with you to help others – e-mail me directly, attention Ahuvi: info@Ziggawat.com. Ahuvi W
Thank you for the interactive resources that my students just love! I’m always looking for fun and different ways to review the aleph bais and this website has great things to offer. My students especially love the Color in Connect Four game and never seem to tire of it.
You’re welcome! It makes me so happy to hear when others are enjoying it! Thanks for letting me know!
My student enjoyed the “VROOOM” game very much! He really got into trying to figure out the hidden letters and then had fun making the “vroom” sound as the cars disappeared. Looking forward to trying out all the other games!!!
Thank you so much, Ahuvi, for your dedication, devotion, passion and love towards helping children learn to read and for sharing your years and hours of creativity, insight, and experience with us all. May HKB”H grant you the ability to accomplish your goal of reaching and teaching so many more children with your tremendous talents, kochos, creativity, experience, and perseverence. Bracha v’hatzlacha b’chol ma’asei yadayich!!! -Malka S.
Hi Malka, Thank you so much for your warm Bracha! Amein – v’hamevaraches tisbarech!