FREE Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Card Game

and The Virtual Book Club for Kids Blog Hop

There are way too many wonderful Bill Martin Jr. books out there and it was so hard to choose just one book to focus on for this month’s VCB for Kids! But, after reading almost all the them, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, remains our very favorite and the one that seems to call to me, “Read me! Read me!” So, I had to choose it. I decided to go a bit of a different route with the book. Instead of coming up with a craft as I have done in the past, I used the book as an inspiration for a card game that can be played numerous ways. I had so much fun re-creating the images from the book and am pretty proud of the end result. 🙂

A told B and B told C I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Card Game

The first step is to prepare the cards for the game. The image below shows the front and back of the cards. To make the cards, print out them templates below (simply click on the image to download) and glue them back to back. I found that trimming the edges from each page and gluing them together (back to back) was best. Repeat with the second set of alphabet cards (not shown). Cut along the lines and allow to dry. You now have a complete set of cards.

A few ideas: Laminate or cover cards with contact paper for durability. Try putting magnetic tape on the back and hang them on the fridge.

The second piece that needs to be assembled is the tree playing mat. Again, click the image above to download, print then glue the two pieces together as shown below.

How to Use the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Cards

As I said before, there are numerous ways to use these cards. Here are a handful of ways we tried.

Note: For some of these activities, you may want to have a second set of cards ready to go.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, the Story

Use the letters and the board to recreate the story.

Letter Recognition/Letter Sounds/ABC Order

Use the cards to practice recognizing and naming the letters of the alphabet. Cards can be placed face down and flipped over or picked from a pile. Letter sounds can also be practiced this way. Use the letter cards to practice putting the letters in alphabetical order.

Vowel and Consonant Sort

Use the letter cards to sort vowels and consonants. For more information about how to do this, see our post: Teaching Vowels and Consonants to Children

Letter Structure Sorts

Sort letters by their features. In the photo below, letters have been sorted by those with ascenders and those with descenders.

Word Families

Use the cards to create word families featuring different short vowel sounds. Try changing only the first letter of the word to create other words. Also try changing the last letter of the word as well.

Sight Words

Practice reading and creating sight words.

Scrabble

Play Scrabble with the letters.

Other ideas:

Play Memory, Go Fish or Old Maid with two sets of cards.

Use the cards to create and extend patterns.

Practice spelling your child’s name or spelling words.

Create nonsense words and have a good laugh!

How will you use your Chicka Chicka Boom Boom cards?

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Do you have a Bill Martin Jr. post or craft that you have completed for the September edition of the Virtual Book Club for Kids? If you do, please share using the linky below. You can also share on the VBC for Kids’ Facebook Page.

Next Month: Nick Sharratt

Can’t wait to see what you have to share!

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