Letter I Game: I is for Iguana {Free Printable}

Here’s a fun way to help preschoolers recognize the letter I and remember the short /i/ sound – with a cute I is for Iguana game!

Iguanas are one of my favorite letter I words for teaching little ones. It turns out that iguanas are interesting – so you’ll have their attention!

Letter I Game

This is a pretty simple game. You can play it in a small group, or let children play individually.

Preparation

First, you can grab the free printable from the end of this post. For durability, you may like to either print the card pages on cardstock or plan to laminate them. Then, cut apart all the cards and grab some game pawns (mini erasers are perfect), and a dot marker – preferably a green one.

How to Play

You can play this letter I game in several ways.

Sort & Dot

This is the easiest way to play. You will use only the cards and recording sheet for this version:

1. Shuffle the animal picture cards and lay the deck face down.
2. Then, draw one card at a time. If it has an iguana on it, determine whether it has a capital I or a lowercase i in the corner.
3. Then, on the worksheet, dot the corresponding letter I or i.
4. Continue turning over cards one at a time until all the cards have been used.

If playing with multiple children, the winner is whoever turns over the most iguana cards.

Concentration

You can also use only the cards and worksheet to play Concentration (a.k.a. Memory):

1. Shuffle the animal picture cards and lay them out face down in a grid.
2. Turn over 2 cards at a time. If they are a match, keep those cards. If they are not a match, turn them back face down (but try to remember them).
3. Whenever you match a pair of iguanas, dot an uppercase I and a lowercase i on the worksheet. (You will be able to play the game several times to fill up the entire worksheet.)
4. The game is over when you have matched all the cards.

Board Game -Easy Version

This version is just right for children who are just learning their letters and therefore don’t know the letters for the other animal cards (a, c, e, f, g, o).

1. Shuffle the animal picture cards and lay the deck face down next to the game board.
2. Draw a card and move to the first place that animal appears.
3. If you draw an Iguana card, move to the next Iguana space and then follow the dotted line shortcut to the Octopus or Fox space. Then, on the recording sheet, dot an uppercase I and a lowercase i.
4. Continue to play until you reach the end. You must draw an Iguana card at the end to finish the game.

Board Game – More Challenging Version

Children who are already familiar with the letter sounds for all the letters in the game (a, c, e, f, g, i, o) can play this more challenging version.

1. Shuffle the leafy letter cards and lay the deck face down next to the game board.
2. Draw a card and move to the first place the animal with that letter’s initial sound appears. (i.e. if you draw an F you will move to the first fox space)
3. If you draw an I card, move to the next Iguana space and then follow the dotted line shortcut to the Octopus or Fox space. Then, on the recording sheet, dot an uppercase I and a lowercase i.
4. Continue to play until you reach the end. You must draw a letter I or i card at the end to finish the game.

You could also mix the card decks and use the iguana picture cards in place of the plain letter cards.

Download the Letter I Game

Ready for the free printable “I Want an Iguana” Letter I Game?

To get your very own copy, you can sign up right here:

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Happy Teaching!

-Heather