Letter U Game

Big U, little u and the U in umbrella all come together in the Letter U Game, a sunny beach boardwalk run for preschool kids. Abby zooms along the beach while three seashells wait on the wet sand, the dry sand and the boardwalk, each with a letter or a picture in its middle. Kids tap a shell to send Abby dashing over to scoop it, or swipe her up and down to a lane and then to the right. When a child scoops a big U, the shell pops up with a sparkly splash and flies into the shell row in the sky. Abby even floats right over the sandcastles on the way! Playing the letter u game again and again helps little learners recognize the big U and the little u, tell u apart from look-alike letters like n and v, and learn that umbrella, unicorn, ukulele and unicycle all start with U.

In this letter u phonics game, Abby cheers kids on through three rounds. First they scoop the big U among letters like V, O and C, with the tip that big U is a big cup, round at the bottom and open at the top. Then they find the little u among look-alikes like n, v and o, with the tip that little u is a little cup with a straight line down on the right (little n is the same shape upside down, like a bridge). Last, they scoop the pictures that start with U and skip the sun, the crab and the boat. The letters and pictures a child mixed up come back for one more try. Abby reads every direction out loud, names each answer (“Umbrella! Umbrella starts with the letter U.”) and gives a kind hint after a wrong choice. At the end of every round, the shells fly onto a big sandcastle under a beach umbrella.

Kids build streaks of 3, 5 and 10 in a Row, chase a High Score and go for a Perfect Game, and a little crab may scuttle by to say hi. A golden shell can sparkle once a round. At the end, kids earn up to five stars.

What’s Included

• An online game that plays on any phone, tablet, Chromebook or computer
• Included with every Have Fun Teaching membership
• 12 questions in 3 rounds: Big U, Little u and U Pictures
• Voice directions read out loud for every round
• Fun sound effects and music
• A star score at the end

Skills Practiced

• Recognizing the uppercase letter U
• Recognizing the lowercase letter u
• Telling u apart from look-alike letters like n and v
• Knowing which pictures start with the letter U

Teachers and parents can keep the U fun going after the game. Make a cup with two hands to show a big U, then flip it over to see how it turns into an upside-down n. Open an umbrella and hunt for things under it, or draw a big U in the sand at the beach or in a tray of salt.

Related Resources

• Letter U Song (Animated Music Video)
• Letter Q Game
• Letter P Game
• Letter O Game