Letter Z Game

Big Z, little z and the Z in zebra all come together in the Letter Z Game, a zipline ride over a cozy yarn-craft zoo for preschool kids. Sunny cheers kids on as the zipline zooms past the zoo gate, the monkey trees and the zebra field. Balloons, kites and bubbles float by, and kids tap the right one to catch it. Zip! It zooms over to Sunny, who pops the balloon or catches the kite, and the catch drops into the collection row. Playing the letter z game again and again helps little learners recognize the big Z and the little z, tell z apart from look-alike letters like N, S, s and x, and hear that zebra, zipper and zucchini all start with Z.

In this letter z phonics game, kids play four rounds. First they catch the balloons with the big Z among letters like N, S and E, with the tip that big Z is a zigzag: a line on top, a slant down, and a line on the bottom. Then they catch the kites with the little z among look-alikes like s, n and x, with the tip that little z is a small zigzag. Next they catch the pictures that start with Z, like zebra, zipper and zucchini. The letters and pictures a child mixed up come back for one more try. Sunny reads every direction out loud, names each answer (“Zebra! Zebra starts with the letter Z.”) and gives a kind hint after a wrong choice.

Then comes the bonus round: Bomzy lets out ten Bomzies, one at a time! Kids tap each Bomzie to zap it with a fizzy zigzag zap, and poof, it’s gone. The sign counts down to zero, and zero starts with Z too. Bomzy and Sunny joke the whole time, and when the last Bomzie is zapped, Bomzy gives up and gets invited for a zipline ride. Kids build streaks of 3, 5 and 10 in a Row, chase a High Score and go for a Perfect Game, and a golden star coin 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
• 9 questions in 4 rounds: Big Z, Little z, Z Pictures and a Bonus Round
• 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 Z
• Recognizing the lowercase letter z
• Telling z apart from look-alike letters like N, S, s and x
• Hearing the Z sound at the start of words

Teachers and parents can keep the Z fun going after the game. Zigzag across the room like a zipline, buzz like a bee to say the /z/ sound, and draw a big Z in the air: a line on top, a slant down, and a line on the bottom. Count down from ten to zero together and shout “Zero!”

Related Resources

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