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Long e Mystery Box

Learning to read doesn’t have to be boring—and phonics games are a fantastic way to turn skill-building into a fun and memorable experience. If your students are working on the long e sound, our free "Long E Mystery Box" game is the perfect activity to help reinforce this important vowel pattern. It’s hands-on, engaging, and ideal for students in Year 1 and Year 2.

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What Is the Long E Mystery Box Game?

The Long E Mystery Box is a two-player spelling

and strategy game that helps children practise reading and spelling words with the long e sound. The game includes a variety of common phoneme spellings: e, ee, ea, ei, and e_e. Whether you're teaching in the classroom or at home, this game adds energy and excitement to your phonics lessons.

 

What You’ll Need

To play the game, print the following pages:

  • Page 2: The Mystery Box score board (one per player). You can laminate it for reuse with dry-erase markers.

  • Pages 3–10: Double-sided word cards. These contain long e words using a range of spelling patterns.

Simply print, cut out the cards, and you’re ready to play!

 

How to Play

  1. Lay out the cards face down with the picture of the Mystery Box showing.

  2. Player 1 points to a card (without flipping it over).
    Player 2 turns it over and reads the long e word aloud.

  3. Player 1 writes the word on their score board, practising spelling and handwriting.

  4. Check the spelling:

    • If it's correct, Player 1 earns 1 point.

    • If it’s incorrect, no point is awarded.

  5. Keep or discard the card:

    • Keeping the card may add or subtract points (as written on the card).

    • Discarding it avoids the risk.

  6. Switch turns and repeat the process until all cards have been used.

  7. The player with the most points at the end wins!

 

Why This Game Works

This Mystery Box game supports phonics development in multiple ways:

  • Builds phoneme awareness – Students practise identifying and using different spellings of the long e sound.

  • Improves spelling accuracy – Writing the words helps reinforce correct patterns.

  • Encourages decision-making – The "keep or discard" rule adds a layer of strategy.

  • Makes learning active and fun – It’s more than a worksheet—it’s a game!

It’s a great way to revisit long e words while keeping students motivated and involved.

 

Download the Free Long E Game

Ready to add some excitement to your phonics lesson? Download your free Long E Mystery Box Game by clicking the button below and watch your students improve their spelling skills while having fun. At Smart Boarding School, we believe phonics should be practical, engaging, and joyful. Try this game with your students and see how quickly they master those tricky vowel teams!

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