On the hunt for high-quality ELA games? You’ve come to the right place! The games and stories reinforce important ELA concepts and drive learning forward with colorful images, cute characters, points, and badges.
As you’re likely already aware, seeking out and identifying great ELA learning games can be a challenging prospect. Unlike math and science games when lend themselves in more obvious ways to game-based representation, designing English language arts games present a slightly more abstract challenge as learning objectives like “understanding narrative” or “comprehending character development” often introduce elements of subjectivity to the subject matter. From early literacy to learning a second language, differentiation is key to keep everyone engaged - leading to a noticeable lack of educational ELA games available in the wild.
Nevertheless, as time has gone by, many learning game developers have risen to the challenge and created ELA games across a variety of subject areas and intended age groups. Check out our list below!
- 1. Minecraft Education
- 2. Letter Quest EDU
- 3. Walden Game
- 4. Alphabear
- 5. Articulation Station
- 6. Night Zookeeper
- 7. Flocabulary
- 8. Blooket
- 9. Pictionary Air
- 10. Kahoot!
1. Minecraft Education
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Minecraft: Education Edition is undoubtedly today’s most talked about learning game – rivaled in popularity only by other game-based learning classics like The Oregon Trail and the Carmen Sandiego series. For all you ELA educators out there, you’ll be pleased to hear that MinecraftEdu offers a ton of resources to aid your existing language arts curriculum – a wide array of tools, lesson plans, and activities, many available for free on their website!
Minecraft: Education Edition is available now for PC/Mac and iPad.
If we missed any of the Best English Language Arts (ELA) Games, tell us about them!
2. Letter Quest EDU
(iPhone, iPad)
Letter Quest EDU is a satisfying turn-based word combat game aligned to Common Core standards. As players face increasingly difficult challenges, their linguistic skills are put to the test as they must defeat monsters, ghosts, and other ghoulish foes using words as their sole weapon. Letter Quest EDU was designed with elementary-aged player accessibility in mind – though players of all skill levels are sure to enjoy the mind-bending vocabulary challenges present in the game’s later levels.
Letter Quest EDU is available now for PC/Mac, Chromebooks, iPhone, iPad and Android.
3. Walden Game
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Walden, a game is a first person exploratory game about the life of American philosopher Henry David Thoreau during his experiment in self-reliant living at Walden Pond. Walden, a Game and its supplementary curriculum guide would make a memorable addition to a greater ELA study unit on Thoreau and Transcendental literature. The curriculum guide includes lessons that are appropriate for English Language Arts and other lessons that bridge the sciences and the humanities.
The game allows players of all ages to walk in Thoreau’s virtual footsteps, discover his ideas and writings, engage with historical characters such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, and experience the changing seasons of Walden Woods.
Walden Game is available now for PC/Mac.
4. Alphabear
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
A popular puzzle game from developer Spry Fox, Alphabear shares many similarities with other grid-based word games, tasking players with earning points by spelling words on a grid. Some of Alphabear's stages are more sprawling free-for-alls, perfect for when you have a longer stretch of time to kill. Some are timed, perfect for when you only have a spare minute or two. And the challenges connected to each stage change with each day of the week - the letters W, O, R, and K will never appear on Sundays, for instance. Alphabear is charming and whimsical, which is one reason it's so addictive. But it's also surprisingly deep and strategic, with lots of great twists and turns.
Alphabear is available now for iOS, Android, and PC/Mac.
5. Articulation Station
(iPhone, iPad)
Articulation Station provides you with the opportunity to record and listen to their own voices as they pronounce the letters and words in conjunction with a narrator who speaks them. As a result, you can gain self-awareness and identify their own pronunciation strengths and weaknesses.
Articulation Station is available now for iOS and Android.
6. Night Zookeeper
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Nightzookeeper.com is an online learning program that helps children with reading and writing, and unlocks their creativity.
Through gamification and competition, children are encouraged to practice their grammar, spelling and composition skills. The program offers the ability to assign pre-made lessons and assignments, as well as set customised writing tasks. Subscriptions are available for use at home and in the classroom.
7. Flocabulary
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Flocabulary is a learning platform that makes use of music and rap videos to boost students learning across different subject areas and grades. Flocabulary provides courses in arithmetic, vocabulary, language arts, social studies, science, and SEL.
Flocabulary offers various lessons and educational activities including Vocab Cards, Vocab Games, and Lyric Lab to help K-12 students master standards and build cross-curricular academic vocabulary.
8. Blooket
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Blooket is a platform where you can create your own activities or find premade options to use with your class. There are some great pre-made ELA review games if you search by grade level, but you can also find some specific sets for vocabulary and grammar. In fact, we just used a great second grade game with my own kiddo the other day so I know there are some great 2nd grade games available online.
9. Pictionary Air
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Pictionary helps kids stretch their vocabulary and think outside the box. The leader draws a picture on a whiteboard and the rest of the class has to guess the answer. You can play as one group or divide the class into teams.
Help your students learn new vocabulary words with a classroom game of Pictionary. You can divide the classroom into groups, giving more students a chance to draw or play as a class. Provide the word, then watch as your students draw and guess. Laugh and learn together while mastering new words and concepts.
10. Kahoot!
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Kahoot! Is an online interactive learning platform that allows teachers to create games for the classroom. You can use the easy and intuitive quiz builder to put together games for students to interact with from their homes.
If you don’t have the time to create a new game, Kahoot! also has plenty of ELA options ready to go. Simply find a game that matches your learning objectives and get going!
Students can earn points for the right answers as they learn about English Language Arts. You can even save Kahoots! you’ve made, so other classrooms can experience them!
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I make teaching ELA fun?
Teaching ELA can be made fun through games and activities. Games like singing alphabet songs, practicing letter tracing, figuring out the plot of a story or assigning suitable titles to a passage can engage not only linguistic skills but also social and motor skills.
What are the features of ELA Learning Games?
Learning English can be fun and easy with online games that can be played on multiple devices, such as iPad, laptop, or phone. Children can enjoy engaging and rewarding games that help them practice their English skills and earn coins to buy assets for their characters. Parents can also keep track of their child's progress and get instant notifications about their achievements. Moreover, the games can be accessed offline through apps, so that children can learn without any interruptions. Online English games are a great way to make learning a language enjoyable and effective.
What are the benefits of interactive ELA Games?
Educational ELA games can make even the most reluctant kids respond positively to gamified lessons, whether it’s about sight words or any other reading and writing skills. Incorporating English language games can help build early literacy skills in your kids. Such games are motivating and encouraging as well.
Playing games with your students will help them review ELA content, keep them engaged, and instill a sense of community during this time of distance learning. When you make something a competition, your students will hardly realize they're learning!
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