PHONICS ACTIVITIES FOR LITERACY CENTERS

Build and Write Phonics Cards

Do you need hands-on phonics activities that students can complete independently and develops their foundational skills AND meet their instructional needs? Well, I have the perfect small group activity for you!

Build and Write: Phonics Cards is a hands-on, phonics activity for students that are learning phonics or need remediation in decoding. These hands-on activities will get your student practicing these skills.

What are foundational skills?

Foundational skills are skills that students need to foster their understanding of print, phonological awareness, and word recognition. Foundational skills are usually exclusively taught in kindergarten and first grade while some students in upper grades may need instruction in these skills as well.

The reason why we teach foundational skills is to increase students’ abilities to recognize and identify written words. When students learn how to decode words that follow a spelling pattern, consonant digraphs, distinguish between long and short vowels, they use this knowledge to help them read instructional level and complex texts. Foundational skills lay the groundwork for students to be independent readers and develop their language skills.

How do I teach foundational skills?

Research tells us that students need systematic, explicit phonics instruction based on research. Students benefit from scope and sequence for learning phonics skills and need many opportunities to practice their newly acquired skills.

These skills should not only be taught in isolation, they need to develop these skills with fiction and non-fiction text, a combination of instructional leveled text, decodable readers, and text that students like to read for enjoyment. Use the text to instruct students on letter-sounds relationships.
Teach students how to rime. Yes, rime! Help students become familiar with spelling patterns and see chunks of words (chunky monkey, anyone?) by playing games and using instructional leveled text.
Write – Students make connections (and will remember) letter-sound combinations when they write it in a sentence.

Build and Write Cards

Build and Write is a great center activity to compliment what you are doing with your students during small group instruction. What I love about Build and Write is 1) it’s hands-on 2) they get extra practice working on the skills that you need them to practice 3) you can easily switch out the task based on their instructional needs and don’t have to teach them how to play a new game.

How to Use

This activity is simple to use. Pick a card, put it on the mat, use magnetic letter(s) to show the missing sound, and write the word. Pick another card and repeat. Viola!

Beginning and Ending Sounds

There are many ways to teach students how to use Build and Write. You can have them use a dry erase marker and write the missing letters, use magnetic letters only or use the phonics mat included.