Build and Write: Word Mapping Activity

One of the fundamental skills that young learners need to master is the connection between sounds and letters. Here’s a fun and engaging word-mapping activity called Build and Write you could use today! 

What is Build and Write?

Build and Write is designed to take students through a step-by-step process that helps them internalize the connection between sounds and letters. Here’s a breakdown of the activity:

1. Say the word on the picture card: Each session begins by presenting students with a picture card featuring a specific word. The teacher or facilitator prompts the students to say the word out loud, emphasizing its sounds.
2. Tap It and Map It: To reinforce the connection between sounds and letters, students tap or use an object to represent each sound they hear in the word. This physical interaction helps them solidify their understanding of phonemes.
3. Graph It: After tapping and mapping the sounds, students move on to the next step: graphing. They write down the letters corresponding to each sound they identified using magnetic letters or any other writing tool. This exercise allows them to connect the graphemes to the phonemes visually.
4. Blend and Write: In this final step, students combine the individual sounds to form the whole word. As they do this, they say each letter aloud, reinforcing their understanding of the correspondence between sounds and letters. Simultaneously, they write the word using the graphemes they just identified.

Get Build and Write

Build and Write covers a wide range of word types, ensuring comprehensive practice for students. The resource contains the following word categories:

• CVC Words: Consonant-Vowel-Consonant words like “cat” or “dog.”
• Long Vowel CVCe: Words with a long vowel sound followed by a consonant and a silent “e,” like “cake” or “bike.”
• Blends: Words that contain consonant blends, where two or more consonants appear together but can still be differentiated, such as “splash” or “blimp.”
• Digraphs: Words with consonant digraphs, where two consonants come together to represent a single sound, such as “ship” or “thick.”
• R-Controlled Vowels: Words with vowels followed by an “r” that affects the sound, like “car” or “bird.”
• Vowel Teams: Words with two vowels that work together to produce a single sound, such as “rain” or “goat.”
• Diphthongs: Words with vowel combinations where the sounds glide together, like “coin” or “boy.”

Build and Write includes 270 picture cards covering various word types to facilitate comprehensive practice. You can use this activity during small groups, literacy centers, or morning work. Each card also features an upside-down key in the upper right corner, providing a quick reference for teachers and students.

Build and Write is an engaging and effective word mapping activity that helps students connect phonemes to graphemes. What literacy activities are you using in your classroom? Let me know in the comments section. 

Happy Teaching,

Tee