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2024 PaTTAN Literacy Symposium: SORing Into Structured Literacy

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The 2024 PaTTAN Literacy Symposium will provide educators in all capacities with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and skills pertaining to evidence-...

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Welcome to the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI, pronounced "you fly"). UFLI is an ongoing effort by UF faculty, students, and staff to improve literacy outcomes for children learning to read.

The work of UFLI focuses on two main areas: teacher development and reader development. The place where those two overlap ... that is where the work of UFLI lives. Our programs and resources are designed to help teachers become more confident and more successful in their capacity to help kids learn to read. We do this through:

Academic programs for both pre-service and practicing educators to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to be effective reading teachers

Professional learning opportunities to help classroom reading teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders expand their knowledge, enhance their teaching practices, and build capacity in their schools

Resources for teachers, parents, and teacher educators to use in their reading instruction

Much, much more!

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UF Literacy Institute | Where teacher development and reader development overlap

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Welcome to the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI, pronounced "you fly"). UFLI is an ongoing effort by UF faculty, students, and staff to improve literacy outcomes for children learning to read. The work of UFLI focuses on two main areas: teacher development and reader development. The place where those two overlap ...

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Heggerty’s free assessments are grounded in the Science of Reading and provide teachers and administrators with the information they need to help all students become strong readers.

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The PAST can be downloaded above. Please also download and carefully read the instructions before using. Information can also be found in the manual “Equipped for Reading Success” by David A. Kilpatrick, Ph.D in chapter 11 on how to effectively use the test. Make sure to also practice using the test before using it with […]

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Advanced Spelling Screener Composite Sheet

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Advanced Spelling Screener Composite Sheet

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Advanced Spelling Screener Score Sheet 3+

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Advanced Spelling Screener Score Sheet 3+

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Developing and sharing resources is at the heart of what UFLI does. Teachers, parents, school leaders, teacher educators ... there is something here for everyone. Take a spin through our resource hubs, explore our digital word work apps, and catch up on UFLI webinars.

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Developing and sharing resources is at the heart of what UFLI does. Teachers, parents, school leaders, teacher educators ... there is something here for everyone. Take a spin through our resource hubs, explore our digital word work apps, and catch up on UFLI webinars.

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Tap it! Map it! Write it! Zap it! Chain it!

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Tap it! Map it! Write it! Zap it! Chain it!

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Tap It Map It Zap It Chain It- PaTTAN_221123_110504.pdf

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How to Use Systematic Phonics Instruction in Your Classroom

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How to Use Systematic Phonics Instruction in Your Classroom

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These routines are useful when students are struggling with a Phonological or Phonemic Skill. Each skill is scripted to provide students more support in acquiring the skill.  Once the skill is acquired, continue to use the routine with different words. 

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These routines are useful when students are struggling with a Phonological or Phonemic Skill. Each skill is scripted to provide students more support in acquiring the skill.  Once the skill is acquired, continue to use the routine with different words. 

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Read below for information regarding where to start instruction. 

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Read below for information regarding where to start instruction. 

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When students are showing a deficit in Phonological or Phonemic Awareness, locate the deficit skill on this continuum. One example of a deficit is students may struggle with First Sound Fluency. That skills is under the category of Identifying Onsets (beginning sounds), # 3 Isolating onset phoneme (initial sound) in spoken words. To help students master the skill, we may need to work backwards on this continuum. Instead of a single word with the same initial sound, try providing two words with same initial sound (#2) or a set of words with the same syllable (#1). If students are not successful with that support, move back to the Rhyming category.

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These routines are useful when students are struggling with a Phonological or Phonemic Skill. Each skill is scripted to provide students more support in acquiring the skill.  Once the skill is acquired, continue to use the routine with different words. 

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These routines are useful when students are struggling with a Phonological or Phonemic Skill. Each skill is scripted to provide students more support in acquiring the skill.  Once the skill is acquired, continue to use the routine with different words. 

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Tap it! Map it! Write it! Zap it! Chain it!

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Tap it! Map it! Write it! Zap it! Chain it!

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Tap It Map It Zap It Chain It- PaTTAN_221123_110504.pdf

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Sound Spelling Card Introduction Routine

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Sound Spelling Card Introduction Routine

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Edtomorrow- Supporting Today's Educators through Restorative Practices PD

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Sign Up for the First Five - Edtomorrow- Supporting Today's Educators through Restorative Practices PD

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Many children with literacy difficulties find it hard to blend phonemes together. Word Chains games allow a child to focus on sounds without the distraction of graphemes, as each sound is represented by a counter. A single phoneme is changed and the child 're-blends' to make a new word. The Word Chain lists progress from simple CVC words, like 'dog' and 'cat', to more complex words with initial and final blends, like 'stand' and 'crisp'. This allows targeted practice of a very specific skill in just a few minutes.

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Blending Phonemes - Word Chains - Dyslexic Logic

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Resources and word-chains (also called word ladders or word chains) to support teaching blending skills for children with poor phonological awareness, from basic CVC blends to CCVCC words with long and short medial vowels.

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Rooney Foundation | M.A. Rooney Foundation

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Rooney Foundation Mission: ALL children are reading at grade level

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Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the smallest units of sounds (phonemes) in words. Many students with learning differences like dyslexia struggle with phonemic awareness. Because phonemic awareness is a foundational literacy skill, students who have trouble with this skill often have difficulty with reading.

Elkonin sound boxes can help students develop phonemic awareness by focusing on segmenting and blending the sounds in words. Segmenting is breaking a word apart into its individual sounds. Blending is putting the individual sounds together to say the word. Read on to learn how to use Elkonin sound boxes to teach these important skills.

K (Common Core ELA Literacy RF.K.2: Understand spoken words, syllables, and sounds)

1 (Common Core ELA Literacy RF.1.2: Understand spoken words, syllables, and sounds)

Gather materials. Give each student an Elkonin sound boxes printable and five counters, coins, tiles, or other small objects. For students who struggle with fine motor skills, consider using larger objects that are easier to handle.

Words with two sounds and two letters: it, no

Words with three sounds and three letters or with three sounds and four letters ending in a 'silent e': hop, cat, game

Words with three sounds and one or more digraphs (two letters that make one sound): fish, tooth, chime

Words with four phonemes and blends (two or more letters that blend together but that have separate sounds): crab, skip, trade

Words with five phonemes and blends: street, crust, blend

2. Model. Point to the set of boxes that has two squares. Explain that students will move one counter into one square for each sound they hear. Model how you'll do that by lining up two counters above the squares. Say the word it. Pull down one tile into the first square as you say /ĭ/ and the second tile as you say /t/. Then run your finger along the arrow underneath the box to blend the sounds back together: it.

3. Practice and give feedback. Invite students to practice another word with you. Depending on your students' needs, you might use the sound box with three squares and the word hit. Support students as they pull down one tile for /h/, one for /ĭ/, and another for /t/. Then blend the sounds back together to make hit.

Repeat the activity with several words that have two, three, four, or five sounds (as appropriate for your students). Provide feedback as students segment and blend the sounds.

For English language learners (ELLs): Hold up a picture of the word you are asking students to segment. Say the word and have students repeat it. (If the word is a cognate, say the word both in English and in the student's home language.) After students say the word in English, segment the sounds and then blend them together. By doing so, you'll help students build vocabulary by connecting the word with its meaning.

Understand: Why this strategy works

All students - and particularly students who learn and think differently - benefit from explicit instruction in literacy. The visual element of the sound boxes helps students to segment each sound separately. Similarly, moving the tiles and dragging their finger along the word helps to engage students in multisensory learning.

Elkonin sounds boxes are especially useful for ELLs. Learning English can be difficult for some students because there are sounds in English that may not exist in their home language. For instance, English has many more vowel sounds than Spanish. Elkonin sound boxes give students repeated practice with hearing unfamiliar sounds.

Share this resource with families to help them understand the importance of phonemic awareness and other phonological skills.

Research behind this strategy

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Elkonin sound boxes: An evidence-based literacy strategy

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Learn how to use Elkonin boxes to teach phonemic awareness. Get a printable of Elkonin sound boxes to help teach segmenting and blending.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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"How do you spell pet?" I asked my first-grade daughter. The global pandemic had just started and she was doing distance learning at home.

Her teacher gave an assignment. She needed to write an 8-sentence paragraph about her favorite type of pet.

She was in tears because she couldn't write the word pet. She literally couldn't hear the sounds in the word.

She didn't know where one sound ended and another began. She couldn't spell it if she couldn't break it apart.

At that moment, I realized she had a learning disability. We had a lot of work to do before she could spell or write.

We needed to work on breaking words into their individual sounds. Printable Elkonin Boxes are fantastic for developing this skill.

And it's not just for children with reading disabilities. All children need to be able to take apart words into sounds.

Using printable Elkonin Boxes is a simple way to work on hearing sounds and breaking apart words. Grab the free printable Elkonin Boxes today.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.
What are Elkonin Boxes?

Elkonin Boxes were first created by D. B. Elknonin. He was a psychologist who used them as a tool to make sounds concrete for children.

Children simply have a set of boxes - either on a printable or on a whiteboard. Then an adult says a word to the children.

They push a token, piece of paper, or small toy into an Elkonin Box for each sound they hear.

Elkonin Boxes are an incredibly powerful tool for developing phonemic awareness skills in children.

Printable Elkonin Boxes

As I've shared about using Elkonin Boxes on social media, it became clear that parents and teachers wanted printable Elkonin Boxes.

Sure, you can make or draw your own. But sometimes you just need the convenience of a done-for-you printable.

You just slip these free Elkonin Boxes worksheets inside a plastic page protector or a dry erase sleeve. Grab any manipulative you have at home or in the classroom.

You could use coins, legos, small cars, game tokens, or little blocks. A manipulative is just a small item that makes learning concrete for children.

And you're ready to help your learner develop their reading and spelling skills.

You can grab these free printable Elkonin boxes by entering your information in the box below. It is a gift for the Printable Parents' email subscribers.

Simply enter your name and email address. Let me know if you're a parent, a teacher, or a teacher who is also a parent. That way, I'll send you the correct type of emails.

You're always welcome to unsubscribe but I think you'll like what I have to share.

Free Printable Blank Elkonin Boxes

There are four pages in the free printable Elkonin Boxes download. The first page is:

Elkonin Boxes with 2, 3, 4, and 5 phonemes on a page

I recommend everyone start with this first Elkonin box page. The primary purpose of Elkonin Boxes, as mentioned above, is to develop phonemic awareness.

You want to be sure your learner can segment and blend phonemes prior to adding letters into the mix. Like the story I shared about my daughter, they cannot spell with letters until they can hear sounds.

Once your child is ready, you'll find these printable Elkonin Boxes templates helpful:

Boxes and lines for 3 phonemes (2 per page)

Boxes and lines for 4 phonemes (2 per page)

Boxes and lines for 5 phonemes (2 per page)

(Please note your child does need to know the alphabet! It's just separate from this at first.)
How do you use Elkonin Boxes?

For younger learners and struggling readers, I recommend you start with just 2 or 3 phonemes. They might even need to start with 2 sound words like:

It is much better to start with the simplest and build up to more complicated words. You want to reduce frustration and struggle as quickly as possible.

Then move on to words with 3 sounds like:

When you see a good understanding of those, you can try four phoneme words.

Elkonin Boxes for Phonics

Another way to use Elkonin boxes is to build phonics and spelling skills.

Once your child can segment words with just a manipulative, you can begin to introduce using letters.

Just grab a dry erase marker or letter magnets to build words. After your child segments the word, they can push the counters right above the boxes.

Then they write the letters that spell the sounds in the boxes.

Elkonin Boxes Examples

Here are some real-life examples of using Elkonin boxes.

Elkonin Boxes for CVC Words

CVC words almost always have three sounds. So you'll want to use the Elkonin Box printable with space for three sounds.

Let's see an example for a CVC word like "cat:"

STEP 1:

Put out counters or other manipulatives.

Say cat.

Segment the sounds to /k/ /a/ /t/.

Place one counter as you say each sound.

STEP 2:

If your child has good letter-sound knowledge, you can introduce letters.

Push up the first counter.

Spell the /k/ sound with a c.

Push up the second counter.

Spell the /a/ sound with an a.

Push up the third counter.

Spell the /t/ sound with a t.

Example with the Letter X

The exception is words that end with X. The letter x actually spells two sounds /k/ and /s/.

Trying to say the word box out loud. Do you hear /b/ /o/ /k/ /s/?

When you use Elkonin Boxes with words with X, you will put a counter for each sound.

Elkonin Boxes for CVCe Words

Always wonder how to map that silent e? It goes either with the final consonant or outside the last box.

In the picture above, I put it with the final consonant. Just choose what makes the most sense to you and be consistent.

Let's see an example for a CVCe word like "hive:"

STEP 1:

STEP 2:

If your child has good letter-sound knowledge, you can introduce letters.

Push up the first counter.

Spell the /h/ sound with a h.

Push up the second counter.

Spell the long i sound with an i.

Push up the third counter.

Spell the /v/ sound with a v.

Explain there is a magic e that makes the vowel say its long sound.

Add the e.

Elkonin Boxes for Blends

A lot of people think that blends have one sound - but they actually have two distinct sounds.

So you want to make sure your learner places one counter for each sound.

Let's see an example for a word with both initial and final blends word like "plant:"

STEP 1:

Put out counters or other manipulatives.

Say plant.

Segment the sounds to /p/ /l/ /a/ /n/ /t/.

Place one counter as you say each sound.

STEP 2:

If your child has good letter-sound knowledge, you can introduce letters.

Push up the first counter.

Spell the /p/ sound with a p.

Push up the second counter.

Spell the /l/ sound with a l.

Push up the third counter.

Spell the /a/ sound with the letter a.

Push up the fourth counter.

Spell the /n/ sound with the letter n.

Push up the fifth counter.

Spell the /t/ sound with a letter t.

Elkonin Boxes for Digraphs

Digraphs can be another tricky word for parents and teachers. You map each digraph as one sound in Elkonin boxes.

Let's see an example for a word with two digraphs like "chicks:"

STEP 1:

STEP 2:

If your child knows about consonant digraphs, you can introduce letters.

Push up the first counter.

Spell the /ch/ sound with a ch in one box.

Push up the second counter.

Spell the /i/ sound with an i.

Push up the third counter.

Spell the /k/ sound with a ck.

Explain that in a one-syllable word with a short vowel, the final /k/ is spelled ck.

Push up the fourth counter.

Spell the /s/ sound with the suffix s.

Supplies for Printable Elkonin Boxes

These are my favorite supplies for printable Elkonin boxes.

Instead of laminating, I suggest using dry erase sleeves when possible.

Lamination can't be recycled. However, dry erase sleeves can be reused for years.

So if your child outgrows Elkonin boxes or you're a teacher who switches grades, you can simply recycle the Elkonin box printables. Then keep using your dry erase sleeves for other uses.

Elkonin Boxes Worksheets

If you're looking for print and go Elkonin Boxes Worksheets, you'll love the Word Mapping Worksheet Bundle.

It provides a structure for busy parents and teachers to cover the basic phonics skills:

CVC words

CVCe words

Consonant digraphs

Consonant blends

Bossy R Vowels

Vowel Teams and Diphthongs

Your learner will:

These Elkonin Box Worksheets are best done with an adult's guidance so you can make sure your child is correctly naming the pictures.

Elkonin Boxes Word Mapping Activity

I wanted a grab-and-go resource for my tutoring students. As an Orton-Gillingham-trained teacher, it's important to have a systematic way to teach and review all sounds.

These Word Mapping Activities are multisensory and structured to make literacy learning achievable.

You will:

Your child will:

You won't want to have to think about which words to map in Elkonin boxes. It's nice that an activity is already prepped for you and covers a ton of phonics skills.

CVC Hands On Cards

One of the most common questions I'm asked is: how do I teach my child CVC words?

I recommend these CVC Words Hands-on Cards. They are interactive and build solid skills.

You won't need to worry about your child guessing because they are applying their phonics skills from the beginning.

Your child will:

Say the picture name

Segment it into three sounds.

Spell the word with letter beads or magnets.

Read the word.

Recapping Elkonin Boxes Printables

Children need to be able to break apart, or segment, words into sounds to read and write.

Elkonin Boxes help make this complex skill concrete.

Your child simply places one manipulative for each phoneme, or sound ,in an Elkonin Box.

You can use these free Elkonin Box printables to develop phonemic awareness with your child.

There are Elkonin Boxes for two phonemes, three phonemes, four phonemes, and five phonemes.

You can use Elkonin Box printables with CVC words, CVCe words, digraphs, and blends.

If you need more structure, you can use Elkonin Box Worksheets.

Conclusion

It's a little mind-blowing. One simple hands-on activity can help children learn to read.

Phonemic awareness is critical for reading. Elkonin Boxes are a great tool to develop this important skill.

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Does your child need help breaking words into sounds? Use these printable Elkonin boxes to make phonemic awareness concrete.

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Many children with literacy difficulties find it hard to blend phonemes together. Word Chains games allow a child to focus on sounds without the distraction of graphemes, as each sound is represented by a counter. A single phoneme is changed and the child 're-blends' to make a new word. The Word Chain lists progress from simple CVC words, like 'dog' and 'cat', to more complex words with initial and final blends, like 'stand' and 'crisp'. This allows targeted practice of a very specific skill in just a few minutes.

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Blending Phonemes - Word Chains - Dyslexic Logic

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Resources and word-chains (also called word ladders or word chains) to support teaching blending skills for children with poor phonological awareness, from basic CVC blends to CCVCC words with long and short medial vowels.