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Monica Peevyhouse: Boys and girls, we're going to work on dictation. I want you to put everything away.

Student: I love that!

Monica Peevyhouse: I know. And get out your pencil. I'm going to have you say a sound, and then I'm going to have you write the letter that spells the sound. Everybody say /f/. What letter spells ...?

Students: 'F'!

Monica Peevyhouse: Very good.

Student: Lowercase or uppercase?

Monica Peevyhouse: We're going to write lowercase ... lowercase when we do dictation. We're going to start in the middle of the fence line and the skyline. We're going to go up towards the sky, then curve down to the ground, and we're going to cross at the fence. I want you to move to the second line. And we'll write some more sounds. Everybody say /h/.

Students: /h/.

Monica Peevyhouse: Here we go. I start high in the sky, all the way to the ground. Trace back up.

Everybody say /ŏ/.

Students: /ŏ/.

Monica Peevyhouse: How do we spell /ŏ/?

Students: 'O'!

Monica Peevyhouse: With an 'o'. Make sure you give yourself a little space. Everybody, I want you to say the sound /a/.

Students: /a/.

Monica Peevyhouse: How do we spell /a/?

Students: 'A'!

Monica Peevyhouse: With an 'a'. Make sure we give ourselves a little space. Everybody say the sound /m/.

Students: /m/.

Monica Peevyhouse: How do we spell /m/?

Students: 'M'!

Monica Peevyhouse: With an 'm'. Let's write 'm'. Can we try that one more time? Okay. We have to make sure that we keep our curves underneath the fence line. I want you to start right there. So come straight down to the ground and trace back up. Curve under that fence line. Okay. Trace back up and curve under the fence line. Very good, sister. Good job. Hey, everybody say /t/.

Students: /t/.

Monica Peevyhouse: How do we spell /t/?

Student: 'T'.

Monica Peevyhouse: With a 't'? Very good. Will you write the letter 't'? Make sure we give ourselves some space. Okay, everybody, you did such a great job. Give your brain a kiss.

Monica Peevyhouse: Say "Love you, brain. Love you, brain."

Students: Love you, brain!

Narrator: For more information, please visit ReadingUniverse.org. Special thanks to Prather-Brown Center, Frederick Public Schools, and the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim and Donna Barksdale, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and two anonymous donors. Reading Universe is a service of WETA, Washington D.C., the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book.

Monica Peevyhouse: I'm Monica Peevyhouse, and this is Reading Universe.

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Learn how to teach Letter Names and Sounds Skill Explainer, when to teach the skill, how to build fluency, how to assess student learning & more. Includes...

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Iowa Reading Research Center - The University of Iowa

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Much like reading, writing is not a skill we are born with, so students need to be taught these concepts in a systematic and explicit manner. As a result of handwriting instruction, students learn letter shapes and letter sounds-two skills closely related to early reading development. Focusing on letter identification and formation, LIFTER gives students the building blocks they will need to become proficient writers and readers.

A Supplement to Core Instruction

LIFTER is intended to supplement core instruction in pre-kindergarten and elementary classrooms. Nationally, elementary teachers often report that they have received limited to no preparation on how to effectively teach handwriting, and their students receive minimal instruction on handwriting ( Graham, Collins, Ciullo, 2023 ; Troia & Graham, 2017 ). In Iowa, the districts we have partnered with report the need for better supports to teach this critical skill.

In addition, when teachers do provide handwriting instruction to their students, their reading curriculum often teaches letters in a different sequence than their handwriting curriculum. This can result in a heavy lift for students trying to learn two competing sequences of letters at the same time.

LIFTER offers a solution to these concerns. When using LIFTER, educators control the sequence of letters they will teach, allowing them to align the tool to their reading curriculum. With LIFTER's flexible functionality and comprehensive, accompanying eLearning module, educators unlock the knowledge and materials they need to provide effective handwriting instruction to their students.

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Literacy LIFTER: Letter Identification and Formation for Transcription and Early Reading

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Phonemic Awareness Activities for Parents

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Phonemic Awareness Activities for Parents

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Encourage your child to listen for words that rhyme when you say them aloud, such as fun, sun; hat, cat; and fish, wish. See if your child can produce new words that rhyme with the words you say-fan, pan, ran, can, tan.

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Phonemic Awareness Activities for Parents | Heggerty

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Research shows that phonemic awareness is the strongest predictor of success in learning to read. Heggerty offers literacy activities for families.

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Explicit Vocabulary Instruction for Teachers/Parents with Anita Archer

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Explicit Vocabulary Instruction for Teachers/Parents with Anita Archer

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Explicit Vocabulary Instruction with Anita Archer

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Free English uppercase and lowercase interactive alphabet arc to help students learn letter names, order, and shape.

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Free Printable Elkonin Boxes.  Scroll to the bottom of the page on this link to download a copy. 

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Free Printable Elkonin Boxes.  Scroll to the bottom of the page on this link to download a copy. 

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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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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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Reading Rockets- Parents 101: A Guide for Parents

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Reading Rockets- Parents 101: A Guide for Parents

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It's not an easy thing, learning to read and write. Discover what it takes to build important literacy skills, and how you can help your children grow as readers, writers, and thinkers!

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Discover how to support your child’s growth as a young reader and writer. Here you’ll find our Reading 101 for Families guide, bilingual parent tips, ideas for building your child’s knowledge about the world, Q&A with experts, guidance on how to help a child who struggles, and ways to connect with y…

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Resources for Parents and Caregivers in mathematics, STEM, reading, writing, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, bilingual education, special education, and early childhood

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MCPER develops booklets, lesson plans, videos, handouts, and other practical materials that align with the latest high-quality research findings. These resources help educators, parents, policymakers, and others translate research into practice and improve outcomes for students. Some of our resources are available in Spanish, and more will be added in the future.

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The Meadows Center Resources - Learn More & Explore Now

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Explore the variety of resources here at MCPER, sorted by topics, audience and grade levels, just for you. Learn more and visit us today.

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The first free community app for parents of kids with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia

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The first free community app for parents of kids with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia

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Read Aloud 15 MINUTES is a non-profit organization that is bringing together partners nationwide to make 15 minutes of daily reading aloud the new parenting standard. When every child is read aloud to for 15 minutes every day from birth, more children will be ready to learn when they enter kindergarten, more children will have the literacy skills needed to succeed in school, and more children will become lifelong readers.

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Read-Aloud Routine to Build Oral Language and Vocabulary

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Read-Aloud Routine to Build Oral Language and Vocabulary

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Routine: Teach Your Child How to Read Multisyllable Words

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Routine: Teach Your Child How to Read Multisyllable Words

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Cover Copy Compare For Irregular Spelling Words

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Cover Copy Compare For Irregular Spelling Words

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Heart Word Magic - Read and Spell High Frequency Words | Really Great Reading

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Heart Word Magic - Help Students Learn to Read and Spell High-Frequency and Sight WordsHeart Word Magic is a complimentary teaching tool designed to help students learn to read and spell high-frequency words and sight words, particularly those that aren’t very decodable. Show your students the animations, then try these fun, hands-on free Student Practice

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Reading Mama Phonics and Spelling Cheat Sheets

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Reading Mama Phonics and Spelling Cheat Sheets

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Oh my goodness. You're going to love this free Phonics Cheat Sheets Folder.

Do all the phonics rules confuse you? Maybe you'd like to just have a go-to spot to put most of the phonics and spelling rules for K-5 learners. You can assemble this simple phonics folder in a matter of minutes and it's PACKED with phonics and spelling rules.

Keep it beside you as you teach phonics at home, online, and with small groups so you can refer to it when you need it.

This printable pack is a subscriber freebie.

If you are already a subscriber, you may go to my subscriber library and enter the password, which can be found in your most current newsletter.

If you're not a subscriber, subscribe HERE or use the subscriber box later in this post.

Phonics Cheat Sheets Folder

Please note: While most of the rules I share are consistently more true than not, they are not hard and fast rules that apply 100% of the time. Exceptions can almost always be found in the English language. There's a really good reason for this, but that's a post for another day. 🙂

This is why I have carefully used words like often, usually, or typicall y to describe the rules.

For each rule, I also have example words and even exceptions when applicable.
I'm listing below what you can expect to find in the phonics cheat sheets folder so you can see if it's right for you. I'm also including links to more of my resources if you need more for a particular phonics or spelling skill. 1. Consonant Phonics & Spelling Help 2. Vowel Phonics & Spelling Help 3. Syllables & Syllable Types Phonics & Spelling Help

Every syllable needs a vowel

Accented and unaccented syllables

Schwa

Compound words

6 syllable types {This overlaps with the "Vowel" category a bit.}

Finding the accented syllable in a two-syllable word

4. Adding Suffixes Phonics & Spelling Help
*The resource you see in all the photos is in color. Blackline is also available in the download.

Want to snag a copy of our phonics cheat sheets folder? Just enter your email below! If you're already a subscriber, you won't be subscribed twice.

Enjoy teaching!
~Becky

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Phonics Cheat Sheets Folder - This Reading Mama

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Grab a copy of our FREE Phonics Cheat Sheet Folder. You'll find phonics and spelling rules with examples so you can be a more confident teacher.

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Teens: Reading Skills in Different Subjects

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Teens: Reading Skills in Different Subjects

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Libby: Free ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more!

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Libby: Free ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more!

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Download the Libby App: ebooks & audiobooks FREE from your library

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Bring the library to you! Free digital books, magazines and more! Available for iOS and Android devices.

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Public libraries are a great resource for your child's literacy learning. They often provide free literacy events, in addition to children's audio and print books. Library staff can help find resources to support your child's learning at home.

Check your local library to see what it offers!

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Parents & Families | National Center on Improving Literacy

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Help your child learn to read and write with practical ideas and expert-approved strategies.

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Common Sense Media: Age-Based Media Reviews for Families

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Common Sense Media is the leading source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families. Parents trust our expert reviews and objective advice.

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You are welcome to print copies for non-commercial use, or a limited number for educational purposes, as long as credit is given to Reading Rockets and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact the author or publisher listed.

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Talking and Listening: Practical Ideas for Parents

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Preschoolers who are getting ready to read expand their knowledge of the building blocks of oral and written language, and their use and appreciation of language. Learn activities parents can use at home to support children's growth in each of these areas.

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Enjoy exploring nature as a family, invite friends along, or bring this activity to your scout's meeting, classroom, or community gathering.

What you'll need

Instructions

Modify our list to fit your scene (park, nature center, woods, seashore, backyard, etc.)

Color in items as you go or draw/write about your discoveries in the blank boxes.

For very young kids, consider filling in the blank boxes with items you think they will enjoy finding.

For older kids, consider downloading the iNaturalist app and encourage them to use the app to help identify the plants, trees, tracks, and creatures they discover.

Reflections

Talk about your hunt:

Which item was your favorite?

Which was most difficult to find?

Which did you find first?

What senses did you use on your hunt? What did you smell in nature? Feel? Hear?

Albert Einstein, famed theoretical physicist, once said, "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." What do you think he meant?

How does your body feel when you are spending time in nature? How does your mind feel?

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Try a Nature Scavenger Hunt - Doing Good Together™

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Explore the outdoors with our printable checklist! When children learn to appreciate and enjoy nature, they are more likely to grow into adults who value and protect our environment. That's why we've gathered great clues for a scavenger hunt to liven up your next walk in the woods.

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Summer's here and with it comes a few more cries of "I'm bored" and "When do I get screen time again?" than we parents want to deal with. Lucky for us, simple pen-and-paper word games and activities can break the monotony when there seems to be nothing to do - like on long car rides, while running errands, or when you're stuck at home because the weather's rotten. Plus, they work on reinforcing fundamental reading skills while school's out. Next time you're looking for easy ways to entertain your little readers, try these fun activities for young lexicon-lovers:

Rhyming Animals
Give kids a rhyme and have them come up with the animal, food, or place that's on your mind. For example: "I rhyme with new. I am a ( zoo)." I rhyme with log. I am a ( frog)." "I rhyme with make. I am a ( cake)."

I Spy
This one's very familiar, but there's a reason it's a classic. Spot something and tell kids what letter it begins with, then have them try to guess what you're peeping!

Category Words
This is a good car game to play when you hear the popular "I'm bored" refrain. Come up with several categories to write across the top of a page - plants, animals, things we buy at the supermarket, things you see on the road, etc. - and draw the alphabet down the margin. Now ask kids to come up with a word for each letter that fits the category. You might not fill in one for each letter in every category but it's a good brain-jogger when you're sitting still.

Word Hunting
Perfect for kids who are practicing their alphabet skills, this game is all about collecting words you see around you. Give your children a notebook of "tasks" to fulfill, or words to find, as they look at their surroundings, such as "words that begin with D." Encourage your kids to write down the letters in the words they see, then read the words aloud back to them. For children who've started reading, make it more complex with specific tasks like "words on restaurant signs" or "words with double letters," and prompt them to read the words aloud on their own. Another great game for car rides.

One Letter Change-Up
This is great for school-age kids. Find a short word, four or five letters, and let kids come up with as many words as they can by changing one letter at a time (set a timer). For example: park - dark - dare - mare - mark - bark - bare - bars - bags - bogs - logs - legs - less (and so on).

Big Words, Little Words
Write a big word on a piece of paper. It doesn't matter so much that kids know it, as it does that it has a nice collection of letters. Give your child a time span (a minute or two) to write down all the smaller words they can make from that big word. This is a great one for would-be Scrabble champs too. Parents, go ahead and play too!

Call My Bluff
Excellent for groups of older kids, this game is based on an old British game show and can be fun at sleepovers or playdates. Divide kids into teams and give each team a list of words that might be somewhat unfamiliar (but are still common enough to be useful). Then, have teams look up the words and write down the real meaning, as well as two alternate ones. For a word like "baffled" the definitions might look like this: a) Bewildered or confused; b) Unable to catch a ball; or c) To be built on the side of a hill. The other team must guess the right definition to get a point; otherwise, the point goes to the inventors of the false definition that fooled their opponents.

The trick to these activities is that they work best when you're not focusing too much on the end game. Instead of checking sight words off a list or worrying about reading levels, just enjoy some silliness and know you're inspiring an appreciation for words and language.

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Fun Word Games To Keep Your Kids Learning This Summer | Brightly

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Simple pen-and-paper word games are a great go-to when kids say they're bored and a fun way to reinforce fundamental reading skills in the weeks leading up to the new school year.

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Highlights Free Color Pages with Hidden Pictures

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Highlights Free Color Pages with Hidden Pictures

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You are welcome to print copies for non-commercial use, or a limited number for educational purposes, as long as credit is given to Reading Rockets and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact the author or publisher listed.

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Playing games is a great way to provide additional practice with early reading skills. Here are six games parents or tutors can use to help young readers practice word recognition, spelling patterns, and letter-sound knowledge.

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Age: 7+

Number of players: 2+

Cards: Standard deck of 52 cards

How to play: Choose a "dealer" to hand out cards. If there are two or three players, each player is dealt seven cards. If there are more people taking part, each player is dealt five cards. The remaining cards are placed face down in a pile. This is the "fish pond."

Each player sorts their cards into groups of the same number or suit (i.e. group of threes or group of kings), making sure not to show anyone. The "requester" (person to the left of the dealer) starts the game by asking another player for cards that will match his hand. For example, if the requester has two kings, he will ask the other player for kings. If the other player has these cards, he must hand them over. The requester continues asking the same player for more cards until the player does not have the cards he wants. If the player does not have the right cards, he can tell the requester to "Go fish." The requester then has to take one card from the "fish pond." The player who told him to "Go fish" becomes the new requester.

Anyone who collects all four cards of a set (i.e. all four eights or all four Queens) puts them face down in front of him. The winner is the first person to have no single cards left, only complete sets. If two people run out of cards together, the player with the most sets wins the game.
You may also like: 8 best deals at Costco for families
Stay in touch

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Age: 7+ Number of players: 2+ Cards: Standard deck of 52 cards How to play: Choose a "dealer" to hand out cards. If there are two or three players, each player is dealt seven cards. If there are more people taking part, each player is dealt five cards.

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Math Games with a Pair of Dice_230122_114623 (1).pdf

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"Start with a Book has done the work for you. As a busy parent, I've come to realize that this is my one-stop shop for book ideas and other learning resources when my kids ask me questions about music, dinosaurs, buildings ... and the list goes on."

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Start with a Book | Explore great children's books and activities in science, social studies, arts and literature

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"Start with a Book has done the work for you. As a busy parent, I've come to realize that this is my one-stop shop for book ideas and other learning resources when my kids ask me questions about music, dinosaurs, buildings ... and the list goes on."

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The Macoskey Center for Sustainability Education & Research

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A Summer Enrichment Program for Grades 1-8

Kids on Campus has planned another exciting summer filled with new adventures, but we've made some temporary adjustments for the safety of our staff and families.

Limited class size

New course offerings

Enjoy our all-day classes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Children will be outside whenever possible, depending on weather and activities. Remember to pack sunscreen and bottled water

Class activities, snacks, and lunch will be done with fellow class participants and staff.

Camp Dates

Camps run Monday through Thursday on the following weeks:

Camp Classes

Camps are listed by grade level. Use your child's grade level from Fall 2024. Registration for classes begins April 1.

Before & After Care

Before and After Care are available for all in-person camps.

Before Care | 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. | $30/week
After Care | 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. | $20/week
View schedule
Student Information Form

The Student Information Form (PDF) must be filled out and brought to the first day of class.
Frequently Asked Questions

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Classes for Kids & Teens - Kids On Campus

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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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Roll A Sight Word EDITABLE!!! {Freebie} by The Reading Bungalow

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Looking for a game to help your child learn the sounds of beginning and ending digraphs? Today I'm sharing five of them!

About a month ago I shared a giant set of Roll a Short Vowel games. Today I'm sharing five Roll a Digraph games!

How to play

1. Grab a playing piece for each player and a die. Print the board you'd like to use.

2. Put all playing pieces on Start, and take turns rolling the die.

3. When you roll the die, check the top of the board to see what picture to move to. For example, in the above game, if you roll a five, you would move to the closest picture whose names starts with ph.

4. Keep taking turns until one person lands on the final space.

Some of the pictures were hard for my Four. You'll find a key with the picture names in the download, but it might be helpful to begin the game by naming all the pictures on the board. Your child might need some reminders, but it will keep those tricky pictures from slowing down the game.

These games are a win for us because they're quick and effective. I love that I can just print the board, and my son loves that we're done with a single game in 5-10 minutes. That makes these perfect for a quick review at home or a center activity in the classroom.

What you'll get in the download

Game for ch, sh

Game for ch, sh, th

Game for ch, sh, th, wh, ph (pictured above)

Game for wr, wh, kn

Game for ending digraphs: sh, ch, th, ck

Looking for more free games?
© 2015 - 2016, Anna G. All rights reserved.

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5 free games for teaching digraphs - The Measured Mom

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Looking for a game to help your child learn the sounds of beginning and ending digraphs? Today I'm sharing five of them! About a month ago I shared a giant set of Roll a Short Vowel games. Today I'm sharing five Roll a Digraph games! 1.

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Learn how to teach Blends Skill Explainer, when to teach the skill, how to build fluency, how to assess student learning & more. Includes sample lesson…

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If your learner is working on blends or digraphs, you'll want to grab a copy of these free phonics dice games for blends & digraphs.

*This post contains affiliate links.
**The free download can be found at the END of this post.

A little background...

My daughter, now in 2nd grade, went to a part-time school for half of last school year. The pace of the phonics program they used was too fast for her {not to mention, it wasn't my favorite}. We spent much of the last half of the year filling in gaps.

And while she did make progress, I felt we needed to back up and start some things over, especially after summer break. It's not worth it to jump ahead because I want her foundation for phonics to be rock solid.

Because she really needs extra support as a reader, we are using All About Reading Level 2 with her this year. You know I love to create things and it won't be all we do, but I really do love All About Reading's design for struggling readers!

Phonics Dice Games for Blends and Digraphs

We are going back to short vowel words with blends and digraphs, which she still struggles with from time to time. So, I created some quick and easy phonics dice games for blends and digraphs.

These are NO PREP, easy-to-play games. I listened to her read the words as she played them, but if you're using them as a review, learners could play them independently.

There are 4 free phonics dice games included:

1- Words with Blends only at beginning OR end (level 1)
2- Words with Blends at the beginning AND end (level 2)
3- Words with Digraphs at the beginning OR end
4- Words with Blends & Digraphs at beginning AND end

My daughter tends to guess at words based on letters towards the end of the word instead of slowing down to start at the beginning. For example, she may say SOFT instead of frost. So I drew a reminder dot/arrow to help her focus on starting at the beginning.

If you use counters, you can make them reusable, even for the same learner. We used counters the first time and dot paint the second time. But you could also just have learners color in the boxes after they read the words.

More Blends & Digraphs Resources

If you're looking for more resources for teaching blends and digraphs, we have quite a few! Click below or find even more on our free printables page!

Grab the freebie below!

Enjoy!
~Becky

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Phonics Dice Games for Blends and Digraphs - This Reading Mama

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If your learner is working on blends or digraphs, you'll want to grab a copy of these free phonics dice games for blends & digraphs. *This post contains affiliate links. **The free download can be found at the END of this post. A little background...

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Today is the last of my super simple summer sight word games (how’s that for alliteration?). I’ve adapted a family favorite game of ours called Guess Who? into Sight Word Guess Who? {The FREE download link is at the END of this post.} *This post contains affiliate links. Sight Word Guess Who? Printable Pack ... Read More about Sight Word Guess Who?

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Today, I'm sharing some fun pages for teaching Magic e words. You may have seen the white crayon trick where you can color or paint over it to "magically" reveal a hidden word {see my sight word example}. Well, we're doing that with "magic e" today!

If you're looking for even more silent e/magic e activities for your learners, be sure to check out my Silent e Words resource page!

*This post contains affiliate links.
**The free printable link can be found towards the END of this post. Click on the teal download button.

Magic e Words Freebies

The idea is very simple and fun. All you need is a white crayon, markers, scissors, & glue to have fun with magic e words!

First, learners read the short vowel words on the page.

Then, they take their white crayon and write and "e" in each blank.

Next, learners color over their "e" to reveal the magic e words! {Cool!}

Lastly, learners read the magic e words created and glue down the matching pictures.

If you have learners who are more on the artistic side, they might enjoy these extra magic e word freebies I've included. Learners reveal the magic e words, then draw a picture to match as they "set the stage."

You Might Like
Find all our activities & printables for Silent e / Magic e Words.
Enjoy!
~Becky

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More Magic e Words Freebies - This Reading Mama

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Today, I'm sharing some fun pages for teaching Magic e words. You may have seen the white crayon trick where you can color or paint over it to "magically" reveal a hidden word {see my sight word example}. Well, we're doing that with "magic e" today!

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FREE Vowel Team Fluency Games - This Reading Mama

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Grab a copy of these FREE Vowel Team Fluency Games, a sample from the Long Vowel Teams Fluency Game Pack in my shop! FIVE free no prep games are included for the long vowel teams, ai, ee, igh {technically a trigraph}, oa, and oo. Find more FREE Fluency Games. *Click on the teal download button towards the ... Read More about FREE Vowel Team Fluency Games

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Heard all the buzz about phoneme-grapheme mapping? It’s the most efficient and effective way to read and spell. Check out how in this post!

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Anita Archer Vocabulary Instruction Demonstration to 2nd Graders

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Anita Archer Vocabulary Instruction Demonstration to 2nd Graders

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ARTICLE: The Reading Teacher: Using Strive-for-Five Conversations to Strengthen Language Comprehension in Preschool through Grade One 

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ARTICLE: The Reading Teacher: Using Strive-for-Five Conversations to Strengthen Language Comprehension in Preschool through Grade One 

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Seeing AI-generated images of the words they're learning can help boost elementary students' engagement.

Whether you're introducing new vocabulary words while kicking off a science unit or helping elementary students better understand the setting of a book, there are many ways students interact with new vocabulary over the course of the school day. How do you help them understand new words? This upcoming school year, consider using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support your cross-curricular literacy goals.

The past two years I've worked with educators across the country to help them harness the power of AI as an instructional planning tool and assistant. Vocabulary instruction is just one area where AI tools can help teachers save time by creating supplemental resources that address the varied needs of their students.

You can use a chatbot like Gemini or ChatGPT to gather a list of ideas for an upcoming lesson, but let's take a look at how you can use generative AI tools to create images that help bring vocabulary to life. It's a topic I've covered on my blog and podcast, and I recently had the chance to work with elementary educators in New York to put these ideas into action in their classrooms.

Setting a purpose

If you've ever spent time searching for the "perfect" image to support a lesson, you know a Google Search can only get you so far. You can use an AI tool to create an image to share with your students to explain a concept or illustrate a vocabulary word.

Where should you start? Identify the vocabulary words you anticipate students having difficulty with or that are crucial for an upcoming lesson. When trying this strategy with a group of elementary teachers this spring, I simply asked them to start off by jotting down a list of words related to an upcoming reading lesson.

For example, you could list words that are important for reading comprehension related to a short passage you'll read aloud to your class. Alternatively, you might make a list of words related to an upcoming lesson in a social studies class where students are learning about communities.

Choosing an AI tool

This year my go-to tool for creating images with generative AI has been Adobe Firefly. I've done some work with the Adobe Education team and am super-impressed with the quality of Adobe Firefly. It might be my favorite, but it's not the only option. Ideogram and Microsoft Copilot Designer are just two more examples that essentially perform the same function. These tools do not do substantially different things, at least not in the use cases featured in this blog post. However, there are a few things to consider when deciding on which tool to use.

That you already use, with these AI features (like how Adobe Express includes Adobe Firefly technology)

That makes it easy for you to log in (such as using Google's single sign-on)

That has free options for getting started (you can always upgrade later)

I would suggest you choose a tool:

Crafting a prompt

If you have explored chatbots this school year, you may already have experience with prompt engineering. When writing a prompt in any generative AI tool, you want to be clear and specific. Imagine you want to introduce the vocabulary word lighthouse to students. You can create an engaging scene for students that includes your vocabulary word.

Similar to a task or set of instructions you might give a chatbot, where you want a text-based response (like a list or lesson plan), in a tool used to create an image you'll want to choose your words carefully. For example, you might combine a subject with an action item and add a description of the setting, such as something like the following:
AI-generated image created with Adobe Firefly
A puppy in a raincoat dancing in front of a lighthouse on a rainy day.
A cartoon AI-generated image created with Adobe Firefly puppy in a neon raincoat dancing in front of a lighthouse An isthmus shown from above surrounded by bright blue water. set far away in the background on a rainy, A cartoon isthmus shown from above surrounded by bright blue water gloomy day. AI-generated image created with Adobe Firefly
Some tools have filters or other formatting options to choose from, such as the color palette or positioning of the subject. You can also add more text to your prompt, like this:

You can continue to tweak your prompt until it gets closer to the desired image. It may take a few tries to get something that is close to your own vision. The output might not be perfect, but I've found much more success using these types of tools than in searching for a just-right picture in a Google Image search.

More prompt examples

Imagine you are introducing landforms to students and want a visual that illustrates the word. Although you might have a particular place in mind and opt to share a photograph of that place, you can also create an image that places more emphasis on one aspect to help spark a conversation using a new vocabulary word, such as this:

You could also choose to add an additional instruction to your prompt that will influence the output, like this:

An isthmus shown from above surrounded by bright blue water; photorealistic

Although you might find that it is easiest to create images that feature a noun (e.g., a lighthouse or isthmus), you can also create images that depict the setting of a book or a subject taking an action. These can reference a set of vocabulary words or spark a conversation where you want students to use a particular vocabulary word in context.

For example, you might try this prompt if talking about a book like Charlotte's Web:

The kitchen of a small farmhouse with breakfast on the stove and fresh coffee being brewed.

Or you might try this prompt to introduce the word underneath or beneath to students:

A table with a laundry basket, pair of shoes, and purse on the floor underneath it.

Sharing with students

One question I often get when talking about AI-generated images with teachers is how to give credit and acknowledge an AI tool's role as a cocreator of content. When sharing images you've created, you have the perfect opportunity to introduce the concept of AI. Here are some things you might focus your conversation on:

The logistics of sharing your images with students may vary. For example, you might add your image to a slide deck and display it on the board for students. Or you might create a game for students to introduce or review the vocabulary word. When working with the group of teachers I mentioned earlier, I used images I created with the AI tool Adobe Firefly to create a matching game in Nearpod.

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An edtech expert offers tips on using AI generated images to teach vocabulary to elementary students so they can better understand the words.

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Multisensory Techniques for Teaching Handwriting

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Multisensory Techniques for Teaching Handwriting

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6 Multisensory Techniques for Teaching Handwriting

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Handwriting involves more than just making letters on a page - it requires strong fine motor and visual-motor skills. Here are some multisensory techniques to try if your child is struggling with writing.

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Once students can master decoding, their vocabularies can blossom. In this episode of Literacy Talks, our trio of literacy experts tackles the challenges and joys of helping students build their vocabulary skills, along with the how’s and why’s of using the techniques of vocabulary-rich teaching.

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Choosing Words to Teach - Reading Rockets

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Choosing Words to Teach - Reading Rockets

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Teaching vocabulary is complex. What words are important for a child to know and in what context? In this excerpt from Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction, the authors consider what principles might be used for selecting which words to explicitly teach.

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Iowa Reading Research Center - The University of Iowa

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Vocabulary acquisition is an essential part of language learning. A robust vocabulary equips students to comprehend and write texts that are complex, detailed, and specific. On the flip side, students who lack foundational word recognition skills often struggle to comprehend what they read (Gough et al. 1981; Stanovich 1980). Thus, it is important that we empower students with the tools they need to successfully decode and understand unfamiliar words. And according to the large body of evidence that makes up the science of reading, there is more to vocabulary learning than simply memorizing new terms with flash cards or guessing words from context. Vocabulary must be taught explicitly and systematically, in a way that engages all of the parts of the brain associated with word recognition. One way to do this is through the POSSUM (phonology, orthography, syntax, semantics, understanding, and morphology) approach, a vocabulary instructional tool that supports the development of word recognition skills in the brain.

Word Recognition in the Brain

For many strong readers, the process of seeing and recognizing a written word is automatic. However, our brains actually have to activate a complex series of neural pathways in order for word recognition to occur. These neural pathways are associated with several areas of the brain.

One of these areas is the phonological processor, which is located in the back part of the frontal lobe of the brain (Moats & Tolman, 2009). Its job is to process the speech sounds of language, which are called " phonemes." This region of the brain is necessary for oral language to be produced and received.

Next is the orthographic processor, which is located in the occipital lobe in the lower back of the brain (Moats & Tolman, 2009). The orthographic processor allows us to recognize and recall the letters and letter sequences, or graphemes, of written words. Without it, we would be unable to make sense of printed text.

Situated between the phonological and orthographic processors is an area called the " angular gyrus," or, neurologically speaking, the temporal-parietal-occipital junction (Moats & Tolman, 2009). While this region of the brain is not a language processor in and of itself, it works alongside the orthographic and phonological processors, enabling us to associate spoken phonemes with the written graphemes that represent them. In the classroom, these associations should be taught and reinforced through explicit phonics instruction.

Our ability to recognize words is also facilitated by meaning and context processors, which are located in the temporal lobe of the brain (Moats & Tolman, 2009). The meaning, or semantic processor, allows us to interpret the meaning of words both in and out of context. Just because we can decode a word using our orthographic and phonological processors does not necessarily mean we can understand the word's meaning. This principle is demonstrated by nonsense words, or sequences of letters that follow the spelling constraints of English but have no known meaning. For example, we can decode and pronounce nonsense words like "ip" and "glo" based on our knowledge of English spelling patterns. However, we cannot derive any meaning from them because we have not associated those letter patterns with any real-world concepts, as we have with patterns like "cat" or "pot." The brain's retention of a word's meaning is tied to a number of features, including synonyms, spelling features, root words, related words, and more.

The context processor works alongside the meaning processor to facilitate comprehension. Context can come in a variety of forms, including syntactic context, or the way a word is used grammatically, and content-based context, or the subject matter surrounding a given word. For example, syntactic context could help us differentiate between words like "duck" (noun) and "duck" (verb). In a sentence like "the duck swims in the pond," our context processor would allow us to recognize that the word "duck" is being used as a noun, meaning it could not have the definition "to lower the head or body." Content-based context would allow us to differentiate between words like "pool" (swimming) and "pool" (billiards). For example, in a sentence like "When it is hot out, I swim in the pool," we can use the surrounding context to understand that the word "pool" here is referring to a body of water, not a game played with balls and cues.

All that said, it is important to note that context plays a limited role in word recognition. While it can support this process, it cannot replace the role of the phonological and orthographic processors, which are vital to fluent and accurate decoding.

Together, the four language processors-phonological, orthographic, meaning, and context-make up something called the " four-part processing model for word recognition." This idea was first hypothesized in 1989 by researchers Mark Seidenberg and James McClelland and has since been referenced by numerous reading researchers (Seidenberg & McClelland, 1989). In this model, the phonological and orthographic processors work together to decode a written or spoken word. Then, the meaning and context processors work to attach meaning to the word that makes sense in context.

Notice that in this model, all four parts of the brain work together to support word recognition. This means that effective literacy instruction should engage all four processing systems and encourage them to be used in tandem.

One strategy that educators can use to ensure that all four processing systems are used during vocabulary learning is the POSSUM approach.

The POSSUM Approach

The POSSUM approach is a tool that educators can use to support explicit vocabulary instruction in the classroom. Dr. Maryanne Wolf is the author of this approach, which has been the basis for her evidence-based RAVE-O program in both its original and new iterations. The approach itself is based on two decades of cognitive neuroscience research on the developing reading brain (M. Wolf, personal communication, June 26, 2023). In this post, we will use the POSSUM acronym to describe six different elements of word recognition: phonology, orthography, syntax, semantics, understanding, and morphology. Engaging these six elements of word recognition during vocabulary instruction equips students to learn and retain new words.

P-Phonology

Phonology describes the sounds, or phonemes, that make up a word. As children develop phonological awareness, they learn how to pronounce unfamiliar words by breaking them down into their respective phonemes and blending those sounds together to produce a word. Not all students will innately understand how to segment a word, or break it into its individual phonemes. In fact, it is estimated that most children will need explicit instruction in phonological segmenting in order to successfully master the skill (Liberman & Shankweiler, 1985).

O-Orthography

Orthography describes the letters and letter sequences, or graphemes, that represent the sounds in a word. In order to read a word, students must be able to convert the graphemes they see into phonemes that they can pronounce. In order to spell a word, students must convert the phonemes they hear into graphemes that they can write down. Sometimes, graphemes are made up of more than one letter. For example, in the word "trash," the /sh/ sound is represented by two letters. When two adjacent letters combine to represent one speech sound, the resulting sound is called a " digraph." Graphemes can also be made of three adjacent letters, which is called a " trigraph," or four adjacent letters, which is called a " quadrigraph." Graphemes that are made up of more than one letter can be difficult to decode. Students should be explicitly taught different syllable types and spelling rules to reinforce their understanding of these words. The six major syllable types are: closed, open, r-controlled, vowel team, silent -e, and consonant -le. Note: Some educational materials categorize diphthongs as separate from vowel teams, resulting in seven major syllable types. The same principles of explicit instruction still apply. For more information on each syllable type, see our Reading Glossary.

S-Syntax

Syntax describes how a word functions grammatically within a sentence. In order to understand words syntactically, students must receive explicit instruction in the different parts of speech and how to recognize them. For example, understanding that the word "child" is a noun and that nouns generally precede verbs in English sentences would be a type of syntactic knowledge.

S-Semantics

Semantics describes an understanding of what a word means. This includes both the word's definition in context, as well as other meanings the word can have. Students with a high semantic knowledge have a large and nuanced vocabulary.

U-Understanding

Students may also use background knowledge from outside the text to understand a word. For example, they may have seen the word before in another context, or they may be able to associate the word with something they are exposed to in their daily lives.

M-Morphology

Morphology describes all of the parts that make up a word, including prefixes ("un-," "re-," "anti-"), suffixes ("-ly," "-acy," "-able"), and root words ("astro," "script," "phobia"). An understanding of a word's etymology-the origin of the word and how its meaning has changed over time-can be helpful when dissecting its morphology.

Practical Application

Educators can implement POSSUM when teaching new vocabulary words in the classroom. Students may benefit from the use of graphic organizers, such as our downloadable POSSUM Graphic Organizer (see "Supplemental Resources for Teachers and Families"), to keep track of new vocabulary terms. Caregivers can also use the POSSUM Graphic Organizer with their child when reading at home. Here are two examples of how the six elements of POSSUM can be used to support the learning of both simple and complex words. Note: strategies and applications may vary slightly from program to program.

Example 1

Core Word

"stop"

Example Sentence

"Melissa told her friend to sit down and stop talking."

Phonology

Review sounds: /s/ /t/ /o/ /p/

Orthography

Review spelling: s-t-o-p

Syllable types: closed syllable

Spelling rules: short-vowel rule

Syntax

Parts of speech:

Noun → "Soon, the music came to a stop."

Verb → "Please stop bothering me." (used in the example sentence)

Adjective → "She hit the stop button to pause the movie."

Semantics

Possible meanings:

Stop (noun): a pause or breaking off; something that impedes or obstructs

Stop (verb): to get in the way of; to cease or quit (used in the example sentence)

Stop (adjective): designed to stop

Understanding

Use background knowledge to make connections:

Have I seen or heard this word used elsewhere?

"stop sign"

"stop, drop, and roll"

"to put a stop to"

Morphology

Explore word parts: n/a

Additional conjugations:

stopped → past tense verb

stops → present tense verb

stopping → present progressive verb

Example 2

Core Word

"inaudible"

Example Sentence

"Her friend's reply was practically inaudible."

Phonology

Review sounds: /i/ /n/ /au/ /d/ /i/ /b/ /l/

Orthography

Review spelling: i-n-a-u-d-i-b-l-e

Syllable types: closed syllable, vowel team, open syllable (schwa), consonant -le

Spelling rules: "au" makes the "aw" sound, open "i" with schwa pronunciation, -le syllables always end in silent "e"

Syntax

Parts of speech:

Adjective → "Her words were inaudible through the glass."

Semantics

Possible meanings:

Inaudible (adjective): unable to be heard

Understanding

Use background knowledge to make connections:

Have I seen or heard this word used elsewhere?

Have I seen or heard parts of this word used elsewhere?

Morphology

Explore word parts:

Prefix: in → not

Root word: audi → to hear

Suffix: ible → to be capable of

Additional conjugations:

Why It Works

Breaking down unfamiliar words using the POSSUM approach equips students to learn and retain new vocabulary terms. As we saw above, the brain's ability to recognize words relies on several different systems and requires phonological, orthographic, semantic, and contextual input. The reason the POSSUM approach works is that it encourages educators to explicitly teach new vocabulary in a way that systematically engages all four systems of language processing. Because these areas are interconnected and interrelated, activating them at the same time can lead to a ripple effect of literacy benefits.

For example, it has been demonstrated that explicit instruction in morphology can lead to increased proficiency in grapheme-phoneme mapping, as it provides an additional connection in the brain that supports rapid word recognition and comprehension (Bowers et al., 2010). When students receive explicit instruction in phoneme-grapheme relationships, as well as the ways in which morphology, syntax, and other variables can affect these relationships, they are also better equipped to become proficient spellers than if they are taught to spell through memorization alone (Ball & Blachman, 1991; Berninger et al., 2002). A greater awareness of orthography, or spelling, can in turn increase the depth of students' vocabulary, as well as their reading and writing proficiency (Graham, 2000; Graham et al., 2018). For example, a student who has been taught that the root "geo-" in the word "geography" means "earth" may be able to apply this knowledge to understand other words, like "geology" or "geocentric."

Additionally, studies have shown that curricula that use the POSSUM approach have more significant effects on students' reading fluency and comprehension than those that use only isolated phonics instruction or repeated reading (Morris et al., 2011; Lovett et al., 2017). While POSSUM originates from the RAVE-O curriculum, this evidence-based approach can be integrated into any classroom as a way of providing systematic and explicit vocabulary instruction.

The number of words in the English language is almost incalculable. There are around 600,000 words listed in the Oxford English Dictionary alone. Developing a thorough and useable understanding of these words through memorization and context clues alone would be an impossible task. However, when vocabulary learning is supported by a systematic approach, such as POSSUM, and also paired with explicit instruction in decoding and language comprehension skills, guesswork and memorization are taken out of the equation. Instead, students are taught the practical knowledge they need to break down new and unfamiliar words, taking their literacy skills to new heights.

Supplemental Resources for Teachers and Families
POSSUM Graphic Organizer
Educators can use this graphic organizer in the classroom to structure vocabulary learning and help students work through all six elements of the POSSUM approach. Caregivers may also use this resource to support vocabulary learning while reading with their children at home.

References

Gough, P. B., Alford, J. A. Jnr., & Holley-Wilcox, P. (1981). Words and contexts. In O. J. L. Tzeng and H. Singer (eds.). Perception of print: Reading research in experimental psychology. Erlbaum Associates.

Graham, S. (2000). Should the natural learning approach replace spelling instruction? Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 235-247. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.92.2.235

Moats, L. & Tolman, C. (2009). Language essentials for teachers of reading and spelling (LETRS): The challenge of learning to read (Module 1, 2nd e.d.). Sopris West.

Stanovich, K. E. (1980). Toward an interactive-compensatory model of individual differences in the development of reading fluency. Reading Research Quarterly, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.2307/747348
Editor's Note: This post was edited on June 26, 2023 to clarify that Dr. Maryanne Wolf is the author of the original POSSUM framework.

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Explicit Vocabulary Instruction Using the POSSUM Approach

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Teach students to use phonology, orthography, syntax, semantics, understanding, and morphology in the process of learning new vocabulary words.