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Phonics: Everything Parents Need To Know

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Phonics: Everything Parents Need To Know

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The Institute of Reading Development has taught reading skills to over 3 million students since 1970. This is a free resource to share the ways parents can support their child at home.

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Phonics -  Everything Parents Need to Know

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Requires a free teacher account, then provides a free platform for students to practice ELA content independently at their level. Readers can practice deciphering sight words that follow certain spelling patterns using the phonics skills they have been taught.

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Freckle helps K-12 teachers differentiate instruction and reach every student at their own level across Math, ELA, Social Studies and Science.

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An active blog by a literacy specialist who shares tried and true, research based activities for phonics.

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Looking for some fresh phonics activities for your word study lessons?

I use a lot of word sorts in my word study lessons, and they're effective. But sometimes my kiddos and I get a little tired of sort after sort after sort. Can you relate? 🙂

In today's post, I'll share 5 phonics activities to try with your kindergarten, 1st, or 2nd grade students! I hope you find at least a couple of new ideas!
Photo Credits; Regreto, Shutterstock
1. Mystery Word

Have students place 5 - 10 words, on individual cards, on the table in front of them. (Have students use the words they are currently studying AND words they have studied in the past, for review.) Each student should have the same set of words.

The teacher chooses one word and gives clues about that word. Students may guess the word at any time, but I do not allow the children to guess after one clue (they have to wait to hear two or more clues).

When you give clues, make sure that they do not immediately reveal the "identity" of the word. For example, if you state that the word ends in -at, you'll want students to have several different words that end in -at.

Examples of clues:

"The mystery word starts with the digraph 'ch.'"

"The mystery word rhymes with 'pig.'"

"The mystery word has 2 syllables."

"The mystery word has a prefix."

Kindergarten teachers can modify this by giving students alphabet letters rather than words. You then give clues like, "This is the letter that starts the word 'hat'" or "This letter has two straight lines" or "This is the last letter in the word 'pin.'" You can eventually transition to having students work with complete words.

This activity can be done in a whole group or small group setting. Once students have played this game many times with your support, you can have them play it on their own-a student leader makes up the clues for a partner or small group!

2. Word Train

In this activity, students manipulate words and change out letters to make new words.

First, direct students to make a word (they should use their own magnetic letters or letter tiles). After students have made it correctly, have them write it on the first car in their train.

Next, either show or ask students how they can change that word to form a new word. Once students have formed the new word with their magnetic letters or tiles, have them write it on the train.

Continue until the train is "full." Praise students for their work in changing the first word to a completely different word.

If you'd like this train template, you can get it for free here:

You can make the activity even more challenging (and assign it as independent work) by writing the first and last word on the train. Students have to figure out how to get from the first word to the last word!

3. Making Words

This activity was developed by Patricia Cunningham (1992). I'm going to share a basic outline of her activity, but there are other variations and extension activities that you can read about in one of her books, like this one.

To prepare for the activity, the teacher chooses a "secret word" (something related to a topic you've been studying, if possible). The teacher displays the letters in the word in a mixed-up order. Students should also have their own paper letter tiles with matching letters to manipulate.

The teacher directs students to make a 2-letter word, with her help (or a 3-letter word, if no 2-letter words are possible).

Continue guiding students in making words by giving directions like "Change the first letter to an S" or "Mix up the letters to make a different word." As you go, increase the number of letters in the words students make.

Have students try to figure out the "big" secret word. If they are not able to, give them clues to help.

Students can then do follow-up activities like practicing sorting the words they made, comparing and contrasting words, looking for words that rhyme, etc.

Again, this can be done in a whole group or small group setting. Students can eventually do "Making Words" activities and variations on their own (as independent work, they can repeat the same "Making Words" activity you did with them, but without your support).

4. Dictation

This one is not quite as game-like as numbers 1-3. But it can still be fun AND is an extremely valuable phonics activity. It also allows you to see how students are doing with applying phonics / word learning to their writing.

The way you structure the dictation activity will depend on students' ages and abilities. In general, you might try something like this:

1. Choose a sentence that includes ONLY words that students have been learning how to spell (CVCe words with the long i, for instance) and sight words.

2. Say the sentence aloud to students: "I like my bike."

3. Then, say, "Write 'I.'" Have students write the word.

4. "Write 'like.'" (If necessary, comment on the long i sound, and help students segment it if necessary.) Have students write the word.

5. Repeat for the remaining words in the sentence. Note: In kindergarten and first grade (and sometimes 2nd), I almost always dictate the sentence word-by-word. I want students' focus to be on using their phonics knowledge rather than trying to remember a sentence. If necessary, I will remind them to space, use capital letters, and punctuation. Although I can discuss these skills during the lesson, I try to stay focused on the phonics patterns (since that is the point of this type of dictation).

6. Have students reread their sentences. Discuss word features.

In kindergarten, I start with single-word dictations, and then we eventually move into very simple sentences. You can incorporate sound boxes or have students "tap out" words to support them with segmenting during the dictation.

Ways to make dictation fun:

Make up sentences about your students and/or classroom. (You may have to tell them how to spell a word if it doesn't fit the patterns students have been studying, but the enjoyment they get from relevant sentences will make it worth it.)

Make up silly sentences.

Allow students to choose a word they've been studying. Then, you come up with a sentence that uses that word (but is still phonics-controlled).

5. Real or Nonsense?

This activity is very flexible, open-ended, and can be adapted for any level.

To prepare, choose letters, chunks, or syllables students have been studying and place them on index cards or small pieces of paper.

You can either A) fold up the cards and place them into a bag or jar, or B) give each student a set of the cards to place on the table in front of them.

With option A, students reach into the bag/jar and take out two pieces of paper. They manipulate the word parts to try to make a word. They record the word(s) they can make, writing them into the "Real" or "Nonsense" categories.

With option B, you can direct students in finding specific letters, chunks, or syllables ("Find the chunk 'ing' and the letter S"). With your guidance, students form real and nonsense words.

This makes a great small-group activity because you can discuss the meanings of words too. Students can sort the words in other ways, beyond "real" and "nonsense."

Conclusions

I hope you got at least one new idea for your phonics instruction!

If you're looking for more activities that your students can do independently, check out my word work resources for K, 1st, and 2nd grade.

References

Blevins, W. (2017). A Fresh Look at Phonics, Grades K-2. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Cunningham, P.M., & Cunningham, J.W. (1992). Making words: Enhancing the invented spelling-decoding connection. The Reading Teacher, 46, 106-107.

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5 Phonics Activities to Keep Word Study Interesting (for K-2) - Learning at the Primary Pond

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Looking for some fresh phonics activities for your word study lessons? I use a lot of word sorts in my word study lessons, and they're effective. But sometimes my kiddos and I get a little tired of sort after sort after sort. Can you relate?

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A playlist of four second grade videos to help students practice their phonics skills.

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Grade 2: Phonics - AR and OR words | Kids Academy

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Provides second grade phonics games designed to help students understand and identify long and short vowels within simple sentences. They incorporate an auditory pronunciation of long and short vowels to really help students distinguish between certain vowels and how they are used differently in specific words.

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Second grade is an exciting time for students, because they are introduced to basic building blocks of reading and rhyming - phonics! Turtle Diary's large variety of second grade phonics games is designed to help students understand and identify long and short vowels within simple sentences as well through pictorials. Our phonics games for 2nd grade also incorporate an auditory pronunciation of long and short vowels to really help students distinguish between certain vowels and how they are used differently in specific words. Through our online phonics game, our hope is that second graders develop a strong foundation in phonics to be able to approach more difficult language arts concepts with confidence throughout their educational careers. Our games are designed to cultivate an interactive and positive learning experience for second graders to make learning fun and exciting, an impression of learning we hope they carry with them forever.

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Second grade is an exciting time for students, because they are introduced to basic building blocks of reading and rhyming - phonics! Turtle Diary's large variety of second grade phonics games is designed to help students understand and identify long and short vowels within simple sentences as well through pictorials.

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Provides interactive review for struggling students and builds confidence with the more advanced readers.

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Please see Starfall's how-to-teach-reading page, Learn to Read with Phonics, Fluency, and Comprehension, and print the Free Phonics Printouts for children. Starfall™ books, games, movies, and songs follow a research-based method of systematic phonics starting with consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. Emergent readers gain confidence as they progress to long vowels and other letter-sound relationships such as digraphs.

Brought to you by Zac the Rat™, Peg the Hen™, and Gus the Duck™.
Starfall™ Where Children Have Fun Learning to Read™

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Learn to Read with Phonics | Starfall Education

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Starfall's movies, games, and ebooks create an environment where children have fun as they learn to read. We use a proven sequential phonics method.

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The Lesson Plan Diva has many second grade phonics resources. There are phonics posters included here that you can post and there are phonics cards included that the students can use during writing or centers. It also includes pre and post assessments sheets so that you can see what students have mastered which phonics rules and what students you need to reteach certain rules.

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Phonics Rules Made Easy and a FREEBIE! - The Lesson Plan Diva

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I hope you guys are having a great weekend! I am, but of course I am working also. Next week is our second week of school and we are focusing on phonics hard this year.

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Provides information, lesson ideas, and instructional strategies for decoding, word study, and spelling. Includes the six syllable types, small-group instruction, sight-word wall activities, word sorts, and dictation lessons. Includes Spanish-language examples and materials.

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Young readers practice vowel team spelling patterns in order to build bridges in this interactive reading and writing game. Before the bus gets to each stop, kids will need to use their knowledge of vowel teams and letter-sound relationships to correctly spell the given word. Great for second graders, this game reinforces spelling patterns of common words and homophones.

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Young readers practice vowel team spelling patterns in order to build bridges in this interactive reading and writing game. Before the bus gets to each stop, kids will need to use their knowledge of vowel teams and letter-sound relationships to correctly spell the given word. Great for second graders, this game reinforces spelling patterns of common words and homophones.

Grade

Subject

View aligned standards

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Vowel Team Spelling | Game | Education.com

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All aboard the school bus! Help kids learn how to spell different vowel team words and homophones with this interactive spelling game.

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Provides a list of links to viable second grade phonics videos on YouTube.

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I love to begin my phonics block with videos/songs. Songs are a great way to learn and remember new things. Here are a few of my favorite YouTube videos for teaching phonics.

If you're looking for YouTube channels for the primary classroom, check out this blogpost!
Note: I try to keep this updated, but know sometimes YouTube videos are removed for different reasons. Not all videos may work.
Alphabet Videos

Jack Hartman is the kindergarten king. If you teach kinder, it's likely you've met him in a video or two. He's very affective at students active and learning in his videos. This video (& others like it) are a little quiz on letter names. Perfect for letter recognition. It does include fonts that may stump the students, but I actually like this because not all letters look exactly the same!

A super cute ABCs song. I can't help but love the little animated letters.

Letter Sound Videos

If you remember the "What Does the Fox Say" song...this is the same, but with letters. Students sing each letter sound.
WARNING: It's incredibly annoying to teachers, but the students LOVE it.

Another Jack Hartman video quiz for letter sounds!

Short Vowel Videos

Honestly, not all my students know who Batman is or this tempo, but they absolutely love it to practice their short vowel sounds.

A simple version of BINGO for short vowels. Catchy and easy to follow!

Short vs Long Vowel Videos

Scratch Garden anything has to be a favorite, I know I've talked about it before in my blog post about 8 YouTube Channels for the Primary Classroom.

Here's Jack Hartman again. A short vowel/long vowel workout video keeps the kids entertained and the teachers...cringing.

Digraph Videos

Scratch Garden again, doing amazing videos for EACH digraph (you can get the link to them at the bottom of this post in the shared Google Slide). The "Happy Cheese-y" tune gets stuck in our heads all day.

Good old Pink Fong. You know the did more than Baby Shark? They have a ton of phonics videos. Here's one for the digraph ck.

Final -e Videos

Set to the tune of "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" it's easy to sing along and practice final -e.

Personally, I love this one to introduce final-e. It's not a song, but a story about how strong the final-e is and gives all his power away to the short vowels so they can be long and strong!

Free Compilation

I've compiled all these and more on one Google Slide presentation for you for free!
Click HERE or on the picture to get a copy for yourself!
Note: You'll be automatically asked to make a copy, just press the blue button and it's your's.

Just as an added piece, there's a program called Edpuzzle, which can make your YouTube videos more interactive. Especially for distance learning, where students may be watching these videos independently. Check out the tutorial blogpost here.

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YouTube Videos for Teaching Phonics - Sparkling in Second Grade

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I love to begin my phonics block with videos/songs. Songs are a great way to learn and remember new things. Here are a few of my favorite YouTube videos for teaching phonics. If you're looking for YouTube channels for the primary classroom, check out this blogpost!

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These free phonics worksheets explore the different ways that letters may sound.

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Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

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Phonics Worksheets for Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade

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Free, printable phonics worksheets to develop strong language skills. More than 1,500 ELA activities. Click to learn more!

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Tips for Teaching ELL Second Grade Phonics

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Tips for Teaching ELL Second Grade Phonics

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Provides research based tips for teaching second grade phonics to ELL students.

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Phonics for MLs - A World of Language Learners

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Learn about some of the differences between teaching phonics to ELLs and native English speakers. Also discover some new resources.

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Video: Learning ‘b’ and ‘d’ and Reading Short Vowel Words with Aiko, Second Grader.

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Learning ‘b’ and ‘d’ and Reading Short Vowel Words with Aiko, Second Grader

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Great apps that give kids practice with basic phonics skills, including recognizing the letters of the alphabet, learning upper case and lower case letters, alphabet matching, and word building. These apps help kids work on listening skills while also practicing spelling and building their vocabulary.

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Phonics instruction helps children learn the relationships between the letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language. Children are taught, for example, that the letter ‘n’ represents the sound /n/, and that it is the first letter in words such as nose, nice, and new. We’ve found grea…

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These six short video clips give you the chance to watch and learn effective phonics activities. The video clips are from Reading Rockets' PBS television series Launching Young Readers.

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Mastering Short Vowels and Reading Whole Words with Calista, First Grader