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Teacher question:
Are there any resources that provide a list of morphemes to teach at each K-5 grade level? I have been looking for a definitive list of morphemes that is organized by grade level like the Fry sight word list. I often come across research about how L1 and L2 students acquire morphemes, but I am looking for a list that represents the morphemes that students will most likely see in print at each K-5 grade level. Does anything like that exist? Thank you for your time.
Shanahan's response:

The short answer to this question is, "No, I don't know of such a list."

But when have I ever been satisfied with the short answer to anything?

Let's make sure we're all in agreement as to what constitutes a morpheme? Basically, a morpheme is the "smallest grammatical unit." It isn't the same thing as a word, and yet many words are morphemes. The distinction turns on whether the unit (the morpheme or word) can stand on its own. Words have to have that kind of independence, while morphemes don't require it.

Thus, bags, trucked, running, and redirect are all words in the English language while bag, s, truck, ed, run, ing, re, and direct are all morphemes. Each morphemic unit carries meaning, but sometimes morphemes can do that independently (bag, truck, run, direct), and sometimes they need to be combined with other morphemes to be considered a word (s, ed, ing, re).

I admitted ignorance on this issue, and I've tried to turn that ignorance to your advantage. I contacted Jeffrey and Peter Bowers. Both are outstanding scholars (Jeff at the University of Bristol in the UK, and Peter at WordWorks Literacy Centre, in Ontario) who are particularly knowledgeable about teaching morphology to improve literacy. They've both published widely on the issue, and both have chided me when they felt I wasn't paying sufficient attention to how words work morphologically. These days I know no one better able to provide you with a thoughtful answer to your question, and boy was I right!

Word Matrix: a map of a word family

Word Sums: reveal underlying structure of any complex word (a word with more than just a base)

un + help + ful + ness > unhelpfulness

Here is Peter Bower's response (with my light editing)

I have no knowledge of such a list, but I wouldn't recommend one anyway.

My recommendation based on theory not direct research evidence - is that the main value comes from teaching all or many members of a morphological family at one time with the matrix and word sums (see the attached figure illustrating a matrix and word sum). In the younger grades I start with free bases [those morphemes that stand alone as words], but once that is established, I have no trouble introducing bound bases [the units that can't stand alone]. This relates to the research we cite about the value of studying meaningfully related items at one time rather than disconnected items.

Instead of a "scope and sequence" of morphemes to teach, what I recommend is starting with words in the children's vocabulary, analyzing such words to find their bases, then looking for other members of that family.

The point is not that there is a "scope and sequence" of morphemes to teach. Rather there is a kind of a "scope" of orthographic concepts that we want students to learn, and teachers can address those concepts based on whatever words are central to the readings they are introducing to the students.

A brief list of those concepts that should be taught would include:

Every word is a base or a base with something else (another base or affix)

Bases and affixes (morphemes) are the meaningful building blocks that construct words.

We can analyze complex words into constituent morphemes with word sums and show their interrelationship with a matrix.

English spelling prioritizes consistent spelling of morphemes over consistent pronunciation of morphemes. (This is why we refer to morphemes by their spelling not their pronunciation. The base of the word action is not referred to by the pronunciation of the word act. Instead it is referred to by its spelling. The base "a - c - t". This is the same as the fact that we don't refer to the <-ed> suffix by one or all of its three pronunciation, we call it by it's spelling "e-d suffix.")

Thus, we need to understand grapheme-phoneme correspondences from within the context of morphological families. (e.g. we learn the phonology of the grapheme by studying morphological families).

There are reliable conventions for the three suffixing conventions.

Studying and understanding the suffixing conventions is not primarily about improving spelling accuracy, it is about being able to analyze hypotheses about connections between words. We can test the hypothesis that has a base only if we know vowel suffixes replace final, non-syllabic s (image/ + ine -> imagine).

The "structure and meaning test": To determine that two words share a base, we need evidence from both structure (word sum) and meaning (etymology). So with the earlier example of words related to (play, playing, playful, replay, playhouse), we can prove all of those words can be analyzed with word sums with coherent affixes and bases. But we can also show that they all go back to an Old English root plegan, plegian for "frolic, move rapidly". However, the word which can be analyzed structurally turns out not to be related. It does not belong in the morphological family with the others because it goes back to a Latin root plac(ere) for "fold". So to "display" is to "unfold".

If we are going to teach children how their writing system works, we need to teach them the interrelation of morphology, phonology, and etymology. As we have pointed out, this is why Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) is not about "adding" morphological instruction to phonics instruction - its about teaching how the system works.

This is why I argue that SWI teaches grapheme-phoneme correspondences more explicitly and accurately than phonics. Phonics instruction (under the definition of associations of pronunciations and letters without reference to morphology or etymology) cannot explain the grapheme-phoneme correspondences in countless words like does or rough or every or homophones, and so on. So many people miss the absolute detail into orthographic phonology that comes with SWI.

Here are some videos to illustrate my point.

Grade 2 Morphology

A teacher showing investigations from his class.

Grade 1 Morphology

Investigating grapheme-phoneme correspondences - with the context of morphological word sums.

Kindergarten Morphology

A kindergarten lesson I taught introducing the word sum and matrix that touches on grapheme-phoneme correspondences like the pronunciation of the <-s> suffix for /z/ and /s/.

It's as simple as starting with the "known" and then expanding from that. Even if kids know all the words in a morphological family (e.g. play, playing, playful, replay, playhouse) the lesson is not about new vocabulary, but learning how word structure links words. That concept can then be applied anywhere.

The other thing I keep in mind when choosing morphological families to investigate is the orthographic concepts a family has to offer. If I've established the fact that words that share a base share a spelling and a meaning connection, then I can introduce a base like with words like actor, acting, react, and action as a way to introduce the fact that the pronunciation of morpheme might change but keep the spelling. In that way we learn the phonology of t is not the "t sound", but that the grapheme can write /t/ when that is the appropriate sound. I've attached an example of a lesson I've used for that before.

I also draw on the <-ed> suffix from early on to highlight this same concept that morphemes do not have pronunciations until they are in a word. The pronunciation of a word like is another useful one to get rid of this idea of a "t sound" since this very common pronunciation of a very common suffix is what is typically thought of the "t sound," but their ain't no /t/!

And then you also encounter words that give rise to the need to teach all the suffixing changes.

These are concepts teachers need to learn and they can bring into work with their class as they investigate words."

Shanahan again

I don't disagree with Peter on any of this, except I'm not as dismissive of the kind of list that you are requesting. I don't see it as mutually exclusive from the curriculum goals that he specified or contradictory of the kind of instruction he described.

Many teachers, when referring to morphology or "structural analysis", actually are talking about affixes alone, and not the bases. If that is the case here, there are some lists like that which present the most common prefixes and suffixes from textbooks in grades 3-9 (White, Sowell, & Yanagihara, 1989). You can easily find those lists on line and you could definitely make use of those lists to make sure that you are hitting all the notes if you do the word sums and matrixes that Peter recommends.

Otherwise, I haven't been able to come up with a graded list of bases for you to use. But I have passed your letter along to my friends at MetaMetrics (the Lexile people) and have asked if they could produce such a list from their language corpus of more than 1 billion words. Stay tuned!
See comments here ›

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What Should Morphology Instruction Look Like?

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Are there any resources that provide a list of morphemes to teach at each K-5 grade level? I have been looking for a definitive list of morphemes that is organized by grade level like the Fry sight word list.

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In accordance with our commitment to deliver reading programs based on research-based instructional strategies, Read Naturally's programs develop and support the five (5) components of reading identified by the National Reading Panel -phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Phonemic Awareness

Phonemes, the smallest units making up spoken language, combine to form syllables and words. Phonemic awareness refers to the student's ability to focus on and manipulate these phonemes in spoken syllables and words. According to the National Reading Panel, teaching phonemic awareness to children significantly improves their reading more than instruction that lacks any attention to phonemic awareness.
Learn more about phonemic awareness

Phonics

Phonics is the relationship between the letters (or letter combinations) in written language and the individual sounds in spoken language. Phonics instruction teaches students how to use these relationships to read and spell words. The National Reading Panel indicated that systematic phonics instruction enhances children's success in learning to read, and it is significantly more effective than instruction that teaches little or no phonics.
Learn more about phonics

Fluency

Fluent readers are able to read orally with appropriate speed, accuracy, and proper expression. Fluency is the ability to read as well as we speak and to make sense of the text without having to stop and decode each word. The National Reading Panel's research findings concluded that guided oral reading and repeated oral reading had a significant and positive impact on word recognition, reading fluency, and comprehension in students of all ages.
Learn more about fluency

Vocabulary

Vocabulary development is closely connected to comprehension. The larger the reader's vocabulary (either oral or print), the easier it is to make sense of the text. According to the National Reading Panel, vocabulary can be learned incidentally through storybook reading or listening to others, and vocabulary should be taught both directly and indirectly. Students should be actively engaged in instruction that includes learning words before reading, repetition and multiple exposures, learning in rich contexts, incidental learning, and use of computer technology.
Learn more about vocabulary

Comprehension

Comprehension is the complex cognitive process readers use to understand what they have read. Vocabulary development and instruction play a critical role in comprehension. The National Reading Panel determined that young readers develop text comprehension through a variety of techniques, including answering questions (quizzes) and summarization (retelling the story).
Learn more about comprehension

Note: Progress in reading does not necessarily result in progress in spelling. Spelling instruction is needed to develop students' spelling skills.
Learn more about spelling

For more information

Learn more about the National Reading Panel
Intervention programs that address these reading components

Bibliography

Mehta, P. D., Foorman, B. R., Branum-Martin, L., & Taylor, W. P. (2005). Literacy as a unidimensional construct: Validation, sources of influence and implications in a longitudinal study in grades 1-4. Scientific Studies of Reading, 9(2), pp. 85-116.

National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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Five (5) Components of Reading :: Read Naturally, Inc.

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Our programs develop the National Reading Panel 's five (5) components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

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Root Word, Prefix & Suffix Activity Freebie | Morphology Word Matrix Practice!

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That's a complicated sounding term, but it's meaning is simple: the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the sounds in spoken language. Phonological awareness is really a group of skills that include a child's ability to:

Identify words that rhyme

Count the number of syllables in a name

Recognize alliteration (words with the same beginning sound)

Segment (break) a sentence into words

Identify the syllables in a word

The most sophisticated phonological awareness skill (and the last to develop) is called phonemic awareness - the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. When playing with the sounds in word, children learn to:

Blend individual sounds to make a word

Stretch out a word into its individual sounds

Swap in a different sound to the beginning, middle, or end of a word to make a new word

Strong phonemic awareness is one of the strongest predictors of later reading success. Children who struggle with reading, including kids with dyslexia, often have trouble with phonemic awareness, but with the right kind of instruction they can be successful. Learn some of the warning signs for dyslexia in this article, Clues to Dyslexia in Early Childhood.

Parents can make a big difference in helping their children become readers by practicing these pre-reading oral skills at home. Try some of the simple rhyming and word sound games described here.

Try these speech sound activities at home

Rhyme time

"I am thinking of an animal that rhymes with big. What's the animal?" Answer: pig. What else rhymes with big? ( dig, fig, wig)

Road trip rhymes

While you're out driving in the car, spot something out the window and ask your child, "what rhymes with tree or car or shop?" Then switch roles and have your child spot something and ask you for a rhyme. This can turn into a game of nonsense rhymes ("What rhymes with tree stump?") but that's great for practicing sounds, too!

Word families

Word families are sets of words that rhyme. Start to build your family by giving your child the first word, for example, cat. Then ask your child to name all the "kids" in the cat family, such as: bat, fat, sat, rat, pat, mat, hat, flat. This will help your child hear patterns in words.

Silly tongue twisters

Sing songs and say silly tongue twisters. These help your child become sensitive to the sounds in words.

Tongue ticklers

Alliteration or "tongue ticklers" - where the sound you're focusing on is repeated over and over again - can be a fun way to provide practice with a speech sound. Try these:

For M: Miss Mouse makes marvelous meatballs!

For S: Silly Sally sings songs about snakes and snails.

For F: Freddy finds fireflies with a flashlight.

Syllable shopping

While at the grocery store, have your child tell you the syllables in different food names. Have them hold up a finger for each word part. Eggplant = egg-plant, two syllables. Pineapple = pine-ap-ple, three syllables. Show your child the sign for each and ask her to say the word.

"I spy" first sounds

Practice beginning sounds with this simple "I spy" game at home, on a walk, or at the grocery store. Choose words with distinctive, easy-to-hear beginning sounds. For example, if you're in the bathroom you can say, "I spy something red that starts with the "s" ssss sound ( soap)."

Sound scavenger hunt

Choose a letter sound, then have your child find things around your house that start with the same sound. "Can you find something in our house that starts with the letter "p" pppppp sound? Picture, pencil, pear "

Which letter sounds do I teach first?

Reading expert Linda Farrell recommends that you begin with teaching the letter names, and then focus on the letter sounds that are closest to their letter names (such as /v/). And here's a great tip for teaching the trickier letter name-letter sound combinations - use arm motions. In this video, Linda demonstrates motions for /x/ and /y/. (From our video series Reading SOS: Expert Answers to Family Questions About Reading.)

Sound games

Practice blending sounds into words. Ask "Can you guess what this word is? m - o - p." Hold each sound longer than normal.

First sounds

When you're reading together with your child, pick a word from the book and say it with emphasis on the first sound. Pick another word and compare them. "Zzz-zookeeper and rrr-rhinoceros. Can you hear what sound zzz-zookeeper starts with? Is it the same as rrr-rhinoceros?

Jump, skip, hop!

Create simple picture cards that you draw or cut out of magazines. Have your child, identify what's in the picture, and then break that word into its individual sounds. For example dog is d-o-g, three sounds (phonemes). Three sounds? You and your child do three jumping jacks, skips, or hops (followed by a high-five). You can also do this game outdoors without the cards, just call out simple words for your child.

Snail talk

Tell your child you're going to communicate in "snail talk" and they need to figure out what you're saying. Take a simple word and stretch it out very slowly (e.g., /fffffllllaaaag/), then ask your child to tell you the word. Switch roles and have your child stretch out a word for you.

"I spy" blending

Here's an easy phoneme blending game you can play while talking a walk. For blending, you can say, "I see a sign that says s-t-o-p" Then your child has to blend the sounds to guess your word - stop. (Remember to say only the sounds in the word - not the letters.) Keep the words short, moving from two to three to four sounds depending on your child's skill level.

Sound counting

Using LEGO bricks, beads, or pennies, say a word and have your child show you how many sounds the word makes. For example, top = t-o-p = three sounds, so your child would place three objects in a row. Then have them tap each object as they say the sound. Remember, your child is just showing you the sounds they hear. So the word bike would be = b-i-k (silent e) = only three sounds.

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Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Activities for Your Kindergartener

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Phonological and phonemic awareness are important pre-reading skills, related to the ability to hear, identify, and play with the sounds in spoken language - including rhymes, syllables, and the smallest units of sound (phonemes). Children with strong phonological awareness skills are ready to become readers.

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Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Activities - Word Lists FREEBIE

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Just 15 minutes each day makes a big difference! Reading aloud is a great way to help your kindergartener absorb new words and see how stories are structured. It's also one of the best ways to help children learn about the world and make connections between their own lives and what's in the book - that helps children see the world with empathy. And last but not least, it's a wonderful time to snuggle up with your child and share the experience of reading and discovery together.

Remember that reading together should spark curiosity, joy, and a desire to explore and learn. Conversations about books should be enjoyable, and not a set of quizzes and questions. As you try some of the activities listed below, remember to keep it light and lively for your child.

There are so many great nonfiction and informational books for very young kids (such as the popular DK Eyewitness series and National Geographic series). Try to include some of these during your next trip to the public library. Children love learning about the real world and are proud to share what they know!

Even a walk around the neighborhood or a trip to the grocery store can be a rich learning experience for young children. A child may see an urban bunny for the first time on a walk, and then be able to connect it to stories about rabbits. These personal connections help children connect what they read with what they know - a powerful way to build comprehension skills!

Try these comprehension activities at home

"I predict ..."

When you sit down for a read aloud, look at the book's cover together. Ask, "What do you think this book might be about? Why? Can you make some predictions?" Guide your child through the pages, discuss the pictures, and brainstorm what might happen in the story. Talk about any personal experiences your child may have that relate to the story.

Five-finger retell

After reading a story together, have your child tell you five things about the story, using her fingers to talk about each one:

1. Characters: who was in the story?

2. Setting: where did the story take place?

3. Events: what happened in the story?

4. End: how did the story end?

5. Favorite character or part of the story

Active reading

Model active reading when you read with your child. Talk about what's happening as you're reading. Stop and discuss any interesting or tricky vocabulary words. Help your child make pictures of the story in his mind. Ask your child, "What just happened here? How do you think that character feels? Have you ever felt like that? What do you think will happen next?" Not only will this develop your child's comprehension, but critical thinking skills as well.

Mind movies

When you come to a descriptive passage in a book, have your child close her eyes and create a mental movie of the scene. Encourage her to use all five senses. Read the passage over together, looking for details that bring the scene to life. Ask questions like, "How do you know it was a hot day? Which words help you understand that the child was lonely?"

Tell me about it

After a read aloud, one of the best and easiest ways to check for understanding is to ask your child to summarize what the book was about in their own words. You can ask a question or two to help your child clarify her thinking or to add more detail.

Think alouds

Connect the book to your child's own life experience. For example, A River Dream: "This book reminds me of the time my father took me fishing. Do you remember the time we went fishing?"

Connect the book to other books they have read. For example, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: "This story reminds me of Cinderella. Both stories are about sisters. Do you know any other stories about nice and mean sisters? Let's keep reading to find out other ways the stories are similar."

Connect the book to big ideas/lessons. For example, Stellaluna: "This story helps me understand that we are all the same in many ways, but it's our differences that make us special."

Wordless

Wordless picture books provide your child with practice using clues to create meaning. There are no wrong stories with wordless picture books, only variations based on what the "reader" sees and puts together. Rosie's Walk, Good Dog, Carl, and Beaver Is Lost are all interesting and fun wordless picture books to explore. Find more wordless books on BookFinder.

Family stories

This is a wonderful activity for a family picnic or for a rainy day when you're snuggled together on the couch. Share a favorite story about your childhood or a family story that's been passed down from generation to generation. Use vivid language and details about people, places, and things. Funny or scary will really get your child's attention! Your child will probably have lots of questions, which keeps the storytelling alive. You could also ask your child if she has a favorite family story of her own.

Map this book!

Draw a map of the book's setting, and be sure to include the places where the main action happens!

Beginning-middle-end

This is a great way to see if your child understands the main parts of a story. After reading a book together, give your child three sheets of paper, with "beginning" on one sheet, "middle" on the second sheet, and "end" on the third sheet. Ask your child to think about the three parts of the story, and then draw what happened on each on the sheets. Arrange the sheets in order, left to right. What happens if you re-arrange the sheets? Does the story still make sense?

Words, words, words

Be sure to include books with rich vocabulary in your read alouds and call attention to interesting words and phrases from the story. This may include repeated phrases or idioms (such as "get cold feet" or "I'm all ears"). Offer a kid-friendly definition and connect the new word or phrase to something your child already knows.Talk about how the author used language or words to make the text interesting, informative, funny, or sad.

Picture walk

Talk about the book before you read it. Show the cover illustration and ask your child to predict what the book is about. Flip through the book, look closely at the pictures together, and talk about what's on the jacket flaps.

Remember when ...?

Connect what your child reads with what happens in life. If reading a book about birds, relate it to birds you've seen on walks in your neighborhood.

Story detectives

As you read with your child, stop and ask questions such as: What's happening in the picture? Why do you think the puppy is sad? Have you felt that way yourself? Why do you think the spider wanted to help the pig? What do you think is going to happen next? How do you think the story will end? Take turns and let your child to "be the detective" and ask you questions about the book. Not only will this develop your child's comprehension, but critical thinking skills as well.

Picture the character (Part 1)

Try this activity from the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR). The FCRR "At Home" series was developed especially for families! Watch the video and then download the activity: Picture the Character . See all FCRR comprehension activities here .

Picture the character (Part 2)

Try this activity from the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR). The FCRR "At Home" series was developed especially for families! Watch the video and then download the activity: Picture the Character . See all FCRR comprehension activities here .

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Kindergartners are just beginning their journey as readers, yet they are actively absorbing language and experiences to make sense of the world around them. Encourage your child to think and talk about shared oral stories and books that are read aloud.

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Free Reading Comprehension Passages & Questions by Mrs Thompson’s Treasures

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Reading Fluency Sample Passages - FREEBIE by Melissa Mazur | TPT

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20 Free Kindergarten Reading Passages

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Reading Fluency and Comprehension (Set 1)
Reading Fluency and Comprehension (Set 2)
Reading Comprehension Passages : Beginning Readers

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Free Kindergarten Reading Comprehension and Questions

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20 Free Kindergarten Reading Passages You may also be interested in: Reading Fluency and Comprehension (Set 1) Reading Fluency and Comprehension (Set 2) Reading Comprehension Passages : Beginning Readers Check out my money saving bundles: Sight Word Reading and Writing Fluency (The Bundle) GROWIN...

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Learning to read starts kids on a lifelong learning journey, but literacy is more than just understanding the words on a page. Reading fluency involves comprehension, speed, accuracy, and prosody (reading with expression). There are many ways to help kids develop reading fluency, both in and out of the classroom. Here are some of our favorite reading fluency activities.

1. Start with a reading fluency anchor chart

Introduce the basics of reading fluency with an anchor chart you can hang in the classroom. It's a good reference for kids throughout the year. Here are more fluency anchor charts to try.

Learn more: Oral Reading Fluency/Teaching With a Mountain View

2. Model fluency with read-alouds

Reading aloud to kids is important for so many reasons, but one of the best is that it teaches kids what fluency sounds like. Adults can model expression, phrasing, pace, and so much more when they read to kids. Try some of our favorite read-alouds, or check out this list of the best read-alouds on YouTube as part of your reading center activities.

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3. Hang reading fluency posters

Post these in your classroom reading center to remind kids what reading fluency really means. They're simple but effective. Get your free set of reading fluency posters here.

4. Try sentence trees

Sentence trees are terrific reading activities that build fluency in younger students. They allow kids to focus on each word, improving accuracy and speed along the way.

Learn more: Sentence Trees/Fun in First

5. Put together poems and nursery rhymes

Kids often memorize nursery rhymes long before they learn to read. By breaking those rhymes apart into individual words and putting them back together again, kids see how words build into sentences and stories in a natural flow.

Learn more: Fluency To Improve Comprehension/Mrs. Winter's Bliss

6. Use line tracking and word pointers

For some kids, focus is a challenge. Their eyes wander around the page, and they have trouble developing the speed needed for fluency. Use another piece of paper to help them focus on the line they're reading, or try pointing to the words one by one.

Learn more: Reading With Fluency/Katelyn's Learning Studio

7. Read and reread ... and reread

Fluency involves lots and lots of reading and rereading. When kids read a passage over and over again, they build up their speed and accuracy automatically. One fun way to work on expression is to try rereading with different voices.

Learn more: Improve Reading Comprehension/Teach123

8. Add a timer to rereading

Combine repeated reading with a timer. Students read a passage for 1 minute, working to increase the number of words they read correctly each time. This is a nice tool for working on speed and accuracy.

Learn more: Build Reading Fluency/1st Grade Pandamania

9. Track student progress

While you don't want to overemphasize numbers, tracking a student's fluency is helpful to both you and them. Parents can help with this one at home too.

Learn more: Reading With Fluency/Katelyn's Learning Studio

10. Work on those sight words

One of reasons elementary readers focus so much on sight words is that they help to build reading fluency. Find a roundup of all our favorite sight word activities here.

11. Look to punctuation for expression cues

Punctuation makes passages easier to read, but it also gives a reader cues on proper expression. Help your kids recognize what each punctuation mark sounds like when reading fluently.

Learn more: Teaching Expression in Fluency/The Owl Teacher

12. Answer the fluency phone

These are such a fun tool for helping kids really hear themselves read! They're great for busy classrooms and reading centers. Kids talk softly into the phone, and the sound is amplified in their ear. You can buy fluency phones or make them yourself from PVC pipe.

Learn more: Fluency To Improve Reading Comprehension/Mrs. Winter's Bliss

13. Read with partners

Whether kids are reading together or you pair an adult helper with a student, taking turns reading is a terrific way to get more fluent. When one reader is stronger, have them read the passage first and have the other reader echo it back.

Learn more: Ways To Improve Reading Fluency/The Measured Mom

14. Get a reading buddy

Shy kids will especially appreciate the chance to practice reading out loud to a stuffed animal pal. Encourage them to read as if their fuzzy friend can hear everything they're saying.

Learn more: Ways To Use Stuffed Animals in the Classroom/Stories by Storie

15. Give kids a reading fluency rubric

Use this free printable rubric when evaluating students' reading fluency, or send it home for parents. Kids can even use it to self-evaluate!

Learn more: Reading Fluency Is Not Just About Speed/Teacher Thrive

16. Use a fluency bookmark

A handy bookmark keeps fluency strategies front and center when kids read. We love this idea for kids who are ready for chapter books.

Learn more: Focusing on Fluency/Upper Elementary Snapshots

17. Introduce the concept of scooping phrases

Pointing to words is good for building speed and accuracy, but scooping phrases takes things to the next level. This practice is a great help for developing expression and comprehension.

Learn more: Reading Fluency Phrasing/This Reading Mama

18. Hold a school-wide fluency challenge

Make literacy and reading fluency something the whole school focuses on. Have PE teachers post sight words for kids to read out when they run past. Invite cafeteria workers to join you for story time. Track fluency and celebrate milestones with individual and whole-school rewards! Learn more about holding a school-wide fluency challenge here.

19. Set up buddy reading

Pair older students with younger students to practice and model reading fluency. Older students can read picture books, which have longer sentences and higher vocabulary that challenge older students but are still out of reach for younger students. The older students will get practice with fluency, and younger students will benefit from hearing picture books read aloud.

20. Use highlighter strips

Highlighter strips, bright tape-like strips that students can use to follow along as they read longer books, can help upper elementary students keep their place. And keeping their place helps them read fluently.

Buy it: Highlighter Strips at Amazon

21. Teach robot vs. non-robot reading

Help students understand the prosody or expression part of fluency with a lesson on robot reading vs. fluent reading. Have students practice (silly) robot reading and then fluent reading to hear (and feel) the difference.

Learn more: Arlene Neubarth/Pinterest

22. Put on a play

Readers theater, with a script or a favorite book, is one way to practice fluent reading. Choose a book with lots of dialogue and encourage students to really feel the story.

23. Use the BEST strategy for multisyllabic word reading

When students get to multisyllabic words, they may struggle to get past longer words like "momentarily" and "topography." Teach them a strategy to sound out longer words:

Break the word apart into syllables.

Examine each part.

Say each part.

Try the whole word.

24. Host a poetry jam

Poetry is a great way to practice fluent reading, and it can be used at any grade level. For younger kids, work with simple poems and rhymes. For older children, use poems from Shel Silverstein or Jack Pruletsky. Have each child choose a poem and practice reading it with flare, then host a poetry jam where students read the poems they've practiced.

Learn more: Poetry Cafe/School and the City

25. Record students' reading

Recording audiobooks for your classroom library is one way for students to see how fluent reading benefits everyone. Have students record reading a book on an audio recording app, and save it for other teachers to use with their students.

Learn more: Fluency Activities for Your First Grader/Reading Rockets

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25 Fantastic Reading Fluency Activities To Build Literacy in Young Readers

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Help kids improve their reading fluency with these fun activities and center ideas that cover a wide range of proven strategies.

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Guidelines for instruction

Provide children with opportunities to read and reread a range of stories and informational texts by reading on their own, partner reading, or choral reading.

Introduce new or difficult words to children, and provide practice reading these words before they read on their own.

Include opportunities for children to hear a range of texts read fluently and with expression.

Suggest ideas for building home-school connections that encourage families to become involved actively in children's reading development.

Encourage periodic timing of children's oral reading and recording of information about individual children's reading rate and accuracy.

Model fluent reading, then have students reread the text on their own.

What students should read

Fluency develops as a result of many opportunities to practice reading with a high degree of success. Therefore, your students should practice rereading aloud texts that are reasonably easy for them – that is, texts containing mostly words that they know or can decode easily. In other words, the texts should be at the students' independent reading level.

A text is at students' independent reading level if they can read it with about 95% accuracy. If the text is more difficult, students will focus on word recognition and will not have an opportunity to develop fluency.

The text your students practice rereading orally should also be relatively short – probably 50-200 words, depending on the age of the students. You should also use a variety of reading materials, including stories, nonfiction, and poetry. Poetry is especially well suited to fluency practice because poems for children are often short and they contain rhythm, rhyme, and meaning, making practice easy, fun, and rewarding.

Model fluent reading

By listening to good models of fluent reading, students learn how a reader's voice can help written text make sense. Read aloud daily to your students. By reading effortlessly and with expression, you are modeling for your students how a fluent reader sounds during reading.

Repeated reading

After you model how to read the text, you must have the students reread it. By doing this, the students are engaging in repeated reading. Usually, having students read a text four times is sufficient to improve fluency. Remember, however, that instructional time is limited, and it is the actual time that students are actively engaged in reading that produces reading gains.

Have other adults read aloud to students. Encourage parents or other family members to read aloud to their children at home. The more models of fluent reading the children hear, the better. Of course, hearing a model of fluent reading is not the only benefit of reading aloud to children. Reading to children also increases their knowledge of the world, their vocabulary, their familiarity with written language ("book language"), and their interest in reading.

Activities for students to increase fluency

There are several ways that your students can practice orally rereading text, including student-adult reading, choral (or unison) reading, tape-assisted reading, partner reading, and readers' theatre.

Student-adult reading

In student-adult reading, the student reads one-on-one with an adult. The adult can be you, a parent, a classroom aide, or a tutor. The adult reads the text first, providing the students with a model of fluent reading. Then the student reads the same passage to the adult with the adult providing assistance and encouragement. The student rereads the passage until the reading is quite fluent. This should take approximately three to four rereadings.

Choral reading

In choral, or unison, reading, students read along as a group with you (or another fluent adult reader). Of course, to do so, students must be able to see the same text that you are reading. They might follow along as you read from a big book, or they might read from their own copy of the book you are reading. For choral reading, choose a book that is not too long and that you think is at the independent reading level of most students. Patterned or predictable books are particularly useful for choral reading, because their repetitious style invites students to join in. Begin by reading the book aloud as you model fluent reading.

Then reread the book and invite students to join in as they recognize the words you are reading. Continue rereading the book, encouraging students to read along as they are able. Students should read the book with you three to five times total (though not necessarily on the same day). At this time, students should be able to read the text independently.

Tape-assisted reading

In tape-assisted reading, students read along in their books as they hear a fluent reader read the book on an audiotape. For tape-assisted reading, you need a book at a student's independent reading level and a tape recording of the book read by a fluent reader at about 80-100 words per minute. The tape should not have sound effects or music. For the first reading, the student should follow along with the tape, pointing to each word in her or his book as the reader reads it. Next, the student should try to read aloud along with the tape. Reading along with the tape should continue until the student is able to read the book independently, without the support of the tape.

Partner reading

In partner reading, paired students take turns reading aloud to each other. For partner reading, more fluent readers can be paired with less fluent readers. The stronger reader reads a paragraph or page first, providing a model of fluent reading. Then the less fluent reader reads the same text aloud. The stronger student gives help with word recognition and provides feedback and encouragement to the less fluent partner. The less fluent partner rereads the passage until he or she can read it independently. Partner reading need not be done with a more and less fluent reader. In another form of partner reading, children who read at the same level are paired to reread a story that they have received instruction on during a teacher-guided part of the lesson. Two readers of equal ability can practice rereading after hearing the teacher read the passage.

Readers' theatre

In readers' theatre, students rehearse and perform a play for peers or others. They read from scripts that have been derived from books that are rich in dialogue. Students play characters who speak lines or a narrator who shares necessary background information. Readers' theatre provides readers with a legitimate reason to reread text and to practice fluency. Readers' theatre also promotes cooperative interaction with peers and makes the reading task appealing.

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Fluency: Instructional Guidelines and Student Activities

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The best strategy for developing reading fluency is to provide your students with many opportunities to read the same passage orally several times. To do this, you should first know what to have your students read. Second, you should know how to have your students read aloud repeatedly.

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20 Tips for Teaching Concepts of Print | Free Printable Activity

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Chances are, you’re a parent or early childhood educator trying to understand more about concepts of print.  If so, you’ve come to the right place! Let’s take a look at what concepts of print are, tips, activities,

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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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Discover 20 ways to help children learn about concepts of print - that print carries meaning, directionality in a book, letter and word awareness, upper case and lower case letters, punctuation, and more.

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Concepts of print is understanding HOW print works and functions. Before we can even work on teaching students learning how to read, we should teach book awareness and concepts of print. Concepts about print is an important beginning literacy skill.

Print of concepts comes in two forms: book awareness and print awareness. Book awareness is when a student can identify what a book is, parts of a book and how to use it by themselves. Meanwhile, print awareness pertains to what is written inside the book. Aside from that, it involves taking a look at what can be contained inside, for example how words form sentences, sentences form paragraphs and what is written (print) is portrayed in the images.

Why you should teach it to your students?

Learning about the concepts of print both in book and print awareness allows students a good foundation in learning how to read.

Activities to teach it to your students

Showing students book awareness & directionality

Let's now take a look at how to help students understand how to use a book. In order for them to gain this skill, they must be able to do the following:

Return the book into its normal position before starting to read

Identify its front and back cover that is connected by a spine

Point to the book's title

Point to the book's author

Turning to the next page

Going back one page

Which direction should they read it

Show students what print awareness is

Ask your students about the following to know if they have print awareness. Have them point to:

Teach and show them:

the first letter/word/sentence is on a page

the last letter/word/sentence is on a page

spaces between words

Being aware of what punctuation marks are

After learning what concepts of print is and how to check if a student understands this, let's take a look at activities to help them learn this skill.

Always model these concepts before reading a book or while reading

The simplest way to help students grasp the idea of a book is by showing them one in person. Show students how to properly hold it, turn its pages, and read what it is written by themselves (start by showing them 1:1 correspondence using the title each time your read).

Use environmental print to teach students print awareness

Environmental print are large symbols, such as signs and billboards, to help your students recognize letters to phrases. A possible example for this activity is showing a collage of samples that can be found locally and ask your students to identify the parts of the sign. Ask them which is a capital letter, ask them to point out punctuation marks, etc.

Play alphabet and counting games

Like any good program has make sure to incorporate various alphabet and counting games that deal with letters, words and sentences.

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Teaching Concepts of Print to Beginning Readers

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What are Concepts of Print? Concepts of print is understanding HOW print works and functions. Before we can even work on teaching students learning how to read, we should teach book awareness and concepts of print. Concepts about print is an important beginning literacy skill. Print of

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That's a complicated sounding term, but it's meaning is simple: the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the sounds in spoken language. Phonological awareness is really a group of skills that include a child's ability to:

Identify words that rhyme

Count the number of syllables in a name

Recognize alliteration (words with the same beginning sound)

Segment (break) a sentence into words

Identify the syllables in a word

The most sophisticated phonological awareness skill (and the last to develop) is called phonemic awareness - the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. When playing with the sounds in word, children learn to:

Blend individual sounds to make a word

Stretch out a word into its individual sounds

Swap in a different sound to the beginning, middle, or end of a word to make a new word

Strong phonemic awareness is one of the strongest predictors of later reading success. Children who struggle with reading, including kids with dyslexia, often have trouble with phonemic awareness, but with the right kind of instruction they can be successful. Learn some of the warning signs for dyslexia in this article, Clues to Dyslexia in Early Childhood.

Parents can make a big difference in helping their children become readers by practicing these pre-reading oral skills at home. Try some of the simple rhyming and word sound games described here.

Try these speech sound activities at home

Rhyme time

"I am thinking of an animal that rhymes with big. What's the animal?" Answer: pig. What else rhymes with big? ( dig, fig, wig)

Road trip rhymes

While you're out driving in the car, spot something out the window and ask your child, "what rhymes with tree or car or shop?" Then switch roles and have your child spot something and ask you for a rhyme. This can turn into a game of nonsense rhymes ("What rhymes with tree stump?") but that's great for practicing sounds, too!

Word families

Word families are sets of words that rhyme. Start to build your family by giving your child the first word, for example, cat. Then ask your child to name all the "kids" in the cat family, such as: bat, fat, sat, rat, pat, mat, hat, flat. This will help your child hear patterns in words.

Silly tongue twisters

Sing songs and say silly tongue twisters. These help your child become sensitive to the sounds in words.

Tongue ticklers

Alliteration or "tongue ticklers" - where the sound you're focusing on is repeated over and over again - can be a fun way to provide practice with a speech sound. Try these:

For M: Miss Mouse makes marvelous meatballs!

For S: Silly Sally sings songs about snakes and snails.

For F: Freddy finds fireflies with a flashlight.

Syllable shopping

While at the grocery store, have your child tell you the syllables in different food names. Have them hold up a finger for each word part. Eggplant = egg-plant, two syllables. Pineapple = pine-ap-ple, three syllables. Show your child the sign for each and ask her to say the word.

"I spy" first sounds

Practice beginning sounds with this simple "I spy" game at home, on a walk, or at the grocery store. Choose words with distinctive, easy-to-hear beginning sounds. For example, if you're in the bathroom you can say, "I spy something red that starts with the "s" ssss sound ( soap)."

Sound scavenger hunt

Choose a letter sound, then have your child find things around your house that start with the same sound. "Can you find something in our house that starts with the letter "p" pppppp sound? Picture, pencil, pear "

Which letter sounds do I teach first?

Reading expert Linda Farrell recommends that you begin with teaching the letter names, and then focus on the letter sounds that are closest to their letter names (such as /v/). And here's a great tip for teaching the trickier letter name-letter sound combinations - use arm motions. In this video, Linda demonstrates motions for /x/ and /y/. (From our video series Reading SOS: Expert Answers to Family Questions About Reading.)

Sound games

Practice blending sounds into words. Ask "Can you guess what this word is? m - o - p." Hold each sound longer than normal.

First sounds

When you're reading together with your child, pick a word from the book and say it with emphasis on the first sound. Pick another word and compare them. "Zzz-zookeeper and rrr-rhinoceros. Can you hear what sound zzz-zookeeper starts with? Is it the same as rrr-rhinoceros?

Jump, skip, hop!

Create simple picture cards that you draw or cut out of magazines. Have your child, identify what's in the picture, and then break that word into its individual sounds. For example dog is d-o-g, three sounds (phonemes). Three sounds? You and your child do three jumping jacks, skips, or hops (followed by a high-five). You can also do this game outdoors without the cards, just call out simple words for your child.

Snail talk

Tell your child you're going to communicate in "snail talk" and they need to figure out what you're saying. Take a simple word and stretch it out very slowly (e.g., /fffffllllaaaag/), then ask your child to tell you the word. Switch roles and have your child stretch out a word for you.

"I spy" blending

Here's an easy phoneme blending game you can play while talking a walk. For blending, you can say, "I see a sign that says s-t-o-p" Then your child has to blend the sounds to guess your word - stop. (Remember to say only the sounds in the word - not the letters.) Keep the words short, moving from two to three to four sounds depending on your child's skill level.

Sound counting

Using LEGO bricks, beads, or pennies, say a word and have your child show you how many sounds the word makes. For example, top = t-o-p = three sounds, so your child would place three objects in a row. Then have them tap each object as they say the sound. Remember, your child is just showing you the sounds they hear. So the word bike would be = b-i-k (silent e) = only three sounds.

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Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Activities for Your Kindergartener

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Phonological and phonemic awareness are important pre-reading skills, related to the ability to hear, identify, and play with the sounds in spoken language - including rhymes, syllables, and the smallest units of sound (phonemes). Children with strong phonological awareness skills are ready to become readers.

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Learn kindergarten English language arts skills for free! Choose from hundreds of topics including letter recognition, phonics, reading comprehension, and more. Start now!

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Phonemic awareness games may help your child read fluently. Research has shown that the quicker a child differentiates the sounds in a word, the faster they understand. According to the National Reading Panel report on Teaching Children to Read, teaching kids phonemic awareness significantly improved their reading in various age groups and grades.

What is Phonemic Awareness?

Although phonemic awareness affects the reading ability of a child, it isn't taught with the written word. It's about listening to the spoken word and being able to identify and manipulate the sounds in a word. Phonemic awareness breaks a single word into sounds. The child recognizes the beginning sound of the word and the individual sounds in the word. The child can then also manipulate the sounds to form a word by blending the sounds.

If written words are used together with a phonemic awareness activity, it may confuse the child. For example, the word off has two phonemes but is spelled with three letters.

Phonics, however, focuses on the sounds of written words and the spelling thereof. Phonemic awareness is one aspect of phonological awareness. Where phonemic awareness focuses on the sound of word segments, phonological awareness concentrates on the complete words. Words are strung together to create sentences.

Below is a list of phonemic awareness games for pre-k, kindergarten/1 st graders that focus on the three main aspects of phonemic awareness: listening, rhyming, and segmentation. We've added some games that include physical activity for the restless ones.

Listening Phonemic Awareness Games

Although listening is an essential part of phonemic awareness, often young kids don't know how. Teachers and parents shouldn't assume the child knows how to listen; they need to be taught how to listen carefully to the sounds of a word.

1. Who Can Spot The Sound?

Equipment Needed: Nothing!

Game Rules and Descriptions:

A relaxing game for after lunch or when the class needs some quiet time.

All the kids lie on the floor without making a sound. They listen to the sounds around them and try to identify what they are hearing. Is it a door closing, a teacher's voice, or a kid yawning?

They aren't allowed to use their eyes, only their ears. Talk about the sounds they hear. Be dramatic and overemphasize to add a fun element to the activity.

2. Beginning Sounds Mail Sort and Song

Equipment Needed:

Mailbag for each child (create one from a paper bag)

Copy of the song

A set of 10 Beginning Sound Mail Envelopes for each child (cards that look like envelopes with pictures on each mail piece)

Game Rules and Description:

The object of the game is to find all the mail that has an image of an item that begins with the same sound the kids heard at the end of the song.

Give each child a mailbag and spread out the envelopes in front of each child.

Sing the song on the tune of "I'm a little Teapot" and insert the letter sound.

Mail Delivery Song Lyrics (Lyric from Growing Book by Book)

I deliver mail Rain or shine. If you put a stamp on, it will get there in time. Can you help me sort my mail today? Collect the ones that start with ____ (insert letter sound)

3. I'm Thinking of a Word

Equipment Needed: No extra equipment is needed

Game Rules and Description:

The teacher sings a song with spelling out the sound syllables of each word. For example, "I'm thinking of a word named /c/ /a/ /t/, /c/ /a/ /t/. What is my word?"

The kids respond by sing back, "Is that word that you're thinking called cat?

4. 'Moo-Moo,' Where Are You?

Equipment Needed: No equipment is needed

Game Rules and Description:

The game teaches children to listen for a sound, to listen for the sounds in words, and to where it is coming from.

The object of the game is to identify the animal's sound and the direction it came from. The kids sit in a circle with the child who is 'it' lying with closed eyes in the middle of the circle. Another child moves to a place in the room and pretends to be a cow. 'It' needs to identify the animal's sound and where it is coming from. They point in the direction they hear the mooing coming from.

If 'it' identifies the sound and points in the right direction, they go next in making a different animal sound from somewhere in the room.

5. Block Challenge

Equipment Needed: 3-4 One-inch cubes of each color. Four or five different colored cubes.

Game Rules and Descriptions:

The object is to identify the different sounds by using colored blocks. The child chooses a block for each sound they hear. If the noise is repeated, they pick two blocks of the same color. For two different sounds, they will select two blocks one each of a different color. Increase the difficulty level for more advanced play.

Rhyming Phonemic Awareness Games

Rhyming teaches children that sounds form patterns and have meanings. Most kids understand the concept of rhyme or learn very quickly how to rhyme.

6. Rhyming Books, Poems, and Songs

Equipment Needed: rhyming book, poem, or songs

Game Rules and Description

The goal is to familiarize kids with the rhyming concept. The more rhyme books, poems, and songs you read to the kids, the better their understanding of rhyming.

Be silly. Have fun. Rhyming, books, poems, and songs are fun ways to introduce rhyming to young kids. Exaggerate the rhymes to make them aware of the verse. The more fun you have, the more fun they will have, and the quicker they will grasp the rhyme concept.

7. Rhyming Bingo

Equipment Needed:

A bingo board for each child. (Download free printable sheets here or create your own. The set contains 8 different Bingo boards.)

Counters - Use buttons, candy, counting cubes, or crackers.

Game Rules and Description:

Each kid receives a Bingo board and a handful of counters. Start with each child placing a piece on the free spot in the middle of the bingo board.

The game rules are the same as those of Bingo; you need five in a row or column to win.

When you call out a word, the child searches for a picture on their board that rhymes with the word called. If they find one, they place a counter on it. For example, if you called 'mat' and there is a 'cat' picture on their board, they must identify it and place a counter on the cat picture.

Obviously, winners can eat their counters on the bingo row or column.

8. In My Box

Equipment Needed:

A small box

Cards with pictures of familiar rhyming words, e.g., cat/mat, box/socks, bear/chair.

Have enough pictures so that everyone has a turn.

Game Rules and Description:

The game is for kids who are familiar with the concept of rhyme. The object of the game is for children to take turns in coming up with rhyming words.

The kids sit in a circle. For an easy start, choose a child that is good at rhyming. Choose a card. If the card contains a picture of a bear, for example, say, "In my box, there is a bear."

The kid you chose needs to come up with a word that rhymes with bear-like chair or pear and say, "In my box, there is a chair," for example. If the kid came up with a rhyming word, pass the box to them to choose the next card.

9. Making A Rhyme

Equipment Needed: None required.

Game Rules and Description:

The object of this phonemic awareness activity is to rhyme sounds. The focus is not on the words but on creating sounds that rhyme. Therefore, making up silly sounds that aren't actual words, is allowed; it's part of the fun.

Create new rhymes that the kids can fill in. Then give them a turn to make up their rhymes. For example,

A hat on a...mat (or cat, bat, zat)

A tree with a ...key (or sea, knee, bee, me)

A bug in a ...mug (or hug or slug)

A picture of a...fixture (or mixture, nicture)

A variation to the game is to sing the rhymes a familiar song like Farmer in the Dell.

10. Rhyme Memory Game

Equipment Needed: rhyming memory cards (Create your own or download printable memory cards here)

Game Rules and Description:

Rhyme Memory is a variation of the classic Memory Game. Before you start the game, go through all the cards with the kids. Make sure they know what word fits with each card. For example, a bee is a bee, not a bug.

Place the cards face down in a grid. Start with a few cards for younger children and make the grid more complex for older children. The child turns over two cards and names the pictures they see. They must tell you if the two words rhyme or not. If the two words rhyme, they remove the two cards; if not, they turn over the cards, and it is the next child's turn.

Segmentation Phonemic Awareness Games

Segmentation activities teach children that words are made up of smaller parts according to their sounds. It also shows them how to group sounds to form words. Where listening teaches children to hear and identify words, segmentation teaches them to understand the individual sounds the words consist of.

11. Bippity Boppity Bumble Bee

Equipment Needed: Stuffed or printable bumble bee for kids to hold.

Game Rules and Description:

The game teaches segmentation by using the names of the children. To familiarize the children with the individual sound syllables, they clap out the names focusing on each syllable in the name.

The teacher walks around the circle and points to a child with the Bumble Bee toy or gives the Bumblebee for the child to hold, saying, "Bippity, Boppity, Bumble Bee, will you say your name for me?"

The child responds with their name. Then the class says her name out loud while clapping once for each syllable in the name. Next, the teacher tells them to whisper and soft-clap the syllables in the name.

Lastly, the teacher thanks the child, "Bippity, boppity, bumble bee, thank you for saying your name for me." Repeat the process with each of the kids sitting in the circle.

Variation to the game is having the kids take on the role of the bumblebee instead of the teacher.

12. Old MacDonald

Equipment Needed: Kids should be familiar with the Old MacDonald song.

Game Rules and Description:

The game teaches children to merge segmentations to form a word mentally.

Tell the kids they are going to learn a different version of the Old MacDonald song. Warn them it is a silly version.

Start singing, "Old MacDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o. And on the farm, he had a /_/_/." Here the teacher introduces a different animal singing the word segments, e.g.,/ti/and /ger/. The kids immediately pick up the silly version and the introduction of a different animal. Without realizing it, they merge the segments and form the word of the animal-tiger.

Next, show them a picture of the animal, confirming that they figured out the correct animal.

13. Falling Snowflake Segmentation Activity

Equipment Needed:

Large foam or paper snowflakes for group activity

Snowflake manipulatives for example, snowflake sequins, foam snowflakes, white pompoms, or cotton balls

Falling Snowflake Segmentation Mats (Download free printable snowflake mats here)

Game Rules and Description

Develop and strengthen their motor skills with this phonemic awareness activity.

Use large snowflakes the kids can drop to the floor to help develop gross motor skills. Demonstrate to the kids how the game works and then let them do it as a group. Say a word and drop a snowflake for each sound in the word. Start with two or three phoneme words.

When they are comfortable playing in a group, help them strengthen their fine motor skill with the second part of the phonemic awareness activity. Kids can play individually or in small groups of two to three. Give each group or kid snowflake manipulatives and a snowflake mat.

The goal is for the kids to pull the snowflakes in the sky (top of the mat) down to earth (bottom of the mat)-one snowflake for each sound in a word. They start from the left and move to the right. Not all snowflakes will be used each time. Then they move the snowflakes back into the sky for the next word.

14. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

Equipment Needed: None

Game Rules and Descriptions:

A fun phonemic awareness activity that practices segmentation while being physically active.

Give the kid a word that contains a maximum of four phonemes. The children must stand and touch first the head, then the shoulder, knees, and toes as they say each segment sound of the word. For example, for the word sit, they will touch their head for s, their shoulders for I and their knees for t.

15. Turtle Talk

Equipment Needed:

Game Rules and Description:

Turtle Talk is a phonemic awareness activity that teaches listening skills and segmentation. The idea of the game is to help the child merge sounds to form a word and then to break the words up into sound segments.

Tommy (or Tammy), the Turtle, takes the lead. Remind the children that turtles talk just as slow as they move. Tommy Turtle doesn't say the whole word at once but speaks one sound at a time. To understand what he is saying, the children must listen carefully and then merge the sounds to form the word.

Use the word list and say one word at a time with a pause between each phoneme.

Use the counting cards for the next part of the game. After the kids formed the words, do the opposite. They must break the words up into sound segments and count the number of segments with the counting cards.

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Fifteen Fun Phonemic Awareness Activities and Games For Kids

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Looking for some fun and easy-to-use activities to help teach phonemic awareness? These hands-on games will quickly get you going.