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This activity teaches students different uses of the suffix or prefix

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Helps students spell and write sight words in sand! good for hands on learners

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Students can see their sight words and match them!

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This helps students organize their root words.

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I would use this with -ly, -ful, & -less.

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This allows students to see the word and sound it out by counting.

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Helps students put together the CVC words with magnets.

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Students can short the dog bones by short or long vowel sounds.

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This activity helps students look for the sound in the classroom

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'I Spy...' Digraph Hunt/Observation Sheets (SB10586) - SparkleBox

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Simple sheets to use in hunts where children find items containing the digraphs on their sheet.

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This activity is great for visual learners to see the picture with the sound.

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EW UE UI is a difficult phonics sound to teach so I wanted to show you guys some fun activities you can use for this set of long U vowel pairs to make your lessons and literacy centers more fun!

All of the activities and ideas I'm about to show you can be used for any phonics sound so if you don't teach EW UE UI, you can still get some fun phonics ideas out of this hopefully!

As far as the activities go, I have the same resources for almost all of the sounds so if you're thinking, "Oooh I want that but I need it for EE EA or OA OW" or whatever sound you're teaching next week - never fear, I probably have it already made for you... I'm obsessed with making phonics activities so I've probably already done the work :)

My favorite phonics activities are usually sorts that involve pictures! It really gives the words students are trying to read a "real life" connection.

I LOVE these little trash bins from the dollar store for sorts. You can use them to sort anything!
Kids love putting things in the trash can. Simply label the front (I shrunk down my chevron Alphabet & Phonics Sound Classroom Posters) and have them put it through the slot!
They're plastic so you can even just write on the front of them with a dry erase marker if you want.

The word/picture cards are my EW UE UI pocket chart cards and I use them for a ton of different things! I have them for all the phonics sounds in a bundle as well.

Sorting EW UE UI words is hard since there's not really a rule for when you use each sound (or if there is, please tell me!) so it's nice to have the words on the cards to help.

Spelling out the words is also great for practice since repetition with these sounds will really help students learn how to spell them.

I recommend doing the sounds individually so they get a lot of practice with each individual phonics sound so, for spelling out the words, have them do EW words only, UE words only, UI words only as separate activities.

You can also have students take a card or two at a time to write sentences with.

I also like to laminate a set of cards, punch a hole in the corner, and put a binder ring through them to make a set of cards that you can just grab to practice reading the words, use in your writing, whatever! They're great for small groups, the writing center, etc.

Speaking of binder rings, if you don't do this - you need to start ASAP!

Print fun worksheets for a given concept double sided, put them in sheet protectors, and put a binder ring through the top hole to make an awesome center for ANYTHING that kids can just grab and go. All kids need is a dry erase marker and they have so many practice activities for any concept.

They make an awesome activity fast finishers can just grab and take back to their seats. It's also great to give a student who may be struggling with a certain skill to practice. The beauty is it all just wipes away to be reused over and over again!! Plus, for some reason, a dry erase marker makes a worksheet seem 10x more fun so students are motivated to do a whole packet in one sitting and will even pick these during free choice!

Like I said, they just grab a dry erase marker and flip to the page they want to do. I just printed my entire EW UE UI no prep pack of these worksheets double sided, threw them in sheet protectors, and it's an instant review center. You can even put many of the cut and paste activities in there - they can just write in the answers and cross out the word they would've pasted to show they've used it.

Seriously, try this. You can do it with math concepts (make an addition ring, a fractions ring, etc.) too!

I have a ton of no prep worksheets for EW UE UI that are like the phonics worksheets and activities I have for other sounds (check all the packs out HERE) so that activities are consistent... all kiddos have to focus on is the new sound being learned, not how to do the activity. There is so much more instructional time (and sanity!) available when you don't have to give directions!

I try to make phonics as fun as possible because students loving reading is just as important to me as students being able to read. Kids love to cut and paste so I try to provide a ton of those. I'm also all about differentiating so for students who need extra help, instead of the sentences like above, you could practice just matching words with pictures like this example:

Have them do one for each sound (above is UI... also do UE and EW) then give them a mixed version to practice all 3 sounds when you think they're ready:

Some students may need a lot of practice matching pictures to words before they are comfortable reading the words in sentences.

For students who really struggle, you can give them prewritten sentences to trace and write that have a picture cue to help them.

I like these because it gives struggling students the confidence to be writing sentences (and using the focus sound in those sentences), especially if they struggle to come up with their own.

If you think they're ready to come up with their own, this is a nice next step:

The student can use the pictures on the side to help them think of sentences as well as have the spelling for that picture with it so they can use it correctly. These are so helpful for reluctant writers who have a hard time coming up with sentences on their own AND the students who are perfectionists and don't want to spell words wrong.

They also aren't overwhelming since there are 3 separate sentences where they choose a word and illustrate what they wrote.

You can also have them write their own story using words with the phonics focus for that week with the 1 box writing sheets like this one:

These work for ALL levels. You can challenge your higher students by having them underline the words they used with the focus sound and challenge them to use as many as they can. These writing sheets are included in the EW UE UI pack but I also have a year set of these for all the phonics sounds if you don't get the individual packs they're in.

Speaking of challenging your high kids, I love to provide a ton of phonics practice differentiated for the higher kiddos as well where they are practicing the same skill but in a more puzzle-y sort of way to keep their engagement.

A-maze-ing Sentences are a favorite because they have a ton of reading practice packed in a puzzle. In the above example, they have to read a bunch of UE words to color their way through the puzzle.

Another favorite are phonics crossword puzzles. You may think your first graders or whatever grade you teach are too little for crosswords or wouldn't be interested - no way! Kids LOVE crosswords and are super capable!

They just look at the picture and write the word that it is. It's really only just as hard as a Write the Word worksheet (see right below this) but it is represented in a fun, puzzle-y way so it really keeps students enjoying the work they're doing with words.

These are from my Vowel Teams Clip Cards bundle which are also in an even bigger bundle with a lot of different phonics sounds.

Alright so now that your kids have a lot of practice with the actual words, let's move on to sorting those words like we started the post with.

This cutting and pasting activity from my EW UE UI pack is a good transition since it uses pictures and words to sort the words like the pocket chart center did for them.

For students who don't need the picture help, you can have them simply sort words like this...

Once they can sort the words by sound, have them do it IN SENTENCES.
Say what?!
Yes, in sentences!

It is SO important for them to recognize the vowel team within words within sentences so they can remember to use the sound when they see it in sentences. For this activity, give them 2 different colored markers or crayons or colored pencils.. have them read each sentence and look for the focus sounds. Have them circle each one in a different color and write the words below. This is great practice for finding them in sentences and will help them so much in reading the sentence!

I think highlighting the sound you're practicing in the word helps SO MUCH when they're trying to read words, especially within sentences. I recommend doing it as much as possible to scaffold their reading!

A few pages of ABC order practice! I include these in all the phonics packs so they get ABC order practice EVERY. WEEK. because, seriously is it just me or do they completely forget how to do it if they didn't just practice it? So this is an easy way to practice it every single week that involves them reading the words for the week - sneaky sneaky :)

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EW UE UI is a difficult phonics sound to teach so I wanted to show you guys some fun activities you can use for this set of long U vowel pairs to make your lessons and literacy centers more fun!