- "I Spy" first sounds. This is a great game for students who are learning and starting to recognize letter sounds. An example for this activity would be, "I spy something that starts with the sound /p/." The chosen student will then began to find something in the room that starts with the letter. For students with exceptionalities, you can give them do "I Spy" color or you can play "I Spy sounds but help lead and guide them during the activity.
- "Guess-That-Word" "If you’d like to give this activity a go, lay out a few items or pictures in front of your child. Aim to use familiar objects that they can easily name.
Let them know you’ll be using “snail talk” or “slow-motion” talk, meaning you will be announcing the names of the items in a funny voice. Their goal is to guess the name of the item or picture in question before you finish saying the word.
For example, if there’s a picture of a cat in front of your child, drag out the C, A, and T sounds as long as you can. Your child can jump in anytime and shout the word of the object as loudly as they can!
This game works on blending phonemes, an essential part of phonemic awareness. The game helps encourage children to pay attention to the individual sounds that make up words"(HOMER View all posts, Subjects).
For students with exceptionalities, you can start off by reviewing letter sounds and then when you get to the activity, you can lead and guide them. 

At Home Activities:

- "Mystery Bag"-  You probably have letters that are magnetic to your fridge. You will need those letters and any type of bag or box. You will place three letters in the bag, make sure the letter will spell a simple three letter word. For example, you placed the letters P-A-T in the bag. when the child pulls out eat let's, you asked them what sound it makes and then once all the letter are out of the bag, the child will put all the sounds together to form the word "PAT."
This activity helps meet the reading needs of the children because not only are they practicing their letter and sound recognition, they are also practicing spelling words. 

Flip the Pancake: "Using brown construction paper, cut out 8⁠–⁠10 circles and write out the letters your child is working on in class (or choose some of your own). Grab a spatula and have your child flip over each pancake and say the letter name on the back"(Top 12 phonics activities for Kids in 2021 – reading eggs). For students with exceptionalities, you can write the letter, and let the student match that letter with a letter on a pancake. 
Magazine Scavenger Hunt: Collect enough magazines for all the students in the small group to have 1 or 2 piece of paper. The teacher will call out a letter sounds, and the student will have to look for that letter in the articles of their magazine. For students with exceptionalities, the teacher can call out a letter, and the student can search for it. 

At-Home Activity:

Play:"Children learn through play, so try incorporating phonics activities at home that involve playing. Make sure that whatever activity you choose you are intentional with your language, as this will help to develop their language skills. For example, be descriptive about the things your child is playing with, you might say, “the red playdough is squishy,” or “the blocks tumble down to the ground.” You can also focus on what your child is doing and report back i.e., “You are pushing the blue train along the track.” Alternatively, you can just talk your child through what you're doing as well, “I'm drawing a purple butterfly with green polka dots.”"(Top 12 phonics activities for Kids in 2021 – reading eggs). Children are improving their understanding in phonics with this activity because you are slowing down what you are saying and being very specific what you are saying.

Read with the students everyday- reading exposed children to a lot of new words. Then you get to a new word, stop and explain it to the students. It would even be great and a fun little activity for the students to turn and talk to their neighbor to form a sentence with that word in it. For students with exceptionalities, you could show them pictures of the new vocabulary word for better understanding.
Vocabulary Wall- This is an activity where students can look and write new vocabulary words. On the word wall, the students will see the word and then a picture that of the vocabulary word. the students are to match the word with the correct picture and then write the word on their paper. For students with exceptionalities, you can have one-on-one instruction and read the vocabulary word for them and then let them find the matching picture. 

At-Home Activity:

Grocery store vocabulary- Use the items on the grocery shelf to give your child practice finding something above their belly button, below their nose, on the bottom shelf, and between other items on a shelf. Opportunities to use superlatives, those little endings that help describe size, are all around the grocery store. Have your child find a big fruit, a bigger fruit and the biggest fruit in the produce section. What's the smallest item in the cart? The largest item?
This is a great way for students to expand on their knowledge of transitional words. 

Paired or "Buddy" reading: "Take turns reading aloud. You go first, as your reading provides a model of what good fluent reading sounds like. Then, ask your child to re-read the same page you just read. You'll notice that your child's reading will start to sound more and more like yours. Do this for several pages. Once your child is comfortable enough, and familiar enough with the book, take turns reading page for page"(Fluency: Activities for your kindergartener 2022). For students with exceptionalities, the teacher can be that students buddy. The teacher can help the student read or even call and repeat what she says while following along in the book. 
Choral Reading: This reminds me of echo reading, but the student is copying the same expression and tone of voice you are. The teacher will read a few sentence in a slow pace, but not too slow. Then, the students will  read the sentences again using the same tone as the teacher. For students with exceptionalities, the teacher could do this one on one and only read a few words or a sentence so they can really focus on the words they are reading/sounding out. 

At-Home Activity:

Reread your Child's Favorite Book: "Building fluency takes a lot of practice! Keep a collection of books that your child can read quickly and easily. Encourage your child to reread favorite books over and over again. With each reading, you may notice your child reading a bit easier, a bit faster, and with a bit more confidence and expression"(Fluency: Activities for your kindergartener 2022). This Will help you child become better at reading and become more fluent because they are becoming familiar with the words on the page. Try to make sure your child isn't memorizing the book, with is great, but help them read each word.

Mind movies: When reading a story to the students and you come to a good visual part of the story, have the students close their eyes and let them visualize the story in they mind. This will help the students see the story and remember the story more. For students with exceptionalities, you can slow the story down for them so they will have time to create the mind movies in their head.
Tell Me About It: After you have read the book aloud to the students, have them go around the room and discuss the book. After the students have had some time discussing, come back together as a whole group and discuss as a class. Students with exceptionalities, you can show them the pictures in the book to help them remember and retell the story. 

At-Home Activity:

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"(Comprehension: Activities for your kindergartener 2022). This is a great way for students wo grow in their comprehension skill because they are retelling stories they have heard from long ago and they are retelling experiences they have been apart of from a long time ago.