Each child has a tic-tac-toe board with random uppercase letters of the alphabet. Say and word, and the student must identify the beginning sound. The first student to have three letters in a row wins. They also need to repeat the letter and sound when they win.

"involves explicit instruction on letter recognition, using various strategies such as letter-sound flashcards, alphabet charts, and interactive activities. Simultaneously, students begin to associate each letter with its corresponding sound(s)."(Brown, 2023) Using different means of instruction helps all students at various developmental levels.

1. Families can make rhyming games with note cards at home and play memory match. Also, the teacher can send home premade cards and cards with pictures that can help support all learners.

2. Counting and clapping out syllables of different types of food and family members' names.

Make a word from foam letters or on cardstock and have students swat each letter as they say the sounds. (Marshall, 2024)

The teacher and the student have the option of making it a word and slapping each sound to blend or if the child is not ready for words yet, they can slap the individual letter and say the sound.

1. Fun Phonics Writing- the child can write a letter and words, and then the child says the sound of the letter or the word. This activity can be low-cost or free to do at home. The child can write in shaving cream, sand, dirt, pudding, or even mud!

2. Word Building with Magnetic Letters- Practice building phonics words of the week from the student's school folder.

Instead of choosing a passage on the student's grade level, choose a text or passage that is on their independent reading level or just below.

Selecting passages or text at or below a student's reading level helps the child not get frustrated and promotes confidence in reading.

1. Reread Favorite Book- Since practice makes perfect, encourage your child to read books they are already familiar with. They can read them out loud to themselves or family members. Repetition builds accuracy and confidence.

2. Word Reading- Read words without sounding them out. Use a list provided by your child's teacher, and read the words daily without sounding them out.

Remember that really big watermelon we got at the grocery store? That was an enormous watermelon!

2. Encourage your child to develop their own example:

What enormous thing can you think of? Can you think of something really big that you saw today? That’s right! The bulldozer near the park was enormous! Those tires were huge. (reading rockets, 2024)

I Predict…-Before reading the book, have your child predict hat the books is about by looking t the cover and describing it. Alison taking a “picture walk” by lookin t the pictures and talking but what they see.