Activities
Below are 5 phonics activities that teachers can incorporate into their literacy lessons to support student learning.
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1.) Alphabet Scavenger Hunt
1.) Alphabet Scavenger Hunt
An Alphabet Scavenger Hunt activity is where students use the classroom, books, or other designated area to try to find text that include the letter-sound pattern the students are working with. This is an engaging activity that elicits student's knowledge of letter-sound patterns and provides them with an opportunity to see those patterns in authentic situations.
To complete this activity, teachers should prepare a graphic organizer that includes the letter-sound patterns the student is searching for and space beside or beneath the pattern for students to record the word. This can support students in making connections, as well as staying organized and on task. If teachers want the Scavenger Hunt to be around the room, they should prepare places for students to go that have text with the letter-sound pattern being searched for. This prevents students from aimlessly walking and looking around the classroom and becoming discouraged. Otherwise, students should be provided with a space and a selection of age-appropriate texts to hunt through in search of the letter-sound patterns (a classroom library could support this activity). When introducing the Alphabet Scavenger Hunt, teachers should model the expectations and use of the graphic organizer to the students, have the students complete an example with the teacher, and then be given the opportunity to practice. There are many ways to implement an Alphabet Scavenger Hunt into the classroom; some examples include having a center where the students individually going around the room or sit individually with a selection of texts, having students share selected texts in groups or partners, or complete the organizer as a whole group by going through the room or through a book.
2.) Picture the Word
2.) Picture the Word
A Picture the Word activity is where students can practice blending onsets and rimes to make words by using pictures as clues. This activity is a way to get students actively engaged in strengthening their letter-sound knowledge by making visual connections to picture cues and rimes.
This activity can be placed in a center for students to complete individually. Teachers will need to provide onset and rime work boards, student worksheets, small plastic letters, and pencils. Picture the Word should be introduced to students during whole group instruction where the teacher can explicitly model the activity and answer questions. The first part of the demonstration/activity is to choose a work board, name the picture and read the rime (ex. *picture* "hen", "/en/"), then say the initial sound of the word and identify its corresponding letter (ex. "/h/, h"). Next, teachers should exemplify looking for and place the matching plastic letter in the onset position on the work board. Then, find the matching picture cue on the student worksheet, record the word and say it aloud. When doing the activity, students will repeat this process until they complete all work boards and student worksheet, or until time is up. Teachers can use the student worksheet to assess the students' progress of making words by blending onsets and rimes.
Picture the Word Sample
3.) Alphabet Memory Game
3.) Alphabet Memory Game
The Alphabet Memory Game supports students in identifying and connecting the upper- and lower-case letters of the alphabet. When students play this game, they are also improving their concentration and short-term memory. Over time, both forms of each letter will be stored in long-term memory and students will be able to retrieve them automatically, which is critical for students to become fluent readers and writers.
While the Alphabet Memory Game is simple, teachers must still demonstrate how to play and monitor students as they play to make clarifications as needed. Each student (or pair of students) will need a set of 8-10 target pairs of uppercase and lowercase letter cards. In order to get the point across quickly and clearly when modeling, only a small selection of pairs should be used (2-3). The students will watch as the teacher puts all of the cards face down, shuffle them around, and picks up one card and says the letter name (ex. [R] "r"). When picking up the second card, the teacher will say the letter name on that card (ex. either [r] "r", or another letter). The students should be asked to help identify whether the second card is the same letter as the first card or not. If so, the teacher collects both cards; if not, the teacher flips them back over. This activity can be completed individually, or students can play in pairs. If a teacher chooses to have students play in pairs, they must explain that after each student flips two cards, it is the next person's turn. It is also important for the teacher to review their expectations of partner work.
4.) Spell and Sort
4.) Spell and Sort
Spell and Sort is a partner activity that requires students to identify and practice reading and writing words with variant correspondences. Variant correspondences are various corresponding spelling patterns for a specific sound or a variety of spelling patterns for one sound. Students must be able to recognize these spelling patterns and their associated sounds in order to support their reading fluency.
Teachers will need to prepare for this activity by deciding what variant correspondences they want students to work with (ex. the vowel digraphs aw, au, ew, oo) and putting them on header cards. Then they need to make a set of word cards that include the chosen variant correspondences. When completing the activity, the students will also need white boards and dry erase markers. The following steps should be modeled to the students prior to them completing the activity: Step 1) Arrange header cards in a row. Place word cards face down in a stack. Each students grabs a white board and dry erase marker. Step 2) Student one picks up top word card and reads it out loud without showing their partner. Step 3) Student two repeats the word aloud, identifies the variant correspondence and proceeds to write the word on the whiteboard using the header as a guide. Step 4) Student one confirms spelling or tells them to try again. Once word is spelled correctly, the word card is placed under the appropriate header card. Step 5) Reverse roles. Repeat the previous steps until all word cards have been spelled and sorted. Teachers should make sure they review their partner work expectations as well.
Spell and Sort Sample
5.) Affix Sort
5.) Affix Sort
The Affix Sort is an activity to get older elementary students engaged with phonics. It is important for students to understand that affixes are groups of letters added to a word to make a new word or change the meaning. Learning to identify affixes can help students figure out the meaning of words they do not know and construct new forms of words successfully.
To complete this activity, students will sort word cards into four categories: words with suffixes, words with suffixes and prefixes, words with prefixes, and words with no affixes. Teachers will need to create a set of word cards based on the affixes students have been or are starting to work with, along with header cards that are each labelled one of the four categories. This activity can be completed individually, but having students complete it with partners can allow for the opportunity of peer evaluation and support. Teachers should model how to do the Affix Sort to students by displaying the headers and categorizing a sample word card. Then complete a second example, but have the students decide which category to sort the word into as a whole group. Once the class has completed the second example, the students should be allowed to complete the activity for practice. This gradual release of responsibility will allow the students to demonstrate their understanding of the expectations and the teacher to provide support as needed.
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