This is an easy no-prep whiteboard game that we did the other day. We simply used some words from the UFLI lesson 107 suffix spelling changes roll and read. They had to remember to erase the double consonants and the suffix.
Students are challenged to find the hidden root words.
Added suffixes seem to come very naturally when we are speaking, but it grows more challenging when we need to spell or read these longer words.
Students are often intimidated by the length of a word. They often say “I don’t know” or “I can’t.” too quickly. Plural words and past tense words may be some of the first words they will encounter. I have made fun games for both of those skills.
This is an easy no-prep whiteboard game that we did the other day. I simply used some words from the UFLI lesson 107 suffix spelling changes. I wrote the words on the board and then the four students took turns trying to find the main root word. All the words that I chose had the double consonant pattern.
I used simple words like bag, pop, slip, win, and more…
The girls enjoyed it so much that we had to adapt the game and play it again the next day.
There are a lot of spelling skills that you can teach with just the suffix -ed.
th, wh, w Heart Words. By focusing on a target skill, teaching these sight words can be easier for some students. Instead of choosing random sight words that may span over many new skills and spelling patterns. Choosing similar words will help them focus on what they are learning and help them escape the guessing game. I have found this very helpful strategy during reading intervention, especially with dyslexic students.
There are some tricky sight words that may leave many students guessing. Without lots of heart word practice, they may be relying on predictive reading strategies.
What is a heart word? Simply put and heart word is very much like a Sight Word, or a High-Frequency Word with one expectation. The heart word has at least one part of the word that needs to be memorized by heart.
The word they.
The word (they) may be decodable for more advanced students who know that the /th/ is a digraph and sometimes the letters /ey/ can make the long /a/ sound as in the word obey. For other students, the word (they) could be overwhelming as they try to decode four letters that are not making their normal letter sounds.
Grouping th, wh, and w, Words Together
By focusing on a target skill, teaching these sight words can be easier for some students. Instead of choosing random sight words that may span over many new skills and spelling patterns. Choosing similar words will help them focus on what they are learning and help them escape the guessing game. I have found this very helpful strategy during reading intervention, especially with dyslexic students.
th wh w uno targeted heart words. Pure Joy Teaching
Wh, and w – usually make the same /w/ sound. Except for words like: who, whom, whose, and whole. In the game, these words are wild cards, because the /wh/ is now making the tricky /h/ sound. This may be hard for ESL students to understand when they read these words in isolation or come across them in text. That is why this game is so helpful. It gives them advanced practice with these spelling patterns. Notice that they all have the letter /o/ after the /wh/.
Do you need help understanding how to teach the SCHWA Spelling pattern?
Surprise! There are a few tricks to this spelling pattern that can make it easier to teach and fun for students to learn.
Do you need help understanding how to teach the SCHWA Spelling pattern?
Surprise! There are a few tricks to this spelling pattern that can make it easier to teach and fun for students to learn.
Kids love to play games. This Schwa UNO-style game has a very predictable sound pattern. All the words have at least one short /u/ sound. It is not just the final letter /a/ that can make the schwa sound as in: pizza, tuna, and comma.
The truth is any of the vowels can make the schwa sound. So be on the lookout and listen for all the vowel patterns in this game. Vowels: a, e, i, & o, might be making the short /u/ sound.
Letter a
was
what
grandma
about
The vowel /a/ might make the schwa sound, it can be in any position in a word. It may depend on your country, region, or dialect of English. It is often called the lazy /a/ sound. The open-mouth schwa sound is easier to say.
Letter e
The
the
The vowel /e/ may be the first schwa sound word that trips up the young student decoder. Letters /th/ are a digraph that they might know, but then the letter /e/ changes and is now making the schwa sound. In the game, there are both capital and lowercase cards for /the/.
Letter o
love
other
done
some
of
The vowel /o/ makes the schwa sound more often than you might think. There is a very predictable spelling pattern for some of the words. When the vowel letter /o/ is followed by: v, m, n, or th, it might make the schwa sound.
v, m, n, th
Examples are these words: oven, love, glove, and shovel.
The magazine file holders are a perfect fit for my shelf. They are within reach of my reading table. The boards slide right in. They are big enough to fit smaller cookie sheets too.
A Magazine Storage File, Makes a Great Divider on My Literacy Shelf.
Easy Way to Store the Different Letter Boards
There are many reasons why I took the time to create extra blending broads. Then, I needed a way to store all the extra boards. The magazine file holders are a perfect fit for my shelf. They are within reach of my reading table. The boards slide right in. They are big enough to fit smaller cookie sheets too.
Clear L-Pocket Covers
Each whiteboard is covered with a clear plastic L pocket before it is put on the shelf. We call it the clear blanket. The younger kids say, “Time for the letters to go night-night”. After they put all the letters back in place, they slip each whiteboard into the pocket. Making sure the open end is at the top and the folder end is at the bottom. So, no letter tiles will escape.
The cookies nest together very nicely, we usually don’t cover them.
Leveled Letter Groups
UFli is great. They have wide range of free things in the toolbox. The Satpim order is not taught in the UFLi scope and sequence, but the decodable books that were available at my school were the Satpim style. So, I adapted some of my blending boards to have less letters. This was helpful for a few reasons.
Fewer letters to start with.
Less to clean up or lose.
Less distraction on the blending board.
Costs less – fewer magnets needed.
Sorted pre-made boards for differentiated invention groups.
Blending Without Tears
Some students can’t handle all 26 letters at once. One boy started to cry. He was new to group and he did not have all his sounds yet. When we switched to less letters it was easier for him to keep up.
The result was more organized system that flowed will with the scope and sequence of each group.
Lines Under the Letters
I also added lines under the letters. To help aid the students with the letter reversal issues. b, d, p, q, n, u, m, w. All these letters were creating problems. Some students said things like, “I have two m’s.” I had to admit without the bottom line as reference it did look like she had two letter m’s.
Extra Letters
It has proven to be helpful to have a box of extra letters near by. With out fail some how the letters get misplaced. This large shorting box has been very handy.
Vowel Importance – Red Letters
Sometimes we need to do a little extra vowel pratice. These cvc word builder sheets let student put the missing vowel sound in the word next to the picture. The self-checking flap help it to feel more like a game.
Blending two-letter words can be easier for students when the second letter is a stop sound. Teaching students to blend two sounds is a good start for emergent readers are they build up to CVC words.
For Letters and words
I hear with my little ear, I spy with my little eye…….
This is a great way to make learning fun. Capital I and lowercase /i/.
Blending is hard for some students. They may know all the letter sounds insolation but struggle to blend them in CVC words. This resource is designed to help those struggling blenders. VC blending is just two letters. Vowel + Consonant with picture mnemonics to help students succeed.
This game has a funny backstory. Once during a reading group, one of the students told me, “An is not a real word. I asked my mom and she said it’s not real.”
It was good reminder that this word is underused and needs to be taught.
When teaching emergent readers the word “an,” it’s important to explain it in simple terms. This is one example of how you might do that:
Explain the Role of “An”: “An” is a word we use before a noun when the noun starts with a vowel sound (like “a,” “e,” “i,” “o,” or “u”). It helps us say things clearly, like in “an apple” or “an umbrella.”
Give Examples:
“An apple” (because “apple” starts with the vowel sound “a”).
“An egg” (because “egg” starts with the vowel sound “e”).
“An ice cream” (because “ice” starts with the vowel sound “i”).
Contrast with “A”: You can explain that “an” is used only when the next word starts with a vowel sound. If the next word starts with a consonant sound, we use “a.” For example:
“A dog” (because “dog” starts with the consonant sound “d”).
“An apple” (because “apple” starts with the vowel sound “a”).
Practice with Simple Sentences: Help them practice with simple phrases:
“I see an apple.”
“She has an orange.”
“He wants an umbrella.”
By connecting “an” to things they are already familiar with and using it in simple sentences, emergent readers can start to recognize and use “an” correctly in their reading and writing!
Vowels are important
Vowel knowledge is essential for early learners. As educators, we often use terms like “CVC words,” but young learners may not fully understand what CVC, consonants, and vowels mean.
This is a great reminder that the five vowels are special and not the same as the other letters. The game below has the vowels marked in red.
Students like to play this game. I choose skills or words that they need to practice. Great for handwriting practice, cvc words, sight words, or tricky vowel sounds.
Create a reusable whiteboard to practice handwriting and spelling.
Tic-Tac-Toe was one of the first games I learned to use as a tool, to help teach my preschool students. Simple x’s & o’s, and the spatial awareness of drawing the lines. The kids think of it as a game and are more willing to pick up a pencil or crayon if it feels fun.
White Board with Tape Lines.
Using electrical tape has created something reusable. I was surprised at how much the kids loved erasing the words, and the lines stayed. It was like magic to them. They wipe the letters off and rush to play again. Hooray!
Adding the lines has given new life to this old scratched-up whiteboard.
Cutting the Tape
The original thickness of the electrical tape is wide. Making the lines thinner, by cutting with scissors was too hard. Using an Xacto made it easier to cut.
Carefully cut away from yourself.
Cutting a straight line without a guide was too hard. Don’t try it! I found a plastic milk cap that was a nice thickness. With the electrical tape flat on the table, I could keep the Xacto knife flat on the cap. Rotate the tape slowly and cut the tape with a little bit of pressure to cut the tape. Be sure to cut away from your body.
Pure Joy Teaching
Try CVC words.
CVC words are great for this game. After we play the Uno CVC game, I will choose some words they need to practice writing.
Using the tic-tac-toe game is great for practicing sight words. Try capital letters and lowercase letters. Especially in words like the letter /i/ (It, If, Is, In) Those are good words to work on. Remind the students to sound out the word as they write it.
Sometimes we practice just the letters b, and d. This helps with letter reversals.
Correct formation of the letter e is very important. This has been helpful for many students. Letter e is the only letter that starts in the middle.
Montessori-Style Letters with an Engaging Pirate Theme
Handwriting can be an engaging activity with a pirate theme in a sand tray. In book two of this handwriting letter adventure, the pirates have just realized that they have no vowels. All the letters that they learned in book one can not be used to spell any real words. Their excitement turns to confusion.
A cheeky bird calls out, “Aw, au vowels.” Then it flies away.
The pirates rapidly chase after the bird and learn to make the C-shaped letters along the way. This group includes c, a, g, d, q, o, s, e.
Sand Trays
The use of sand trays in the Montessori style is one of my favorite ways to practice letters. Normally, I just would rotate different colors of sand, or customize the tray bottom with different colored or shiny paper. But this storybook pirate theme opens up my options and lets me add items from the book. The kids can recreate the letters by following along or re-enacting the story. This gives me more opportunities to talk to them about starting spots and correct letter formation in a fun way.
Choosing the right supplies to make a mini fake coconut for the C-letter theme.
Gathing Supplies for the C-Letters to Trace Around
Any box will do to make your own sand tray. It can be a fancy wood one like this, or a shallow box with a lid if you are concerned with spills. The fake coconut may be harder to find. My husband brought me a macadamia nut still in the shell. I think is the perfect size. I need to cut it and paint the inside white. The larger object next to it was an avocado seed, but the shape it off. I don’t think I will use that one.
Yellow paint on the coin gave it extra shine.
Pirate gold at the top marks the start spot for most of the letters in the group. I had a foreign coin that was about the size of a penny, with some extra yellow paint added, it now stands out from the sand color. This was the best size for my small box. If your box is bigger, you could use the fake gold they sell in the party supply stores.
The Letter e, Starts in the Middle
You might want to have one fake coconut that is still whole and roll it in your sand tray for the letter e. In the story, the pirates hear a weird noise in the brushes and one of them rolls a coconut like a bowling ball in a straight line. Then, the monkey pushes it away and it makes the letter e shape.
When I teach this to students at my writing table, I open the book and show them the pictures. We say the steps together roll it straight and the monkey pushes it around in the c shape. That is the letter e. This has been helpful for many students. Letter e is the only letter that starts in the middle.
Correct formation of the letter e is very important. Many students make sloppy rushed letters. In the case of letter e, it might look the same as the letter c. This is a problem that impacts spelling especially if the /e/ is close to the letter /k/. Then the word looks like it ends with /ck/.
The adventure continues, the pirates think that someone has been digging for treasure on the island. A huge surprise in the sand leads them to learn the next set of straight-line letters.
These letters are the third handwriting group they learn: i, j, l, t, f, k.
The straight lines of the turtle tracks leading to the water are a very good way to explain the direction of travel and remember to start at the top. The hatchling eggs mark the dot on top of the letters i and j.
Book 3 of the handwriting adventure.
The pirate’s journey is complete and they find the last vowel and the treasure in book four X Pirate Letters. Shark teeth are used to make the pointy slanted line letters.
Leveled educational intervention for the different structured literacy stages.
Lots of great phonics spelling games in one big bundle.
A fun way to learn spelling rules and reading flashcards in a game-style educational setting.
Great for leveled educational intervention for the different structured literacy stages. Easy to fit into your scope and sequence.
CVC, CVCC, Floss, R-controlled, CVCe, Long a, C+le, Many sounds of y, many spellings of sh, Many silent letters, syllables, vowel teams, many spellings of “ew/oo” and sight words.
Based on many familiar kids’ games: Uno, War, Old Man, Go Fish, Crazy Eights, Rummy, and some editable play cards. You must see, there is so much in this bundle.
