phonics Archives - Pure Joy Teaching

CVC Uno game for Emergent Readers

CVC consonant vowel consonant. This is my first and most important go-to game for new students. They love playing it, mostly because they start to feel successful at reading new words that they did not know they could read.

CVC Uno game is made up of decodable short vowel phoneme cards, an easy-sound sorting games can be played to help reinforce the short vowel sounds.

CVC Uno consonant vowel consonant. This is my first and most important that I play with my students. It is an easy go-to game for new students who need some short vowel support. They love playing it, mostly because they start to feel successful at reading new words that they did not know they could read.

It has all the great wildcards that Uno should have, skips, wilds, draw 2, draw 4, but there are no reverse cards. ( Trust me that is a bonus! – reverse cards cause arguments )

226 words, all decodable color-coded with red vowels and black consonants.

Playing Cards are grouped by colors

a e i o u / a-red, e-yellow, i -purple, o-orange, u-blue

This is a digital item, so you can print more than one set. I like to have 2 sets. One that is sorted, and one that is complete. Some students are working on vowel sound distinction. Hearing the difference between short e and short i. For those students, we play the game with just e,i, words. Other many struggle with the short vowels a and u. It is nice to have extra sets on hand to quickly support small groups and tutoring.

If you are using any of the satpin decodable books you may want to start with the short a and i cards, and then build up the other vowels. Reading words in isolation without the distractions of pictures is a good way to help students focus on the letter sounds. Keep those eyes on the words for successful decoding.

Print multiple sets for easy-level transitions

I like to keep one set shorted by the short vowel sounds for emergencies.

Having an extra card set ready makes this a fast and easy resource to grab when I want a quick game to help support students. If I notice that a student is stumbling over the same short vowel sound, I will pull out this game and choose the short vowel that the student needs to review. After reading a few words as flashcards, the students often start to recognize that the middle sound is the same. Some students start to discover the word families on their own. It is great! I love it when that happens naturally.

Next, in the scope and sequence of decodable reading games, you might like the r-controlled uno. Many of my students are shocked to hear themselves reading words that they said were too hard. I love it.

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Silent Letter Bundle

This is a great money saving deal on this bundle of silent letter spelling resources.

Playing the game after the lesson is a great way for the information to sink in.

The lesson cards are grouped the silent letter patterns.

* Silent e is one of the most important ones!

The games can be played as Uno or War, kids love the Bomb card it is wild. It will always win in the war game, BOMB has a silent letter.

This bundle has lesson cards with word lists. Games to play or use as flashcards, and spelling clip cards for a fun way to test students.

Silent gh spelling bundle pure joy teaching
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This is a great money-saving deal on this bundle of silent letter spelling resources.

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You might also like the Final K sound game

Phonics Spelling Games Bundle Decodable Digraphs

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.

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You might also like the tricky Schwa sounds

Long Vowels Spelling Test Clip Card Bundle

Decodable game-style testing ay, ea, ei, e, i, -y, ey, igh, y_e, ie, ign, oa…..and more. Long a, e, i, o.

This is a great way to check on the student’s spelling without them knowing that they are being assessed for spelling. It works well in small groups and it is fun.

There are four sets of cards in this bundle.

You can get them here from TPT.

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Which do I use letter C or the Letter K?

I remind them to listen for the vowels. If it is a, o, u, use c. If it is e or i, use the k.

Do your students ever ask you this question? Is it c or k?

Letter C or Letter K . Reminding the students to listen for the vowel sounds is great to figure it out. If the sound is: a, o, u, the use letter c.

If the vowel sound is: e or i, use the k.

This game is one way to let them read words that have the c and k spelling patterns.

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Many Sounds of the Letter u.

Do you know all the different sounds letter u can make?

This might be a tricky one to teach. Some students that are learning to decode by the traditional phoneme sounds have trouble with words that do not follow the normal sounds. Example words: you, push, pull, put, was, banana.

So, with that in mind. I made up this silly picture and sentence to help them.

Unbelievable the U pushed the super unicorn

The vowel can make lots of different sounds. This sentence and the silly picture is a clever way to remember some of the sounds and different spellings of the Y-oo!

You can find it here.

The letter u can make a shocking amount of sounds. The sounds can be hidden in many different spellings. Example words: the, was, push, super. In the word unicorn, the letter u name and the schwa sound comes from the letter i. Crazy! Right ….

Unbelievable! You pushed the super unicorn

This Super Unicorn Collection can be helpful for teaching and clearing up some of the sounds and spellings by grouping them together in word lists and adding colorful pictures to create mnemonic clues.

Check out my large bundle of Long Vowel Spelling Test Clip Cards.

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Chef vs Magician, Sh Sound Spelling ci, ti, si, Card Games

Pairing up the right lessons with card games has given my struggling readers and spellers a great advantage.

_{How to teach spelling lessons with fun card games?}

Pairing up the right lessons with card games has given my struggling readers and spellers a great advantage.

Education games that students want to play. Over and Over again.

Posters can be used to teach single a lesson or combined into many lessons.

War-style card game Chef VS Magician has colorful images and letters for the many different spellings of /sh/.

The tricky sh sound spelled ci, ti, si, xi, ss, sh, ch, s, c, can now be used as a game. Students love playing card games like War and Uno. These 144 cards were made to highlight the tricky “sh” sounds in words and added a point value to the different spellings. Including the French ch = sh, and letters like c and s, in words like ocean and sugar.

“It is a trick?”

Knowing there is a trick is the best way to avoid being tricked by it. This is a fun play on words. Words like ocean, sure, and sugar all have a “sh” sound that we can not see from the spelling clues.

144-Word cards with color-coded /sh/ (many different spellings of the “sh” sound) with single beginning syllable and ending syllables.

You can find it here on TPT . The are many different ways to play. Use the cards for UNO, War, or flash cards. Printing out multiple sets have been extra helpful for me. I work with many different students at different levels. It is easier for me to have the cards grouped into leveled decks ranging from easy to advanced.

The lesson posters can be cast to the TV or smartboard. I like to keep them all bound up in a booklet, it is handy for working with small groups or tutoring students.

We review the spelling lessons and write a few words from the word lists. Some students like to draw mnemonic pictures for different /sh/spellings. Then we play the card game to put reading into practice.

Level one starts with the main spelling of the sh sound, and explains to the students that these are single-syllable words. The next level can be introducing tricky words like: sure, sugar, and ocean. Or moving on to multiple-syllable words and compound words.

Lesson Booklet Option

Binding up the pages created a valuable handy resource for me.

These mnemonic picture-embedded spelling tips have been very helpful. Especially for the very tricky R-controlled Trigraphs.

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Blue Tongue Spelling Tip CVCC Words

Think of a blue tongue to remind you how to correctly spell the word tongue. They both have the same /ue/ ending.

Teaching with card games.

Spelling tip today.

Think of a blue tongue to remind you how to correctly spell the word tongue. They both have the same /ue/ ending.

The other day we were playing the CVCC Uno card game after our reading group. The word tong, was one of the cards that we took the time to discuss vocabulary and meaning. That brought us to the word tongue and blue, in a roundabout way. One student was thinking the word (tong) might be “tongue.”

They were surprised when I wrote the words tongue and blue on the whiteboard. I underlined the ue and told them to think of the word blue to remind themselves how to spell this tricky word.

There are many teachable moments in these small reading groups. It is pure joy for me to hear them working out new words that they have never read before and discuss their meanings during our games. Teaching the students with flashcard games helps them to sound out new words that they may not find in regular reading passages. When they have confidence in their decoding abilities, then they can stop guessing with the whole word strategy. It is awesome, to hear the shock in their voice when they realize they can read a new word they never knew before.

You can find this CVCC Uno Here. Take a look at the R-Controlled Uno game too.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Vowel-Teams-Mnemonic-Booklets-Visual-Aid-Literacy-Spelling-Bundle-Structured-9616850

Here are more of the mnemonic spelling cards.

Full of more picture clues embedded within the letters to help visual learners.

Test your knowledge. How many animals have a blue tongue? Here.

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ch, wh, sh, Teaching Trick Digraphs

I have created some hints within the letter shapes to help remind the students of words that make the same digraph sound.

Creative Picture Embedded Hints with the Letter Shapes

Digraphs might be more complex to learn than blends, especially with all the tricky sounds, silent letters, and spelling rules. I have hidden some hints within the letter shapes to help remind the students of words that make the same sound as the digraph. Example ch – one of the sounds of ch is in chomp and chicken. The letter c has teeth to chomp or chew on the chicken leg, which is very similar to the h shape.

This is the first sound of ch, as in chicken. Some kids have it mixed up with the sound /tr/. I was very surprised by this until they explained that /ch/ is for the train picture. (oops!) Some programs have a Choo-choo train for /ch/ sound and it was confusing the emergent readers.

There are many more clever hiding pictures with the digraphs and trigraphs in this set. Including the 3 different sounds for the ch.

These grapheme images incorporate the letter shapes with embedded images to help students recall the sounds that they make. Pictures aid phonemic sound recall and link to memory pathways.

3 different sounds of ch ch, k, sh:

ch – 1 st sound ch, Letter c has teeth to chew the chicken on the letter h.

ch – 2nd sound k, Christmas tree image, letter c is a sack of gifts and letter h on
the tall tree has the “sh” silent hand.

ch – 3rd sound /sh/ chef, letter c shape is uncovering the food. (French Word Origins)

3 different sounds of gh:

gh – Ghost images laughing, thinking, and shhhh hand. (3 sounds on one card)

gh – Gh sleeping and coughing with h shhhh hand.

Other digraphs

ck – Duck image with bubbles on letter c and letter k has duck feet

th – Letter t is sticking a tongue out at the thumb image on letter h.

ph – Letter p using a phone and h looks like a phone.

wr – Wrench image with silent w.

tr – Covered with train tracks and a train on letter t.

and much more……

Check out the whole set on my Teachers Pay Teachers page Pure Joy Teaching

The cards can be printed with a word list on the back. Some cards have very helpful spelling tips too. Color-coded to help highlight the digraph or trigraph.

Keep watching this space, I am working on a card game to help reinforce some of these tricky sounds and teach some spelling words at the same time.

These helpful cards are a lot like my first set for R-controlled phonics.

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CVC builder Hot dogs dramatic play easy booklet

Practice building CVC and VC words, quick set-up, and super fun

This booklet-style setup creates an easy and organized way to play and store this fun CVC and VC resource for students and teachers.

The back page is larger and has the barbecue grill image on it. This creates a fun playing surface to lay out all the vowel hotdogs on.

The top half is left open with enough space to attach a small snack-size recloseable bag. This is a great option for storing all the pieces that go with this dramatic games-style teaching resource. Sight word condiments and vowel hotdogs.

The bottom half of this resource can be printed double-sided and attached to the grill with rings or a binding machine. This lays out nicely and removes some of the reversal issues. (

VC included. CVC is very common, and VC is sometimes overlooked. The capital /I/ can be very tricky for some emergent readers. They learn that the capital I, says it’s name when it is on its own, sometimes when they see it next to another letter, like at the beginning of a sentence, it can create some confusion. ( The capital letters A and I, can be used to make words like: In, It, If, An, At.

Sight words – Tricky non-decodable words are included: said, of, the, his, all, is, do, was, are, what, as, have, too.

The sight words are grouped by color to make teaching a little easier. All the yellow mustard words have the letter s that makes the /z/ sound: his, is, was, as, has. ( I call these the sleeping snake words. He falls asleep and snores zzz…. sometimes)

All of the consonant buns should make decodable words. The letter r, is not included as an ending letter. This is not the time to teach bossy r-controlled words. This is purely for early sound-letter decoding.

The letter y, is only in the first position making the correct sound. This is not the time to teach digraphs ay, ey, oy, uy, gym, or eye. All those fun words will come later. As well as words ending with w, aw, ow, ew, should be taught later.

Here is a fun game for short o sounds with /wa/Candyland-style Fruitland.

The CVC Hot Dog builder can be found on my TPT site.

You may also like the CVC sandwich builder or the matching blends. The PB&J’s progress to the digraphs and vowel teams.

Tips for setting up the grill.

Print the grill back page on full-sized 8.5×11 paper.

Print the hot dogs vowels, single-sided, 2 to a page.

Print the Buns Consonants, double-sided, 2 to a page.
Use a piece of cardstock or scrap of laminated paper inside of the sandwich bag to make it ridged and strong enough to punch holes through.

Snack-sized reclosable bag attached with a binding machine. Pure Joy Teaching

This booklet was created with the smaller half-page grill, attached on the long side. But it could be set up with a larger full-page-sized grill. Very easy to customize to your classroom needs.

CVC Hot dog word builder. © Pure Joy Teaching 2023

Pure Joy Teaching © Hot Dog CVC VC builder — © Pure Joy Teaching CVC VC word builder hot dogs

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