Have you heard students struggling to decode words with the suffix -ed? I have! The suffix -ed has 3 different sounds. This game is a fun way to learn them.
Spelling Patterns for the -ed Sounds
Have you heard students struggling to decode words with the suffix -ed? I have!
The suffix -ed, can be tricky
Trying to explain the different sounds, spelling patterns, and irregular verb tenses can be overwhelming sometimes. This war-style card game can be used to tackle all those things in three different ways. Ed said, Ed says, and Ed spells are 3 fun, engaging ways to play with suffixes, and tenses while learning at the same time.
The word hopped can be very hard for students sometimes.
Ed the elephant can not say this name, but he can make 3 different sounds “d, id, t.”
The suffix -ed has some very predictable patterns and those patterns each have a different point value in the game. The irregular verbs like run and ran are so tricky so I have added them into another game called Ed Says? The irregular verbs have the highest number of points in this game.
The third game is called Ed Spells. This game has point values for the many different spelling patterns of the word that have the suffix -ed added to them.
Suffix -ed spelling patterns are +ed, double consonant, drop e, & change the y to /i/ +ed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
