Making Phonics Fun and Active

Teaching phonics is one of my favorite things about working with primary students. Ever since I was a child, I loved how the letters worked together to make words. It was like magic when a small shift of a vowel made a completely new word. Today I want to show you a few ways to increase engagement and make phonics FUN and active! Phonics doesn't have to be boring, repetitive worksheets.

Activity #1: Letter Mazes

I love these "alphabet stones" from Oriental Trading. They are made of heavy-duty foam, about half an inch thick. One side has numbers and the other side has letters. I love that Oriental Trading color-coded the consonants blue and vowels red. This is so helpful for primary students and teachers! When I first got these out, my kids had a blast spreading the stones out to create a maze-like obstacle course. They ran, hopped, skipped, and jumped around calling out the letter names and sounds as they went!

Activity #2: Building CVC Words

Another fun way to use the Alphabet & Number Recognition Step Game is for building words. I used blue painter's tape to create Elkonin boxes. The visual helps students segment a word into individual sounds or phonemes. The color coding of the stones was particularly helpful for creating CVC words. 

When using this with a small group or an individual student, you can start by giving a word for the student to build, such as tan. Then give a simple direction, such as "change the first consonant to create a new word." (tan ---> fan)
"Now change the vowel in the word." (fan ---> fin)

You can use an easel or whiteboard to record the words. If you are using the foam alphabet stones in a center, students can work to build their own CVC words. For accountability, you can have them record the words they created. 

Activity #3: Word Paths

Lay out the alphabet stones like this.
(1st row-consonants, 2nd row- vowels, 3rd row-consonants)

Show students where to start. Have them jump from row to row to create a word.
See my Kindergartener in action:

I have a freebie in TheHappyTeacher store that shows several ways to set up your letter stones, and it also includes a recording sheet. Tune in next time for more games and ideas to make learning fun and active!

Disclosure: I was provided a sample of the product free of charge, in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received. The ideas and opinions in this post are strictly my own.