This small group phonics and number sense game reminds me of the good ole days. I used to play Spoons when I went up to the cabin with friends and family and it was always a hit. We would laugh and race to be sure we weren’t left without a spoon. With it being such a […]

Sometimes reviewing sight words gets boring. Am I right?! Same with other identification skills: numbers, letters, rhyming words, etc., so I am always on the lookout for some new and exciting games to play with my students. Just to spice it up a little! Enter: SNAP! This is a fast-paced card game that you can […]

How do you start your guided reading groups? What about your morning meeting? I love to have this  warm up posted on the board so while I get my last minute things ready, students are already revving up their brains! It’s called, “What’s Missing?” and I play this small group game two different ways that […]

Diphthongs! What in the world is a diphthong!? I remember very clearly asking myself that question in my Foundations of Literacy class in college. Diphthongs can be tricky to read since the letters shown in these words don’t make their usual sounds – the sound is an entirely new one that isn’t necessarily represented at all in the word.

I am always on the hunt for new, fun phonics games! Teaching the same phonics patterns and skills over and over can be difficult for both my students and for me as the teacher to try and have students practice these skills without getting bored.    Before we play phonics games, there is always a direct […]

When I teach phonics in my classroom, it usually has 2 parts. I quickly introduce/review a phonics pattern with the whole group (for example, long vowels with silent e). I will model how to read words and apply the silent e. Then I will have students read aloud real and nonsense words with that phonics […]

I am so happy to share some brand new, silent e fluency passages I made… and they are FREE! These phonics “read & illustrate” passages are the perfect way to assess students understanding of what they are reading.   There are 2 activities for each of the following phonics skills: a_e i_e o_e u_e   […]