CVC or consonant-vowel-consonant words are a very familiar thing in the first-grade teaching world. These short vowel patterns are some of the first ones we focus on blending when teaching our students how to read! Once students start becoming familiar with this CVC pattern, I like to have them play some different games to help […]

After a couple of weeks in school, my first-grade students would start reviewing CVC words. We would blend them, segment them, and spell them. This hands-on game is great for students to practice segmenting and spelling different short vowel, CVC words.   To see how to play this FREE CVC phonics game, just watch my […]

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 […]

In my new role as a K-2 literacy teacher, I spend a lot of my time working on direct phonics instruction to help my first and second grade students decode words they are encountering in their texts. I thought I would take a little time to go through what a week of small groups phonics […]

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.