Phonics Teaching Strategies

Not part of NEALS State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011

Teaching ideas for Phonics

Enjoys repeating short rhyming verses, chants and jingles.

Notices that some words rhyme in verses, chants and jingles.

Identifies rhyming words on some occasions.

Identifies words that start with the same initial sound on some occasions.

Identifies two or more letters that are the same in words.

Identifies some letters that are the same in more than one context.

Names some letters in a given word.

Says one of the sounds for letters in a given word.

Writes approximate letters for some sounds.

Phonemic awareness

involves hearing and

Phonics

involves making the connection between sounds and letters when reading and spelling.

Texts include oral, aural, written, visual, electronic and multimodal texts.multimodal texts.

2nd cluster

First cluster of markers:

Identifies one letter that is the same in two words.

Identifies some letter names, e.g. first letter of own name.

Letters in print

Provide students with a set of plastic letters (both upper and lower case). Provide newspaper headlines or other large sections of print and ask students to find the plastic letters that match those in the print.

Students can also use their name cards and place upper and lower case plastic letters over the letters of their name and then copy their name onto paper.

Letters and words

Create cards a little larger than normal playing cards and print an individual letter on each card. Do multiples of common letters, e.g. e, s, or focus on new letters you want students to learn.

In pairs and small groups students play a variety of games including:

Snap: recognising a visual match Memory: recognising and remembering a visual match Fish: asking for a card by letter name

Also create some CVC word cards, e.g. sun, pet.

Students spread out the word cards, then deal out the letter cards. Students take turns to place a one of their letter cards under the matching letter in a word card, saying the sound that the letters makes in this word as they place the card. Continue until all word cards have been filled.

Sounds in words

Write out some CVC words on small cards. Provide students with coloured counters (about 10 cent size).

Students take turns to select a word card. They say the word, stretching it out to hear its individual sounds, and place one counter below the word card for each sound they hear, e.g.,

1st cluster

Identifies one letter that is the same in two words.

Identifies some letter names, e.g. first letter of own name.

s u n

s u n

b a t



Identifies all letters that are the same in more than one context.

Names most letters in a given word.

Says some of the sounds for letters in a given word.

Blends up to three sounds in words when reading.

Writes letters to correspond with single letter sounds.

Names all letters in a given word.

Says most of the sounds for letters in a given word.

Spells unknown words phonetically with most letters in the correct sequence.

Recognises, says and writes names and common sounds of alphabet.

3rd cluster 4th cluster

Consistently identifies words that rhyme.

Consistently identifies words that start with the same initial sound.

Provides a word starting with a given sound.

Says the new word when asked to delete one phoneme (phoneme deletion).

Says the new word by adding a phoneme to an existing word (phoneme addition).

Identifies rhyming words on some occasions.

Identifies words that start with the same initial sound on some occasions.

Second cluster of markers:






Letters in words

Write out some short words onto word cards. Include words with two of the same letter, e.g. dad, little, good. Provide students with coloured counters (about 10 cent size).

Students select a card and place a counter for each letter, using the same colour counter for the letters that are the same.

Same letters

Cut out some short words of different sizes and fonts from magazines and newspapers.

Students spread out the words and then take turns to find two that contain the same letter.

They can paste the pairs of words, circle the common letter and then and write it.

Letter matching

Provide some pictures of recognisable objects and a set of letter cards. Select 5 to 10 pictures where the word for each starts with a different sound and place them in a plastic bag with a set of letter cards to correspond to the beginning sound of each word (you might want to include some other letter cards as well).

Students spread out the pictures and take turns to say what is in the picture and find the card with the beginning letter for that word. As they place the card on the picture, they say the letter name.






2nd cluster



Saying sounds in words

Place a small mirror on the wall at students height and stick VC and CVC word cards around it.

In pairs, students take turns to look at the words and say the sounds for the letters they see. If they say all the sounds, they can take the card.

Same letters: Snap

Write word cards that contain some common letters in different positions, e.g. t in tap, little, stop, hat.

Students place the cards in two piles, then take turns in turning over one card from each pile.

If the cards have a common letter, then the student keeps the cards. If the cards have no common letters the cards are turned back over again and placed on the bottom of the piles.

The student with the most pairs at the end of the game is the winner.

This can also be played as a memory game with the cards laid out in a grid and students turning over two at a time, claiming them if the letters match or turning them back over if they dont.

Word Bingo

Make some sets of Bingo word cards using words with different combinations of known letters. Have all the words on a master sheet.

Each student has a card. The caller calls out words from the master sheet. Students listen the word called out and put a counter on the word if it is on their card.

The first student to cover all words on their card is the winner. The winner becomes the caller. Students can select a new word grid for a new game.

Writing letters

Students have a grid card with an initial letter in each square and a felt pen. (The card can be laminated so that it can be reused).

A caller has a set of short words that have initial letters the same as those on the grid cards.

As the caller says a word, students write it in a square that contains the correct initial letter. After all words have been called, students check their spelling against the callers set of words.

Cluster 2



Blends initial consonants with common vowel patterns or word families.

Attempts to read more complex words using letter/sound knowledge.

Uses knowledge of letter clusters and vowel digraphs to spell unfamiliar words.

5th cluster

Says the new word when one phoneme is substituted for another (phoneme substitution).

Names all letters in a given word.

Says most of the sounds for letters in a given word.



4th cluster

Consistently identifies words that rhyme.

Consistently identifies words that start with the same initial sound.

Provides a word starting with a given sound.



Third cluster of markers:






Identifying letters

Provide a set of plastic letters, a page of a newspaper or magazine text and a felt pen for each student.

Students select a plastic letter and circle all examples of that letter in their text.

Naming letters

Provide a set of word cards that use letters you have introduced.

Students work in groups to take turns in selecting a card and naming the letters in that word.

Other students check and agree if the letter names are correct. If all letters are correctly named, the student keeps the card. If not, it is returned to the bottom of the pile.

The winner is the student with most word cards.

Have-a-go sheets

Introduce Have-a-go sheets for students to attempt spelling words. Provide the letters along the top and bottom for students to refer to when attempting to write letters in words.

For example:

A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i J j K k L l M m

My first attempt My second attempt Spelling checked

N n O o P p Q q R r S s T t U u V v W w X x Y y Z z






3rd cluster



One student, with a set of word cards, says a word while others attempt to write it using the letters on their Have-a-go sheet. They then check against the word card.

Word frames

Provide students with a word frame cards, on which VC and CVC words are written into boxes divided into the correct number of letters, e.g.

Cluster 3

In pairs or small groups, students take turns to:

select a card from prepared VC and CVC word frame cards

say the word, breaking it into individual sounds, e.g. /r/ /u/ /n/

push a counter onto each letter, saying the sound for each letter

blend the sounds together and repeat the word, e.g. run.

Flip books

Make flip books with the beginning of a word on the lefthand side, e.g. c, b, m, r, h, p and ending options on the righthand side, e.g. at, in, eg).

Students flip the pages, identify words and write them in a list.

As an alternative, they can write words in one list, e.g. cat, bin and not words in another list, e.g. reg, hin.

Cut and make

Select some words that contain known letters and photocopy onto coloured cardboard.

Students cut up the words and rearrange the letters, making as many different words as possible and then reading the words by blending the sounds.

These letters can then be stored in envelopes or small plastic bags for students to use at a later time.

r u n



Manipulates phonemes (add, delete and swap) to generate new words, e.g. swap the /p/ in spin with /k/.

Segments sounds in consonant clusters to spell unfamiliar words.

Uses familiar words and letter clusters to decode words when reading.

6th cluster




5th cluster




Fourth cluster of markers:

Names all letters in a word.

Says most of the sounds in a given word.



Saying sounds in words

Provide a set of word cards where the words can be decoded using sound-letter knowledge.

Each student has an individual whiteboard and a felt pen.

One student selects a word card and says the sounds in sequence: /c/, /a/, /t/. The other students in the group write the letters that represent these sounds and say what the word is.

Naming letters game

Provide a set of word cards where words can be decoded using sound-letter knowledge.

Each student has an individual whiteboard and a felt pen.

Students take turns to selects a word card and say: The first letter is t.

The other students write the letter on their whiteboards.

Students continue writing the word, letter by letter, as the caller says the letters.

At any time, a student can guess what the word might be and, if correct, they become the letter caller.

Names all letters in a word.

Says most of the sounds in a given word.



4th cluster



Recognises that common suffixes in words can have different sounds, e.g. wanted, talked.

Understands that sounds can be represented in various ways when spelling words, e.g. meet, meat.

7th cluster




6th cluster


Fifth cluster of markers:




Flip books

Make flip books with the beginning of a word on the lefthand side, using letters, letter clusters and digraphs students are learning, e.g. s, p, h, sh, th, st, bl and ending options on the righthand side, e.g. at, ay, ing.


As an alternative, students can write words in one list, e.g. stay, thing and not words in another list, e.g. shing, stat.

Card cloze

Provide a short section of text, such as part of a familiar story, with some of the words missing.

Provide a set of word cards which include the missing words but also some others that students will need to look at carefully to distinguish from the right cards.

In pairs or individually, students spread out the word cards and begin reading the cloze passage.

When they come to a missing word, they discuss what it might be and search the word cards to find the correct word, which is then placed in the space.

After the entire cloze is completed, students reread the passage to check their accuracy.

Spelling unfamiliar words

Provide magnetic letters or letter tiles/cards. Provide a word sheet with groups of related words that use the same letter clusters, e.g. boat, coat, float, and shop, chop, hop. Words can be targeted to the letter clusters that students are currently learning.

A student says one of the words on the word sheet and the others make the word using their letters.

Then a related word is said and students remove and replace some letters to make the new word, e.g. if the first word is boat, the next might be goat; if the first word is shop the next might be chop.




5th cluster



Word sorts

Provide students with a list of words and some highlighter pens.

Select words that include the letter clusters students are currently learning.

Ask students to find a letter pattern in one word and highlight it, then find all the words in the list that have this same letter pattern.

Students can then write any other words they know that use this same letter pattern. Then change colours and select another pattern.

Identifying common patterns

Provide each group of students with two sets of word cards which contain two similar spelling patterns, e.g. ing words, such as thing, bring, and igh words, such as high, sigh, and two hoops labelled with spelling pattern which are placed on the floor, slightly overlapping.

Students shuffle the cards then take turns to select a word card, spell the word, explain what the spelling pattern is and place the card in the appropriate hoop.

Adapt the level of challenge for students by:

including words which contain neither spelling pattern (placed outside the hoops)

including words which contain both spelling patterns (placed in the intersection of the hoops).

Cluster 5



Knows common sounds for vowel digraphs and uses syllabification when reading/spelling.

Uses knowledge of word identification strategies including blending, segmenting and letter patterns when reading/spelling.

8th cluster



7th cluster


Sixth cluster of markers:



Decoding words when reading

Provide a collection of texts at students independent reading levels and time for students to read them individually or in pairs.

Teach a process for working out unknown words and provide some prompt cards for students to use, e.g. What word would make sense here? What letter does the word start with? What letters can you see that you know? Can you break the word up into parts? Read the sentence again and use the first letter to try to work out the word.

As students read their text aloud, they practise using the prompts to work out the new words.

Letter clusters

Provide a set of consonant letter cards and a sand-timer (1 minute or 3 minutes).

In pairs or groups, students select two or three cards and place them into a cluster.

Then each student writes as many words as they can, using this cluster, until the timer has finished.

As a group, students check the words they have written to find who has found the most correct words.



6th cluster





8th cluster

Seventh cluster of markers:



Word sort

Provide sets of cards where a common suffix is pronounced in two different ways, e.g. wanted/talked or says/hops.

Provide two circles with appropriate labels, e.g. sounds like d, sounds like t.

Cards are placed face down and students take turns to take a card, say the word and place it in the correct circle. Other students confirm or challenge.

Proofreading #1

Provide a proofreading passage on an Interactive Whiteboard, overhead transparency or chart paper with a focus on homonyms. Students take turns to underline the mistakes and write the correct spelling above the word, e.g. Kate ran two meat her friend, Sienna. They were going four a swim in the see.

Commonly confused homonyms include:

here/hear new/knew see/sea meat/meet

their/there/theyre wood/would where/wear which/witch

to/two/too threw/through no/know passed/past

Proofreading #2

Provide time for students to proofread their own writing with a partner. The writer reads their own work and both discuss the spelling of homonyms. If they cant decide which is correct, they write both options in different colours to discuss with the teacher.



7th cluster



Word sorts

Provide students with a list of words and ask them to sort the words according to the different ways the phoneme can be represented, e.g. /or/ as in torn, door, worn, haul, law, call and /ee/ as in sweet, heat, thief, these.

Give students sets of word cards with words that have a range of letter combinations.

Ask them to find words that have the same phoneme represented by different letter or letter combinations. For example, words starting with c that have the /s/ phoneme, such as city, cycle, centipede or words that have different letter combinations (e.g. ship, mission, chef) that have the /sh/ phoneme.

Cluster 7



Eighth cluster of markers:



Word games

Play word games which focus on word recognition. These include games such as Concentration, matching words to pictures, computer games, Snap, Fish, Battleships, Word Dominoes.

Word chunking

Students write their spelling words on a grid, one word per space.

They then draw cut lines to indicate where they word can be usefully split to aid spelling and reading, e.g. draw/ing, kang/ar/oo, list/en/ing. These lines might not strictly indicate the syllables in the word, but instead relate to meaning chunks.

Students cut the words into their identified chunks and spread them out.

They then reassemble each word (using a master list or from memory). The word chunks can be saved in an envelope and this task can be done more than once.

Word identification when reading

Provide a collection of texts at students independent reading levels and time for students to read them individually or in pairs. Teach a process for working out unknown words and provide some prompt cards for students to use, e.g. What word would make sense here? What letter does the word start with? What letters can you see that you know? What letter clusters can you see? Run the letters together to make a blend. What small words are in the bigger word? Can you break the word up into parts?

As students read their text aloud, they practise using the prompts to work out the new words.



8th cluster



Flip books

Make flip books with the beginning of a word on the lefthand side, e.g. c, b, m, r, h, p and ending options using consonant digraphs on the right hand side, e.g. oat, ail, eep.


As an alternative, they can write words in one list, e.g. boat, moat and not words in another list, e.g. cail, meep.

Computer games

Identify computer games that require knowledge of vowel digraphs, blending segmenting. Students play in pairs, assisting each other.

Cluster 8

Documents

Phonics Teaching Strategies