Back to School Name Activity  I love teaching with kiddies names. They get so much out of it and really feel part of the class. We just started school, and I feature 1 student a day....

Homeschooling Readers  Hi, just wanting to know if there is a library for school home readers around Melbourne? Normal libraries don't have them but was wondering if there is ...

Theme Word Sentences for Big Kids  Theme Word Walls.

I love your themed words, I use them every week.
I work in a high school and we have a window where we display the theme for the ...

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom  I found this wonderful Book written by Bill Martin Jr and another author called Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. It's the story of letters climbing up the coconut ...

Phonics Program  Hi all,

I teach in the UK where our school uses a government program 'Letters and Sounds.' It builds phonic knowledge from 3-4 yrs olds up to 8+. I ...

Words Their Way  My school has recently adopted Words Their Way to guide the Spelling and Phonics instruction across the school.

Teaching Phonics K - 6  At my school phonics instruction begins in Kindergarten and continues through to Year 6. We begin in Kinder by teaching the alphabet letter names (not ...

Phoneme Grapheme Relationships  Hi
Teaching phonemic awareness and letter name recognition is crucial to beginning reading - don't forget vocabulary, comprehension and fluency.

I ...

Teaching 44 sounds  I teach a year 1/2 class in Australia. I work on a different sound each week. We have a chart with the 44 sounds on it and I start off the lesson by ...

Jeopardy Phonics Game  Hi, a teacher friend of mine has found this wonderful game that our grade 3 children love.

It's based on the jeopardy game. We have each question based ...

LETTER SOUND PAINTING  Each week I teach a single sound to my class of PrePrimaries and Year Ones. However, I found that even though they could match the sounds to the pictures,...

Sounds of the Alphabet  1. Children love fun and excitement in their class. One way to break the ice with very shy, quiet new students is to ensure you let them be involved in ...

Phonics cards as part of Have a go pad  Hi,
I loved your ready to use phonics cards & printed them as small as i could to use for inside covers (along with a list of hundred most used words)...

SPLAT - Sight Word Game  This has been a fun way to drill and practice sight word recognition. I have created sight word cards. I placed 'hook only' velcro on the back and attached ...

Letter play activities for literacy centers  In my classroom I team teach with another year 1 teacher two mornings a week for a 2 hour literacy block.

In this time we run literacy center activities ...

Phonemes First, then Sound-Spellings  Hello, Australia!

I agree that phonemic awareness is what each young learner needs. Even a 3-year-old can 'get it' -- watch my little video on YouTube;...

Phonics  Hi All,
Phonics is a huge field. I have a lot of ideas for this area but feel that the first emphasis needs to be on Phonological Awareness.

This area ...

Alphabet Song  Make up theme alphabet songs using the original alphabet song tune.

Instead of singing a b c d e f g etc, replace the letters with theme words beginning ...

THRASS Phonemic Awareness Method  Hi Everyone,

I am interested in receiving some feedback on the THRASS / phonemic awareness method of teaching phonics and reading.

Do you use this ...

Head, Body and Tail Alphabet  To assist in the revision of knowing letters, sight words and handwriting skills:
After first modeling this to the children, I ask them to draw a small ...

Reception Teacher - Alphabet Games and Activities  I have set up alphabet boxes. I went to my Local Florist and bought the boxes they put flower arrangements in. Each letter has a box and in it goes anything ...

Class Books to learn Letter Sounds  (I teach kindergarten.)

Every time we learn a new letter sound in reading, we make a class book.

First, I write the same sentence 22 times on my ...

Word Stickers  Word Stickers

If a child is having trouble continuously with a particular word, for example, was / saw. Make up a little sticker with that word on ...

Playing with Letters and Sounds in Words  Word Play...

As a Year 1 Teacher, I would always be looking for opportunities to 'play with words'.

Colouring in phonic blends, counting how many ...

Phonics Continuity  Hi, I have been in a school for 4 years and they have been implementing the THRASS phonics program. It stands for Teaching Handwriting Reading And Spelling ...

Word Wall Challenge  In my room I have the 200 most common words on display on a variety of coloured sheets. When teaching sight words, I often use this activity to make reading ...

Literacy Meaning must be a priority  I always make sure whatever phonics/spelling I'm teaching takes place within meaningful reading/writing experiences.

Big books with a sheet of plastic ...

Singing through the alphabet  We have 2 prep classes at my school and we are lucky enough to have our music teacher as our support teacher for 3 mornings a week (to 10.30am).

We ...

Alphabet Letter Shaping Stations  While children are learning to write their letters, provide fun ways to practice. You can even teach the children to set up the equipment and pack it ...

Jelly Crystal or Sand Alphabet  Pour some jelly crystals or sand onto a plate and then write a letter from the alphabet into it.

Have the child tell you which one you have written....

Make Up Initial Sounds Poems  Use this poem as a base for making up 'initial sound poems'....

M onkey M onkey M oo
Shall we buy a few
Yellow monkeys, purple monkeys
Monkeys ...

Alphabet Cards  I am a final year student teacher in a prep class.

I decided to print up 4 x A4 alphabet charts and laminate them, the class would then have to find ...

Class versus Teacher Games  Once I've taught a few sounds - initial sounds, blends, whatever the focus is I randomly write a few up on to the blackboard. Then we play class vs Mrs ...

Phonic Fred  This is an oldie but a goodie!

I use a puppet (a green frog with an eye missing) to reinforce letter names and sounds on cards.

The children are ...

Teaching Literacy Hands On  I teach 3 and 4 year olds and I believe in teaching hands on.

The children love coming into a learning environment that is theirs.

I have a writing ...

Phonics Collage  Make up a phonics collage by popping the blend, digraph - on a chart.

Children then cut and paste words with those blends from magazines, newspapers ...

Alphabet letter formation collage  Although it is important to follow consistent letter formation in the early years, it is also good for children to be exposed to other letter formations ...

Phonics  Hi All,

Letter Box has developed a Phonic and Comprehension slide show that is available on:
www.letterboxlearn2read.com.au
This slide show is useful ...

Another variation to the ABC song  I use the ABC song with three words that start with each letter ending each "song" with the sound of the letter in turn. So, for example, with b it is ...

Alphabet/Word plates  I write the alphabet and rhymes on cheap paper plates. One letter or rhyme to each plate and hot glue a fridge magnet onto the back. I save the magnets ...