ten simple phonics activities requiring little preparation

8/9/2019 Ten Simple Phonics Activities Requiring Little Preparation

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down the left side of the grid. -ou would let the students now that #ou have chosen a

few suares as /special suares that the# should see out. $he# find these suares "#

volunteering to sa# a whole word made up of a letter at the top and the side of the grid.$he intersection of this row and column highlights a particular suare. $he o"%ect is for

the students to find all #our designated special locations.

Phonics Bingo

Write a good num"er of sounds on the "oard, e.g., pha, ma, la, ga. $he students wouldchoose a designated num"er of sounds #ou wrote and write them on an availa"le space

for writing. -ou would then pla# this lie "ingo and read out the sounds one "# one. $he

students can get "ingo when the# have three of their sounds chosen or all of their soundschosen. +t is a good idea to go over all of the sounds written on the "oard "eforehand to

help ease comprehension.

Criss-cross Phonics*ll the students stand up. $o "egin, show a word or a picture. $he first student to raisetheir hand gets called upon and if the# can correctl# sa# the first (or last sound of that

word the# can sit down and choose if the people in their row, hori0ontall# or verticall#,

can also sit down. !raduall#, there are fewer and fewer students standing. When #ou nolonger have rows to choose from, onl# individual students would sit. Words and images

could also "e written1drawn on the "lac"oard if the teacher had no time to prepare cards.

Missing Sound

2raw or show an image on the "lac"oard. Beside the image, write all "ut one of thesounds. 3or e'ample, there is a picture of a dog on the "oard, #ou write /og "eside it and

the students have to provide #ou with the missing sound, not the letter. $his can "e made

into a group contest or a simple whole4class e'ercise where #ou would give the class timeto thin of the answer and get ever#one to sa# the answer at the same time.

Two Sounds

!ood to practice sound distinction. 5ave two words on the "oard representing the two

different sounds #ou would lie to practice, e.g., ME6, M*6. -ou would then show the

students pictures and get them to put those words under the appropriate column. 3ore'ample, #ou show a picture of a pen, the students should write /pen under the ME6

column. (+f #ou are dealing with "eginners, the# could %ust mar their choice with an /7

under the column instead of asing them to write out the words. -ou would, however,have to give num"ers "efore ever# word to help ever#"od# eep trac of choices.

BeginningMiddle!nd


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Students cop# down the chart #ou provided on the "oard which is divided into three

sections. -ou can la"el the three sections, /"eginning, /middle and /end in English or

the native language of #our students. -ou would focus on a specific sound and read outwords containing that sound. $he students would have to decide if that sound was found

in the "eginning, middle or end of the word "# writing the sound in that appropriate

column. $his is a good listening activit# with some implications for positive phonicsreinforcement.

Ball and Cap "ame

$he students pass around a hat and a "all. When the music stops, the student with the hat

must tae out a piece of paper with a letter or letters written on it then read out its sound,not the letter name. $he student with the "all must guess the letter(s. +n lieu of music, the

teacher can simpl# have his "ac turned and call out 8stop9.

Pen and !raserStudents have a pen and an eraser in front of them. -ou have two sounds #ou would lieto practice, e.g., /f and /v sounds, and designate one sound for the pen and one sound

for the eraser. When #ou sa# a word "eginning with one of those sounds, the students

should pic up the appropriate o"%ect (for upper levels, the sound can "e in an# part of theword not %ust the "eginning. +f #ou sa# a word not incorporating one of the sounds, the

students should mae a "ig 7 with their arms. $his can evolve into a pair contest with

one pen and one eraser for ever# two students. $he students would aim to "e the uicestto pic up the o"%ect after #ou read out a word.

Concluding Remar#s

Matching sounds to letters and letters to sounds can "e uite a tric# and daunting tas

when students are learning English. *ctivities such as these are simple to initiate, easil#adapta"le, and are good wa#s to practice and enforce English phonics.

$he +nternet $ES: Journal, ;ol. 7+;, 6o. >?

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ten simple phonics activities requiring little preparation

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