CVC Word Wheels
The CVC Word Wheels are a fun way for beginning readers to practice CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, also known as word family rhymes. This activity includes 10 word wheels with the following word families for your child to practice sounding out and reading: -at, -ad, -ed, -en, -in, -ip, -ot, -og, -un, -ug.
To prepare, print out on card stock. Cut out the wheels, cut out the dotted lines on the circle that states “Word Wheel”, and poke a hole through the middle of each wheel and place a round fastener in the middle to connect the two pieces (“Word Wheel” with the box cut out is on top and the letters only wheel is on bottom.) With the fastener in place, the two pieces should be able to rotate around. The goal for this activity is for your child to focus on sounding out and reading CVC words.
As the wheel is rotated around, the child stops at each beginning letter that emerges from the wheel below into the hole on the top wheel. The child then sounds out each letter sound to read the revealed word. For example, on the –at family word wheel, the child turns the wheel and letter /c/ may appear, the child sounds out /c/ /a/ /t/ CAT. To take this activity a step further, your child could then write the word they just created onto another paper, build it with a moveable alphabet, or draw a picture to illustrate the word. The more a child connects writing (or building with tangible letters) with reading, the more these words retain in their memory. The illustrations activity is a way to check your child’s comprehension of the words read, and is a fun way for them to independently engage in the activity as well.
These Word Wheels are a fun and interactive way for your child to sound out and read CVC words.
Sound Practice Cards
These Sound Practice Cards are for you to review and practice letter sounds with your child. On each letter sound card there is a number written which correlates to the amount of sounds each letter makes. There is also check sheet included with this activity with each letter and its sounds listed.
To prepare, print out the letter sound cards and check sheet onto card stock. Cut out each sound card and laminate both the check sheet and sound cards for durability. The goal of these cards is to practice letter sounds with your child and help you track their progress. The parent will hold up a sound card and the child will state the sound(s) each letter makes. If laminated, the parent can use the check sheet to mark each letter sound using a whiteboard marker (easily wiped off with a damp cloth.) The child could also check off sounds they said correctly, with the guidance of their parent, to check their own progress.
There are a few ways to make this more interactive, so it is more fun than just flipping through flash cards. It is important for a child’s development to engage their body in fine motor or gross motor activities, as much as possible, rather than just rote memorization. The more a child is up and moving their body, while working on an activity like this, the more interactions the brain is making to retain and recall the lesson. One idea might be to set the cards up inside of a hopscotch court; instead of numbers the child will hop onto each letter and say aloud the sound(s). Another similar idea is to create a pathway, kind of like a life size game board, and the child is the game piece. They will roll a dice, follow the path, and say aloud the sound of the card they moved to, repeating this back and forth across the path until they have said all letter sounds.
These Sound Practice Cards are for a way to review letter sounds with your child and check their progress. There are lots of engaging ways to practice to make this a fun and interactive activity for your child.
CCVC Word Wheels
The CCVC Word Wheels are a fun way for readers to practice CcVC (consonant-consonant-vowel-consonant) words. These words involve beginning sound blends such as, /st/, /sl/, /br/, /sh/, /dr/, etc. This activity includes 10 word wheels with the following word families for your child to practice sounding out and reading: -at, -ab, -ag, -ed, -en, -in, -im, -og, -un, -ug.
To prepare, print out on card stock. Cut out the wheels, cut out the dotted lines on the circle that states “Word Wheel”, and poke a hole through the middle of each wheel and place a round fastener in the middle to connect the two pieces (“Word Wheel” with the window cut out is on top and the letters only wheel is on bottom.) With the fastener in place, the two pieces should be able to rotate around. The goal for this activity is for your child to focus on sounding out and reading CCVC words, practicing beginning blend sounds.
As the wheel is rotated around, the child stops at each beginning sound that emerges from the wheel below into the hole on the top wheel. The child then sounds out each letter sound to read the revealed word. For example, on the –at family word wheel, the child turns the wheel and letters /fl/ may appear, the child sounds out /fl/ /a/ /t/ FLAT. It is important for the child to identify and read these blends as a one unit beginning sound. This is a developmental skill to be able to bring these two letters together in their mind, but with practice this will help in not only reading blends but also audibly hearing and writing words with blends. To take this activity a step further, your child could write the word they just created onto another paper, build it with a moveable alphabet, or write a sentence using each word. The more a child connects writing (or building with tangible letters) with reading, the more these words retain in their memory. Using words properly in a sentence extends this activity into not just reading or writing words but also understanding the meaning of the word and proper sentence structure.
These Word Wheels are a fun and interactive way for your child to sound out and read CVC words.
