Practicing letter names and the sounds that go with the letters is so important for Early Reading Skills!  The best sounds and letters practice for phonemic awareness includes pictures and phonics. This week I used 2 different activities that the students LOVED!!!

 Puzzles and Stamp and See Screens!

I made 4 piece letter/sound puzzles to help the students practice! Click here to find it at my store.

To make it error free teaching, I provide highly specified instruction so I teach less, more thoroughly.

First the students put the puzzle together and sub-vocalize the picture names.

I ask,”What is the letter name?”

Student replies, “only with the letter name.”

I ask, “What sound does it make?”

Student replies, /sound only/

I ask, “Tell me the words that make the /sound/.”

Student tells all pictures.

I ask, “Do (name all pictures) make the /sound/  sound?”

Students says yes or no.

I ask, “What letter makes the /sound/?”

Check out the students using the puzzles!  It was so great to see them asking for help from each other!  One group was so excited to learn the word sombrero.  They realized that hat would not work with a puzzle that has all /s/ pictures!

These screens are labeled for Pre-K from Handwriting Without Tears  but the students love to use them, and we use them in place of white boards and small chalk boards!  Changing it up keeps it fun!  The students thought this learning activity was a great game.

I would say a letter and the students had to write it on the board.  After writing, I would ask, “What letter did you write?  What sound does it make?” To make it even harder and to work with writing, say the sound and have the students write the letter.

These also come with magnetic shapes that help the students form letters correctly in the beginning of learning!

Now that we have practiced making these letters with play dough, magnetic shapes, pencils, crayons, and white boards, we can write them ourselves!