Engaging Phonics Instruction from Start to Finish

Looking for engaging phonics activities? Below are creative ideas to prepare students before reading, keep them engaged during reading, and enhance recall and comprehension after reading. These activities come from Phonics Fun Decodables free downloadable teaching guide. 

Before Reading Activities

Phonemic Awareness Warm-Up

• Blend sounds to make words (e.g., What would the word be if I say c-a-t?).

• Segment words into their sounds (e.g., How many sounds do you hear in cat?). Students may use manipulatives or their fingers to count the sounds.

• Isolate beginning, middle, and end sounds (e.g., What is the middle sound in cat?).

• Play rhyming games to emphasize sound similarities and differences.

Phonics Practice:

• Introduce new phonemes that will appear in the book.

• Practice phonics skills with flash cards, magnet letters, or whiteboards.

Word Mapping:

• Have students use Elkonin boxes or a similar tool to map out the sounds in each word. If Elkonin boxes are not available, have students draw lines or dots to represent each sound.

• Guide students to write the sounds in the appropriate place in the word.

• Guide students to blend the sounds together and practice reading these words aloud.

Word Study:

• Use letter tiles, magnetic letters, or whiteboards to build words.

• Have students brainstorm and list words from the same word family.

• Students can manipulate words by changing the beginning, middle, or ending sounds.

Book Walk:

• Preview the book with students. Discuss what students see on the front cover and in the illustrations.

• Ask one to three questions to activate prior knowledge about the topic (e.g., Do you remember a time when . . . ? or Have you ever read a story about . . . ?).

During Reading Activities

Prompt students to use reading strategies as needed when decoding new words. Ask one or two comprehension questions during reading for a quick comprehension check.

Reading Strategies:

• Sound out each grapheme in the word.

• Blend the sounds together to read the word.

• Break the word into syllables or separate words from prefixes and suffixes.

• Reread the sentence to ensure it makes sense.

Quick Checks for Comprehension:

• Ask quick comprehension questions about characters, setting, and key events in the story.

After Reading Activities 

After reading, students will review phonics skills, complete a writing connection prompt, and practice fluency.

Word Review:

• Review target phonemes, high-frequency words, and knowledge building words from the book.

• Guide students on a word hunt to find focus words in the text.

• Provide word cards and have students sort them into categories based on phonics patterns.

Writing Prompt:

• Students will respond to a writing prompt to connect with the story.

• Emphasize correct spelling and application of phonics rules.

Fluency Practice:

• Revisit passages from the book for fluency practice.

• Encourage students to read with expression and accuracy. Model as needed.

Looking for more decodable resources? Reach out to our literacy specialist or browse our collection online: Decodable Books — Lerner Knows Literacy.