Instructional Activities

Decoding and Encoding

Once children learn some phoneme-grapheme correspondences, they can begin decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling) words.  The activities included in this section are designed to help children apply their phoneme-grapheme knowledge to decoding and/or encoding.

In addition to these activities, we have word lists and virtual word cards you can use for practice. You can also use the Phinder tool to generate your own words for practice.

To find out more about how children learn to read words, click here.

Word Work

We use the term “word work” to represent activities that promote effective and efficient word reading, especially those that involve developing proficiency with blending letter sounds and the manipulation of sounds in words.  For example, the blending drill provides children with a rapid succession of words (and sometimes non-words) to decode, by changing one sound at a time (e.g., changing him to hip, hip to tip, tip to top, and so on).  All of the activities in this section are designed to provide students with practice that will make them stronger word readers.  Strong word reading is necessary for strong comprehension.

To find words to use for word work check out the “Word Cards and Lists” toggle.  To generate more words, click here to use the Phinder tool.

Blending Board

Virtual Blending Board 

Virtual Blending Board Tutorial

Word Work Mat

Word Work Mat Activity (PowerPoint)

Word Work Mat Activity (Google Slides)

Word Work Mat – Beginner  (app link)

Word Work Mat – Intermediate  (app link)

Make your own Word Work Mat for face-to-faceinstruction! (updated August 2020)

Tutorial: Word Chains for Decoding and Encoding Practice

Blending Drill

Blending Drill (PowerPoint)

Blending Drill (Google Slides)

Blending Drill

Manipulative Letters

Manipulative Letters Guidelines

Manipulative Letters (PowerPoint)

Manipulative Letters (Google Slides)

Manipulative Letters Tutorial

Manipulative Letters Asynchronous Activity Sample Lesson Video

Regular Word Spelling

Template: Regular Word Spelling (PowerPoint)

Template: Regular Word Spelling (Google Slides)

Word Sort

Template: Word Sort With Word Cards (PowerPoint)

Template: Word Sort With Word Cards (Google Slides)

Tutorials and Sample Lessons

Word Work Mat – Beginner

Word Work Mat – Intermediate

Word Work Mat – Student Controls

Regular Word Spelling

Virtual Blending Board Tutorial

Manipulative Letters (Asynchronous Activity)

Big Words

As children progress through the grades, the text they read tends to become more challenging and complex, with more big words.  To be effective at reading big words, it helps to understand word parts, including syllables and morphemes.  Syllables are the units of sound we can use to divide words (e.g., com-pu-ter).  Morphemes are the units of meaning we can use to divide words (e.g., inter-nation-al).  These activities help students develop familiarity with syllables and morphemes.

Learn more about teaching big words here.

Syllables

Introduction to Syllable Types (PowerPoint)

Introduction to Syllable Types (Google Slides)

Tutorial: Syllable Types 

Open and Closed Syllables (PowerPoint)

Open and Closed Syllables (Google Slides)

Morphemes

Morpheme Trees (PowerPoint)

Morpheme Trees (Google Slides)

Morpheme Trees Tutorial

Morpheme Trees Sample Video

Morphemes With Greek Roots (PowerPoint)

Morphemes With Greek Roots (Google Slides) 

Morphemes With Latin Roots (PowerPoint)

Morphemes With Latin Roots (Google Slides)

Morphemes and Their Meanings

Other Resources

Affixes.org is a dictionary of affix meanings.

Etymonline.com is an online index of word origins.

How Many Syllables? is an online resource that will show you how to divide specific words into syllables.

Borror’s Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms

Word Cards and Lists
The word card collections here are organized into categories based on common features. The cards can be used with many of the other activities.  For example, you can select cards from the -ap and -at phonogram sets to copy and paste for the Word Sort activity.

The word list collections are organized into categories based on the spellings of sounds.  When you introduce a new way to spell a sound, it’s helpful to have multiple examples of words that use that spelling.  The word lists are helpful to practice applying the new knowledge.

Word Cards

A (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
E (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
I (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
O (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
U (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Short Vowel CVC (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Vowel Teams (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
R-Controlled (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Double Letters and Trigraphs (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Long /ā/ Spellings (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Long /ī/ Spellings (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Consonant Blends with Short Vowels (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Consonant Digraphs, ck and qu with Short Vowels (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)

Word Lists

Short Vowel CVC (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Vowel Teams (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
R-Controlled (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Double Letters and Trigraphs (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Long /ā/ Sound (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Long /ī/ Sound (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Consonant Blends with Short Vowels (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Consonant Digraphs, ck, and qu with Short Vowels (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Games and Printables
Manipulatives and games can promote student engagement, while providing important opportunities to practice and review developing skills.  On this page, you’ll find materials that can be downloaded and printed for use in the face-to-face classroom or to send home with students.  Some can also be used via screen sharing on your videoconferencing platform.

Board Game Templates 

Editable Board Game Template – PowerPoint

Board Game Template – PDF

Roll and Read 

Vowel Teams (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Short Vowels (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
R-Controlled Vowels (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
CVCe (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Consonant Digraphs (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)
Consonant Blends (PowerPoint) (Google Slides)

Grapheme Tiles and Mat 

UFLI Printable Grapheme Tiles and Mat (Word)

UFLI Printable Grapheme Tiles and Mat (PDF)

Word Work Mat 

UFLI Printable Word Work Mat