One of my favorite things about teaching kindergarten is teaching my students how to read! I know I have my work cut out for me when some of my students start kindergarten without even knowing all of their letters. We work really hard on letter names and sounds, and blending them together to make CVC words. They get so excited when they realize that they can read!!
USING WORD BUILDERS TO TEACH READING
I am a full believer in teaching my students reading strategies and how to decode CVC words. This truly helps them when they do come across an unknown word, they have to rely on more than just their memorization. One of my favorite ways to teach students how to read is by using word builders. They pick up on the patterns fairly quickly {I love when they scream out, “Hey! all those words have a and t in them!”} Not only do they feel successful and prideful in their work but when they see another “at” family word somewhere they know how to read it!
I’m also a strong believer in teaching my students using multiple modalities. We use a lot of play-doh, stamps and even beads to practice reading and writing words. We’re all about hands-on learning! It’s also really important to incorporate those fine motor skills in whenever you can. We do a lot of cutting, gluing and manipulating. CVC Words Word Builders incorporates all of those skills into one fun little activity!
Using the Word Builders
Each student gets a page of picture cards and letters cards, as well as a work mat. Here’s how we use them!
- Very carefully cut out the pictures and letter cards.
- Choose the first word they want to build by gluing the picture in the little box.
- Sound out each word and build it on their mat. It’s also very important that they pay attention to the correct formation of the letters and not glue them down upside down. A “d” can very quickly turn into a “p”!
- After building and glueing the word down, practice writing the word. They can use a pencil, a marker, a crayon, anything that keeps them motivated!
HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE
Another joy about teaching kindergarten is all the different levels in the classroom. While some of my students are just learning how to read and write CVC words, others are already learning how to decode longer words. We still teach all of our students the same strategies, we just challenge the ones who need a little “push”. So while all of my students will be working on building CVC words, some of them will be able to write sentences instead of only writing the word.
Try it free!
Want to try this activity in your classroom? Visit my TpT store and download the “at family” practice for free!
