Phoneme Segmentation and Blending Activities
Today I want to discuss phoneme segmentation and blending activities. I’m not sure about you, but I think this is one of the most rewarding times – when they get it, they get it! But it might take a while to get there. We have found that for some of our students, they need a bit more of a kinesthetic and visual approach to help make the connection between letters and sounds. These cards do the trick for us.
SET UP
To set these up, first you will print, then laminate, and then cut out the cards. I have two sets of cards. One set has the picture box on the front and the other set you will put the picture card on the back. We use Velcro dots for this. Once the cards are set up, you can either put them on a binder ring if you are going to have several sets for small groups or centers, or you can leave them as stand-alone activities. They are color coded for each short vowel set.
Card with picture box on front
For the first set, you can do this two ways for differentiation as well. To use with your beginners, you can add the pictures yourself (with the Velcro dots) so that the pictures give them a bit more support.
Once they are more fluent with saying all phonemes, then you can take the pictures off and have them tap the sounds, blend the sounds, read the word, then find the picture.
We use the colored dots to help with directionality – start with green, end with red.
card without picture
Once your students have mastered the cards with the picture on the front, you can then move them to the cards without pictures. We use these as “flash cards”. I still have the pictures on the back for self-checking, but the picture isn’t seen at first. Or you can just use the cards without pictures. These are put into centers, and the students love them!
Storage
So for a long time this was an issue – where and how to store! But several years ago we found picture boxes, and our lives have never been the same. They are the perfect way to house all of our centers, and they are SUPER durable. If you use these, I’ve also included a cover that fits on these.
other things you’ll need
Here are a few other things we use for this center:
- Velcro dots (I bought these on Amazon – super cheap…Link here – (not an affiliate link – just wanted to share) VELCO DOTS
- Picture boxes (not an affiliate link – also… many times you can find these at Michaels for cheaper.
- Binder clips if you want to use as a center
I hope this helped and was quick and to the point!
Until next time!
Shanon Juneau
We Are Better Together
