Practice pronouncing and spelling words with the /e/ sound with spellers. They blend phonemes with spelling maps to master important representation and letter symbol of the short vowel /e/. They also make sock puppets and study the...

Students read a story.  In this rhyming words instructional activity, students learn what rhyme is, read Gwendolyn the Library Fairy and identify rhyming words.

Young literary analysts compare two poems by the same author. Readers look for slant rhyme, observe the beat and rhythm of each, and search for repeated vowel sounds. After re-reading, they observe the lack of punctuation and the stanza...

In this phonics activity, little learners glue picture cards under the initial, medial, and final phonemes represented by the lead sound cards. An image of a shark broken into three parts represents the initial phoneme /sh/, the medial...

Scholars make new words out of old ones by manipulating phonemes. Pupils mix and match initial, medial, and final phonemes to change words like cap into cup or head into bed.

A fun worksheet for homework, a warm-up, or a substitute day! Learners choose the correct word out of a set of homophones, such as made/maid and pale/pail, based on context clues in each sentence. There are twenty-two questions in all....

Act out the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" rhyme with youngsters. Learners observe visual instructions before completing the corresponding actions, then draw the spider into a scene. Finally, they write down rhyming words that have the ai...

The lowercase letter c and d are highlighted in this two-part worksheet. Kids complete the top half by tracing then printing the letter c and locating images that begin with the /c/ sound. Part two requires them to trace then write the...

Define the meaning of a cognate and use the concept to help Spanish-speaking ELLs connect their first language to English. Middle schoolers explore Latin roots to find cognates in both languages. They relate the Spanish and English word...

If you are reading Jane Yolen's fun story How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, use these strategies to enhance the experience for budding readers. What new words will they learn? Find detailed comprehension questions for these...

Students write a scene.  In this creative writing lesson, students read The Lightning Thief and discuss the sentence fluency and word choice in the writing.  Students complete a writing assignment where they create an...

First grade is a great time to build strong reading skills. Here are three short rhyming poems or common nursery rhymes that are intended to help boost reading fluency. Because most children know these rhymes, they will have an easier...

Familiar sing-along rhymes about rain help scholars with phonemic awareness. They read the poems and write rhymes for four words. The clue here? Each of the words is out of one of the sing-along rhymes! Learners read a final poem about...

Now that your scholars know the alphabet, make sure they understand that not all letters are the same! Explore the difference between vowels and consonants...not to mention that pesky y. Learners say the alphabet out loud and...

Primary readers read books in order to practice word recognition, rhyming, and play reading games. They will "read" simple books to reinforce basic reading skills in order to create a foundation. Readers are available to print out along...

Charles Dickens offers an excellent example of sensory writing in this reading comprehension activity. Learners read excerpts from the novel Hard Times in which he describes the New England industrial city of Coketown. They...

There are eight homograph riddles here: can your scholars figure them out? For each, there are three definitions and a picture. Learners use the picture and multiple meanings as clues, recording a word that matches all three. They read...

In this literacy activity, students read the definition of homophones at that top of the page before reading 15 sentences. They underline the incorrect word in each sentence and write the proper homophone on the line next to each sentence.

In this recognizing words with the long "E" sound worksheet, students pronounce a group of words and identify the ones that contain a long vowel E. Students circle 12 words.

Students play a game that asks them to blend sounds and differentiate between long and short vowels. They give clues to one student by sounding out all consonants and classifying the vowel as short or long. The student then blends the...

Students demonstrate automatic word recognition. For this sight word practice lesson, students sound out the words on the board to themselves and then read the word aloud.

Students explore new words through letters or letter groups. In this instructional activity about words, students use index cards to build new words. Each index card contains one letter or letter group. Students utilize different...

In this word stress activity, students listen to the teacher say twenty words out loud and then underline the stressed syllable in each one.

Individually, letters have their own sounds, but when combined with other letters, those sounds completely change. Introduce letter combinations with a lesson that asks learners to search for combinations in familiar words and use oral...