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Friday, November 25, 2011

From Phonics to Words with Slide Cards


Have you ever known you needed to do something that no one else knew about, but you still felt guilty? That’s how I’ve felt about posting this activity for months now. Literally months. This should have been my very first post ever. These slide cards are the most useful activity that I’ve ever created for my son.

He did a great job learning phonics in kindergarten. But blending those phonics into words was a little more challenging for him. At the kindergarten curriculum meeting, the teachers shared a nifty little trick to help early readers blend the sounds they learned. Thankfully, midway through the year, I hadn’t forgotten it.

First, I made a few of these … then a few more … and more and more, at my son’s request. I don’t know what the cards were called that the kindergarten teachers shared, but I’ve dubbed these amazingly simple things ‘slide cards.’

The basic principle is that by showing a child one letter at a time, they are able to concentrate on the sound it makes before they see the next letter/phonic. It’s easier for them to blend the sounds gradually rather than 1) feeling overwhelmed and giving up or 2) guessing the word.

Simply download and print the first 15 cards (5 pages) on cardstock, flip over and download and print the next 15 (5 pages) on the back. Then grab 15 regular-size security mailing envelopes and seal them all. Now cut one of the short ends off of each. Insert one card in all the envelopes and you’re ready to work with your son/daughter on blending sounds. Just pull the cards out slowly and make sure your child says the first sound before revealing the next letter. When they’ve blended all the letters/sounds together, reveal the picture and watch your child’s face light up with pride!


TIP: It works best to print the cards so that the type on the back is upside down. That way you can simply flip the card over and immediately practice the next word, without having to reposition the card in the envelope.


Now allow me to apologize for not sharing this activity sooner. Until I switched to new design software, I could not share the original cards I made for my son. I hope a few of you will find these PDFs (or just the idea) to be as helpful as we have.

16 comments:

  1. Nice activity!
    Happy Thankgiving, my bloggy friend!

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  2. Thanks so much for sharing. I really appreciate all your ideas. Just a question...what software do you use to create? Do you save it to a pdf before uploading it to google docs? Thanks for any info. Love your stuff.

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  3. I use Microsoft Publisher, Jackie, and you're right, I save the files as a PDF before uploading them to Google Docs. Publisher is part of the Microsoft Office package and was on my machine unbeknownst to me. It's super intuitive and has loads of clip art. If you have other questions, e-mail me (the address is on my "about" page). I'm glad you're following!

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  4. Sure...will do. Yes, I have followed you in my reader for some time and really love all you ideas.

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  5. LOVE this. My little one is just three but this will be a great thing when she is a little older. I'd love for you to stop by and share this (or another great activity) at my new Thrifty Thursday Linky Party this Thursday! It would be PERFECT!!!

    http://www.playingwithwords365.com/

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  6. Thanks so much for linking up at Thrifty Thursday! I hope to see you next week! http://www.playingwithwords365.com/2011/11/thrifty-thursday-linky-party-1/

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  7. These are wonderful! I love the cards and the idea. I can't wait to use them in my classroom!

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  8. Love these cards, and plan to use them in my classroom. One suggestion??? The /ow/ in "cow" should be together as one sound. Also, the /aw/ in "saw". You put the other connected sounds together (like /oa/ and /ee/), so these should be together too. Otherwise, try to sound out "cow" with a short /o/!!!! Looking forward to exploring your site. Looks like there are great ideas!

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  9. Can't wait to try. Similar to what I've seen in a Montessori classroom

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  10. Truly genius! I LOVE this... and think, this post was from so long ago, and still helping teachers/parents out! I'll have to use these with one of my kiddos who's ready to start blending and thusly, reading.
    THANK YOU!!!!

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  11. This is a great idea! And it's exactly the kind of thing I am looking for for my two youngest :) They know all their sounds but they need help putting them together. Thank you for sharing!

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  12. I used letter envelopes and was able to cut them in half and make two holders from each envelope. Thank you for sharing

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  13. Great activity. I can't wait to share this with my more advanced preschool learners. Thanks!

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  14. That is a brilliant idea for reluctant learners . I really like these cards.

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