The new movie “Clifford, the Big Red Dog” is coming November 10th. It is a perfect time to read some of the many books by Norman Bridwell, and play several great online games provided by Scholastic!
These are a wonderful way to practice phonics skills! All the games, plus some interactive stories can be found at pbs.org.
Check out more fun free online phonics games.
One of the best places to learn about phonics (other than here, of course!) is the book “Phonics from A to Z” by Wiley Blevins. It is one of my phonics favs, and provides tons of great information is a way that is understandable. He provides word lists for each phonogram, books to read for phonics patterns, and much more. One of the things I especially like are the charts that show the frequencies of patterns.
A chart that shows the frequencies of long vowel patterns from the Phonics Pow Toolkit is based on a pdf of English-Language Spelling Pattern Generalizations at anyflip.com.
Learn with Wiley Blevins in videos from the Sadlier School Phonics Masterclass on Facebook Live Part One and Part Two. Check out his website at www.wileyblevins.com, read A Fresh Look at Phonics at naesp.org, and 10 Important Reseach Findings at Scholastic.
Brian P Cleary is a prolific author who has written many books, including the titles below that are perfect for practicing different phonics patterns. Follow the sequence for teaching reading to introduce these.
Check out his website at www.brianpcleary.com.
Learn about more phonics favs, and more books to target specific phonics skills at READ, just read
This Phonics Focus is about the website mrnussbaum.com, a Phonics Fav with many free helpful tools and games. More resources can be obtained with a subscription. While there are resources for many subject areas, the language arts category is of most interest for learning to read. Mr. Nussbaum makes great use of audio. In the video, we highlight:
Literacy Tools
Games
The Animal Antics A to Z series by Barbara DeRubertis includes a book with each letter for teaching the alphabet. Each title is an example of alliteration, with the repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close to one another. Rhyme and alliteration help to develop phonological awareness skills.
Animal antics A to Z by Barbara DeRubertis
1.Alexander Anteater’s amazing act (Jan 2010)
2.Bobby Baboon’s banana be-bop (Jan 2010)
3.Corky Cub’s crazy caps (Jan 2010)
4.Dilly Dog’s dizzy dancing (Jan 2010)
5.Eddie Elephant’s exciting egg-sitting (Sep 2010)
6.Frances Frog’s forever friend (Sep 2010)
7.Gertie Gorilla’s glorious gift (Sep 2010)
8.Hanna Hippo’s horrible hiccups (Sep 2010)
9.Izzy Impala’s imaginary illnesses (Sep 2010)
10.Jeremy Jackrabbit’s jumping journey (Sep 2010)
11.Kylie Kangaroo’s karate kickers (Jan 2011)
12.Lana Llama’s little lamb (Jan 2011)
13.Maxwell Moose’s mountain monster (Jan 2011)
14.Nina Nandu’s nervous noggin (Jan 2011)
15.Oliver Otter’s own office (Jan 2011)
16.Polly Porcupine’s painting prizes (Jan 2011)
17.Quentin Quokka’s quick questions (Jan 2011)
18.Rosie Raccoon’s rock and roll raft (Jan 2011)
19.Sammy Skunk’s super sniffer (Sep 2011)
20.Tessa Tiger’s temper tantrums (Sep 2011)
21.Umma Ungka’s unusual umbrella (Sep 2011)
22.Victor Vicuna’s volcano vacation (Sep 2011)
23.Walter Warthog’s wonderful wagon (Sep 2011)
24.Xavier Ox’s xylophone experiment (Sep 2011)
25.Yoko Yak’s yakety yakking (Sep 2011)
26.Zachary Zebra’s zippity zooming (Sep 2011)
Find the book series listed at Goodreads, and download a printable list here: Animal Antics A to Z series by Barbara DeRubertis. Watch Letter K read aloud!
more animal alphabet books:
The Animal Alphabet Wakelet has links to videos and printables for learning the alphabet with animals! Find games and more resources at Learn the Alphabet.
Books that are funny are especially popular with kids, which is why “Gran on a Fan: silly short vowels” by Kevin Bolger is a great choice for beginning readers. The author does a great job of creating fun stories while staying within the limitation of using words with short vowels. The illustrations by Ben Hodson are wonderful.
The author has other books for readers as they progress: “Lazy Bear, Crazy Bear” has a focus on long vowels. Two books with sight words are “See Fred Run” and “Fun With Ed and Fred.” Check out his website at www.kevinbolger.com.
Learn skills for reading with the following ideas. These tips include some of my favorite free online resources.
Download the 10 Steps to Reading (pdf)
1. Learn letter names & sounds, and practice hearing and manipulating sounds; Phonemic awareness.
2. Sound out words with short vowels and CVC words (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant), practice with word families, then continue with consonant blends.
3. Learn phonics patterns in a sensible sequence as the student is ready. Try the phonics presentations at ReadingBear.org and watch fun videos that cover many phonics patterns with Kids vs Phonics from RedCatReading.
4. Practice patterns with picture and word sorts.
5. Play games that encourage literacy. Hands on games include traditional games like Boggle and Bananagrams, as well as many free printable games that can be found through links on specific phonics skills. Free online games are also available at this Symbaloo. Some online games require flash, which is no longer supported after 12/31/2020. Learn more at The End of Flash.
6. Read books to practice the patterns. The books from Progressive Phonics are free, fun, and practice the phonics patterns. They can be printed or read online.
7. Learn sight words. Many high frequency words are not decodable with phonics guidelines.
8. Encourage reading 20 minutes a day. Children who do this from Kindergarten through 6th grade score 90% better than their peers on tests. Check out more Benefits of reading.
9. Use your library. Attend storytimes, participate in summer reading programs, check out books & online resources. Choose fun books at the right level.
10. Read “Phonics from A to Z” by Wiley Blevins (online at issuu) and learn literacy terms.
Credits: Some artwork copyrighted by Mark A Hicks, illustrator, www.MARKiX.net. Used with permission. Sources for other graphics at Pinterest. Pattern charts from boostforreaders
Learn more at Reading Basics from ReadingRockets.org. They have a Get Ready to Read screening tool too.
Phonics Pow 