Flash cards for sound-letter correspondence are the heart of phonics! Flash cards are used to introduce new phonics patterns and as warm-up routines throughout the year. Warm-up routines take 2 to 3 minutes and give us time to review and practice the sounds and patterns that students have been explicitly taught. The routine develops automaticity in students' ability to see a letter or spelling pattern and to instantly recall the correct sound.
Letter Warm-Up
Watch instructional coach Carla Miller, of Burgess-Peterson Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, lead her students through their letter flash cards, helping them become automatic at matching letters and sounds.
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Carla Miller: So, we're just going to say the name of the letter and the sound. Are you ready?
Student(s): Yes.
Carla Miller: 'Z' ... /zz/
Narrator: Today instructional coach Carla Miller is beginning her lesson with a warmup using letter flashcards. (She shows one for the letter 'a'.)
Student(s): 'A' ... /ă/
Narrator: She asks her students to give the letter name and the sound it makes. This helps them become automatic in sound-letter correspondences, which is necessary for fluent reading.
Carla Miller: Oh. Let's look again. It's a straight back. Big belly 'b'. Let's do it together.
Narrator: Now they're ready to work on blending these sounds into words.
Carla Miller: So good!
Narrator: Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel at RUTeaching. For more information, please visit reading universe.org. Special thanks to Burgess-Peterson Academy and Atlanta Public Schools. Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim and Donna Barksdale, the American Federation of Teachers, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and three anonymous donors. Reading Universe is a service of WETA, Washington, DC, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book.
Carla Miller: This is Reading Universe.
List of Flash Cards by Skill
Reading Universe offers a free collection of 30+ flash cards organized by skill.
Use your flash cards to their fullest potential! In the Guide to Teaching Letters and Sounds (opens in new window), you will find the characteristics for each sound with information on how to make the sound, keywords, and letter formation. Print this information and attach to them to the back of your letter flash cards to help you remember the characteristics of each sound.
