Practice and Learn: Phonics Skills

For many children, it takes a lot of practice to learn all of the spelling patterns. Here's a new activity that can help make it fun, interactive, and effective — it's called Word Chaining! Watch this short video demonstration of how to play so you can practice it with a partner or a student. 

In this activity, you will practice decoding words that differ by only one sound like fit and fig, slog and fog, and hop and hip! It’s called Word Chaining! 

Here’s how to play. Have fun!

Materials: Set of lowercase flash cards (opens in new window) (opens in new window).

Below, you will see three activity sets to complete. Each set uses its own group of letter cards. (opens in new window) (opens in new window) Follow these instructions for each set:

1. 

   Begin by building the word that we provide with your letter cards. Take for example, the image on the right: 

   The starting word is fit. 

2. Make the sound for each letter and then read the word. 

   You will say:

   /f/, /ĭ/, /t/, fit 

3. 

   Now switch, add, or subtract a sound. For example, switch the /t/ with a /g/ to turn fit into fig. 

   You will say the sounds and read the word:

   /f/, /ĭ/, /g/, fig

4. Follow the instructions for each set to make new words by switching letters. As you make each new word, say the sounds and then read the word out loud. Write each word on a piece of paper for later reference.

If you are working with a partner, one of you will call out the sound to switch while the other makes a new word. When you take this into your classroom, remember to discuss word meanings all along the way so children can develop vocabulary at the same time!

SET ONE: 'o', 'u', 'g', 'm', 's', 'l', and 'b'

1. Build the starting word bus. Say the sounds and read the word.
2. Switch /s/ to /g/. Say the new sounds and read the new word.
3. Switch /u/ to /o/. Say the new sounds and read the new word.
4. Switch /b/ to /l/. Say the new sounds and read the new word.
5. Add /s/ in front of /l/. Say the new sounds and read the new word.
6. Switch /l/ to /m/. Say the new sounds and read the new word.
7. Switch /o/ to /u/. Say the new sounds and read the new word.

Answer Key: bus — bug — bog — log — slog — smog — smug

SET TWO: 'oo', 'i', 'ur', 'aw', 'l', 's', 'n', and 'p'

1. Build the starting word loon. Say the sounds and read the word.
2. Switch /l/ to /s/. Say the sounds and read the word.
3. Insert /p/ after /s/. Say the sounds and read the word.
4. Switch /oo/ to /ĭ/. Say the sounds and read the word.
5. Switch /ĭ/ to /ur/. Say the sounds and read the word.
6. Switch /ur/ to /aw/. Say the sounds and read the word.
7. Remove /s/. Say the sounds and read the word.
8. Switch /p/ to /l/. Say the sounds and read the word.

Answer Key: loon — soon — spoon — spin — spurn — spawn — pawn — lawn

SET THREE: 'o', 'i', 'ng', 'th', 's', 'l', 'n', 'sh', 'u', and 't'

1. Build the starting word song. Say the sounds and read the word.
2. Switch /ŏ/ to /ĭ/. Say the sounds and read the word.
3. Switch /s/ to /th/. Say the sounds and read the word.
4. Remove the letter ‘g’. Say the sounds and read the word.
5. Switch /th/ to /sh/. Say the sounds and read the word.
6. Switch /ĭ/ to /ŭ/. Say the sounds and read the word.
7. Switch the /n/ to /t/. Say the sounds and read the word.

Answer Key: song – sing – thing - thin – shin - shun - shut

Nice job with switching a single letter to make a new word! We hope you enjoyed this activity and feel good about your skills. Some teachers find it difficult to create their own word chains to match their students' needs. Reading Universe provides Word Chaining activities for each of the phonics skills for you to use. 

You’re set with flash cards AND important knowledge about sound-letter correspondence skills. Good work. On the next page, you’ll complete a quick knowledge check on all that we’ve covered in this section.