Spring Flower CVC Word Building Mat for Kindergarten

Teaching CVC Words in Kindergarten:

EARLY READING SKILLS

PICTURE CARDS ARE IMPORTANT IN EARLY WORD BUILDING. THEY ALLOW KIDS TO CONNECT A VISUAL IMAGE WITH A WRITTEN WORD.

Practicing CVC words is often the first step toward reading! It’s so exciting to see the light bulbs shine when children realize they can blend individual sounds to create real words.

Physically building CVC words from pictures before writing them ensures students use multiple senses rather than just reading off of a word list.

I would introduce this activity whole group and practice it together several times. Then, I would use it as a center during guided reading. It’s okay to let them explore independently without checking for accuracy every single time.

Some students will be able to record all of the words they build independently on a recording sheet for you to look at later.

Kindergarten lesson plans need lots of room for practice! I would work with small groups on short vowel words periodically so I can assess each student for progress.

I made sure to include a ton of CVC picture cards with different word families for students to read. Consider creating smaller sets of word cards. Use words with the same vowel, rhyming words, beginning consonants, or other spelling word patterns you are working on.

In addition to practicing short vowels in this activity, students will improve phonological awareness by saying each word and stretching each sound to spell it.

Phonics for Kindergarteners

KINDERGARTEN SPELLING AND READING

DECODING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS NO SMALL TASK! KINDERGARTENERS WILL GAIN CONFIDENCE AND MOTIVATION WHEN THEY FEEL SUCCESSFUL WITH THIS FREE PRINTABLE.

When kindergarten and first grade students break a word into individual sounds, then write the letter that represents each sound, it’s called phoneme (sounds)-grapheme (letters) mapping. There are four basic steps to follow for phoneme-grapheme mapping:

• Identify the picture and the CVC word’s meaning
• Stretch the word into individual sounds orally
• Place a manipulative for each sound (finger, cube, counter, etc.)
• Identify which letter makes each sound

Why Is Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping Important?

Learning easy words to spell in kindergarten provides basic decoding practice, which will eventually lead to greater automaticity and fluency. Spelling lists with CVC words form a strong foundation for moving on to consonant blends, digraphs, long vowels, and more complex patterns.

Reading Skills Gained From Literacy Activities in Kindergarten

Develops Fluency: Hands-on practice breaking apart words and identifying the corresponding letters makes it easier/faster for children to decode words.

Improves Spelling: We’re not likely giving kindergarteners a spelling list just yet. However, building words will ultimately create strong spellers because they have to attend to each sound/letter in each word.

Improves Decoding Skills: Attending to each sound in a word helps children learn to read unknown words. Regular word-building practice can instill good reading habits. This automaticity will transfer to more difficult patterns, like sight words and long vowel sounds.

Encourages Blending: After children find the letter for each sound, they begin to practice blending those sounds back together to form words. This is a very important skill when it comes to decoding words later on!

Materials needed for Spring Flower CVC Word Building Mat:

How To Use The Spring CVC Word Building Activity

BUILDING WORDS WITH KINDERGARTENERS

IT COULD PROVE OVERWHELMING TO INCLUDE THE ENTIRE CVC WORD LIST. I WOULD RECOMMEND FOCUSING ON THE PICTURE CARDS FEATURING THE SHORT VOWELS STUDENTS ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH.

All you need to do is print one word building mat for each student onto white card stock and laminate them.

Print, cut, and laminate the flower picture cards.

Children will draw a card and name it.

Then, they can place it in the box at the top of the word building mat.

Next, you have two choices. If you want students to use manipulatives for each sound, they can slide a counter into the box while saying each sound in the word before matching the sounds to letters.

If you want them to spell the word with letters, they can say each sound and place the corresponding letters in the box.

Finally, students will copy the letters onto the lines at the bottom of the page.

Read the CVC word, erase, repeat!

Other Ways To Use The Free Word Work CVC Mats:

Phonemic Awareness

Some students might not be ready to connect each sound in a word with a letter. However, they can still benefit a lot by saying each sound in the word while placing a counter into the box.

Eliminate Letter Tiles

Students who become fluent word builders could skip the letter alphabet tiles and just write each word.

Just Use the Cards

Play a game with only the flower cards! Students pick a card, name the picture, and stretch the sounds.

35+ Spring Math and Literacy Activities

Included in the Spring Math and Literacy Activities:

More CVC Word Activities You’ll Love:

• 30 CVC Word Kindergarten Activities
• Back to School CVC Word Building Mats
• Bubblegum CVC Word Building Mats

Want Even More CVC Word Activities?

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