Thanksgiving Turkey CVC Word Building Mat

Thanksgiving has always been a very popular holiday in my household. As a mom of three growing boys our Thanksgiving table is always full of delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, and of course PUMPKIN PIE!  To me, when I think of Thanksgiving, I think of family, a warm kitchen, and a turkey full of luscious feathers. This adorable Thanksgiving activity for kindergarten not only made my kids hungry, but also got them excited about reading and writing. One of the best ways for children to explore the relationship between letters and sounds is with word building. Use this wonderful, hands-on reading activity to really kick off your CVC words list literacy centers with a bang!

Teaching CVC Words in Kindergarten:

EARLY READING SKILLS

VISUALS AND PICTURES ARE IMPORTANT IN EARLY WORD BUILDING. THEY ALLOW KIDS TO CONNECT A VISUAL IMAGE WITH A WRITTEN WORD.

Practicing CVC words and phonics for kids is often the first step toward reading! It’s so exciting as a parent and a teacher to see your child’s eyes light up when they 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 simply reading off of a word list. Plus this is a great skill for children that are English language learners and/or students who have a tough time sounding out words.

I would introduce this activity as a whole group and practice it together several times. Then, I would use it as a center during guided reading.

I would work with small groups or individuals on short vowel words periodically so I can assess each student for progress.

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 it.

Phonics for Kindergarteners

KINDERGARTEN SPELLING AND READING

KINDERGARTENERS WILL GAIN CONFIDENCE AND MOTIVATION WHEN THEY FEEL SUCCESSFUL WITH CVC WORD GAMES AND SHORT VOWEL SOUNDS.

When kindergarteners break a word into individual sounds, then write the letter that represents each sound, it’s called phoneme (sounds)-grapheme (letters) mapping. This activity will help children

• Identify the picture and the CVC word’s meaning
• Stretch the word into individual sounds orally
• Practice one-to-one correspondence with placing a manipulative down for each sound
• Identify which letter makes each sound

Why Is Phonemic Awareness Important?

Understanding that each letter has a sound and each word is made up of many sounds and letters is essential in early literacy. This is how children will decode and sound out words and then sentences.

Reading Skills Gained From Building Words

How To Use The Turkey Feather CVC Word Building Activity

BUILDING WORDS WITH KINDERGARTENERS

IT COULD PROVE OVERWHELMING TO INCLUDE THE WHOLE PUMPKIN PIE CARD SET. 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 pumpkin pie 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.

Erase, repeat!

Other Ways To Use The Turkey Feather CVC Word Building Mat:

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