How To Make Your Phonics Practice Fun

Phonics.....so much skill and drill.  Read and reread.  It can be monotonous and boring for many students learning to read.  Engagement is critical.  That is why I had to share my new idea that has kept my students practicing and wanting to practice more!  It involves ONE secret ingredient to help improve and motivate during PHONICS PRACTICE!  Read on to find out!

PLAY-DOH!!!! It's magic!!! Did you know that?  Ha!  I  mean who doesn't love Play-Doh - the smell, the texture, the colors, and the way it can be manipulated into anything!  I created another activity in math, my even and odd houses, that involved Play-Doh and knew I had to create more products with it! My students were having so much fun and didn't realize they were even learning.

What are Phonics Mats?

That is when I decided to develop my Play-Dough Phonics Mats!  Students are intentionally practicing the short vowel word family endings by trying to match the picture with the beginning sound given and the word family listed at the top!  It's amazingly easy repeated practice that students enjoy over and over. 

How to Get Started:

These are very easy to set up and implement.  Simply print out your sheets you would like to practice and place in a sheet protector for durability.  Leave out the colored Play-Doh that correspond with the word families on the paper.  Each word family has a specific color for students to mark with.

Students can then use the recording sheet to write down their answers that they placed their Play-Doh on.  These recording sheets are perfect for center work.  My Play-Dough Mats also come with a colored answer key so students can self-check their work.  If you are 1:1, you may have your students take a picture of their completed paper and upload it for grading with the answer key provided!

If you love this idea, but don't have the Play-Doh colors listed on the worksheet, simply print the black and white version.  Students can make the word families the colors of Play-Doh you have provided and work from there!  If you don't have Play-Doh, students can color in the word families any color they want and the answers to match or use mini erasers to mark the answers!  Phonics Mats are a great center either way!

Get them HERE in my TpT store to try out today! Do you think Play-Dough Phonics Mats are something your students would enjoy?  I hope they do as much as mine do!