Self-checking printable for beginning blends

Last week I had the privilege of working with a small group of first graders who need help with basic phonics skills. Their teacher is teaching beginning blends to the class, but these children needed extra, focused help in a small group.

I gave each of them a phonemic awareness assessment (the one included in my online course, Teaching Every Reader), and I learned that they struggle with hearing beginning blends.

I decided to create a simple, self-checking printable to help them stretch and spell words with beginning blends. This would require them to listen for the beginning blends in order to spell the words correctly.

Watch the video below to learn how it works.

As you saw in the video, the printable needs to be printed front to back. After that, preparation is quick and simple.

Simply fold on the solid line and cut up on the dotted lines.

Your learner can say the picture’s name, flip it up to check the spelling, and write the correct spelling again (or, if incorrect, copy the correct spelling) on the bottom line.

Teaching tips

• Some students will want to cheat and look at the word before writing it. Remind them that it’s okay to spell the word wrong; part of the fun is seeing if they can get it right without peeking. With one student, I had to sit right next to her and hold the picture down so she wouldn’t peek.

• Let your learners know that every word has four letters. This will encourage them to streeetch out the word and listen for that second letter, which is always the tricky one.

• Make sure your students do not erase the incorrect spelling at the top. You want to see how they spelled the word first so you know how to tailor future instruction.

Looking for more hands-on ways to practice reading words with blends?

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