Five Activities for Engaging

Students with

Sound/Spelling Cards Jeff Ohmer

Senior National Curriculum Specialist

McGraw-Hill Education

jeff.ohmer@mheducation.com

Today’s Goals

1. Five easy-to-implement activities to use in the classroom 2. Ways to engage students while teaching sound spellings 3. Learn why the Sound/Spelling Cards are crucial to teaching decoding and encoding

THE CARDS

Grade K Alphabet Sound Cards

Grades 1-3 Sound/Spelling Cards

The Cards…

Unique Card Features

Grade K Alphabet Sound Cards

Grades 1-3 Sound/Spelling Cards

Additional Sound Spelling Cards

WHY DO WE HAVE THEM?

The Sound Spelling Cards

• Tool for students

• Support for encoding and decoding

• Not English biased

• Independence and confidence

Biggest Bang for the Buck…

• Post them…

• Use them…

• Refer to them…

FIVE ACTIVITIES USING THE

CARDS

1. Name the Card/Sound

Why this is good:

• Quick recognition of the cards

• Learn the names

How to do it:

• Point to or show the card

• What’s the name?

Name the Card/Sound

T: What’s the name of

the card?

S: Dinosaur

T: What’s the sound?

S: /d/

Name the Card/Sound

T: What’s the name of

the card?

S: Vacuum

T: What’s the sound?

S: /v/

2. What’s the Spelling (1-3)

Why this is good:

• Reinforces sounds and spellings

• Reinforces names

How to do it:

• Use individual cards and show the picture

• What’s the sound? How is it spelled?

What’s the spelling?

T: What’s the name?

S: Lion

T: How is it spelled?

S: L

What’s the spelling?

T: What’s the name?

S: Hen

T: How is it spelled?

S: e, ea

3. What’s the Sound

Why this is good:

• Reinforces spellings with sounds

• Reinforces the use of cards

How to do it:

• Use the individual cards and show the back

• What’s the sound?

What’s the sound?

T: What’s the sound?

S: /k/

T: What’s the name?

S: Camera

What’s the sound?

T: What’s the sound?

S: /ē/

T: What’s the name?

S: Long E

4. Riddle Me This?

Why it’s good:

• Reinforces Sounds

• Reinforces decoding/encoding

How to do it:

• Use the cards (or call them out) to build words (using SOUNDS)

• What’s the word?

Riddle Me This?

/h/ /ă/ /t/

Riddle Me This?

/b/ /r/ /ĭ/ /j/

Riddle Me This?

/s/ /ĭ/ /t/ /ē/

Riddle Me This…Extension

• Once they get the word…How is it

spelled?

• Encourage use of the cards to spell the

word

Spelling /b/ /r/ /i/ /j/

Riddle Me Extension II…Secret Password

• Just like Riddle Me, but teacher uses

magnets to post a secret word on the

board

• When they come in the room, they have to

figure out the word

• Great way to start the day

5. Act Out the Cards

Why it’s good:

• Movement with cards

• Reviews names and sounds

How to do it:

• Point to (or show) card

• What’s the name? What’s the sound?

Act Out the Cards

T: (Point to Timer) What’s the name?

S: Sausages

T: What’s the sound?

S: /ssssss/ (as they act out cooking

sausages)

Acting Out the Cards

• No “official” movements

• Some schools/grade levels create them

• “YouTube” has samples…

Digital Cards

• All cards available digitally

• Stories, spellings, and pronunciations

included

Using the Digital Cards

• Partners

• Listen to favorite

stories

• Listen with families

• Practice card before

reading decodable

Accessing the Digital Cards

• Teacher and student ConnectEd account

• Demo account

– Connected.mcgraw-hill.com

– Username: opencourtreading

– Password: ocr2016

GO ONLINE

WRAPPING IT UP

Encouraging Student Ownership

• All activities shared can be initiated by

students

• Higher engagement = higher achievement

• Have fun with the cards!

The Sound Spelling Cards

• Valuable tool

• Regular usage

• Direct students to the cards

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

Five Activities for Engaging

Students with

Sound/Spelling Cards Jeff Ohmer

Senior National Curriculum Specialist

McGraw-Hill Education

jeff.ohmer@mheducation.com