Level 2: Slip & Slide
Parts of a Word: Connections to Print
Level 2 Activities help develop an “ear” for individual sounds within a spoken word. By playing with the sounds in a word, children discover that a word can be broken into “sound units”; words to syllables, syllables to beginnings (onsets) & endings (rimes), and beginnings (onsets) & endings (rimes) to individual sounds (phonemes).
They then begin to explore the blending of sounds (phonemes) together to form spoken words. This skill is referred to as oral synthesis or decoding, and is one of the key foundational literacy skills for reading. Activities with the alphabet image include connecting the sound to letters, referred to as phonics.
Early Literacy Foundational Skills
Syllable Splitting
listen, detect, & count syllables (beats) within a word
listen & detect similar sounds at the beginning (onset) of a word
listen & detect similar sounds at the ending (rime) of a word
Sound (Phoneme) Splitting & Blending
listen & detect individual sounds (phonemes) in a word
Slip & Slide
GOALS: sound (phoneme) blending & matching sounds to letters
Materials
alphabet letter cards or magnetic letters
OPTIONAL: picture of a slide
Directions:
Place alphabet letters c,a, and t at the top, middle, and bottom of the slide with space in-between the letters. The order should be corresponding to the letter position in the word: c at the top, a in the middle, and t at the bottom.
Slide the c down to join the a, saying the sounds of the letters as you join them together.
Slide both letters, ca, down to join the t, moving all three letters off the slide to spell and say the word cat.
Emphasize the continuous blending of sounds as you complete the process.
Repeat with other words.
CHALLENGE:
Incorporate words with more letters.
Use consonant blends (EX: bl, spr, dr) but keep the individual letters on individual cards.
HELPFUL TIPS:
Always model first until the child is comfortable with this activity.
Begin with short three-letter words.
Use short vowels words.
When using consonant digraphs (EX: ch, sh, th) use ONE card for the ONE sound.
When using vowel digraphs (EX: ai, ea, ee) use ONE card for the ONE sound.