Five Activities for Engaging
Students with
Sound/Spelling Cards Jeff Ohmer
Senior National Curriculum Specialist
McGraw-Hill Education
The Sound Spelling Cards
• Support for encoding
and decoding
• Helps ALL students
• Independence and
confidence
1. 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?
2. 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?
3. 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?
4. 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?
5. 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 Extension…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
Encouraging Student Ownership
• All activities shared can be initiated by
students
• Higher engagement = higher achievement
• Have fun with the cards!
Five Activities for Engaging
Students with
Sound/Spelling Cards Jeff Ohmer
Senior National Curriculum Specialist
McGraw-Hill Education