[the Obscure]

I was wondering if anyone knew of any fun ways to introduce phonics in the classroom. I haven't been able to find much that is useful online. I teach elementary and middle school students in Japan, and Karuta (slam) and bingo seem to be the go-to games to teach phonics. I'd like to have a little variation to make it more fun and interesting for the kids. Any ideas would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[sabridv85]

There are some board games in the games section of www.eslcity.com I haven't used them but maybe they are useful. If you use them, you can share your experience with us.

[the Obscure]

Hey,

Thanks for telling me about the website! I'll check it out and definitely let everyone know how they work if I end up using them.

[cabst90]

Choose two or three sounds that are difficult for your students to distinguish. For example, I teach Japanese and Mexican students. All have trouble with th, s, and z. I put flashcards of the letters on the board. I say a word that may contain either of the letters and students run to the board to slap the correct letter.

I also use rhyming to reinforce the sounds. The students have to make up words that rhyme with the word that I say (even if it is not really a word, the sound is more important).

Dictation: You say a word that includes sounds that they students have learned. The students must write the word. You can do this in the game telephone as well so that everyone is speaking. You say the word to the first person. Every whispers the word to the next person. The last person writes it on paper, on the board, or with scrabble like word cards/tiles.

I made sets of letter cards (like scrabble) for the students to use in small groups or pairs. I say words and the students make the word with the letters. Stick with words that contain the sound that you are working with. It seems helpful to keep the principle sound constant and change only one letter at a time. For example, start with bat, next sat, mat, man, pan, etc.

hope this helps.

[cabst90]

Also, a Japanese game called shiritori is good for beginning and ending sounds and vocabulary building. One person starts by saying a word (the teacher). The next person must stay a word that starts with the sound at the end of the first word. This continues until someone cannot think of a word. Japanese is completely phonetic and there are no silent vowels. So it can be confusing for my students when the come across a word like make. If I am teaching phonics, I tell them to use the sounds (the next person must say a word that starts with the 'K' sound.) If I am working on vocabulary building with older students who should know how to spell, I tell them to pay attention to the last letter of the word.

[sabridv85]

Hi, I have found a new website dealing with phonics: www.adrianbruce.com I haven't used it but you can see whether they are useful to you. Tell us how they work if you happen to use them. You have to check the reading section to find them. Hope they are useful.
Sabrina

[the Obscure]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all your help. It might be a little while before I have to do phonics again, but I'll let you know if anything worked well.

rabu,
the o

[bylined]

Bingo is a good game for a bunch of skills, including phonics. You can use this site to make a game board, or make one of your own. Laminate them and then the kids can mark the card using a white board marker and then re-use it. On the game card, use target letters or words (such as 'sh' words). The kids then have to listen for the word, then cross it off on their card. To get them talking, you could also have the students take turns calling out the words or letters.

[tsqueeks03]

I checked out Free Educational Teaching Resources of Adrian Bruce-Reading Games-Math Games-Educational Software-Motivational Posters-Line Symmetry-Readers Theater-Art Lessons-Science Lessons- and it was a wonderful site for print outs. I found a section where you can print out phonics posters to use in the classroom as well

This can help with making ideas for games and such.. For me, usually just seeing words that are connected with the same phonic sound helps me to create something to do

Dr. Seuss books are always good to have as well..

Good luck in the future!

[mesmark]

There's a podcast at www.eslteachertalk.com about teaching phonics and there is a phonics game at the end of the show.
here's the link Phonics Part 1

[leslie green]

I am teaching grade 1 in China. My phonics game is:

Once the Ss. have learned the sounds of the alphabet I play - beat the teacher. I do have a TA who records score on board, but you could choose the strongest student who does not need the review to record the scores.
I work systematically up and down the rows - 32 Ss.

Mark on board T S grid. (as soon as I put this on board students cheer)
I hold the alphabet cards. The Ss. can't see them.
Choose card and say sound.
First S. has to say the corresponding letter quickly or I move to next S.
If the student is correct - I say 'student' for my TA to award them a star on board, under Student heading.
When S. gets correct answer I show the whole class my alphabet letter card, to reinforce learning.
I usually get around the classroom twice.
I play this game everyday. The students at this point are beating the teacher which of course is good for them and good for me.
This game can be played for any review material e.g. rooms in a house, occupations etc.

[EngliPatrick]

Quote the Obscure

Hey guys,

Thanks for all your help. It might be a little while before I have to do phonics again, but I'll let you know if anything worked well.

rabu,
the o

I'm a little confused by this reply...

Did you just teach Phonics for one class? Was it like a Phonics sampler lesson?

[EngliPatrick]

Quote the Obscure

I was wondering if anyone knew of any fun ways to introduce phonics in the classroom. I haven't been able to find much that is useful online. I teach elementary and middle school students in Japan, and Karuta (slam) and bingo seem to be the go-to games to teach phonics. I'd like to have a little variation to make it more fun and interesting for the kids. Any ideas would be appreciated!

Thanks!

I'm in the process of typing up some general games that can be adapted to any Phonics lesson. I'll let you know when I finish.

[EngliPatrick]

Presently, I'm kinda backlogged in my schedule so here are some sites to give you some ideas:

1. Phonics_gamesactivities
2. Phonics Activities and Phonics Worksheets
3. Musical Spelling Rules

[the Obscure]

Quote EngliPatrick

I'm a little confused by this reply...

Did you just teach Phonics for one class? Was it like a Phonics sampler lesson?

I'm an ALT, so I don't go to every single English class. Originally, I thought that I'd be present for more of the phonics classes, but as it turned out, I was only there for a couple. Our English books only teach phonics to the first year JHS Ss, so once the phonics unit was over, we didn't really cover it any more. I won't be doing any phonics units again until the start of the next school year in April or May, but I was under the impression that the unit would be longer when I originally posted. I appreciate everyone's replies, and I'm still interested in phonics activities because I might be able to throw in a review activity here or there, but I won't be able to give any feedback on the games until I'm able to use them again.

Anyway, thanks everyone for all your help.

the O