Free VCe Lessons for Kindergarten (+ 10 Centre Ideas!)

 Hi there! I have an old blog post about how I teach CVCe or VCe words in Kindergarten (you can see that post if you are interested here: http://www.apinchofkinder.com/2016/04/super-e-activities-for-cvce-words.html) but I thought I'd write an updated post since I recently updated my VCe Centres resource and added a ton of new activities!

First, I always start by introducing the VCe pattern (or I like to call it Super E!) by watching this Super E video by Mark D. Pencil:

Click on the image or here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCnIaD-1kVE to watch it!

I love this video and so do the kids!

And then we do two lessons:

First we practice our new super e knowledge with these slides:

We read the slides together and move the yellow square to reveal the answer.

For the second lesson, we practice reading more VCe words and then reveal the answer by moving the yellow squares.

You can make a copy of these FREE no prep lesson slides by clicking here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15Y4EreePqug-e7cURBGP2IZMlbB1J-CZtfM4Q0hb4JU/copy or on the image below!

And here are some of the centres we follow up with!

1. All About Super E! Mini Book

We set this out at a centre after teaching Super E! to reinforce the lesson! There are 4 different versions:

1. the e at the end is the super e clip art

2. the e at the end is a regular e

3. the e at the end is traceable

4. there is a blank spot instead of the e at the end so students need to write the e in themselves

I usually set out the one where they have to fill in the e by themselves but please use the one that works best for your class! Or you can print the one that best fits the needs of your group(s) if you are working on them in small groups!

All of the centres shown in this post are in my CVCe/VCe Centers & Printables pack on TPT! I'll link it at the bottom of the post but here it is as well: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVCe_VCe-Centers-Printables-2469761

2. VCe Read, Make & Circle

Here's a centre to practice decoding VCe words! Students will read the word, make it with magnetic letters and circle the matching picture! There is also a version that says "Cover It!" so students can cover their answer with a marker instead too!

3. VCe Decode & Clip

This is a simple activity where students read a word, find the matching picture and link them together with linking chains! My students love linking chains so any activity with linking chains is always a hit!

3. VCe Read & Clip

Do you have kiddos who look at the first letter and guess? These are perfect for students who need practice slowing down and looking very carefully at words! The pictures all start with the same letter so students are forced to decode the whole word! Then they can clip the matching picture. I love using clothes pins for this activity because it provides extra fine motor practice/development but you can also have them mark their answer with a small loose part like a bingo chip, mini eraser etc!

4. What's Missing?

This is the perfect activity to use when you are first encoding VCe words as you only have to listen for the vowel! Simple, but an easy and effective way to get students identifying the vowel sound in VCe words!

5. Real Photo VCe Cards

These cards have the Super E! already filled in, so students just need to focus on encoding the first 3 sounds :)

6. VCe Encoding Cards

Now that they have had some practice encoding parts of VCe words, students can be challenged to encode and spell the whole word with these cards! I like to use magnetic letters with these but dry erase markers work well too!

For students who are not quite ready to encode on their own, you can provide the cards with the letters on them for them to match!

7. Cotton Swab + Paint Spelling Practice

My students always love cotton swab painting activities so I made these for VCe words! A simple, hands on way to work on reading and spelling VCe words :)

8. VCe Play Dough Mats

Here students are encouraged to make the VCe words with play dough or small loose parts! I used play dough (top) and pony beads (bottom) in this photo! Both materials are great for further developing their finger muscles :)

9. My VCe Mini Book

Mini books have always been super popular in my classes, so I made some new ones for VCe words! There is a mini book for a_e words, i_e words, o_e words and u_e words. My students love taking these home to share with their families!

All of the centres above can be found in my VCe Centres & Printables pack on TPT! You can find it here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVCe_VCe-Centers-Printables-2469761 or by clicking on the image below:

10. VCe Mini Reader (FREE!)

And here's a freebie for you! This is an updated version of my VCe mini reader! I used them with letter stamps but you can also just have students write the letters in with a pencil. The words are on the cover so students can self check or use it as a reference if they are not sure!

You can grab this mini book here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N9SUDUs4i8-ZI8I4PSGli6eNDxuA_Zt7/view?usp=sharing

or by clicking on the image below:

I hope you were able to grab some ideas to use in your classroom!

- Yukari

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Digraph Ideas + Activities for Kindergarten (with FREE Google Slides Lessons!)

 Hi there! Have your students mastered CVC words and some CVCC/CCVC words? It may be time to move on digraphs!

What is a Digraph?

A digraph is when 2 letters make one sound. There are consonant digraphs and vowel digraphs, but in Kindergarten typically only the consonant digraphs are introduced so we will be focusing on those! I am following the scope & sequence of the phonics program my son's school uses, so the digraphs I will be focusing on are the digraphs -ck, sh, th, ch, ph, wh, -ng and -nk.

How to Introduce Digraphs:

I like to introduce one digraph at a time and do a short lesson. I teach the students that digraphs are 2 letters that make one sound and then take a day or two and teach each digraph separately.

Want my FREE no-prep digraph lessons? Click here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1w9vaw0alUe2_T_OP4EzRVfzmpFjgls5LY7fe4hyldrU/copy or on the image below to make a copy!

Digraph Centres

After we introduce each digraph we start putting out some digraph centres so students can practice reading and writing with the digraphs we have learned! Here are some of our favourites:

1. My Digraph Mini Book

My students always love mini books so I knew I had to make some for digraphs too! I kept the words as decodable as possible so students could practice sounding out the words :)

There are 2 versions, one with tracing and handwriting boxes and another with tracing (with beginning dots) and no handwriting boxes. My own little guy hates handwriting boxes and needs more space, so I'm hoping this helps you differentiate, especially if you have any littles who are the same!

All of these centres are in my "Digraph Centes for -CK, SH, TH, CH, PH, WH, -NG and -NK" pack on TPT! You can find it here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Digraph-Centres-for-CK-SH-TH-CH-PH-WH-NG-and-NK-2700677 and I'll also link it again at the bottom of the post :)

2. Digraph Say, Tap & Make and Say, Make & Write

This is a two part centre. I introduce the "Say, Tap & Make" centre first to introduce students to the words containing the focus digraph and to have students practice isolating the sounds in the words and building the word.

Then we introduce this version, where students will have to tap the sounds, figure out the letters that each sound represents and make it (I use magnetic letters but any small letter manipulative will work!) and then write the word! If your littles are not quite ready to write on their own, there is a tracing version you can use as well!

3. Digraph Dot It

My students also always LOVE bingo dabbers so I created these bingo dabber pages! Students will practice forming the letters of each digraph and then they can colour the pictures if they wish.

Not keen on using so much paper? There is a version with the name writing omitted and the pictures in colour that you can print, laminate and set out with small manipulatives like pom poms or magnetic chips too :)

Here's an example of using it with magnetic chips:

4. Digraph Match Up

Being able to hear which digraph is at the beginning of a word is the first step to encoding digraph words! This centre helps develop that skill :) Students will look at the picture, say the word and find the digraph that begins with that letter!

Students can also work on hearing and identifying digraphs at the end of words with the "Ending Sounds Digraph Match Up"!

Tip: I like to put magnetic dots on the back of the cards and set out the mat on a cookie sheet. This way the card don't slide around (which can be frustrating for some of our littles!)

5. Beginning Digraph Clip Cards

Another way to practice hearing and identifying digraphs at the beginning and words is with these clip cards! My students love activities with clothes pins and they are great for strengthening finger muscles and improving fine motor skills!

6. Linking Chain Puzzles

Here's another way to practice blending the sounds in words with digraphs and work on fine motor skills at the same time! Students will look at the picture, sound out the first part of the word and then find and link the missing part.

All of these centres are in my "Digraph Centes for -CK, SH, TH, CH, PH, WH, -NG and -NK" pack on TPT! You can find it here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Digraph-Centres-for-CK-SH-TH-CH-PH-WH-NG-and-NK-2700677 or by clicking on the image below:

I hope you were able to grab some ideas to use in your classroom!

- Yukari

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Recap: January 2024

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a great holiday and are getting back into the swing of things at school! We had a great holiday :) Both kids didn't want to go back to school but they have been rotating being sick so one or the other has been home most of the month :P Still, I've been able to complete some things I'm excited about (and you were too based on your responses to my sneak peek stories on Instagram!) so I'm excited to share them with you!

1. Letter Formation Practice Sheets with Phonological Awareness Practice + Mazes

The name is a mouthful and it pretty much explains this resource! I started making these during winter break because my son has recently shown an increased interest in printing letters and I wanted to capitalize on that! He can print most of his uppercase letters independently now, so I decided to do both upper and lowercase for printing practice (the uppercase portion gives him a sense of confidence and makes it more likely for him to attempt the lowercase portion).

Then I added a section of phoneme isolation of beginning sounds (identifying if a word begins with the focus letter and circling it). It also helps to build on vocabulary if you are doing it as a parent/teacher guided activity!

Finally I added several different phonemic awareness activities to the bottom left corner. These ones shows rhyming but some other early reading and writing skills I included are syllables, phoneme isolation (identifying where the sound is in a CVC word; beginning, middle or end) and blending CVC words and encoding CVC words!

I also added a little maze at the end (each maze is shaped like a word that begins with the focus letter!) to further build fine motor skills and for fun! My son loves mazes so I knew this would motivate him to try these worksheets.

Anyways, my son really enjoyed these so if you pick them up, I hope your students enjoy these too!

You can find them in my TPT store here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Letter-Formation-Practice-Sheets-with-Phonological-Awareness-Practice-Mazes-10843735 or by clicking on the cover below!

2. Lunar New Year Lessons + Centres

Another resource I was able to finish this month was this Lunar New Year pack! This one is near and dear to my heart as I grew up with many Asian friends who celebrated and they often included me in their celebrations as well (Japanese New Year (which is my heritage) is has some similarities but is celebrated on January 1st unlike Lunar New Year ;)

I was able to find some lovely read alouds to go with this unit and I hope you enjoy them too! The format is the same to the other cultural celebration packs I've created this past school year (Diwali, Hanukkah etc.) but a new activity was added to this one, the CVC missing letter cards!

I know many of you were waiting eagerly for this one and I hope you enjoy using it in your classroom! If you want to grab this you can find it in my TPT store here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Lunar-New-Year-Activities-Lessons-Centres-10859860 or by clicking on the image below:

3. Sorting Cards FREEBIE

Little cars were a big interest in all of my Kindergarten classes (and now with my own two sons). I already have many activities using little cars (like the letter and number tracing mats, shape tracing mats in my 2D shape unit etc.) but I thought it would be fun to have a sorting activity so I made these!

Both kids enjoyed sorting the cars onto the correct roads! I made a couple different versions so you can print the ones that work best for the colours of cars you have (and 2 versions for the gray/grey page so you can print the spelling that works best for where you live!)

You can grab these for FREE here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oCa2N7KdglU7jIuST0VokQrRiFSlI3Ay/view?usp=sharing

or by clicking on the image below:

That's it for now! I hope you enjoy the sorting freebie if you download and use it :)

- Yukari

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