Thanksgiving Phonics Templates
Are you looking for engaging ways to practice and reinforce phonics skills before Thanksgiving?
Grab My Thanksgiving Phonics Templates
Your students will love these Thanksgiving-themed Mapping Mats (or sound/el konin boxes), Bingo Boards and Word Chains – perfect for Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade. These templates are designed to be used in conjunction with your phonics program as a fun, engaging way to practice encoding!
The Science of Reading tells us that using a systematic, explicit approach to teaching phonics is essential! But sometimes the routines of these lessons can become too repetitive and redundant. Swap out the boring routines and add in these fun, seasonal activities to spice things up! Students are STILL benefiting from research-based activities, but in an engaging new way!
💚 YOU’LL LOVE:
Easy to Use: The instructions are simple and can be used with a wide age range.
Science of Reading Aligned: Each activity helps promote the process of orthographic mapping, which helps words be stored in the brain for easy retrieval.
Structured Literacy Aligned: These templates are designed to be used alongside your systematic, explicit phonics program - use AFTER skills have been taught as a way to REINFORCE concepts.
Low Prep: Print one copy for each student and you’re ready to go!
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💚 HOW IT WORKS:
➔ MAPPING MATS: This template is designed to be used during the encoding (spelling) practice portion of a lesson.
Cut out the pumpkin manipulative sheet OR use any small manipulatives on hand. Dollar stores always have fun, inexpensive seasonal options! Print one copy of the mapping mat per student. Laminate or place in a plastic sleeve.
The student “sets up” their mapping mat by placing one manipulative in each box.
The teacher dictates a word (from your phonics program lesson that has already been taught).
(Tap It) The student repeats the word, then slides the manipulatives up to each turkey while saying (isolating) the individual sounds in the word → like “/c/ /a/ /t/”.
(Map It) The student then writes the letters that represent each sound (graphemes) in the individual boxes. Encourage the student to say each sound while writing.
(Read It) The student points to the star and runs his/her finger along the line, blending the sounds to read the word.
(Write It) The student then rewrites the whole word on the line below.
The process of segmenting the sounds (phonemes) and matching them to the letters (graphemes) helps promote orthographic mapping – the process through which the brain stores words for easy retrieval.
➔ BINGO BOARD: This template is designed to be used during the encoding (spelling) practice portion of a lesson.
Each student should receive a handful of manipulatives or Bingo Markers (printed from the resource or manipulatives you have on hand).
Explain to students that they will be writing words but also setting up a Bingo Board. Encourage students to write their words in a random order (so each student’s board is different when you play Bingo at the end).
(Set Up the Board) This part of the activity is spelling/encoding practice. The teacher dictates a word. The student picks a random box, spells the word in that box. Continue until the entire board is filled.
(Play the Game) This part of the activity is reading practice. Place a manipulative on the Free Space to begin. The teacher will randomly call a word that was previously dictated. As students search for the word, they will need to attend to the order of letters in each word, checking to find the called word. By doing this, they are reading the dictated words again. Once they find the correct word, they will cover the word with a manipulative. Once the student has 3 in a row, they will call “Bingo” and read aloud the words to you. Continue playing until each student has gotten “Bingo” and the entire Bingo Card is filled.
(Writing) The last part of this activity is writing a sentence. The teacher can either dictate a sentence for students to write at the bottom or students can choose a word from their Bingo Board and generate their own sentence.
➔ WORD CHAINS: This template is designed to be used during the encoding (spelling) practice portion of a lesson.
Each student receives one Word Chain template (half of the page). The teacher should use a predetermined set of word chaining words (from the phonics program being used).
WORD ONE: The teacher dictates a word (like “cat”). The student will write the sounds in the corresponding boxes (/c/ /a/ /t/). Remember, each box represents ONE SOUND - not one letter. Sounds like /ch/ and /sh/ will go in ONE box. For additional support, students can use the turkey pictures to “Tap” each sound before writing.
REMAINING WORDS: For the remaining words, only ONE SOUND should change (like “cat” to “cap”). There are two options as you dictate each new word.
➔ OPTION 1: The teacher dictates the next word (“cap”), while students identify which sound needs to change. The student then writes the word.
➔ OPTION 2: Alternatively, the teacher can prompt students to change ONE SOUND (like “change the /t/ to /p/”) and students will write the new word (cap) and READ the new word (“cap”).
➔ Each of these choices practice slightly different skills. They can be used interchangeably. Word Chains can be tricky at first and students may need more support, but are SO powerful once students get the hang of it! You will be amazed!
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💚 PRODUCT INCLUDES:
Turkey Mapping Mat Template (3 Sounds)
Turkey Mapping Mat Template (4 Sounds)
Turkey Mapping Mat Template (2 Syllables)
Turkey Bingo Board Template
Word Chain Template (3 Sounds)
Printable Manipulative Sheet (pumpkins)
💚 MATERIALS NEEDED:
Dry erase markers, erasers
Manipulatives (if not using the ones provided)
Laminating supplies or plastic sleeves
Pencils
💚 PERFECT FOR:
➔ Small Intervention Groups
➔ Tier 2 Intervention Groups
➔ Tier 3 Intervention Groups
➔ Homeschooling, Homework Help
➔ Whole Classroom Use
💚 WAYS TO USE AT HOME:
Use with your children during your homeschool phonics lessons!
Use with your children as a way to practice/reinforce spelling words!
💚 WAYS TO USE AT SCHOOL:
Use during small groups (phonics groups, skill based groups)
Use during reading intervention lessons
Use with whole class
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