CVC Find-a-Word Puzzles!

Hello friends!  I'm stopping by really quickly tonight to share one of my favourite activities to use when kidlets have started to read CVC words - Find-a-Word puzzles!  Typically I'm not a worksheet kinda gal, but I love these because they're super engaging and they're easily differentiated. :)

The puzzles are organised by medial vowel, and each page has 6 words hidden in the puzzle.  Kidlets simply decode the word using the picture clue and then circle it in the grid below! I use these puzzles across all of my ability groups - those who still need support to decode words complete the activity as a group with teacher help (you could enlarge the page for this purpose if you like), those reading confidently work independently, and those who require a challenge move onto the 'Spell & Find' puzzles.  In these, students must write the beginning sound before finding the word.  

These puzzles are perfect as a small group word work activity (that's where I use them!), but they can also be copied into a 'Fast Finisher' booklet, or used as a homework task.  Each pack also includes colour options - simply laminate these and use a whiteboard marker to complete. :)

Each pack has 12 puzzles - two for each short vowel, and another two that have a mixture of medial vowel sounds.  Answer keys are also provided if you would like to have students correct their own work.  

Click on any of the images in this post to see these in my TpT store!

           

A Peek Inside Two Puzzling Packs! CVC Word Puzzles

Hi everyone! Today I'm quickly stopping by to give you a peek at my two newest products! :) These CVC word puzzles are the perfect way for little learners to work on their phonics and reading skills.

Find-A-Word puzzles are always a hit with my kidlets! These worksheets are organised by vowel sound.  There are two puzzles for each vowel, with an additional two featuring a mixture.  That's 12 unique puzzles altogether! Kidlets read each word after looking at the picture clue and then find them in the puzzle.  I've also provided colour copies of each puzzle in case you'd like laminate them and use them with dry erase markers.

As kidlets solve each puzzle they are faced with multiple opportunities to apply their knowledge of letters and sounds - as they decode each word, and again as they search for the words in the grid. Because the words are organised by vowel sound they will fit easily into your phonics teaching sequence, or can be used for targeted intervention.  (Aren't medial vowels a huge hurdle for some of our little learners?) 

Spell & Find is a little trickier! Kidlets need to complete each word by correctly writing the beginning sound on the line before finding the words in the puzzle.  As our 6 year old was 'testing' some of these out for me I loved to see her thinking as she searched for words.  Initially she wrote the letter j for the word gem, and then when she couldn't find the word in the grid she went back and thought about another letter choice. :)

These resources are perfect to use during Literacy small groups! They're also great as a quiet 'Fast Finisher' task - kidlets can tuck one away in their desk or a folder and move onto a puzzle without leaving their chair. :)

Click on any of the photos above to see these resources in my TpT store - make sure you view the preview file there for a closer look inside each pack.  Happy weekend, friends!

New Products (with a giveaway)!

Hi everyone!  Seems that people everywhere are having extreme weather - there's the snow and ice across the US, and here in Queensland we've been having a serious heatwave that's resulted in some big electrical storms.  Today I woke up to a crack of thunder, and it's been storming all day since, which is quite odd.  There was just a story on the news that said that flying foxes have literally been dropping from the sky with exhaustion because it's so hot! The heat and then the rain have made it really easy to be a homebody and stay inside, so I've been putting together a few products that I'm going to get ready to use with my Preppies when the new school year starts in a few weeks.

 To help my kidlets with their upper and lowercase letter recognition with some phonics practise thrown in for good measure I made these 3 piece puzzles.  There's both colour and black and white versions in the file, so if you're conscious of saving ink and want to print them to coloured card there's that option for you.

Grab them here!

Of course, I'll be using the Queensland print version. :)

Grab them in Queensland Print here!

Because I was in a puzzling mood, I made some number puzzles also.  They've got numerals, number words, ten frames and pictures.

Grab them here!

And in Queensland Print here!

Last but not least, I was inspired by the story, The Gingerbread Man to make a sight word card game called Run, Run!.  The idea is simple - kidlets draw a card, read the word (as fast as they can!) and keep it if they read it correctly.  If their card shows the gingerbread man saying 'Can't catch me!' this acts as a freebie that they can keep, but if they draw a 'Run, run!' card featuring that tricky fox, all of their cards go back into the pile.  The kidlet with the most cards at the end wins. :)

You can grab this in Dolch Pre-Primer, Primer and First Grade - the cards are colour coded so you can mix and match the words cards to suit the words your kidlets need to work on.

Well folks, time for the giveaway.  Just leave me a comment with your email (make sure you follow my TpT store) and let me know which product you'd like.  I'll come back on Wednesday evening to pick 3 winners and send you the product of your choice.  Good luck! :)

Congrats to Cherie, Kirra and Bec - check your email for your prizes! (On another note... numbers 1, 2 and 3 doesn't seem like too much of a random number selection from random.org! Oh well, all's fair in love and giveaways.) :)

Lauren

P.S. Don't forget to link up your 10 Top Tips for New Teachers!