It’s that time of year… time to introduce the magical “silent E” to your students in CVCe words! This addition to the familiar CVC words unlocks long vowel sounds and helps students learn to decode new words like “bake”, “ride”, and “hope”. It’s an exciting time for emerging readers, but introducing this new phonics skill needs to be both engaging and memorable to really resonate with them. Use these 10 hands-on games and activities for CVCe words to make learning exciting and lots of fun!
Learning how to read CVCe words is an essential part of literacy development in young children. It’s the natural next step after they have mastered CVC words, but it is a big mindset shift and can feel a little tricky for them.
The “e” at the end of a CVCe word makes the vowel long, unlike the short vowels they are used to in CVC words. Adding the “magic E” opens up a world of new words like “shine”, “tape”, “mine”, and “nose”.
Practicing CVCe words is important for building reading fluency and spelling skills too!
As you teach these new CVCe words, you want to be sure that learning is meaningful and exciting for your students. The truth is— if learning isn’t fun for kindergarteners and first graders, they are very likely NOT to remember it.
Research from the supports this too! According to Jenny Nash at EdTech Digest and other sources, hands-on learning results in a variety of positive outcomes for students:
Interactive and hands-on games and activities that get kids moving will help them learn about and understand CVCe words SO MUCH better than sedentary alternatives like worksheets.
These 10 engaging games and activities to help your students practice CVCe words without even realizing they’re learning something new.
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Grab your own copy of FREE CVCe game cards & activity recording sheets, and be confident that you can implement these 10 games and activities as soon as TODAY with your favorite early readers!
Really, what’s better than that?!
The different card options are great for differentiation! Choose to play using word cards, picture cards, or cards with words and pictures depending on your students’ individual needs.
In this first CVCe game, each child needs one card. Tape the cards onto each child’s shirt or put cards on lanyards. This step saves you a lot of time, and your kids can play over and over again!
Children walk around the room and write the words shown on each other’s shirts or lanyards. They can write the words on a dry-erase board or the matching recording sheet.
Merry-Go-Round Readers is up next! Students lay the cards in a circular shape on the floor and then stand on the outside of the circle behind one of the cards.
As you play music, students walk around the circle with a dry-erase board. When you stop the music, everyone must read or say the word in front of them.
For extra writing practice, they can also write the words on a dry-erase board or the matching recording sheet.
Play the music and repeat as long as you’d like!
To play this fun game, glue cards to paper or plastic cups using a glue stick.
Students read the words on each cup and see how big of a tower they can build without it falling over. They write the words on the matching recording sheet to practice writing the CVCe words.
Easily differentiate this game by choosing the cards that best fit your students’ needs.
To play Heads Up!, students sit together while you hold a stack of word cards upside down.
You flip one card to your forehead without looking, and students read the card aloud. Once they’ve read the word, check the card to see if they are correct.
Keep flipping cards or let a student come up to take your place. This game can also be played with partners or in a small group.
This one will quickly become a class favorite!
Next up is Mystery Partner. To play this hands-on CVCe game, grab a set of word cards and matching picture cards so you have enough cards for each student to have one.
Students put their heads down or close their eyes (you know what will work best for your little ones!). Randomly give half of the students a picture card and the other half the matching words.
When students open their eyes or lift their heads, tell them to walk around the classroom to find their partner.
When they find their match, they both sit down together. Mystery solved!
This one’s easy and so much fun! When it’s time to Write the Room, hang picture cards OR word cards around your classroom
Children walk around with a clipboard and write all the words on the matching recording sheet— that’s it!
Write the Room is low-prep for you but engaging for your little learners because have you ever met a kid who DOESN’T like carrying around a clipboard?!
For Look and Learn, create a sensory bin filled with pom poms, rice, beads, beans or other small materials. Add word or picture cards to the bin as well.
As students select cards, they either read them aloud or write them on the matching recording sheet. This sensory bin activity is a great choice for pairs or small groups.
*To add extra fun, include mini erasers, figurines, or other small toys!
To play Roll and Write, slide the cards into a cube with clear pockets. Students roll a picture or word and then write the word.
Take this activity a step further by having students use the word in a sentence or practice spelling the CVCe word aloud to themselves or a partner.
In this hands-on learning game, students choose a CVCe word card and draw a picture on a dry-erase board or the matching recording sheet.
Turn this into a Pictionary-style game for whole-class fun!
And finally, go on a Word Walk with your students!
Before you go, place cards in a line along the wall in your hallway. Encourage students to walk, hop, or tiptoe from card to card and record each word as they arrive at it.
All 10 of these games and activities can be played using cards from my 30 Game Phonics Freeze Bundle.
If you’re new to FREEZE, don’t worry. It’s easy– and it will quickly become one of your new favorite interactive games!
How to play:
Play again and again as many times as you want!
Introducing the “magic E” is an exciting milestone for your emerging readers, and making practice feel like play helps keep learning fun and memorable. By incorporating hands-on, interactive games and activities for CVCe words into your phonics practice, you can be sure that you are helping your students develop strong foundational literacy skills that will carry them through many years to come!
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