Flashcards may seem like the most boring teaching tool. The main way to use phonics flashcards is to practice naming sounds, and I do use them especially during our phonemic awareness daily warm-ups. However, there are many other ways you can use flashcards! Here are a few engaging ways to use phonics flashcards for various activities.
Hot Potato
Hot Potato is an engaging party game that can easily be adapted to practice phonics sounds. Have your students sit in a circle and put all the flashcards in a basket, face down. Start a song and pass around the basket. When you stop the song, whoever is holding the basket pulls out a letter flashcard. They can say the name, sound, or even a word that starts with that sound. Start the music again and then continue playing. You could also play this with Freeze Dance or Musical Chairs! Here are a few more engaging games you can play during phonics lessons.
I Spy
Play I Spy as either a whole group or small group activity to practice naming letters or sounds. Lay out a selection of letter flashcards. Try to stick to about 10 so it’s not too overwhelming for students. The teacher can start first, saying “I spy a letter that makes the /s/ sound.” Have a student come up and point to the letter, saying both the name and sound. Then, that student can continue the I Spy game with the rest of the students.
Use as a transition activity
When transitioning from one subject to another, lining up, or even walking to recess, you can use flashcards to practice sounds with your students. Have them name the letter when lining up, or pull out a few as you are walking in the hall. It’s just a simple way to add in a little more phonics practice.
Phonercise
One of my favorite phonics songs is Phonercise by Dr. Jean. You can watch the Phonercise video on YouTube here. The basis of the song is to name the letter, sound, and a word that starts with that letter by moving your body. I like to do this without the song to focus on certain letters. I will hold up a letter flashcard, for example the “R” flashcard. The students will touch the sky and say the letter name “R”, then touch their shoulders to say the sound, “/r/”, and then touch the ground to say a word that starts with r, like “rabbit” or “rainbow”. You can also make up different moves, so maybe have them jump, squat, or run in place instead.
I hope these engaging ways to practice letter flashcards gave you some new ideas to try with your students! You can find all the phonics sounds flashcards- both printable and digital versions in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here: Digital and Printable Flashcards.