What to do at a hard word
Print a poster for the steps to take at a hard word. Each step has a few plain words and a small sign made of letters, dots and an arrow. There is no guessing from a picture: every step keeps the eyes on the letters.
Your worksheet:
Sounding out is a habit: look at every letter, say the sounds in order, blend them, then read the word again so it makes sense.
The signs are made of letters, boxes, dots and an arrow, so the poster works for any book.
The steps are written for a grown-up and child to read together. After a few days the signs are enough.
Look at the letters. Say each sound. Push the sounds together. Read the word again. The two extra steps: look for letters that go together, and read the whole sentence again.
A picture can only help a child guess. These steps teach the child to read the word itself.
Yes. Type your own, or clear the box.
Yes. Choose “Black and white” under “Print in”. Every picture becomes a line drawing your child can color in.
Yes, with no sign-up and no limit.
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Letter scavenger hunt makerA hunt list of letters or words to find at home or in a book, with a box to check. Type your own letters or words.
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Zap! word game makerA draw-a-card game: word cards, a few Zap! cards, the rules and a label for the cup. Type your own words.
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Beginning sound mat makerA mat for each letter and picture cards to cut out and sort by first sound. Pick the letters or type your own.
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Alphabet matching worksheet makerCut and stick alphabet matching: small letters to glue under their capitals. Pick the letters or type your own.
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Calendar page makerA month calendar with a letter of the day or a word of the day in every box. Type your own letters or words.
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Memory match game makerMemory match pairs: word and word, word and picture, or capital and small letter. Type your own words or letters.
Old Maid word card makerAn Old Maid style deck: word pairs and one odd card, with the rules. Sight words, CVC words or your own.
I have, who has game makerA loop of “I have, who has” cards for a group. Sight words, CVC words or your own words.
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Word family spoons card gameCards for the game of spoons: sets of four words from the same word family. Or type your own sets.
Tumbling tower word labelsSmall word labels sized for the blocks of a tumbling tower game, with the rules. Type your own words.
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Race to the top letter gameSix letters under the six faces of a die. Roll, say the sound and trace or write the letter. Type any letters.
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Four in a row word game makerA grid of words for two players and two colors of counters. Read it, cover it, four in a row wins. Type your own words.
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Tic-tac-toe word game makerFour or six tic-tac-toe boards on a page, each with nine words. Read a word to mark its box. Type your own words.
Cover-up letter mat makerA mat of letters and matching draw cards. Take a card, say its sound, cover that letter. Type the letters you want.
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Blending slide mat makerThe sounds of a word spaced out on a slide with a dot under each. Touch, say, slide and read. Type your own words.
Drive and blend mat makerA plain road under the sounds of a word, for a toy car. Drive, say each sound, read the word. Type your own words.
Sight word playdough mat makerOne sight word a page in big hollow letters for playdough, with a line to trace and a line to write. Type your own words.
Alphabet poster makerAlphabet posters and wall cards: one letter on a page, or 2, 4 or 6 cards a page for an alphabet line. Type any letters.
Phonics sound chart makerA one-page chart of digraphs, blends or vowel teams, each with a key word and its picture.
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Desk helper strip makerA strip for the top of a desk: the child’s name, the alphabet with a picture for each sound, letter teams and sight words.
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Consonant blends worksheet generatorBlends worksheets for s, l and r blends: circle the picture, write the blend, read and match, or cut and sort.
Long vowel worksheet generatorLong vowel worksheets: silent e words, short or long vowel sorts, and the vowel teams ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow, igh and oo.
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Missing letter worksheet generatorMissing letter worksheets: a pictured word with its first, middle or last letter left out, or gaps in the alphabet to fill.
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Letter of the week worksheet makerType one letter and get a small pack: mini poster, tracing page, find the letter, sound pictures, crown strips and a coloring page.
Alphabet tracing card makerCut-apart alphabet tracing cards: one letter a card on writing lines, with a start dot, an arrow and its picture.
Number word tracing worksheet generatorNumber words to read, trace and write: one to ten or eleven to twenty, with the number and a row of dots beside each word.
Alphabet coloring page makerAlphabet coloring pages: a big hollow letter and the line drawing of its picture, both to color in. Type any letters.No maker matches that yet. Clear the box to see them all.
“Behind in reading” can mean ten different things, and each one needs different help. Check off what is true for your child. You will see the one thing to work on first, and what can wait.
