EZread™ CVC Make-A-Word Photo Card and Interlocking Cube Kit
Word Building Demonstration: Beginning Consonant
Substitution
1. Select cards from a rhyming word family, such as dog,
fog, hog, log, and the Interlocking Cubes needed to build
these words.
Congratulations on your purchase of this Really Good Stuff®
EZread™ CVC Make-A-Word Photo Card and Interlocking Cube
Kit, a fun independent word building activity for students to
spell out familiar CVC words by filling in sound boxes. Should
you need this or any other Really Good Stuff® Teaching Guides,
download them from our Web site at www.reallygoodstuff.com.
Objective
Student will generate the sounds of all letters and spell
common CVC-patterned words.
Common Core State Standard
Segment spoken single-syllable words into their complete
sequence of phonemes. Decode regularly spelled one-syllable
words.
This Really Good Stuff® product includes:
• 47 Make-A-Word Photo Cards
• 72 Lowercase Interlocking Cubes
• This Really Good Stuff® Teaching Guide
2. Ask the student to say the words aloud with you.
3. Set aside all but one of the cards, such as dog, and
ask the student to say the word.
4. Have the student try to build the word dog in the
sound boxes using the Interlocking Cubes. Provide
support as needed, but encourage students to rely on
their own letter-sound knowledge.
5. Present the hog card and place an o and g Letter Cube
in the last two boxes below the hog photo.
Independent Readers and Spellers
Ideal for literacy centers, the EZread™ CVC
Make-A-Word Photo Cards are designed primarily
for independent student use following a demonstration,
or for partners who can challenge and support each
other in word-building activities.
In the beginning, encourage the student to use the first
word, dog, as a guide in building hog: “dog…hog. What letter
do we need to change /d/ dog to make /h/ hog?” When the
correct answer is found, have the student
slide the h cube into the beginning sound position on the
hat card.
6. Have the student build the words on the other cards
this way, offering assistance as needed.
7. Have the student slide the cubes off of the card, keeping
the word together. The student gets to flip over the card
and compare the word they built with the word printed on
the back.
8. Have the student clear the cubes and try to rebuild all
words without assistance.
9. When the students are ready, provide them with the cards
and Interlocking Cubes. Students can build words on their
own, or in partners. This can be done at their desks or in
a literacy center.
The vivid, full-color photos make it easy for students to
use the cards without assistance. Each card is self-checking,
having the same photo on the reverse side with the word
printed out. The goal is to achieve independence and student
confidence in their reading and spelling.
Once students have completed the earliest levels of phonics
education, acquiring letter-sound knowledge through beginning
and ending sound instruction, they have already begun reading
CVC words on their own. With this foundation of CVC words,
further word-building activities, including letter substitution,
will expand students’ word family vocabularies.
Model the Activity
This activity is especially suited for students who need
a one-on-one, guided word-building lesson. With the simple,
universal photo cues, the cards are useful with children
for whom word building does not come naturally, and with
students who are newly acquiring English, or English language
learners (ELL).
All teaching guides can be found online:
Helping Teachers Make A Difference®
© 2012 Really Good Stuff
®
1-800-366-1920 www.reallygoodstuff.com Made in Guangzhou, China #305271A
EZread™ CVC Make-A-Word Photo Card and Interlocking Cube Kit
To Increase the Support:
• Revisit the one-on-one demonstration as needed using the
cards.
• Provide only the letters needed for one word, and then
begin to mix in extra letters.
• Use the cards to emphasize just the onsets, or beginning
consonant sounds.
• Fill in all letters except the sound you want to emphasize
(beginning, ending, short vowel sound, etc.). The student
fills in the missing letter.
• “First I do it. Then you do it.” Have the student follow
along as you build a similar word.
To Increase the Challenge:
• Provide the whole alphabet and have the student find the
needed letters.
• Once students have successfully built several word
families, let them work in partners and time each other as
they build a selection of words. The partners check the
words by reading the reverse side of each card.
The student repeats the timed activity, rebuilding the
same words, and tries to beat his or her own time.
For students who can handle a timed challenge,
this is a fun activity that helps make the
spelling automatic.
• Select three to five cards that have the
same short vowel sound. Fill in the
surrounding consonants and challenge
students to fill in the correct vowels.
• Oral word building, no letter cubes necessary:
Have partners take turns saying the letters
for their words aloud.
Helping Teachers Make A Difference®
Extension Activities
Present students with one of the three letters that go on a
word-building card and have them determine if it goes in the
beginning, middle, or ending sound position. Have them help you
complete several cards this way.
Partners can take turns playing a matching game using
the cards. One partner selects a few cards and matching
beginning sound cubes (or ending sounds, vowel sounds, etc.),
and mixes up the cubes. The other partner matches the Letter
Cubes to the pictures by placing them in the correct sound
position.
Place an assortment of three to five word-building cards on the
table. Let students take turns. They pull letters cubes from a
hat and try to fill in the words pictured. This can be a partner
or small group activity.
After plenty of independent word building, play a simple version
of Bingo, in which students try to be the first to build their
words using the letters you call out. They get
to use the letter cubes to fill in the boxes as they hear the
letters they need.
Have students sort the pictures by beginning sounds, ending
sounds, rhyming words, and even vowel sounds.
Try an open sort in which students determine their own
categories. You can even allow them to sort by content
categories, such as things, animals, other.
Related Really Good Stuff® Products:
EZread™ CVC Make-A-Word Photo Card and Letter Tile Kit
(#305265)
CVC Interlocking Letter Cubes and Card Kit (#304747)
Flip Its™ (#304755)
Make-A-Word Soft Touch™ Dice: CVC (#304612)
© 2012 Really Good Stuff® 1-800-366-1920 www.reallygoodstuff.com Made in Guangzhou, China #305271A