Phonics can seem dry, and homework gets a bad rap, but phonics homework doesn’t have to be a chore—for you or your students. Here are some easy phonics homework activities to try, plus a new resource to make things even simpler!
3 fun & easy phonics homework activities
Games and interesting activities make phonics practice more engaging, which often makes it more effective.
Blending & segmenting I Spy
Play a game of I Spy in class and then have students play at home for homework. Simply pick an item in the classroom, such as a cup. Then say: “I spy with my little eye a c-u-p.” Your students need to then blend the sounds together to tell you the item.
To use as homework, give parents these instructions:
Your child is practicing the reading skill of blending. You can help them practice with this simple game.
Pick an item in your house, such as a mug. Then say: “I spy with my little eye a m-u-g.” Your child will blend the sounds together to tell you the item. Try simple words, like dog, cat, cup, pan, bed, sock, hat, etc. Write down the words you use.
Note: You may need to hold each of the sounds a little bit longer and don’t have a pause between each sound.
You can also send home a simple word list and have students practice segmenting for the parents to “guess” the word.
Blending Simon Says
To introduce the game in class, explain that the rules of Blending Simon Says are the same as regular Simon Says, but that you will say some of the words in sounds. For example, “Simon says “S-i-t down”. You can also get a little more complicated by giving the sounds for more than one word as in “P-a-t your l-e-g” or “T-a-p your d-e-s-k.”
To use as homework, give parents these instructions:
Your child is practicing the reading skill of blending. You can help them practice with this simple game that your child has played in class.
Give your child things to do as in Simon Says, but say at least one word of each statement in sounds. For example:
“Simon says “T-a-p your foot.” You can also give the sounds for more than one word as in “G-e-t your b-a-g.”
Rhyme time plus
Help students manipulate sounds by playing rhyme time. Sit in a circle. Say, Hat rhymes with mat. The first student says, Mat rhymes with cat. [Student can say any word that rhymes with mat.] Write the chain of rhyming words on the board so students can see the words as well as hear the sounds.
You can also practice changing other sounds. For example, write this on the board:
B A G
B __ G
B __ G
Ask students to change the word by changing the middle sound. For example, instead of b-a-g, they could say b-i-g or b-u-g.
To use as homework, give parents these instructions:
Your child is practicing the reading skill of phoneme manipulation. You can help them practice with this simple game that your child has played in class.
Say a simple word with many rhymes and give one of the rhymes. Example: Dog rhymes with fog. Prompt your child to add a rhyme, such as fog rhymes with log.
Keep playing until you run out of rhymes. Then try a new word.
To have students practice changing middle or end sounds at home, you’ll want to send home a worksheet to help them understand the different words and sounds they are working with.
Games and activity sheets for 100 weeks!
These three activities can help students with a number of key phonics and reading skills, but you may need to adapt them to your students’ skill level. For example, your students may need to practice more complex words. And of course, three activities will only get you so far.
Good news! The Fun Phonics Homework To Last The Whole Year bundle is now available. You simply download, print, and send home. The bundle contains 10 sets of homework, arranged by skill, and each set contains 10 weeks of homework for a total of 100 weeks worth of fun homework activities.
To make it even easier, each homework pack contains complete instructions for parents and a tracking sheet for students.
Ready to make homework fun and easy? Learn more and get your bundle here:
Fun Phonics Homework To Last The Whole Year
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