70 Slap the Letter Sounds
Caroline Massaro
Strategy Overview
- Slap the letter sounds is an activity that promotes phonic skills
- This is an activity that students can play to practice identifying words letter by letter. Students are practicing making words and identifying the individual letter sounds throughout the word.
- An activity like this is important for phonics development because it allows students to both make words and break the words apart to focus on the phonics component of language.
- This activity can be used in the classroom as a center rotation to get extended phonics practice for students who would benefit from it.. Students will have a fly swatter and magnetic letters to use as manipulatives.
- Slap the letter sounds relates to the “Big 6” skills & competencies regarding phonics, as it “involves systematically matching sounds with the letters that represent the sounds” (Lesaux & Carr, 2024, p. 3).
Strategy in Action
The teacher would explain to students how to use the manipulatives at the center or as a game as a whole class. Students will have a fly swatter and magnetic letters. The teacher or students can build words with the magnetic letters. These can be vocabulary words, CVC words, or basic sight words for any additional practice the students might need. The students will swat away each letter in the words when saying the sounds they make. Students are practicing letter- sound correspondence, while adding some fun and enjoyment swatting the letters away!
Related Resources
Lesaux, N.K., Carr, K.C. (2024). Brief 1: Science of reading: What is it? New York State Education Department.
