Super Fun Phonics Activity for Kids:
Play Dough Phonics
Do you need a fresh fun phonics activity to keep your kids engaged? Are your guided reading lessons getting a little stale? Well I have just the perfect fun phonics activity for you: Play Dough Phonics!
This fun phonics activity will have your students engaged and having fun while reading!
It is a universal law that children love all things colorful, messy, and different. Anything they can feel and squish between their fingers is instant engagement. That’s why when things started to get dull and monotonous, My favorite fun phonics activity was pulling out the play-dough. This works best in a one-on-one setting (intervention, rti pull-outs, tutoring, etc.) or small groups during guided reading. (On a side note, if you are looking for more reading intervention ideas, I have a HUGE Reading Intervention Activity List here, and a FREE Reading Intervention Cheat Sheet you can download!) I will warn you that I would not do this activity whole-group unless your class is extremely well trained at following directions!
Play dough makes the perfect fun phonics activity for blending words!
For optimal teacher-sanity and minimal rainbow carpet, here is how to set expectations and procedures for this fun phonics activity. The first time will take longer, and you probably won’t get to practice very many words. BUT IT IS WORTH IT to take your time and clearly explain procedures the first time. The clearer and more thorough you are with the instructions, the smoother the activity will go. Try this fun phonics activity several times, and soon the students will be familiar with the procedures and you will be amazed at how many words you can get through, and the students stay engaged the whole time!
Below the lesson set-up and procedures are some practice variation ideas so you can use this fun phonics activity to teach a variety of phonics patterns. Students love to get creative and come up with new ideas on how to represent the words with play-dough. Have fun with it!
Playdough Fun Phonics Activity Lesson Plan
Set Up:
Materials:
- Cheap Cookie Trays (I got mine for $2 each at Walmart)
- Play-Dough (these
colors from Amazon are fun, and they come in perfect individual “serving” size) - Magnetic Letters (love these Amazon, or these for a bigger class set)
colors from Amazon are fun, and they come in perfect individual “serving” size)
Amazon, or 
OR:
*If you want to go low material and prep, just have a white board and dry erase marker for each student. Students can write the words on their white boards and then use the play-dough to decode them.
**Another option is to use pre-printed decoding papers (like the ones in my Phonics Intervention Binder or CVC Words Intervention Binder) and just stick them in page protectors. This makes for super quick and simple set up)
Use playdough with this CVC Intervention Binder and Phonics Intervention Binder for a fun phonics activity for reading intervention!
Preparation:
- Write a list of phonics patterns and words you want to cover for the lesson. It is best to only focus on 1 or 2 phonics patterns a day, with about 5 or 6 practice words total. You can get in more as the students become quicker with the routine.
- For each student, have one cookie sheet and a baggie of plastic letters you will be using.
- OR, if you are using whiteboards, have a whiteboard, dry erase marker, and eraser (I use tissues) for each student.
Setting Behavior Expectations:
Before you bust out the play-dough, set clear expectations to avoid a rainbow-colored free-for-all extravaganza. Model each step yourself (giving yourself materials) and show them how you expect them to follow the expectations. Tell the students:
- I will hand each one of you a tray (or white board, or paper in page protector). Keep the tray flat on the table in front of you.
- You will each get a baggie of letters (or dry erase marker). Keep it next to your tray and do not open it until tell you.
- You will also get 1 ball of play-dough. You will keep it in the corner of your tray (or whiteboard, or paper). This will be your play-dough storage area. Only touch this when I tell you to.
Modeling:
BEFORE YOU HAND OUT STUDENT MATERIALS!
Make sure you model the WHOLE activity before you hand out student materials, because sorry teach, play-dough usually beats teacher in student attention contests. 💁
- I will show you a word on my board, like this (place or write letters of the first word on your board).
- When I say go, you will then make (or write) the word on your board, then fold your hands and look at me. We will wait for everyone to have their word made.
- When I say go, you will roll 3 (or however many you need for your word) small balls of play-dough, and place one ball under each letter. Fold your hands and look at me when you are done (make 3 small balls and put them under each letter of your example word, and then fold your hands).
- As a group, we will sound the word out together by pressing on the ball under each letter as we say its sound. Then we will say the whole word together and fold our hands (press on each ball of play-dough as you say the sounds of each letter in your example word, then say the whole word and fold your hands).
Pass Out Student Materials:
- Remind students of the expectations to “keep their tray or whiteboard flat, their letters or markers next to it on the table, and their play-dough ball in the corner of their board. Always keep your hands folded while waiting for instructions. Wait for me to say go before you make a word or get your play-dough balls.”
- Hand out student materials and praise students who quickly follow the expectations.
Practice:
- Make or write the first word, or phonics pattern, on your board, then have the students make it on their board.
- Let students get their balls of play-dough to place under the letters.
- Sound out the word together by pressing on each ball as you say the sound of each letter.
- Then have the students say what the word is.
Clean Up:
- The great thing about using cookie sheets, whiteboards, or page protectors is that they are super easy to clean up. Just teach the students to take their play-dough and press it over any crumbs on their tray (or the table). The crumbs stick the the bigger ball, so all you have to do is just dab away until there are no more crumbs. 👍
Fun Phonics Activity Practice Variations:
Here is the fun part! Once students are proficient with the expectations and procedures, you can have fun experimenting with different ways to use the play-dough. They will get so much faster once they know the routine and you can have more time to practice more words.
#1: CVC Words
Sounding Out Letters
As explained above, make a small ball to go under each letter. Explain that each letter has a sound that goes with it, and it’s important to say each sound. Press on each ball as you say the sound of each letter. Then say the word you made.
Blending Sounds:
Instead of 3 small balls, make one long skinny snake to go under the word. Tell students to drag out the sounds a little as they say them, so there is no break between them. We want them to blend together. Let students lightly slide their finger across the snake as they blend the sounds of the letters together.
Whole Word Practice:
Use any of the above play-dough set-ups, but with a larger ball underneath the small 3 balls or snake. Sound out or blend, and then press the big ball with your fist as you say the whole word. As students become more proficient, you can drop the sounding out and blending, and just have the big ball for students to say the whole word. Emphasize that as students become more fluent readers, they will be able to read the whole word all at once without sounding out or blending.
#2: Blending Consonant Blends
Place a short skinny snake under the two blend-letters (ex: bl, cr, sp, nk) and a small ball under each of the other letters. Have students lightly slide their fingers across the snake as they blend the sounds together, and then press on each of the small balls and say their sounds. Then say the whole word together. Point out that the blends’ sounds blur together, like sliding across the snake.
#3: Blending Digraphs
Have students place a small ball under each letter, including the letters in the digraph. Then have them take the two balls under the two digraph letters and roll them together to make a bigger ball. They can set the bigger ball underneath the digraph. Point out that combining the balls shows us that both letters come together to make one sound. Have students press on each ball as they say the sound of the digraph and the rest of the letters. Then say the whole word.
*This same strategy can be used for vowel digraphs, diphthongs, and r-controlled vowels.
#4: Blending Silent e
Place a small ball under each letter, including the silent e. Then take the ball from the silent e and place it over the vowel that it modifies. Talk about how the silent e does not make a sound itself, but it changes the sound that the vowel makes. Then have them combine the silent e ball and the vowel ball to make a bigger ball. Explain that the vowel now makes it’s long sound (hence, the bigger ball 😉). Then students can smush the balls under each letter, saying the sound they make (with the long vowel sound) and blend the sounds together to read the word.
#5: Reading Silent Letters
Place a ball under each letter (or digraph–one ball per sound), including the silent letter. Then take away the ball under the silent letter and tilt the letter sideways. Explain that some letters are silent and make no sound at all. That is why we take away the ball. Tilting the letter helps us remember not to make a sound for it. Then have students press the rest of the balls and say the sounds to sound out the word.
#6: Chunking Fun Phonics Activity
Use a multi-syllable word. Talk about how looking at chunks of words that you recognize can help you read the word faster. Have students roll out 2 snakes (or however many chunks are in your word), and place them under the “chunks” they recognize. Then have them smush the snakes with their fingers as they read the chunks.
You can also curve the snakes under the chunks to make a “swoop”. Students can then lightly slide their fingers along the swoops to blend the chunks together.
#7: Compound Words Fun Phonics Activity
You can use a strategy similar to the “Chunking” strategy, but first I like to have them separate the words with a vertical snake, just to help them recognize what words the compound word is made up of. Then have students place a snake under each “small” word, and smush the snakes as they read them. Again, explain that recognizing the smaller words that compound words are made up of can help us read faster than sounding out the word.
Those are just a few fun phonics activities to add some color 🌈and engagement to your phonics small group lessons or reading interventions. It is amazing what magic and excitement a little ball of play-dough can bring to your classroom! 🌟I hope you have a blast trying out this fun phonics activity!
Don’t forget to download my FREE Reading Intervention Cheat Sheet, which has TONS more phonics tips and activities for your struggling readers.
This reading intervention list can show you how to help struggling readers.
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