Learning After School is our series of short but important lessons that are big on fun and reinforce skills your kids are learning at school. They are designed not to feel like homework and if they do or if my son rates them too low ( yes he rates each and every activity we do here) I don’t post it .This simple CVC word activity lets kids explore spelling with playdough and did pass the test. I like using playdough because if you make a mistake it’s easy peasy to squish and try again.
When your kids or their teachers speak about CVC words these are the type of words they are talking about consonant- vowel- consonant. These simple three letter words are a great place to start segmenting sounds and working on connecting known consonant sounds with various vowel sounds to create new words. This works on your child’s phonological awareness and differentiation of vowel sounds which can be a very big struggle for many kids. The playdough adds novelty which is great when you are doing activities that require practice and repetition. Here is what we did.
Gather your materials. You will need some playdough and some letter stamps.
Divide your playdough into small mounds and flatten.
Using your alphabet stamps stamp the first and third letters. Here are some ideas for you : c-p , b-d , m-p, w-n, f-n, r-g, h-m , c-t * As Casey points out in comments you shouldn’t include words ending in r for CVC words because the vowel is r controlled ( say a few words in your head cab, cap, car… to see the difference) and they don’t follow the CVC vowel pattern. For kids still learning at this level we want them to see and recognize these patterns because it helps them learn. We don’t want to confuse them.
Next give your child the stamps with the vowels on them and ask them to make words with them. If your child is new to this activity encourage adding any vowel and take time to help them sound it out and do not worry if they create combinations that aren’t real words. If kids are more experienced give them the challenge of only creating words that have meaning. Encourage them to try out different combinations and ask themselves if it makes sense.
Squish the middle letter and try again. How many words can they create? For an even greater challenge offer them the consonant stamps and make whole new combinations of letters and words.
For another playful way to work on spelling and boosting phonological awareness try this idea from an article I wrote for Scholastic Parent’s Raise A Reader blog and this word family playdough and letter stamp activity from I Can Teach My Child .
Jen Schneider (The Learning Wagon) says
Excellent idea! Simple and Fun! Thanks for sharing!
Jenae says
We did something very similar a while back, although ours involved making word families: http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2013/06/playdough-alphabet-stamps/
I really like this idea!
Allison McDonald says
Thanks Jenae I added it to the post 🙂
Jessica says
So clever!
Thanks! Gonna try this out soon 🙂
Chelsey says
Just love this~ especially for practicing CVC words!! Think I may have to try this activity in my daughter’s Kinder class next time I volunteer!
Barbara Allisen says
Wonderful fun! Could also use this for kids to do the alphabet with a really looong piece of playdough. Or a 1-10 number line.
Cory says
Those alpha stamps are so cute! Where’d you find them?
Allison McDonald says
They are from Melissa & Doug http://www.melissaanddoug.com/alphabet-stamp-set
KerrenCrawford says
Love this idea. Looking forward to trying this.
Casey says
You shouldn’t teach words that end in ‘r’ as a CVC word. Technically they are, but the vowel is r controlled making the words not follow the CVC pattern rule 🙂
Allison McDonald says
Casey you are right – good catch. I get lazy with my own kids.
Julie says
I shared this post on my blog’s facebook and twitter page.
https://www.facebook.com/HomeIsWhereIBelong
Allison McDonald says
Thank you!