Winter Phonics Activities | Decoding & Encoding Word Mats | Printable Teacher Resources | Literacy with Aylin Claahsen

Using these Winter phonics activities word mats will help your students review decoding and encoding with a variety of phonics patterns. Students will complete the phonics based activities in small groups or in literacy centers. The word mats, word cards, picture cards, and sentence pages allow readers to review the phonics patterns they focused on throughout the year. Readers will work on decoding and encoding in isolation, within sentences, and while writing their own sentences. Aligned to the Science of Reading, these activities will help your students make progress in their abilities to read.

The purpose of these activities is to help students focus on decoding and encoding as they develop their early literacy skills. Students can also focus on fluency as they complete the activities more than one time!

You can easily differentiate which cards are used with your students with the wide variety of phonics patterns included. Students will be able to focus specifically on decoding and encoding with phonics patterns they need to improve. These also work great for intervention groups!

Phonics Patterns Included:

• CVC words
• Digraphs
• Beginning Blends
• Ending Blends
• CVCe words
• R-controlled Vowels
• Vowel Teams/Long Vowel Sounds

What phonics based activities are included, for each phonics pattern?

• 10 Word Cards (70 total)
• 10 Picture Cards (70 total)
• 10 Sentence Pages (70 total)

Also included with a Winter Theme:

• Phonics Word Mats
• Letter Cards to Build Words

How do you use this resource?

These activities can either be done in Teacher Led Small Groups, or in Literacy Centers:

The Word Mats:

*Using the word cards: You (or the students) will pick a word card, state the word, and students will say each sound in the word. Then each student will have their own word mat to then place the letter cards down on, to make the word (encoding). Students will then state each sound in the word again, and read the word (decoding).

*Using the picture cards: You (or the students) will pick a picture card and state what is pictured. Students will then say all the sounds in the word, and use the letter cards to build the word (encoding). They will follow this up by stating the sounds one more time and reading the word (decoding).

The Sentence Pages:

*Students will first read the sentence. Then, they will draw a picture to match that sentence. Next, students will pick a picture card. They will state what is pictured and then try to make a sentence using the word. Students will then draw a picture to go with their sentence.

Who are these phonics based activities for?

• Classroom teachers (Kindergarten and 1st Grade, primarily)
• Special education teachers with students working to improve decoding skills
• Reading specialists/interventionists/reading teachers
• Classroom aides/assistants
• Parent helpers
• ESL teachers
• Tutors
• For homework/extra practice

This pack of phonics based activities is intended for Kindergarten and 1st grade. But, it can also be used for a variety of grade levels, based on the current reading abilities of your students.

Students can practice improving their decoding and encoding skills in small groups or in a literacy center. If you have students who need to build their confidence as word decoders, these activities will help.

The goal of this pack is to assist your readers in improving their decoding skills and, in turn, their overall reading skills as well.

I hope you and your students love these phonics based activities!

Enjoy!