Here's a Treat for you, Dear Teacher!

Can't deliver candy to you on this Halloween, but I give you the next best thing...a Halloween activity page. AND, one that will help make your readers smarter.

Now, that's Sweet! 

Enjoy this 1-page Sort It worksheet (below). Sort It is our #1 streamlined tool for helping all beginning and struggling readers memorize phonics info faster than any other approach we've ever seen before.

[To learn more about Sort It, snag more freebies, and watch a video example, head here.] 

For this version of Sort It, I suggest the following routine:

  1. Introduce or review the Key Sentence for the /ee/ sound, "He sees many of these each year." Teach (or remind) students that the most frequent /ee/ sound spellings are in that sentence which is represented by the columns on the worksheet.
  2. Have students read aloud the poem, either in small groups or whole class.
  3. Next, ask them to circle or underline all the /ee/ sound spellings. ("Don't be tricked by words that have the "e" spelling but a different sound!")
  4. Finally, invite students to record each /ee/ sound word in its relevant column (i.e., "candy" in the "y" column). It's important that students Say Each Sound, as they Write Each Sound. For instance, for the word "sweet," they should Say, As They Write,     /s/  /w/ /ee/ /t/.

Use the Key Sentence, "He sees many of these each year," all week (and beyond...) as an Anchor Chart to hook other /ee/ sound words to.

May your Halloween be not TOO crazy this year.

And may this little sheet inspire you to find more ways to streamline your decoding instruction.

It may seem simple but this little Sort It page packs an instructional punch...

  • Grouping all main spellings by sound is an organized presentation that makes sense to students (as opposed to randomly dripping out 1 letter-sound per day).
  • Sorting by spellings forces students to notice the inside parts of words, spurring greater phonics knowledge.
  • Learning the mnemonic Key Sentence, "He sees may of these each year," hooks several letter-sounds AND high frequency /ee/ sound words in the child's brain more easily.
  • Saying the Sounds as we Write Them is a proven multi-sensory technique that also boosts memory. Let's get these spellings to stick!
  • Searching for the sounds after reading the poem is another round of 1) listening to the sounds in words (a phonemic awareness booster) and 2) noticing the specifics of each spelling ("ea" vs. "ee," which does not come instantly to all beginning or struggling readers)

Again, for more Sort It complementary resources and video examples, head here!

Click the image below to snag your Halloween Freebie, My Pretty!


What do you think of this Sort It activity? Please share your thoughts and questions below! I love to hear back from you. 🙂