What are

Sound Boxes?
And how can I use them with my Guided Reading Groups?

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I originally found Sound Boxes while reading

The Next Step in Guided Reading by Jan Richardson.

Sound Boxes break words up into sounds, not letters. 

When you write letters in Sound Boxes, you listen carefully to every sound, decide which letter(s) make that sound and write them in.  It's a great strategy for teaching phonics! 



In the word "shirt," the word is broken up into 3 sounds.

Two letters make "sh" and "ir," so we write them both in one box, while the ending "t" just needs one sound box.
Imagine all of the thinking that goes on while your students are filling in these sound boxes!

Here’s another great example. 

The word “whale” also has 5 letters, but only 3 sounds.  When using the Sound Boxes strategy, kids will know that there are 3 sound in the word.  They must think about how to write those sounds.

 ***********************************************************************

 

I have been using this strategy with Sound Boxes for a couple of years now and have noticed a pretty substantial improvement in my students’ spelling. Good spellers usually are good readers so the payoff is great for the entire Language Arts block.

When I see my students counting out the sounds of words that they are not sure how to spell and then writing the sound that they hear, I can't help but smile and be proud of them.  I have taught them to “finger spell” the words that they aren’t sure about. 

 

During Guided Reading, I use picture cards with Sound Boxes underneath.  (like the "shirt," “whale”  and the "park" cards.  After I go over all of the pictures and sounds with my students using a mini dry erase board, I pass out one laminated card to each student in the group with a dry erase marker/magic eraser.  I can watch them to see if they are filling in the boxes correctly and correct them if needed. I usually just say, "Check that one again."  They continues passing around the cards and writing the sounds until time is up.  It's a great way to start the word study portion of the group.   After all of the cards for the particular skill have been introduced, I put them in a station for continued practice. Finally, I bring out the practice pages when I know they can successfully complete them.  There are a lot of ways to use the practice pages.  I can use them in my group to check for understanding.  They can also be used for seatwork, homework, station work, assessments, etc.

 

Sound Boxes are also a FANTASTIC vocabulary builder for ESL and Non ESL students alike.

 

 

The best part about using Sound Boxes in guided reading is the raised awareness about words.  Students can use this strategy for reading, phonics/spelling and definitely for writing.

Check out some products that I use to practice Sound Boxes in my classroom!

 

 

   

  

   

Here's a great Freebie to get you started just for stopping by to read this blog post.  :)  This freebie isn't available on TpT, so leave a little feedback here if you like it.  In this free preview, you will get a 15 page product with magic e (_a_e) word cards and practice pages.  If you love it, you can purchase the entire product here.                 

 

Thank you for stopping by! 

Carrie

 

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The word study portion of a guided reading lesson should be quick and easy.  Just a quick jumpstart to your lesson.

This can feel very rushed...... sometimes only hitting the surface of what my students need the most!

AND.....Sometimes, I want to spend more time on word study.  Sometimes.... I want to spend the entire time on phonics because I know my students really need it.

To determine who needs this type of phonics session, I can use a quick assessment (see below)  or just use my anecdotal records.

When I do this, I call it a Phonics STRATEGY GROUP.

This is when I pull a group of students that need help in one specific area of phonics such as the CVCE rule.

I could certainly do sound boxes or flash/picture cards with dry erase boards and lots of other activities, but I really want my young learners to be reading sentences and using comprehension skills while practicing phonics.

How do I do this?  I use Phonics EMERGENT READERS.

I can get my students reading, answering questions and learning new vocabulary while doing  fun and engaging phonics lessons!  Repeated familiar text gives students the confidence they need to want to keep reading.  Pictures for the target sound makes the work easier to remember for a better chance for success later.  What a great combination to make word study time a huge success!

Before you begin, you'll want to know who needs your Phonics Strategy Group. See below a Pre-Test with real and nonsense words to assesses the needs of your students in the

CVCE Phonics Rule also known as Magic "e".

Student reads from this page.

 

Teacher Records onto this page.

Save this page for your records.

Use the Pre-Test to determine this.... or just use your great teacher judgment.  We know our kids best.  Students will read from the student page while you are marking on the recording sheet. To save copies, place the student page in a plastic sleeve and use over and over. These pre-test and post-test make great records for RTI and Parent Conferences.  You can use the post test to show growth or lack of growth.

 Once you have determined who needs the

STRATEGY GROUP, use the Phonics Emergent Readers

to practice learning the target sound.  Check out this

Magic "e" Emergent Reader for Long I!

 Using the Emergent Phonics Readers, you will be able to build a solid phonics foundation while giving your students confidence and enthusiasm for reading.

Here's how they work:

After students have read the page, they must

answer a simple yes or no question about the pictures.  They should also be able to justify their answer by telling why.

The picture support really helps if students are having trouble with the targeted phonics rule.  The more practice they get, the less they will need the picture support.

 If you copy the readers in black and white, students
can write right on the page.  They love this!

If you copy the readers in color, you can laminate them before using them and students can write right on the page, too.

 Sometimes the questions are tricky ..... just to make sure students are paying careful attention to the pictures.

This is a great way to start conversations about why the answer is "no."  Students need to know their prepositions to answer correctly.  (Great for ELLs)

At the end of each EMERGENT READER is an activity page.

Students can go back in the book to find how to spell each word if necessary.

Once the Emergent Reader has been practiced for a minimum of 3 to 4 times, you will want to give each student the Post-Test to see if they have made progress and hopefully mastered the Targeted Skill.

Because the rule is the same for all of the vowels in the CVCE family, you should begin to see growth by the end of this Phonics Emergent Reader Series.

These Phonics Emergent Readers are so easy to put together.

Just copy the pages you need using two sided copies.

Simply cut the pages in half and staple on the side.

Bam! You have 2 Books ready to use!

When I pull strategy groups using these

Phonics Emergent Readers,

my students have so much fun learning.

They are always on task and highly engaged.

I run this strategy group just like a guided reading group.

I have each student read their Emergent Reader to themselves and I listen to each child read.  If they have been successful, I allow them to complete the activity page and then color the pages using markers.  (Mr. Sketch or other smelly markers give a great incentive and make learning fun!)  The book then goes into their folder to take

home to read to an adult.

They feel confident and successful.

I usually do a strategy group once a week while having regular guided reading groups the other 3 or 4 days.

Click to Check out these other EMERGENT READERS.

 

 Each Emergent Reader has 8 pages including the activity pages.  It takes approximately 20 minutes to complete the book and activity page.  Students should read the book at least 3 times to have sufficient practice to master the skill covered in the readers.

Free! A fun companion product to 

Magic "e" Emergent Readers!

         

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Thank you for stopping by!

Carrie