Phonics Flashcards Tips

Phonics flashcards are an important part of phonics lessons.

Write the phonics sounds your student is reviewing on a flashcard. For example, a kindergartner might work on letter sounds “b, d, c, t, h” and short vowels “a_, i_, o_, u_, e_” Write each one on a flashcard. After you have flashcards ready for your student, have him say the sounds.

Here are some phonics flashcards tips to get the most out of this activity:

• Introduce 2-4 new letter sounds at a time.
• After your child knows letter sounds, introduce one phonics sound at a time.
• Introduce sounds that are alike but spelled differently together. For example, introduce ee/ea and ai/_ay together.
• Your student should say over 70% of the phonics sounds (on the flashcards) correctly.
• Make sure the phonics flashcards are appropriate for the student. For example, kindergartners need to know short vowels, consonant blends, consonant digraphs and silent e.
• For a thorough list of phonics sounds, see List of Phonics Sounds.
• Don’t mouth the sound to help your student. Let your student make an error so she can learn from her mistake. Afterwards, correct her mistake immediately.
• Introduce the silent e flashcards together, but write them each on a separate card: a_e, e_e, i_e, o_e, u_e.
• Review the phonics flashcards daily.

Phonics flashcards are a simple activity and they’re a key piece of instruction. Be sure to incorporate them in every lesson.

Reading Elephant offers step-by-step printable phonics books in our shop.