CVC Activities for Word Building are the foundation of all spelling. Students need to practice word building over and over and over! Providing a variety of CVC word building activities will help students make solid letter/sound associations, understand letter order and build bigger words with with confidence.
Spell the Word
At the earliest, students are asked to find the letters in a word from a small pool of letters. These CVC activities have a greater level of support. Students color in the letters in the word with a guaranteed letter order.
While the second Spell the Word activity has support, it does not guarantee letter order, but does keep the pool of letters small.
These CVC activities are sure to be a hit.
CVC Activities Journals
The next level of word building is labeling the picture with a CVC word. The CVC Journal pages can be assembled to create a booklet with one sheet for each letter.
Most consonants are at the beginning of the word, but the example on the picture is for the letter “x,” so it is appropriate that it is at the end of the word. The vowel pages are also different because the vowels are highlight in the middle of the word, like the picture for “wet.”
Students create the word based on the picture. They illustrate the “rest” of the picture with a pencil. Then, the students write about the picture. Finally, the students can color the picture.
Hint: if we let them draw with a pencil, then write, then color…they can’t spend all of their time on the illustration and “run out of time” before they write.
CVC Word Builders
This CVC activities center is quick and easy. Students take a bag of 10 CVC cards and a recording sheet. They will write the CVC word that corresponds with picture on the recording sheet. Finally, they will choose one picture to write a sentence or more.
This center set can be used for the entire month. The set contains 5 sheets of 10 cards. The sheets can all be copied on different colors and each week the students choose different color cards, designate the color of the cards on the recording form and write the 10 words of the week.
This is called a process/product center. Students learn the process and each week, they create a new product. Likewise, There are sets for each month (nests for April, spring garden for May, and so on.)
There are so many options for CVC building in my store. It is a critical step in independent word building.
Making sure to create CVC activities for students is outlined in the following posts:
CVC – The Bridge Between Reading and Writing
CVC Lessons and Activities – Important Practice for Early Learners
My Alphabet Journals: Combining Word Work with Writing for Early Success
Using Magnet Letters: 6 Ideas for Building Foundation Success
Moving Forward with CVC
Once students are confident with building CVC words, we have to make sure that’s not the end of their spelling goals. Check out the next blog post, CVC is Just the Beginning, It’s Can’t Be the Ending. There is power in CVC words, but also in CVC parts in words.
