The Best No-Prep Phonics Activities

In this post, I share my information about what to look for in a phonics resource and share my No PREP Printable and Digital Yearlong Phonics Activities Bundle.  It is a Science of Reading aligned resource that gives kindergarten, first and second-grade students the phonics practice they need to master the phonics and spelling skills you teach. Finally, I share a FREE sample of the bundle that includes a variety of phonics skills activities!


Note: I’ve included an Amazon affiliate link in this post. I earn a small commission when you purchase through my link at no additional cost to you.

The Science of Reading tells us that in order for a student to become a successful reader, writer and speller they must have a firm knowledge of phonics.  It is essential that we provide our students with effective phonics instruction and meaningful practice. So how do we best do this?  

There is not one single way to teach phonics, but as Wiley Blevins explains in his book, A Fresh Look at Phonics, phonics instruction must be systematic and explicit.  When instruction is explicit the objective of the lesson is clear and the teaching is intentional.  There are opportunities for guided practice with decreasing levels of support.

Systematic instruction is teaching that has a carefully planned sequence.  It builds from easier to more difficult tasks and breaks down harder skills into smaller parts.  Each lesson and activity builds upon itself.

Finally, in order to master the skills we teach, students need a lot of opportunities to practice. In fact, Blevins believes a new skill should be systematically and purposefully reviewed for four to six weeks after being introduced.  Unfortunately, most students simply do not get adequate review and repetition. 

What to Look for in a Phonics Resource

We are fortunate to teach at a time when we have access to a lot of different resources. But with so many choices it can be difficult to know which ones are truly best for your students. When looking for the best phonics resources, there are specific qualities to look for.

💗 First, you want phonics activities that are explicit. This means they offer direct, clear instruction and follow the “I do, we do, you do” model.

💗 Next, you want a resource that is based on a scope and sequence. This lets you know the activities were systematically designed and students will not be asked to do something they have not already been taught.

💗 Of course, you want to meet the needs of ALL of your students, so look for resources that are already differentiated. Look for resources that give you different options for how students will practice a skill.

💗 For your sake, you’ll want a resource that requires little or no prep. Phonics resources cover a lot of skills, which in turn means there are A LOT of activities. You don’t want to be spending time prepping and creating something new for each skill you teach!

💗 Finally, look for phonics resources that have consistent activities. This means once you explicitly teach your students how to complete the first activity, they’ll know exactly what to do for all of the other ones. Less time is spent teaching procedures and expectations for each task. Additionally, consistent activities allow students to focus all of their mental energy on the task at hand. They don’t have to waste any of it wondering if they are following the instructions and completing the task properly. They can just jump right in and independently work on the task!

As a teacher, I know this is a lot to consider. I also recognize that while phonics instruction may be an integral part of your day, it isn’t the only thing you have to plan.  I know you want to do it all and you want to do it well, so let me help you!  

Today I am excited to share with you details about my Yearlong Phonics Activities Bundle.  It is a year-long, NO PREP, science-based resource. It will give your kindergarten, first and second-grade students the practice they need to master the phonics skills you teach.  

Printable and Digital Phonics Activities Yearlong Bundle

This Science of Reading-aligned, printable and digital phonics and spelling activities bundle gives students year-long the practice they need to master the phonics skills you teach. After you have explicitly taught the phonics skill, these activities can be used as review in a center, independent work, or sent home for extra practice.

No more creating and re-creating practice activities every month! This bundle comes with enough activities to last you the entire year! Every unit focuses on a different phonetic word pattern. Within each unit, you’ll find a variety of systematically designed activities that give students the practice they need for mastery.

I know the students in your classroom are at different levels and have different needs. To help you easily differentiate, I designed the tasks on varying levels.

For example, some of the word sort activities provide students with a list of the words to choose from, while others require them to identify the missing target phoneme.

Another example to vary levels of work, have students write their own sentence with a missing skill word or trace the sentence and write the missing skill words.

Finally, the activities in each unit are consistent. This means once you explicitly teach your students how to complete the tasks in the first unit, they’ll know exactly what to do for the rest of the year. You won’t waste time teaching procedures and expectations for every unit.  Students will be able to jump right in and successfully complete the tasks on their own without wasting any mental energy on trying to remember what they are supposed to be doing!

Are you reading to give these phonics activities a try? I’m thrilled to share this incredible FREE sample of the phonics activities included in this bundle.

This FREE download includes both printable and digital phonics skills activities from each of the units in the bundle. Grab it here!

We know that building strong phonics skills in the primary years is key to helping ensure students become strong independent readers.  I hope the information and resources I’ve shared today will make it simple for you to bring clear, systematic phonics instruction and practice to your students all year long!

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