Tara Anderson

Phonological Awareness Strategy

Elkonin Boxes

Phonological Awareness Strategy: Elkonin Boxes

Purpose/Student Learning Goals:
To practice phonemes in words.
Materials Needed: Chalk, specified word list or text with specific words; made up rhyme.
Grade Level: Primary grades K-4; emerging readers
Instructional Time: 45 minutes
Texts: Can be used with any type of text, narrative, expository, video, audio, pictures; the texts
can be conflicting, complementary, or a single text broken into sections. Virtually any text can be
used to teach a Comprehensive Health and Physical Education topic/standard. To identify
sounds and learn sound patterns, text with songs or rhymes may be best.
Overview: This strategy helps students to identify phonemes when listening to a spoken word.
Guidelines:
1. Once strategy is introduced to students, have students place in strategy binder or create
a strategy binder for class with examples of Elkonin Boxes or Elkonin Boxes for Units.
2. Pronounce a target word slowly, stretching it out by sound.
3. Draw boxes or squares on cement/playground outdoors.
4. Students hop from each box and count the number or phonemes in the word. This is not
necessarily the number of letters. For example, sheep has three phonemes (sounds) but
5 letters: /sh/ /ee/ /p/ (3 phonemes[sounds] so three boxes.
5. Teach students how to draw on own paper for personal notes any time once familiar with
template when reading texts.

Ball: 3 phonemes
/b/ /aw/ /l/

ba l
w
Football: 6 phonemes
/f/ /oo/ /t/ /b/ /aw/ /l/

f oo t b aw l

Tara Anderson

Phonological Awareness Strategy

Elkonin Boxes

Modifications/Adaptations:
Elkonin Boxes can be drawn on cement or playground outdoors. As teacher pronounces
target words students sound out what they hear. Students will count phonemes and
students pronounce and sound out words, they hop from one square to another. Students
hop to next box when they hear a new sound (phoneme) in the word. Think of it as
phonological hop scotch!
***Teacher can use childrens rhyming books/literature to teach game as hop
scotch and phoneme practice. To correlate to first modification. Create a song,
rhyme to read to students and then students create hop scotch boxes (Elkonin
boxes linked together) to count syllables and move!
Teacher can read aloud a related health/fitness/exercise book and show students how to
decode aloud difficult terms with Elkonin Boxes. Some health terms can get long, so to
promote decoding and practice phonological awareness students can use Elkonin Boxes.

Elkonin Boxes can be made out of hoops/baskets/boxes and students will tape phonemes
of specified vocabulary word onto balls and have to run/shoot/kick ball into the appropriate
box. For example, sheep will have three baskets and the first phoneme /sh/ will be written
on ball and made into the first basket. The second phoneme will be in the second basket.
The third phoneme in the third basket.

Differentiation:
ELL Students: Use a modified, grade-level appropriate text for the EL learner; visuals
may be used to represent ideas; sentence/speaking frames.
Gifted and Talented Students: Students create rhyming words to practice strategy with
Physical, emotional, cognitive challenge: Work with a partner, visual/audio supports
Sources:
http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/elkonin_boxes