CVC Words

Matchbox Words
When your kids only have a minute they can grab one matchbox,
pull out the word strips and practice reading these 3 letter word
families.

To differentiate: have children working at the level they’re ready for

•  Letters only: for children who have confidence that they can put
the sounds together
•  Beginning sound picture: to encourage children to say the first
sound (onset) demonstrated by the picture and then add the
ending sound (rime) to read the complete word
•  Picture prompt: to give confidence to children who are unsure,
so they can share in the benefits of participating without feeling
embarrassed by not being able to read the word

For effectiveness:
•  Have children hold their fingers under each letter as they read or
sound out the letters

To prepare:
•  Find some matchboxes. I bought mine at a large stationery store.
•  Print the sheets that follow, cutting the rectangles and folding on
the dotted lines so each word family will fit into a matchbox.
•  Glue each of the ending sound labels onto a different
matchbox. I have provided either colour or blackline.
•  There are 5 word families: -at, -en, -ig, -op and –un.
•  You can keep all 3 strips of a word family in a box or just put in
the strip that is most appropriate for your little ones.
•  If you store them by stacking, you might like to write the ending
sound on a side of the matchbox so that it can be read while
stacked, particularly if you’ve made quite a few so all the
children in a class can each learn from a box at the same time.

I wish you happy teaching and learning,

Liz
c at r at s at p at b at

B en h en m en p en t en

b ig d ig f ig p ig w ig

c op h op m op p op t op

b un f un n un r un s un

at en ig
op un
cat r at sat pat bat

B en hen men pen t en

big dig f ig pig wig

cop hop mop pop top

bun f un nun r un s un
at at at at at

en en en en en

ig ig ig ig ig

op op op op op

un un un un un

at en ig
op un
 The graphics in this pack were created by Educlips.
The non-standard fonts are from Kimberly Geswein.

I hope your children really enjoy these

Matchbox Words activities!
If you have any questions, comments or
concerns please contact me at
lizsearlylearningspot@gmail.com
For single classroom or personal use only.
Please do not give away to others but
direct them to my website to download.
www.lizs-early-learning-spot.com

Elizabeth Hah © 2014

Use the links below if you’re interested in checking
out more of my teaching/learning materials.

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