Spelfabet

New, improved phonics playing cards

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Our new download-and-print phonics playing cards include 8 free sample decks, the first one of each of 8 sets (90 decks). These first target basic VC and CVC words, then consonant blending, consonant digraphs like ‘sh’ and ‘ng’, several sets targeting vowel spellings, then less common consonant spellings. We now have other games targeting prefixes/suffixes, syllabification and flexing sounds.

Each card deck prints on four sheets of light A4 cardboard, and can be used for any game that uses a standard deck of playing cards (e.g. the games here). We use Sounds-Write and Phonics With Feeling printable decodables as well as Phonic Books, so our card sequence dovetails well with them, but can be reorganised if teaching a different sequence.

Learners focus more on sounds and spellings when words are presented in lists, not sentences. Turning lists into games boosts attention and engagement, two of Stanislas Dehaene’s four pillars of learning.

Our revised cards have:

• Larger print words, facing in only one direction (having words facing both ways confused some kids).

• More common words – word choice based on frequency as well as sound-spelling relationships.

• More polysyllable words, including plenty of Tier 2 words.

Deck 1 targets	Example words
CVC abcghimnopst	can, him, top, bag, sip
CVC alphabet less x and y	fed, van, kid, leg, run, jam, win, zip
CVC alphabet, x, y, ff, ll, ss, zz	box, yes, off, well, fuss, buzz
VCC & CVCC with final mp, nd, nt	and, limp, hint
VCC & CVCC with other CCs	act, elf, film, gust, kept, hold, pulp
CVCC	cross, drill, glad, plus, slam, trip
CCVCC	brand, crisp, frost, print, spent
Words with CCC	gifts, midst, script, strum, tempt

Deck 2 targets	Example words
ch/chin	chip, bunch
sh/ship	shot, dish
th/that, th/thin	them, thin, width, athletic, seventh
ck/back	sack, neck, stick, lock, duck
ng/long, n/think	sing, sink
qu/quick, wh/when, ve/have	quit, which, live
suffixes -ed, -ing	stopped, grabbed, rented, thinking
Word-final ch/bunch and tch/catch	lunch, catch
compound words	backup, chinstrap, handbag
final syllable le	angle, drizzle, middle, settle, uncle
j and dge	judge, edge, adjust, gadget, object
suffixes -ed, -y	cutter, helper, fuzzy, muddy

Deck 3 targets	Example words
a + consonant-e (VCe)	tap, tape
ee, e + consonant-e (VCe)	meet, me, mete
i + consonant-e (VCe)	fin, fine
o + consonant-e (VCe)	hop, hope
u + consonant-e (VCe)	us, use, rude
a + consonant-e (VCe) – 2-syllable	combat, collate
ee, e + consonant-e (VCe) – 2-syllable	comet, compete, coffee
i + consonant-e (VCe) – 2-syllable	resin, reside
o + consonant-e (VCe) – 2-syllable	along, alone
u + consonant-e (VCe) – 2-syllable	result, refuse
c before e or i	cent, dance
g before e or i (sometimes)	gem, singe

Deck 4 targets	Example words
a/apron	basic, halo, native, stable
e/evil	decent, equal, legal, vegan
i/item	child, giant, pirate, vibrate
o/open	bonus, disco, global, zero
u/unit, u/tofu	emu, fluid, music, rural
y/very	carry, family, jelly, study
er/alert	convert, herb, kernel, servant
i/ski	alien, genius, media, studio
o/mother	among, cover, love, wonder
y/by	cry, lying, sky, typing

Deck 5 targets	Example words
ai/rain, ay/day	delay, holiday, maintain, train
ee/see, ea/sea	each, queen, speech, wheat
oa/boat, ow/slow	coach, growth, shadow, toast
ir/bird, ur/turn	burger, furnish, sturdy, thirty
ea/meant, e/metal	dread, health, itself, plenty
ou/out, ow/now	about, flower, mouth, towel
oo/too, ue/blue	choose, glue, proof, untrue
i/find, igh/night	climate, lion, sight, twilight
oo/good, u/put, oul/could	could, wouldn’t, push, look, wood
or/horn, aw/saw	awful, forty, morning, straw
oi/oil, oy/boy	appoint, destroy, poison, royal
ar/car, a/last	basket, father, garden, party
air/hair, are/care	beware, dairy, fair, square
ear/hear, eer/cheer	clearly, fear, sheer, volunteer

Deck 6 targets	Example words
sh/shop, ch/chip, tch/catch, th/with, th/then	brush, children, fetch, than, fifth
ng/sing, n/think, ck/back, qu/quit	strong, pink, pocket, squint
wh/when, le/apple, dge/bridge, ve/have	which, saddle, ledge, solve
initial code words with 3-4 syllables	confident, ethical, independent significant
er/ever, y/very	every, industry, river, together
a/make, a/making, ai/rain, ay/day	came, danger, paint, Sunday
ee/see, ea/sea, e/be, y/funny, ey/donkey	deep, jeans, recess, suddenly, valley
o/home, o/go, oa/boat, ow/slow	clothes, going, load, shown
er/her, ir/bird, ur/turn	expert, girl, return
i/time, i/find, y/by, igh/night	fine, lion, reply, tight
oo/soon, u/flute, u/truth, ew/grew	balloon, June, ruin, threw
or/for, aw/saw, ore/more, a/all	corner, hawk, score, stall

Deck 7 targets	Example words
a/make, a/making, ai/rain, ay/day, ey/they, ea/great	brake, crazy, paint, maybe, they, break
ee/see, ea/sea, e/be, e/these, y/very, ie/chief, ei/ceiling	asleep, easy, believe, please, receive, supreme
o/home, o/go, oa/boat, ow/slow, oe/toe	broke, frozen, goat, narrow, heroes
er/her, ir/bird, ur/turn, ear/learn, or/work	concern, dirt, return, research, worship
ou/out, ow/now, oi/oil, oy/boy	around, power, employ, toilet
oo/soon, u/flute, u/truth, ew/grew, ue/blue, ou/soup	choose, include, ruin, jewel, true, youth
i/time, i/find, y/by, igh/night, ie/pie	decide, final, myself, slight, tried
or/for, aw/saw, ore/more, a/all, al/talk, ough/thought, au/haunt, ar/warm, awe/awesome	also, author, awkward, explore, hall, walk, bought, pause, warn, awe, important
air/hair, are/care, ear/bear, ere/there, eir/their	airfare, compare, fairy, pear, where, heir
ar/car, a/last, al/half, au/aunt, ear/heart	farther, father, garden, fast, palm, laugh, hearth

Deck 8 targets	Example words
u/cute, u/stupid, ue/due, ew/dew	attitude, duty, pursue, skewer
u/cup, o/front, ou/cousin, oo/blood	hundred, money, southern, flood
o/cotton, a/wander, au/fault	dollar, quality, wander, sausage
s/sent, c/cent, scent, ss/less, se/house, ce/voice, st/castle	sentence, circus, muscle, process, porpoise, piece, whistle
j/jump, g/gem, ge/large, dge/bridge, dj/adjust, gi/region	adjust, change, enjoy, general, hedge, religion
f/fifty, ff/office, ph/phone, gh/cough	belief, effort, graph, enough
c/cat, k/kit, ck/back, x/box, q/quit, ch/school, que/mosque, qu/conquer, cc/soccer	anchor, boutique, chaos, click, kick, next, liquor, broccoli
n/not, nn/bunny, kn/knit, gn/sign	banana, dinner, knives, resign
m/mum, mm/hammer, mb/thumb, mn/autumn, gm/paradigm	member, mammal, numb, column, phlegm
r/run, r/hurry, wr/wrist, rh/rhubarb, rrh/diarrhoea	different, horrible, wriggle, rhyme, haemorrhage
i/city, y/symbol, e/pretty	liquid, myth, English
y/yes, i/union, j/hallelujah, ll/tortilla, gn/lasagne, ñ/mañana	canyon, junior, Reykjavik, bouillon, gnocchi, El Niño

It takes me a couple of minutes to print and laminate a deck of these cards, then eight minutes to cut a deck up while having a cuppa, listening to a podcast or watching telly. I now have a full set in these neat craft storage boxes, for use in word sorts and spelling quizzes as well as games.

We have colour printers, so I often print a deck of phonics playing cards on 4 sheets of light cardboard for a client’s family to cut up and use at home.

If you’re coming to the Perth Language, Literacy and Learning conference next week, please come and try out these and our other games at our exhibition stand.

Thanks once again to now-Dr Caitlin Stephenson (applause!) who had the original idea for these games.