Students will develop phonemic awareness using these gingerbread missing sounds task cards to practice adding phonemes to complete CVC words. Add them to your plans this holiday season!
Finding the Missing Sound in CVC Words
These free printable missing sound task cards are a simple way to practice adding phonemes to create CVC words in kindergarten. They are simple to prep and will give the kids lots of hands-on practice with phonemic awareness this winter.
If your students know the letter sounds well, moving on to phonics instruction with CVC words is a great idea. CVC words are easy to sound out and help build confidence in beginning readers!
CVC words are short three, three-letter words that follow a consonant-vowel word pattern. They all feature a short vowel sound, making them perfect for students just beginning to segment phonemes and encode words.
Students will begin by identifying the picture on the gingerbread card. Then, they will use letter manipulatives or a dry-erase marker to practice adding phonemes to build the word pictured.
Easy Prep Phonemic Awareness Activity
This activity is perfect for literacy centers, small groups, or whole-group instruction in the classroom.
For centers, laminate the cards and place them in plastic bags, zippered pouches, or photo boxes. You can find the photo boxes at your local craft store or superstore.
There are 20 cards included, each with a different image of a CVC word. Students will identify the image and then figure out the missing letter. Some cards are missing the first letter, some the middle, and others the last!
This is a great activity for students progressing in their literacy journey with short vowel words.
Setting Up the Missing Sounds Task Cards
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Supplies needed:
- Gingerbread Missing Sounds Task Cards (button at the bottom of the post to get them)
- Alphabet letter tiles, letter beads, magnetic letters, or another letter manipulative
- Write and wipe pockets or lamination (optional)
Instructions:
- Print the CVC word-building task cards.
- Then, laminate and cut apart or slide into write and wipe pockets.
- Gather letter tiles or letter manipulatives of your choice.
- Store the activity in a large baggie, file folder, photo bin, or storage tray.
Adding Phonemes to Complete CVC Words
Students will apply their knowledge of letters and sounds to segment the CVC word pictured into individual phonemes and then fill in the missing sound to complete the word.
To start, students will look at the picture and say the name of the word pictured. Then, they will segment each sound in the word and place the letter corresponding to the sound in the empty box.
Finally, they will blend the sounds to read the word they built and check if it matches the pictured word. Do this a few times as a class or in small groups so students get the hang of it before working independently.
Differentiating the Gingerbread Sound Cards
This missing sounds CVC activity is highly versatile and can be used in various ways. Additionally, you can adapt it to fit your schedule and lesson plans and the needs of the different learning styles in the classroom.
If your students need more scaffolding with phoneme segmentation, you can assign fewer cards to complete until they are more confident in their skills. Model using them during teacher time before sending them off to work independently. Students rocking their reading skills can complete more cards.
Students can also write the words they build on a recording sheet to have something to turn while they practice segmenting and blending sounds.
This phonics activity would be perfect for small group instruction or literacy centers, making lesson planning and prepping easy!
Fun Gingerbread Books
Here are some fun gingerbread read alouds to add to your lessons before using this activity!
- “The Gingerbread Pirates” by Kristin Kladstrup: This fun and adventurous story features a gingerbread pirate who sets off on a mission to save his gingerbread friends from Santa. It’s a delightful mix of holiday fun and imagination, perfect for creative letter activities and vocabulary building.
- “The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School” by Laura Murray: This story follows a gingerbread man who gets loose and explores the school in search of the students who made him. It’s a great way to introduce positional words and reinforce letter recognition in a fun, school-themed adventure.
- “Gingerbread Friends” by Jan Brett: In this sequel to “Gingerbread Baby,” the character feels lonely and sets off to find some friends. The story is full of action and beautifully detailed illustrations that can be paired with alphabet lessons and gingerbread-themed crafts.
I hope you and your students enjoy this fun gingerbread missing sounds literacy activity! It’s so much fun to work on phonics skills while preparing for the holidays.
Click the button below to get the Gingerbread Missing Sounds Task Cards!
Check out these other gingerbread activities this holiday season!
Gingerbread Alphabet Letter Recognition Task Cards
Christmas Color by Number Printable Worksheets
Gingerbread Making Ten Math Activity
Gingerbread CVC Word Building Cards
Gingerbread Phoneme Segmentation Mats for Phonemic Awareness
Gingerbread Alphabet Beginning Sounds Task Cards
