Short Vowel Word Families: Literacy Stations

Well hello! Remember me? I use to blog here and have been MIA for about 7 {shhhhh} months now. One of my many, many goals this summer to revive my blog with the pages of ideas that I have written down! So here is post number 1 of the summer, all about short vowel word families!

As a first grade teacher {possibly a k/1 teacher next year....EEKK} the beginning of the year is full of short vowel review, short vowel practice and loads of repetition. I love that fact that teaching word families, gives students a chance to have that repetition, but they are not just limited to memorizing the word like with high-frequency words.

So what are the benefits of teaching short vowel word families?

* PATTERNS: Our brains are pattern seeking. The sooner and earlier that we can teach children to look for the PATTERNS, the faster they will pick up a new skill.

* ONSET and RIME: English is a complex language to read. Once children learn that words can be broken down into CHUNKS or onset and rime, they will be able to decode those same chunks into other words. Onset and rime is usually easier for children to grasp versus segmentation of each sound.

* RHYME: Children LOVE to rhyme! Not only is it fun to think of words that sound the same at the end, it's fun to come up with some silly words, too!

* SPELLING: If children are able to grasp the word family they are learning, they will be able to bring that into their spelling a lot easier because they have recognized the pattern. You see that word again, pattern. Yep! Our brains are always seeking to find the patterns!

I have created my newest growing bundle for teaching short vowel word families. Now these activities aren't just CVC words. No, I've included blends and digraphs in here too! Why, because the more repetition children receive in an area of study, the more likely they will learn the content. Oh, and since the brain is pattern seeking, each set of 22 word families will have the same layout/set-up. This way you can spend less time on directions.... and we all like that!

What you can expect in my newest growing bundle of word family literacy stations:
* ANCHOR CHARTS
* MATCH-UP activity with recording sheet
* MAZES
* BOARD GAME (color and black/white)
* CIRCLE CLIP (color and black/white) just add clothespins
* COVER UP (color and black/white) just add die and counters

REALLY EXCITING NEWS ALERT: This week I am celebrating my second anniversary as a seller on TeachersPayTeachers! That's right; two whole years! To celebrate, my short vowel word family GROWing Bundle will be price slashed to just $25.00! OMG! Snap it up during my celebration on June 21st and June 22nd.
*As I add to the growing bundle, simply go to the 'My Purchases' tab and sort by 'Recently Revised'. Then find the GROWing bundle and re-download! If you have any downloading issues, please email me at tinapeyerk@gmail.com. 

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Enough talk! Let's see some pictures!

Match-Up game combines words and pictures on fun colored popsicles! Comes with a center direction sheet and recording sheet.

The maze games have a fun theme to match with the word family. 2 versions available along with center direction sheet.

Board games are fun and when printed on 8.5x11 inch paper, they are easy to store too! Comes with center direction sheet.

{shhhh} This is my favorite center! Add clothespins and you have a fun center to clip and a recording sheet to fill out. Center direction sheet included.

The Cover-Up game is a fun one too! Center direction sheet and color & black/white versions included, too!

Storage: I like to store my centers in gallon size bags. Put the anchor chart on the outside of the bag and you don't even have to label the bag!

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