Picture Puzzles
Why We Love It
We say it all the time here at Literacy Edventures: decoding and encoding are so important for future reading success. The sooner we can get to these skills after we’ve done phonological awareness, the better. There’s plenty of ways to practice these skills: word chaining, using Elkonin boxes, etc.
A really fun way to practice these skills is to use picture puzzles! In this activity, students will form pictures of images that they are sounding out. One particularly great aspect of this is that students who are early in their understanding of encoding can arrange the pieces of the puzzle together based on the image, then sound it out and decode it with confidence. These puzzles are great at building that confidence in young or struggling readers.
After the puzzle is complete, students will decode the word and read it after they’ve put it together. Some students won’t need the picture queues, but for those that do, this makes for a great activity they can still do independently.
How to Use
Consider laminating these pieces so they can be used over and over again. Then, cut out each puzzle square and then cut on the solid lines to separate the pieces. Gather them by phonics skill and place them in a basket to begin!
Students will grab a group of puzzles based on the phonics skill they’re working on.
Students take the puzzle pieces and lay them out on the table.
One by one, students will arrange the puzzle pieces to make the picture whole (or even better, grab each piece by looking at the letter and saying its sound).
Students will then decode the word when the puzzle is completed.
Play continues until all puzzles are put together.
Snag the freebie below!
