Phonics in the Classroom: Foundational First Grade Skills
If you’ve ever taught a room full of wiggly first graders, you know that sitting still and memorizing phonics rules just isn’t going to cut it. Learning to read is a BIG deal, and phonics activities for 1st grade need to be hands-on, engaging, and—most importantly—fun!
So, if you’re wondering how to teach phonics in a fun way, you’re in the right place. Below, you’ll find my favorite tried-and-true phonics activities for first graders that will keep your students excited about blending, segmenting, and decoding. The best part? These activities work for small groups, whole-class lessons, or independent centers.
Let’s dive in!
Phonics Activities Make a Readers
One of the absolute best things about teaching 1st grade reading is watching how much my students grow as readers in just one year! The phonics progression happens fast—starting with simple short vowel words and quickly moving into long vowel patterns and even multisyllabic words. It’s amazing to see, but it also means students need consistent, hands-on phonics practice to build confidence and fluency. That’s why I’m always looking for fun, engaging, and effective phonics activities to keep my students excited about learning. The more opportunities they have to practice phonics in a meaningful way, the stronger their reading skills become!
Phonics Centers, Phonics Games, Phonics Activities
I’m always looking for ways to sneak in phonics practice throughout the day because the more exposure students get, the better! This might mean phonics centers during our literacy block, phonics games for morning work, or quick classroom phonics activities to fill those in-between moments during transitions. No matter when or how, keeping phonics activities for 1st grade fun and consistent is key! Below are some of my favorite ways to make phonics practice engaging and effective in the classroom.
You can never have too many tools to practice phonics. I have a ton of phonics resources, lessons, games, and more in the Bear and Bug Teachers Pay Teachers store. Check out our TPT store today for a variety of print and use 1st grade resources to support your classroom.
10 Phonics Activities to Practice Phonics in a Fun Way
1. Sound Sorting Games
Sorting activities are an easy (and low-prep!) way to help students identify letter sounds and patterns.
✨ How It Works:
Give students picture or word cards.
Have them sort the cards based on beginning, middle, or ending sounds.
Use baskets, folders, or pocket charts to make it even more interactive!
💡 Why It’s Awesome: Sorting strengthens phonemic awareness by helping kids recognize common sound patterns. Bonus: It’s super simple to differentiate by focusing on specific phonemes or blends!
2. Phonics Scavenger Hunt
What’s more fun than a scavenger hunt? A phonics scavenger hunt! This activity turns reading practice into an adventure.
✨ How It Works:
Hide letter or word cards around the classroom.
Give students a checklist of words to find, read, and use in a sentence.
Try a rhyming version where students have to find pairs of rhyming words!
💡 Why It’s Awesome: This is a great way to incorporate movement while reinforcing word recognition and decoding skills. Plus, first graders LOVE a good treasure hunt!
3. Flip & Blend Cards
Blending sounds can be tricky for early readers. Enter: Flip & Blend Cards!
✨ How It Works:
Write common beginning sounds on one set of index cards and word endings (-at, -og, -in) on another.
Have students flip through different combinations to create and read new words.
💡 Why It’s Awesome: This simple phonics activity for teachers helps kids build confidence with decoding and blending. Plus, they get to giggle over nonsense words along the way!
4. Word Family Ice Cream Cones
Want a classroom phonics activity that’s cute, fun, and effective? Try this hands-on game that reinforces word families!
✨ How It Works:
Make paper ice cream cones labeled with word families (-at, -ig, -op).
Write different beginning letters on “scoops” and have students match them to the correct cone.
💡 Why It’s Awesome: This is a hands-on way to practice phonics activities in the classroom, and you can even let students create their own scoops with dry-erase markers!
5. Popcorn Word Jumps
If you have a group of high-energy first graders, this one’s for you!
✨ How It Works:
Write phonics words on pieces of paper and spread them across the floor.
Call out a word, and students have to hop to it and read it aloud.
Challenge them to use the word in a sentence before hopping to the next one!
💡 Why It’s Awesome: This game is great for kinesthetic learners, and it helps kids get their wiggles out while practicing phonics.
6. Build-a-Word with Magnetic Letters
Magnetic letters are one of the best tools for phonics practice—and they never go out of style!
✨ How It Works:
Provide students with a set of magnetic letters and a whiteboard or cookie sheet.
Call out words, or let them experiment by swapping beginning and ending sounds.
💡 Why It’s Awesome: This tactile approach helps students see how letters come together to form words. Bonus points if you let them “mix and match” to create silly nonsense words!
7. Phonics Bingo
Bingo is always a classroom favorite, and it works beautifully for phonics review!
✨ How It Works:
Create Bingo boards with phonics words, blends, or digraphs.
Call out words or sounds and have students mark their boards.
Play with partners, small groups, or the whole class!
💡 Why It’s Awesome: It’s an engaging phonics game that reinforces sound recognition, and it’s super easy to customize based on skill level.
8. Rhyme Time Matching
Rhyming is a critical part of early phonics instruction, and this game makes it a breeze!
✨ How It Works:
Create pairs of rhyming word cards (cat-hat, sun-fun).
Have students match them up and read them aloud.
For an extra challenge, have them generate their own rhyming words!
💡 Why It’s Awesome: It builds phonemic awareness and helps kids recognize common spelling patterns.
9. Interactive Phonics Apps and Websites
Technology can be a great way to supplement phonics practice! Here are some teacher-approved favorites:
📱 ABCmouse – Engaging phonics lessons and games. 📱 Starfall – Interactive phonics activities that kids love. 📱 Epic – Digital books with phonics-based reading options.
💡 Why It’s Awesome: These tools offer great phonics activities for teachers looking to mix up their instruction with technology.
10. DIY Phonics Puzzles
Make phonics practice interactive with DIY puzzles!
✨ How It Works:
Write simple CVC words on index cards and cut them apart (e.g., s-un, d-og).
Have students match the pieces and read the words aloud.
💡 Why It’s Awesome: It’s an easy, no-prep way to build decoding skills—and kids love the puzzle challenge!
Tips for Teaching First Grade
Teaching 1st grade is seriously the best job in the world! It’s my absolute favorite because there are so many foundational skills to teach, and the best part? You can make learning fun, hands-on, and engaging every single day. If you’re looking for more tips, tricks, and ideas for teaching first grade phonics, math, and classroom management, be sure to check out our other blog posts for even more inspiration!
Classroom Phonics Activities Game Changers
Classroom phonics activities have been a game changer in helping my students learn to read and build their fluency. I can offer so many different practice opportunities that are more fun than just skill and drill practice.
I hope that these phonics games and phonics activities are fun for your first grade readers too!
