How To: Marker/Sand Spell the Phoneme

• Lesson Objective: Review known phoneme to grapheme relationships.

• Grouping:  Small-group

• Methodology:  Students record all the possible spellings for dictated phonemes.

• Duration: 5-10 minutes (warm-up)

  
  

You're never too old to play with markers and sand.

Bonus points if they're the smelly kind. The markers, that is! Toss the sand if it develops an odor, yikes!

This quick small-group warm-up reinforces previously taught phoneme-to-grapheme relationships. As we know, a key component of mastery is repetition, repetition, REPETITION. We revisit letter-sound relationships at least four times per unit through activities like Word or Syllable Only?, and Identify the Grapheme.

🖍 How the Routine Works

While working in small groups, I dictate a phoneme, and students write down all the possible spellings with either markers or sand. The advantage of the markers is accountability as there's something to collect when finished. But, the sand is fun and therapeutic, so I've kept it in the rotation, even if I don't always have 100% participation.

I encourage students to whisper or say the phoneme aloud as they write, making it a multisensory experience. Students draw divider lines between each grapheme to keep things organized and visually clear.

It’s helpful to keep a Phoneme-Grapheme Chart* nearby and highlight the patterns reviewed during each lesson. That way, you can ensure all spelling patterns get some love over time.

If I need to move the group along more quickly, I’ll provide clues. For example, for /r/, I might say: “How do we spell /r/ in write?” I recommend setting a timer for up to 10 minutes and reviewing as many phonemes as possible within that time frame. Get the template below here! Although, honestly, you could recreate this in the time it will take you to login to TPT and download it. It is not fancy!

Sample Marker Spell the Phoneme.

Sand Spell the Phoneme

Check out the Interactive Unit Guides to see how this lesson fits within each unit.

*The Phoneme-Grapheme Chart I use is copyrighted by IMSE, so I can't share it here. But a quick Google search for “Phoneme-Grapheme Chart” should get ya what ya need.