Letter Play with CVCC and CCVC Words 

It’s getting hot outside… time for some ice cream! (And even if it’s not hot outside, is it ever NOT the time for ice cream? I don’t think so!)

Here’s the scoop… this fun and engaging digital resource will appeal to your students’ taste buds and develop their phonemic awareness! Students will manipulate the phonemes in CVCC and CCVC words as they make word chains out of delectable scoops of ice cream.

Each of the 20 activity slides contains a base ice cream scoop with a starting CVCC or CCVC word. There are three additional ice cream scoops over to the side of the slide, each containing other CVCC and/or CCVC words. Students must drag the scoops, one at a time, to the base scoop by changing only one phoneme to create a word chain, resulting in a very impressive ice cream! 

Tips for Scaffolding and Extension

Need to cater to a diverse range of learning needs while applying this resource in your phonics lessons? Check out these ideas for supporting and challenging your students:

• Support students who may need additional scaffolding by limiting the number of choices, particularly for the first scoop in the chain. Eliminate one option, so there is only a choice of two words. Say each option clearly, segmented into phonemes, to help students identify the one phoneme that has changed from the previous word.
• Challenge more-capable students by asking them to continue each word chain by changing one phoneme at a time. See how many words they can add until they reach a point where they cannot add more!

Multiple Applications for This Word Chains Activity

The applications of this resource are as diverse as the learners in your class! This versatile phonics resource can be used in your classroom as a:

• Whole-class lesson (via smartboard)
• Targeted group activity
• Challenge activity

No Preparation… Just Download and Go!

Click the Download button to access the Google Slides document.

Be sure to work in Edit mode to enable the interactive features.

This resource was created by Lisamarie Del Valle, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.