CVC Spelling Tray Activity

For a fun activity with your early readers, try this super simple CVC spelling tray activity, one that works well with spelling CVC words, or three sound words!

This activity pairs wonderfully with our CVC Phonics Poems. 

What you need for the CVC spelling tray activity:

• A tray. This one with the three compartments at the top works well, but you could use a normal tray and tape- tape down 3 blocks at the top and one big block below.
• Letters (we used foam, but one can use magnetic/rubber or tiles too)
• Flashcards words on a ring (print and laminate the words your kids are working on and add to a keyring, this keeps the flashcards from ending up on the floor)

I added stickers to the compartments because some of my students struggle with starting the word at the right side.

We call it the traffic light method: start at green and stop at red. A very effective method!

How to use this CVC spelling tray:

• When using this spelling tray setup as an independent activity, students will flip through the flashcards and spell the words independently, thus without help.
• You could use this setup as a guided activity by focusing on each sound: asking the student which sound comes first, then which vowel and which sound comes last (segmenting). Then putting the sounds together to read the word (blending).
• You could work on phoneme manipulation too by asking the student to change, for example, the first sound and tell you what it spells now. You could also use this as an assessment tool: without showing the student the flashcards, let him/her spell the word by oral instruction only.

A simple CVC spelling tray activity, perfect for students that need extra spelling practice in a hands-on way!

More Reading Activities

Simple Tools for Making Words With Play Dough

Rainbow Sight Words