Possible Ways to Use this CVC Puzzle:

1. As an Individual Activity – Student sits with a collection of 5 to 10 puzzles in front of them. On a given signal they each solve as many puzzles as possible in a given time. 
2. Phonemic Awareness / Letter Sound Relationship Practice – Reading CVC words is a big step in learning to read. These 3 letter word puzzles are a fun way to practice blending sounds into words.
3. As an Initial Sound Focus – Once the puzzles have been solved have the students move the pieces apart so the initial sound sits slightly away from the last two sounds. Direct the students to place a finger on the initial letter and say its sound. Have them move to the last two sounds and say them aloud. Next have the students move the initial sound closer to the final two letters and say the sound again. Continue this process until the word is complete. 
4. For learning letter name to letter sound and sound to letter name relationships. Discuss & demonstrate the difference between the sound a letter makes and its letter name.
5. Medial Sound Focus – Have the students split the puzzle into its beginning, medial and final sounds. Discuss each sound and then move the outer two sounds closer to the medial sound to form a word. Discuss the notion of blending ‘sounds’ together to form words.
6. Final Sound Focus – Have the students split the puzzles so the initial and medial sounds are to the left and the final sound is entirely separate… to the right. Point to the letters and say their sounds then move the final sound closer to the other two and say the sounds again. NB it can be fun to ham it up a little and over emphasize the final sound. Insert a long wait time before saying the final sound as a sort of an….. tic….ip…ation 😉 Another strategy I find the little ones like is to say the last sound as a sneeze, a cough, a yawn etc. Some sounds work better than other so have a little fun experimenting 🙂
7. Nonsense Words Activity – Once all the puzzles are solved have one student close their eyes and the other swaps around the initial consonants to create a variety of nonsense words. Then the student opens their eyes, reads all the nonsense words then sets about to return all the initial sounds to their correct position. Students then reverse roles. 
8. As a Way to Generate Random Groups of Three – When transitioning from an individual to a group activity I like to use these puzzles to generate random groups of three. Start by placing a puzzle piece face down on each student’s desk. Students then move to an open floor area with their piece and find the people with the other pieces of their puzzle. Once a group of three is formed the students sit in their group ready for the next activity. 

   Variation – Have the students do this activity silently 🙂

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