Fireworks Make an Active Way to Practice Beginning Word Sounds

Excessive numbers of fireworks, yeah we have them! Every year we buy fireworks after the fourth (they are cheaper then, and we watch professional displays on Independence Day), and it seems we always have extras that get stored and found again the next year.  

This year we found bunches of those little snappers that you throw on the ground, plus we bought more! 

So I came up with a fun little reading game for the girls to play. They got to practice hearing the beginning sounds of words while playing with snappers.

Supplies for a Popping Good Phonics Activity

• Sidewalk Chalk
• Snappers/ Poppers/ Whatever you call these fireworks 

Set up this Hands-on Reading Activity

This is simple.

Take your sidewalk chalk and draw the letters or combination of letters your kids need to work on.

I specifically chose c, ch, s, and sh since the girls needed more practice hearing the difference in sound especially with ch and sh.

Come up with a list of words that start with those sounds.

Hand out the pop snappers (yeah, I still don't know the correct name for these things.)

Now, the kids are going to want to just start throwing them to hear those pops, so be sure to tell them ahead of time to wait for instructions!

Now using your list, or just your brain if you are a quick thinker, call out a word starting with one of your selected letters.

When the kids know the letter or diphthong that is making the sound, they throw a snapper on it.

Simple. I told you it would be.

This was really good practice distinguishing the four sounds particularly the ch and sh sounds.

Besides they always love anything that uses fireworks, even in excessive amounts!