From FreeReading
What to do
- Put a mix of letter cards in a hat or bag that students will pass around the classroom; draw a card from it, and say the sound. The cards should be a mix of all letters learned so far, weighted towards the most recently learned letters. You will need at least one bag for every eight or so students in the group, else students will quickly become distracted.
- (You can also do this activity with half the cards showing the single most recently learned letter, m, and the other half showing letters the students have not yet learned, such as x. In that version of the activity, you ask students to say /m/ or not /m/, depending on what letter they draw.)
- Now let’s play a game. We’re going to take turns to pull a card from this bag and say the sound of the letter. My turn first.
- Draw a card; pause; show the letter to the students, then say its sound.
- Then, I put the card back in the bag and pass it to my neighbor. Pass the bag to a student who is likely to get the answer correctly. Make sure they show the card to the other students. Remind them to put the card back, shake the bag, and then pass it to the next student.
- As soon as it's clear that students get the idea, you can introduce the other bags to speed things up. Each time, draw the first card yourself. Circulate around the group making sure everyone is performing the activity correctly.
- If a student doesn’t know a card, say it for him; then ask him to say it. Have him draw another card and try again. If he continues to have trouble, make a note in an Activity Log and move on. Try to make sure the last letter he draws before passing the bag on is one he names correctly and praise him strongly.
- Keep going until everyone has had at least one turn.
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