Blank Spelling Grids {Phonemes or Syllables}

These Blank Spelling Grids are such a simple way to integrate phonemic awareness and orthographic mapping into your spelling instruction!

One of the things I find with struggling readers and spellers is that they have a hard time distinguishing the individual sounds in words. Instead of hearing a word like hat as /h/-/a/-/t/, they often process it as /hat/.

These blank spelling grids are designed to help!

*The free download can be found at the END of this post. To access the PDF, click on the teal download button.

 

Blank Spelling Grids – for Phonemes or Syllables

Encourage your learners to slow down and really process each sound {or phoneme} in the word before they try to spell the word as a whole.

Here’s an example of how to use these grids for phonemes:

• Say the word: pig
• Encourage your learners to say the word OUT LOUD so they can feel the sounds as their mouths make them. {Learners might feel silly doing this, but it is IMPORTANT!}: pig
• Stretch out the sounds in the word: /p/-/i/-/g/
• Ask for the first sound in the word, identify it, then encourage learners to write p
• Say the word again stretched out: /p/-/i/-/g/
• Ask for the second sound in the word, identify the vowel sound, then encourage learners to write i
• Say the word again stretched out: /p/-/i/-/g/
• Ask for the last sound in the word, identify the letter that makes that sound, then encourage learners to write g
• Once the entire word has been spelled, phoneme by phoneme, encourage learners to read it through: /p/-/i/-/g/
• Write the entire word in the final column, then read the word: pig

 

 

The same can be said of syllable types when spelling words. Encourage learners to slow down and process each syllable.

Here’s an example of how to use these spelling grids for syllables:

• Say the word: magnet
• Encourage your learners to say the word OUT LOUD so they can feel the sounds as their mouths make them. {Learners might feel silly doing this, but it is IMPORTANT!}: magnet
• Ask them to tap out the syllables they hear, also know as finger tap spelling
• Stretch out the sounds in the first syllable and write them in the first column: mag
• Stretch out the sounds in the second column and write them: net
• Read each syllable: mag – net
• In the last column, write the entire word and then read it back: magnet

 

In the pack, you’ll find five different blank spelling grids to help you better meet the needs of your learners. They come in color {faint blue for every other row} to make it visually easier on the eye. You can also print the blackline blank grids. I would recommend having learners use a ruler or blank piece of paper to cover the rows they are not using.

 

 

 

Enjoy teaching!
~Becky