Phonics Word Search for Kids – Paint and Sort

Phonics. Just the sound of that word might sound boring or tedious. But phonics can actually be fun, especially when you do a phonics word search where kids get to paint, sort and spell words.

If you’ve been reading my posts for very long, you know that I love the word study approach to teaching spelling. And if you’ve searched my blog, you’ve probably found articles like Using Words their Way to Teach Spelling and Word Study Organization and Routines or freebies like our Silent e word sort or all the word sorts from each BOB Books printable pack.

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Phonics Word Search

The word sorts associated with word study are already hands-on. But sometimes, you just need a little something different to mix things up a bit, so…I created a little crayon resist phonics word search, similar to our crayon resist sight words post, that required the boys {K and 3rd grade} to paint, find words, then sort and spell them!

First, I picked three phonics patterns that they were each working on. NJoy {in K} is working on reading and spelling short vowel words with blends/digraphs, so I used short a, e, and o words on his page. ALuv {3rd grade} is working on certain long vowel patterns, so I used long ea, oo and igh. {If you don’t know how to determine what phonics patterns your child needs to work on, this post my help you.}

I jotted down a quick list of about six words that fit each of the three phonics pattern, based on the suggestions in the back of Words their Way. I use the lists in the back of this book quite frequently.

I took white cardstock paper and a white crayon and wrote the words from my list on their papers. Yes, you can use regular copy paper, but I prefer cardstock because it’s thicker and less likely to tear if too much paint goes on the paper.

They used watercolor paint and painted their page. Then, they read all their words to me and together, I helped them see how their words all fit into three different categories, based on their vowel patterns. For those of you who are familiar with some of the routines from Words Their Way, this is called an “open sort” because the categories are not given ahead of time.

Sorting Words from the Word Search

Once they discovered the three phonics patterns that were “hidden” on the page, I gave them an empty recording sheet {I’ve since updated the recording sheet and it looks a little snazzier} and they sorted their words based on the vowel pattern. First, they labeled each column by the vowel pattern, then spelled each word that fit that pattern underneath. Once finished, they read through their words again.

Download this Paint & Sort Printable Pack HERE.

~Becky