Phoneme Deletion to Get Kids Playing with Words

This phoneme deletion activity is great to use in small groups or as a whole class exercise to practice creating new words by deleting phonemes. Students will look at each picture and remove a specified phoneme to identify a new word. They’ll then write the new word on the line. 

For example, with the word “train,” you can remove the /t/ sound and still have a word remaining. The task card, in this case, would be:

🚂  – t = rain

Phoneme Deletion Activities for Phonemic Awareness

Use this as one of your phoneme deletion activities in your classroom. Here are some suggested ways to use these phoneme deletion task cards: 

• Scoot Activity – Place the cards around the room in numerical order and instruct students to number a sheet of paper 1-16. Assign each student a card to start. Give students an appropriate amount of time to review the phoneme deletion task cards and record their answers on their sheets. Then say, “SCOOT.” At this time, the students will rotate to the next card. Continue in this manner until students have made it through all of the cards. 
• Show Me! – Give each student a mini dry-erase board and a dry-erase marker. Project one task card at a time and have your students write the new word on their board. When everyone has written down their answer, say, “Show Me.” Students will flip their boards, allowing you to see who needs extra support deleting phonemes.
• Knock Off – Have your students stand up and make a line across the room. Project a phoneme deletion card on the screen. Use our Random Name Picker widget to draw a student’s name and have them tell you the new word created when the specified phoneme is removed. If the student correctly identifies the new word, they tap the person on their left or right to send them back to their seat. If the student answers the card incorrectly, they must sit out. Play continues until only 1 student is standing.

Download this Activity to Practice Phoneme Isolation Today!

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. Print on thick card to ensure the durability of the resource.

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and a Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Manipulate Phonemes Activities To Go!

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Phoneme Deletion Match-Up Activity

Explore phoneme deletion with initial and final phonemes with your students, and make new words using this 32 card game.