High leverage phonics activities that work: Engaging Tier 1 ideas for K-2

Building strong foundational reading skills starts with explicit, systematic, and sequential phonics instruction. When educators implement high-leverage phonics activities alongside consistent instruction in their classroom, they create powerful learning opportunities that benefit every student. From interactive phonics games for kindergarten to systematic word-building exercises, effective instruction with the right activities can transform how young learners decode, blend, and comprehend text.

The key to successful phonics activities lies in selecting those that are both engaging and educationally sound. These phonics activities should be grounded in the science of reading, aligned with developmental progressions, and designed to meet the diverse needs of all learners in your classroom. Whether you’re looking for fun phonics activities to complement and energize your lessons or structured routines to build automaticity, the strategies outlined here will help you supplement a comprehensive phonics program.

What makes a high leverage Tier 1 phonics activity?

High leverage phonics activities share several critical characteristics that distinguish them from simple busy work or games without purpose. Preceded by explicit instruction is perhaps the most crucial element. Each phonics activity should target specific skills with clear learning objectives, and should be rooted in proven routines. The activity serves to reinforce and develop accuracy in these targeted skills before students work toward fluency. Julie Kolofer, literacy expert and consultant for 95 Percent Group, reminds us that this accuracy-before-fluency approach ensures students have solid foundations before moving to automatic recognition and production.

Strong phonics activities should also provide immediate feedback and practice opportunities. Students need multiple chances to apply new learning with guidance and correction. The best activities create multimodal opportunities at the application level— engaging visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning pathways simultaneously.

Finally, effective phonics activities build on previously learned skills while practicing new concepts in manageable increments. This structured approach helps all students, including those who struggle with reading, develop the phonics knowledge they need for reading success.

How Tier 1 differs from Tiers 2 and 3

Understanding the distinction between instructional tiers helps educators select appropriate activities for their students. Tier 1 instruction focuses on grade-level phonics skills delivered to all students through whole group or small group core curriculum instruction. Phonics activities for kindergarten and primary grades should meet the needs of approximately 80% of students when implemented with integrity.

Tier 2 instruction provides more targeted support for students who need additional practice with specific skills. While Tier 1 covers broad grade-level expectations, Tier 2 interventions zoom in on particular phonics patterns or skills where individual students show gaps or need reteaching with. Tier 2 activities are typically delivered in small groups with increased intensity and frequency.

Tier 3 instruction offers the most intensive support for students with significant reading difficulties. These interventions are highly individualized and may addre

High leverage Tier 1 phonics activities that work

The following phonics activities have proven effective across diverse classrooms and student populations. Each activity type offers unique benefits while supporting systematic phonics instruction. These strategies work particularly well as part of your core reading program and can be adapted for whole-group, small-group, or independent practice.

Word sorts

Word sorting activities help students identify patterns and vowel sounds through active categorization. Students examine words and group them based on spelling patterns, vowel sounds, or other phonics patterns. This phonics activity encourages students to look closely at word structure while developing pattern recognition skills.

During word sorts, students analyze similarities and differences between words, strengthening their understanding of how spelling patterns connect to sounds. Teachers can create sorts for any phonics skill, from simple consonant sounds to complex vowel teams. The key is ensuring students verbalize their thinking as they sort, explaining why words belong in specific categories.

Word chains

Word chains represent one of the most versatile phonics activities available to teachers. Students change one sound, syllable, or morpheme at a time to create new words, building understanding of how small changes affect meaning and pronunciation. For example, changing the initial sound in “cat” to create “bat,” “hat,” “rat,” and “sat” helps students understand onset manipulation.

Part of the power in this activity, Kolofer says, is that it works at multiple levels: sound-level chains for beginning readers (change the initial, final or middle sound in a word to create a new word as demonstrated above), syllable chains for intermediate students (“contest”→”concert”), and morpheme chains (starting with “root word” then adding different prefixes or suffixes) for advanced learners.

Word chains help students develop phonemic awareness while reinforcing sound-spelling connections. As students advance, they are also preparation for more complex word analysis and vocabulary development.

Sound-spelling routines

Sound-spelling mapping activities create explicit connections between phonemes (sounds) and graphemes (letters). This systematic approach helps students associate phoneme awareness with matching graphemes and vice versa. These routines are especially important for multilingual learners who may need extra support connecting English sounds to spelling patterns.

Kolofer suggests that teachers should remember to emphasize sound boundaries during these activities, helping students understand where sounds begin and end within words. Regular sound-spelling practice builds the automatic connections students need for both reading and spelling success.

Blending activities

Effective blending activities teach students to connect sounds smoothly rather than isolating each phoneme. Connected phonation—the practice of linking sounds together—helps students hear how individual sounds combine to form recognizable words. These fun phonics activities can include blending games, and progressive blending exercises.

Blending practice should extend beyond single words to include phrases and sentences. As students become more proficient, teachers can incorporate prosody and phrasing work, helping students develop the rhythm and flow of fluent reading.

Word building and manipulatives

Although there is sometimes a misunderstanding about when word building work can begin, Kolofer thinks it’s important for teachers to know that they can introduce word building activities early in the phonics sequence, as soon as students know a few vowels and 5-7 consonants. Using sound-spelling chips, letter tiles, or other manipulatives, students physically construct words while reinforcing sound-symbol relationships.

These hands-on phonics activities engage kinesthetic learners while providing visual support for all students. Word building helps students understand that words are made up of individual sounds and that changing one sound creates a new word. This concrete experience with word structure supports both reading and spelling development.

Dictation exercises

Well-designed dictation exercises involve multiple processing skills, making them powerful phonics activities when implemented thoughtfully. For English learners especially, teachers must ensure students comprehend the sentences being dictated, not just practice writing down words without understanding. Kolofer reminds us of this. “We have to consider how many processes are involved in writing a sentence that’s been dictated. It’s so helpful if  we can take away one of those [comprehension]—so that students can better access the encoding process.”

To further reduce cognitive load, teachers can provide students with checklists to review their writing for correct components: capital letters to start sentences and proper nouns, spaces between words, and punctuation to end sentences. This puts accountability on students while teaching self-monitoring skills.

During dictation, encourage students to “say the sound while you write the sound,” reinforcing the connection between phonemes and graphemes. This verbalization helps students internalize sound-spelling relationships.

Interactive games and activities

Phonics games for the classroom transform skill practice into engaging experiences that students enjoy. While traditional instruction always comes first and is most effective, games like “Flyswat Phonics” (where students use a flywatter to swat words with specific spelling patterns) from 50 Nifty Activities for 5 Components and 3 Tiers of Reading Instruction and digital tools like Sortegories, 95 Percent Group’s web-based, teacher-directed practice tool helping developing readers improve accuracy and fluency, inject another layer of fun into learning.

Interactive bulletin boards provide ongoing opportunities for student engagement with phonics concepts. Students can contribute words they find that match current patterns, creating a collaborative learning environment. These displays serve as reference tools while encouraging student ownership of learning.

Integrating phonics into the school day

Successful phonics instruction extends beyond dedicated reading blocks. Teachers should be intentional about planning phonics connections throughout the day, creating a vocabulary-rich classroom environment that especially benefits multilingual students.

Interactive bulletin boards provide constant exposure to phonics patterns and can be updated regularly to reflect current learning focuses. Students can contribute words they discover in their reading or daily experiences that match target patterns.

Content-based activities offer natural opportunities to reinforce phonics skills during science and social studies instruction. When students encounter new vocabulary in content areas, teachers can highlight spelling patterns and sound-spelling relationships within meaningful contexts.

Writing activities provide authentic opportunities to apply phonics knowledge. Teachers can use sound-spelling mapping tools during writing instruction, helping students connect their phonics learning to practical application.

Morning messages and shared reading experiences offer daily opportunities to examine words and patterns in connected text. These brief interactions help students see how phonics knowledge applies to real reading situations.

Quick pattern games work well during transition times or when students are waiting in line. “Guess the pattern” activities or “name words that fit this pattern” games keep learning active throughout the day.

Kolofer pointed out that teachers should think about phonics instruction as existing on a continuum: word level, phrase level, sentence level, and connected text level. Building fluency at each level supports overall reading development and helps students transfer their phonics knowledge to actual reading tasks.

Adapting Tier 1 Activities for Multilingual Learners

Multilingual learners benefit from the same high-quality phonics activities as their English-speaking peers, but teachers must consider additional factors to ensure success. Understanding whether students have developed literacy in their heritage language helps teachers identify skills that will transfer and areas that need additional support. Teachers should consider what students need to comprehend instruction and what they need to express their learning effectively, for example:

• Foundational development of oral language remains crucial, as students need strong listening and speaking skills to support their phonics learning.
• The language comprehension component requires special attention for multilingual students. Teachers should become familiar with language assessments that can help identify students’ strengths and areas for growth in English language development. Research has shown that often English learners will be able to decode well but aren’t necessarily attaching meaning to the words they are reading.
• Analyzing student work and common errors helps teachers understand cross-linguistic transfers. When students make spelling errors, teachers should consider whether a similar pattern exists in the student’s heritage language. This knowledge helps teachers provide targeted instruction rather than viewing errors as deficits.
• Vocabulary instruction must be intentional, with explicit teaching of academic language that supports phonics learning. Teachers should leverage the language systems students bring to school, helping them make connections between their heritage language and English.
• Manipulatives and visual supports prove especially valuable for multilingual learners, providing concrete representations of abstract phonics concepts. Teachers should be explicit when teaching phonology and its connection to graphemes, ensuring students understand both the sounds and letters of English.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Several misconceptions can undermine effective phonics instruction. Understanding these potential pitfalls helps teachers implement more successful programs.

Supporting accuracy before fluency remains essential but often overlooked. Teachers may rush students toward “fluent reading” without ensuring they have accurate decoding skills. This approach creates students who read quickly but inaccurately, leading to comprehension problems later.

Addressing phonics only at the word level limits student growth. Phonics instruction must extend to sentence and connected text levels, helping students apply their skills in authentic reading contexts. Isolated word practice alone doesn’t transfer effectively to real reading situations.

Explicit phonics instruction supports ALL students, including high achievers. Some teachers assume advanced students don’t need systematic phonics instruction, but research shows that explicit instruction benefits every learner. Even strong readers can develop a more sophisticated understanding of word structure through systematic phonics teaching.

Reluctance to use manipulatives with whole-group instruction prevents teachers from using powerful tools. Teachers sometimes worry that manipulatives create management challenges, but intentional routines and clear expectations make whole-group manipulative use both feasible and effective. Start with simple activities to establish routines before moving to more complex tasks.

Neglecting the connection between phoneme awareness and phonics weakens instruction for early learners. These skills develop together and should be taught in coordination. Students need strong phoneme awareness to support their phonics learning, especially in kindergarten and first grade.

Putting It All Together

Effective phonics instruction combines systematic skill development with engaging, purposeful activities. The phonics activities outlined here provide a foundation for strong Tier 1 instruction that supports all learners while remaining flexible enough to meet diverse student needs.

Success comes from consistent implementation of research-based practices, careful attention to student progress, and willingness to adapt instruction based on ongoing assessment data. Whether you’re implementing phonics games for kindergarten students or more sophisticated word study activities for second graders, the key lies in maintaining focus on explicit, systematic instruction while keeping students engaged and motivated.

Remember that phonics instruction serves a larger purpose: helping students become confident, capable readers who can access all areas of learning. By implementing these high-leverage phonics activities consistently and thoughtfully, you’re building the foundation students need for lifelong literacy success.

Expert Biography

Julie Kolofer is currently a literacy consultant for 95 Percent Group. In her consultant role she has the privilege of facilitating professional learning and supporting educators and administrators within  educational communities across the country. She specializes in initiatives that support language and literacy development. In her career spanning 25 years in the field of education, Julie has enjoyed being a classroom teacher in grades spanning Transition Kindergarten through 6th grade, instructional coach, professional learning facilitator and mentor teacher for California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Induction program, school and district professional learning facilitator, school site administrator, and district Coordinator for English Language Learners.

Julie received her BA in Liberal Studies and Spanish with an emphasis in Elementary Education, her teaching certificate specialized in Cross-Cultural Language and Diversity, with additional certification in reading. She earned her Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Administration.

Sources

1. International Literacy Association. “Reading Fluently Does Not Mean Reading Fast,” 2018. https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-reading-fluently-does-not-mean-reading-fast.pdf.