Word sorts for digraphs, blends and bossy r, without any pictures

Our reading tutor sent home a sort: twelve word cards and three columns headed sh, ch and th. My son said each word, listened for the sound, and put it in a column. The ones he got wrong, chin under th, told her more than a reading test would have.

What the sheet looks like

The phonics word sort generator prints that sort, and five other activities, from a word bank with no pictures at all. Pick a pattern first: digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh, ck, ph), s-, r- or l-blends, ending blends, magic e, vowel teams, r-controlled vowels or long vs short vowel pairs. Then tick the specific sounds you are teaching, so a sort can be just sh and ch and nothing else.

The activities are a word sort with 2 to 4 labelled columns, fill in the sound, read-write-circle, a 10×10 word hunt, build the word from its parts, and real or nonsense. Pages hold 8, 12 or 16 words, and the answer key prints on a second page.

Why it works

• No pictures means the child has to decode. A picture of a ship lets them skip the sh entirely.
• Choosing only the sounds you have taught keeps the sort fair. A child who has only met sh and ch should not meet ph.
• Real or nonsense is the cleanest test there is. Reading shog correctly proves the child is using the sound, not memory.

Who it suits

Kindergarten through grade 2. Digraphs and s-blends with a 2-column sort suit the end of K. Vowel teams, r-controlled vowels and the word hunt belong in grades 1 and 2. If a child cannot yet read a plain CVC word like cat, this is too early; the CVC words sheet is where to start. If they read everything on the sort first try, move to 16 words or build the word.

Print the sort and fill in the sound on the same pattern. The second one shows whether the first one stuck.