Letter and Sound Searches
Letter and sound searches are when students try to find words with specific letters or words with specific sounds in their reading. Letter searches look for letters or letter combinations while sound searches listen for sounds. Below is example of a sound search for the sound "ing".
1. Find a text to read that has several examples of the letter or sound. The poem "Swinging from the Lights" by Kenn Nesbitt was chosen as it contains "ing" multiple times.
Swinging From the Lights
From the book Revenge of the Lunch Ladies
We're swinging from the lights.
We're standing on our chairs.
We're bouncing off the walls.
We're sliding down the stairs.
We're running in the halls.
We're slamming all the doors.
We're jumping off our desks.
We're skidding on the floors.
We'd rather use the swings.
We'd rather use the slide.
Too bad! Today it's raining
and recess is inside.
--Kenn Nesbitt
2. Introduce the sound and find words that have that sound in the poem. Work with students to underline all the examples of "ing" that you see in the poem.
3. Find examples when reading. If students see the "ing" sound when independently reading, they will write the word on a sticky note and add it to the "ing" sound chart.
4. Review the notes on the chart the next day. Students will continue to search for the sound until the teacher thinks they have mastered the sound in the context of reading.
1. Find a text to read that has several examples of the letter or sound. The poem "Swinging from the Lights" by Kenn Nesbitt was chosen as it contains "ing" multiple times.
Swinging From the Lights
From the book Revenge of the Lunch Ladies
We're swinging from the lights.
We're standing on our chairs.
We're bouncing off the walls.
We're sliding down the stairs.
We're running in the halls.
We're slamming all the doors.
We're jumping off our desks.
We're skidding on the floors.
We'd rather use the swings.
We'd rather use the slide.
Too bad! Today it's raining
and recess is inside.
--Kenn Nesbitt
2. Introduce the sound and find words that have that sound in the poem. Work with students to underline all the examples of "ing" that you see in the poem.
3. Find examples when reading. If students see the "ing" sound when independently reading, they will write the word on a sticky note and add it to the "ing" sound chart.
4. Review the notes on the chart the next day. Students will continue to search for the sound until the teacher thinks they have mastered the sound in the context of reading.
Taberski, S. (2011). Effective practice: Letter and sound searches. In Comprehension from the ground up: Simplified, sensible instruction for the
K-3 reading workshop (pp. 135-137). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
K-3 reading workshop (pp. 135-137). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.