The Elkonin Sound Box
This activity is named after psychologist, D. B. Elkonin, who first introduced the method of using boxes to segment words into their individual phonemes (sounds).
The Elkonin Sound Box sheet can be downloaded at the end of this post. I suggest putting it into a plastic sleeve so students can use dry-erase markers to record the words, thus allowing it to be used over and over again.
The Elkonin Sound Box can be used for several instructional purposes. Here are two of my favourite ways to use this tool in a small-group instructional setting.
Reinforce & Review Previously Taught Phonics Skills
After teaching a phonics skill, dictate words that contain the skill and have students use the Sound Box to segment and spell one word at a time. Follow this procedure for each word:
State the word; students repeat the word.
Together, segment & blend the word. (Use previously taught gestures for segmenting and blending. Another fun and engaging strategy is to provide students with a “pop-it” toy to use when segmenting the word.)
Using the Sound Box sheet, have students place a dot above the correct number of boxes to show the number of phonemes (sounds) in the word.
For learners who have not yet mastered the sounds of the alphabet, display an alphabet sound chart for students to reference. Orally segment the word again, pausing after each sound to determine the letter(s) that represents that sound. Have students record the letter(s) in the appropriate box. You can model this process using your own Elkonin Sound Box sheet and/or assist students as needed.
EXAMPLE:
After teaching the digraph /th/, dictate words such as this, math, thin, with, that, path for students to record on their Elkonin Sound Box sheets.
The word “with” would be recorded in this way: There would be 3 dots above the first 3 boxes on the Elkonin Sound Box sheet because, although the word has 4 letters, it only has 3 sounds. A “w” would be recorded in the first box, an “i” would be recorded in the second box, and “th” would be recorded in the third box since the digraph makes one sound.
Pre-Teach Some Vocabulary from a Guided Reading Text
This is a fabulous way to set your students up for success when reading a text for the first time.
Choose 3 to 5 words from a text students will be reading. The words should be those that you predict they might have difficulty decoding independently. Follow the same procedure described above to have students segment and spell each word on their Elkonin Sound Box sheet.
Before having students read the text, you may choose to have them search for the words in their copy of the text to practice segmenting (sounding them out) and blending them. This helps young readers better see the connection between writing and reading because they’re immediately applying the phonics/spelling skills you’re teaching to a text they’re reading.
