Phonics Playmakers – Built to fit into your phonics program
The Phonics Playmakers activities were designed to supplement and enhance any phonics curriculum. Each activity has more than one use — they work as practice lessons, fillers, or the foundation for classroom games like memory match, word hunts, and grouping by sound.
Because the games are visual by design, they may not cover every one of your target words — but they do offer repeated, varied word-building practice, which is genuinely helpful to any child's learning progress. Short, repeated activities let children rack up small successes one at a time, and the team element keeps them engaged while encouraging kids to help each other along the way.
The same system carries through every phonics stage, so children spend their time practicing skills they're building — not relearning how a new game works. In our own classrooms, we've seen smile after smile as each child hits a new success.
Where It Began
Young learners are still learning how to learn.
As classroom teachers, we grew frustrated by traditional phonics materials. Too much valuable lesson time was lost to bookwork logistics—finding pages, hunting for erasers, and managing distractions. None of those things were phonics.
We knew children needed an active approach that engaged their eyes, ears and hands. A workbook should support and consolidate learning, not be where the primary learning happens.
We set out to answer two questions:
From Digital Spinners to Active Classrooms
We began experimenting with animated PowerPoint games on our whiteboard. What started as a simple letter-spinning game quickly transformed our classroom.
Children weren't just watching—they were calling out sounds together, eager for their turn, and grasping CVC word building in real time.
Interactive Bingo
We created varied card layouts so children stopped simply copying and started helping each other sound out words.
Team Relay Games
Children took turns completing words at the whiteboard, staying engaged even while waiting for their turn.
Instead of passive repetition, children experienced active practice. They were making quick decisions, connecting sounds to symbols and helping teammates succeed.
Building Skills and Confidence
What began as a few engaging activities evolved into a structured learning progression:
Because the structure remains familiar across activities, children don't waste time learning new rules. Instead, they can focus their energy on the phonics challenge—building both skill and confidence with every "I can!" moment.
Phonics Playmakers was created to give young learners repeated, meaningful practice through active thinking and team collaboration.
We hope your children have as much fun—and experience as many little successes—as ours have. We want those successes to build confidence and help every child believe:
“I can.”
Try It in Your Classroom
See how it works with your own learners.
Download our CVC Word Builder for free and introduce children to the process of building CVC words through beginning, middle and ending sounds.
All you need is a whiteboard and a way for children to respond—such as marker pens or letter tiles.
Try the Free CVC Word Builder →Happy learning!