First Grade, The Puzzle Pieces

·       The large, bright, and sturdy puzzle pieces can be connected together to explore patterns and make words. After using them for focused study, the puzzle pieces are displayed in the classroom as a Sound Wall reference and for year-long reinforcement of concepts.

·       Each puzzle piece shows an image of an object, the spelling of the word, and a color-coded sound pattern to help demonstrate the key rules of phonics to children. The color codes help students organize their understandings about what makes up a word.

·       The puzzle pieces become part of a classroom reference wall once they have been formally studied and prominently displayed for a week.

·       The Puzzle Pieces can connect in 3 different ways:

o   Horizontally: To link to other puzzle pieces that behave in similar ways 

o   Vertically: To link to other puzzle pieces that represent the same sound

o   Together to make words: To build words to show how the puzzle pieces work together to form a word