Meaningful word study packed with fun?! YES! With these Variant Vowels and Vowel Diphthongs Games and Independent Activities, word study can be more engaging for our students in the Within Word Pattern stage! This bundle focuses on Diphthongs and Variant Vowels for unpredictable vowel teams such as Long OI/OY/O, double o (ōō, ŏŏ), AW/AU, WA/AL/OUGH, and OU/OW.

Each sort set includes a sort and match board game (for partners) and a Four in a Row or Match it Up card game (independent activities) to help you increase student engagement and personal teaching joy during word study, spelling, or word work. (Aligned to Word Sorts for Within Word Pattern Spellers Unit 5: Sorts 35-Sort 39)

→ → Save 33% with the Unit 5 Bundle or save 50% with the Within Word Patterns Mega Bundle of Units 1-8.

Whether you're looking for hands-on, engaging activities students can complete independently, partner games, centers, or ideas to spice up your small group lessons, these activities covering Diphthongs and Ambiguous Vowels have done the creative thinking and planning for you! Versatility and consistency (not an oxymoron!) are built right in for you with all of the activities in the Unit 5 bundle having the same format, you won’t have to teach students how to play with each new word sort!

While these games and activities are aligned to Words Their Way, they can be used to complement any word study program or focus with your students. See the preview for detailed lists of the included words!

Sort Sets Included in the Unit 5 Bundle:

35: Long OI, OY, O (board game/4 in a row)

36: ōō, ŏŏ (board game/match it up)

37: AW, AU, ô

38: WA, AL, OUGH

39: OU, OW

★ Partner Games ★

In the sort and match board games (sorts 35-39), students take turns drawing word cards and matching them with the correct vowel patterns on the sorting board. When two cards end up on the same vowel pattern, students take the pair as a match. The game play involves friendly competition and a recording sheet that makes it easy for the teacher to check that students understood the diphthongs or ambiguous vowels and hold students accountable for staying on task.

✔ Teacher Directions

✔ Sorting Game Board

✔ Word Cards

✔ Student-Friendly Directions

✔ Recording Sheet

✔ Answer Key

★ Independent Activities ★

In Four In A Row (sorts 35, 37-39), students spin a spinner and find an incomplete word on the game board that follows the vowel pattern they spun. They must complete the word by building it with letter tiles (optional) and record it on their recording sheet. Their goal is to complete and cover four words in a row (vertically, horizontally, or diagonally).

✔ Teacher Directions

✔ 3 Word Boards

✔ 2 Spinners with Student Friendly Directions Versions

✔ Letter Tiles for Building Words

✔ Recording Sheet

✔ Answer Key

For the Match It Up card game (sort 36), students draw from two piles of words with OO that contain ambiguous vowels (where -oo represents different sounds). They find matches of words where the -oo sounds the same.

✔ Teacher Directions

✔ Match It Up Playing Cards

✔ Student-Friendly Directions

✔ Recording Sheet

✔ Answer Key

* Everything comes in black and white and color versions!

Who are these games and activities for?

> > > These resources were developed with 3rd - 5th graders in mind, but could successfully be used in lower grades within small group lessons and with teacher guidance.

> > > These games and activities are designed for students at the middle of the Within Word Pattern stage. These students typically spell most short and long vowel patterns correctly (CVCe, CVVC, and less common vowel patterns), have shown success with r-controlled vowel patterns, but often struggle with words that include ambiguous vowels because they tend to spell them phonetically.

These activities provide a great way to add meaningful variety to your word study routine, keeping it fresh and interesting for students. With these activities, your word study block will be a time that students look forward to as they work to master these key spelling and word study concepts!

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Copyright © Tammy Roose, Tarheelstate Teacher.

The purchase of this resource gives the buyer permission to download and copy for single classroom use only. Electronic distribution is also limited to single classroom use. Copying for other teachers, school-wide use, or school systems is only allowed with the purchase of additional licenses that can be added through your account under "My Purchases" at a discounted price.