Independent Phonics Practice Activities

By: Allie Johnston

As a new school year begins, independent phonics practice is one of the most powerful tools you can use to build strong, confident readers. Research aligned with the Science of Reading shows that students need multiple, structured opportunities to practice letter–sound relationships to achieve mastery. In this post, we’ll explore why independent practice is essential and share effective ways to structure these activities to support students on their early literacy journey. Plus, discover how to align phonics instruction with the Science of Reading by registering for Sadlier’s on-demand Phonics Institute with author and expert Wiley Blevins!

independent-phonics-practice-activities

Why Independent Phonics Practice Matters

Early reading instruction begins with phoneme awareness—helping students connect sounds to letters through “sound mapping.” When students can quickly identify letter–sound relationships, they decode words automatically, freeing up mental energy for comprehension—the ultimate goal of reading.

But letter–sound connections don’t develop on their own. The Science of Reading confirms that students need systematic, explicit phonics instruction paired with frequent, varied practice. Simply exposing students to new patterns isn’t enough—skills must be reviewed, reinforced, and applied in authentic reading and writing contexts to stick.

For a deeper dive, check out Meeting the Challenges of Early Literacy Phonics Instruction by Wiley Blevins (ILA Leadership Brief), which outlines why systematic review and practice are essential for mastery.

Gradual Release of Responsibility: Setting Students Up for Success

New phonics skills must be systematically reviewed before students can independently and effectively apply them in an authentic reading or writing context.

Step 1: Model

Teachers introduce a new letter–sound pattern and model how to use it to decode words. This introduction should connect to previously learned sounds to help students build on existing knowledge.

Step 2: Guided Practice

After instruction and modeling, teachers and students should work together to apply the new sound–spelling pattern to decode words. This guided practice phase bridges the gap between teacher modeling and full independence.

Tip: Students need multiple, varied opportunities to practice what they are learning to achieve mastery.

Students need multiple, varied opportunities to practice what they are learning to achieve mastery.

Step 3: Independent Practice

Students must be given ample, supported opportunities to try new skills on their own. Independent practice should include multiple, varied activities that help students both decode (read) and encode (spell) words in meaningful ways.

A common pitfall is insufficient opportunities for independent practice. Without enough time to try new skills on their own, students may not fully internalize letter–sound relationships. On the other hand, when teachers over-model or rely too much on repetition activities, students may not do the mental “heavy lifting” necessary to support mastery and growth.

Best Practice: Build intentional, frequent time for students to apply new phonics skills on their own — and stay nearby to offer feedback and support.

Fun and Varied Independent Phonics Practice

Independent practice activities should be varied and fun to foster engagement and excitement. Some opportunities may include:

Decoding through word building or word sorts
Blending activities that allow students to flexibly manipulate sounds
Elkonin boxes where students must sound out phonemes
“Change the Word” where students must isolate individual phonemes to make new words (such as “hat” into “hot”)
“Eat Your Words”: An Elkonin box with a twist where students touch or tap a small snack such as a cheerio and say each individual phoneme. When they can blend all the phonemes (or snacks!) together they can “eat the word!”
Frequent spelling and dictation of words and phrases in isolation, as well as holistically through targeted writing prompts
Repeated readings of familiar decodable texts
Creation of a “sound wall” to practice articulation and cement “sound mapping” of correct letter-sound relationships
Word and picture puzzles that ask students to either spell a word letter by letter to match a picture or blend a word to match a picture

“Independent practice” as a phrase, however, can be a bit of a misnomer. Readers should not be left completely to their own devices during this instructional phase and teachers should not be complacent. The role of a teacher during this application period is to offer active support through thoughtful and targeted individual or small group conferring. Teachers should listen to readers and talk with them as they progress through an activity. As they listen, they should look for strengths that they can reinforce.

Teachers should not only target struggling readers, but any reader who may be trying on manipulation of new sound-spelling patterns. Imperfect practice can lead students to ineffectively map sounds to letters that represent the correct sounds in words. Without corrective feedback, students may begin to misapply or mislabel sound-letter relationships.

Students must be given strategic chances to try the “heavy lifting” of reading. Independent practice offers an opportunity during which early readers can independently apply sound mapping in authentic and meaningful activities. Research has proven that readers progress much more rapidly in their mastery of phonics skills when most of their instructional time is spent authentically applying phonics skills in reading and writing. Independent practice opportunities are essential to support this application!

Explore Sadlier’s Phonics Institute with Wiley Blevins

Want to dive deeper into phonics best practices? Register for Sadlier’s on-demand Phonics Institute, where Wiley Blevins shares actionable strategies for aligning instruction with the Science of Reading and creating effective practice routines.

Incorporating independent practice into a classroom’s daily routine can have a profound impact on reading achievement. Students need multiple, varied opportunities to practice phonics skills to achieve mastery as a reader. Thoughtfully structured independent practice opportunities are just the way to support all readers on their road to reading independence!