Often when you are teaching young students to read, those essential foundation skills like segmenting that are ‘oh so necessary’ can sometimes get tedious and boring. You know your students need them, but face it, after doing the same routine a couple of days in a row, attention and engagement begin to wane. So it’s important to have an arsenal of tools in your toolbox that can help keep these skills interesting and students on task. If you can find tools that appeal to various senses, (movement, sound, or even touch) it will be even more appealing. Let me tell you about a couple of my favorites that do just that.

Plungers

A couple of years ago I showed you how I use plungers to practice segmenting (You can see that post HERE).

They are absolutely a favorite in my class,

but I have since found another tool to rival plungers . . .

Poppers!

And not just any poppers, but a red, yellow and green popper that is PERFECT for working with CVC or words with 3 beginning-middle-ending sounds.

I use a similar ‘red-yellow-green’ mat for word building so this little popper has been a perfect pre-curser for the next step when start making those sounds and letters connections.

If you are looking for Poppers like this one, you can find them on Amazon by clicking HERE or on the picture below:

I hope your students love these tools as much as mine do! You can see more of my favorite classroom items like these by checking out my Amazon Store Front HERE!

I do receive a small commission from Amazon as an affiliate when you purchase items by following this link. There is no extra cost to you, but the few cents I make when you purchase an item help offset the cost of hosting this blog so I can continue to offer you tips and ideas for your classroom.