Construct-a-Word provides a simple, engaging way for students to generate dozens of different words by first choosing an ending (for example -an, -ed, -at, -op) and then adding a beginning letter or blend. When a correct word is created, the word is stored in a Word Bank where students can read and review their words. For each ending, Construct-a-Word prompts students to create between 6 and 14 different possible words, adding an element of fun and discovery. It uses animation and sound to guide students through the steps of creating words, and employs prompts that are clear and easy to master. This interactive tool could be used individually or in small groups, either in one session or across multiple lessons. For ideas of how to use this tool outside the classroom, see Tips for Using Construct-a-Word.

Visit this interactive tool at: http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/construct/ .

ReadWriteThink Lessons That Use This Tool

A-Hunting We Will Go: Teaching Rhyming Through Musical Verse (K-2)
Rhyming is a natural skill when used in the context of singing songs. This lesson engages children by teaching rhyming concepts through music. Students gain an understanding of rhyming verse by creating new rhyming pairs for a familiar song and support these skills with an online interactive tool.

Generating Rhymes: Developing Phonemic Awareness (K-2)
Phonemic awareness instruction is an integral part of any early reading program. This lesson incorporates song and poetry to help students recognize and generate simple rhymes.

Getting the ig in Pig: Helping Children Discover Onset and Rime (K-2)
This phonics lesson offers a clear instructional format for teaching onset and rime. The ig rime is demonstrated through the use of literature, independent and cooperative learning, critical thinking, and hands-on activities. Instruction is conducted in both an explicit and implicit manner.

Hey Diddle, Diddle! Generating Rhymes for Analogy-Based Phonics Instruction (K-2)
First-grade teachers can use analogy-based phonics (i.e., learning words based on word families) before other phonological skills, such as rhyme, are in place. This lesson focuses on an informal assessment of students' identification of rhyme in the context of a poem and manipulation of online picture cards.

Improving Fluency through Group Literary Performance (K-2)
Repeated readings and literary performances help students with their reading accuracy, expression, and rate. In this lesson, students participate in shared reading, choral reading, and readers theater, focusing their exploration on picture books by Bill Martin, Jr.

Phonics In Context (K-2)
Many phonics elements can be introduced and taught using the read-aloud framework and quality children's literature. This lesson introduces and reinforces the letter-sound relationship for the short /u/ sound within a meaningful, familiar context. The lesson can easily be adapted for other phonics elements.

Poetry Portfolios: Using Poetry to Teach Reading and Writing (K-2)
Teach your students about sentence structure, rhyming words, sight words, vocabulary, and print concepts using a weekly poem. These important skills for reading and writing are demonstrated in a whole-to-parts approach using engaging poems, shared reading, and independent activities.

Shhh! Bear's Sleeping: Learning About Nonfiction and Fiction Using Read-Alouds (K-2)
In this lesson, interactive read-alouds introduce students in grades K–2 to the concept of fiction and nonfiction using the hibernation of bears as a topic. A variety of books and poems engage students who actively participate through songs and finger play. Students then write a class book.

Teaching Short-Vowel Discrimination Using Dr. Seuss Rhymes (K-2)
Students develop phonemic and phonetic awareness through word study of common short-vowel word families. Students will use Dr. Seuss rhymes to discover and explore the sounds and spellings of different short vowel word families.

The Big Green Monster Teaches Phonics in Reading and Writing (K-2)
This lesson incorporates a shared and paired reading of the story Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley to build reading fluency and word recognition skills. Students also examine onset/rime patterns by generating word families, review high-frequency vocabulary through a memory card game, and apply phonics skills during a writing activity.

Using a Predictable Text to Teach High-Frequency Words (K-2)
This lesson uses a predictable text (Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle) to help students learn high-frequency words. After reading the story, students form their own sentences using words from the text.

Whole-to-Parts Phonics Instruction: Teaching Letter-Sound Correspondences (K-2)
In this lesson, students are exposed to whole-to-parts phonics instruction. After a story has been read to, with, and by children, the teacher assists them in analyzing spoken words by focusing on onset and rime. Students use onset-rime analogies to identify words that belong to the same word family.

Word Recognition Strategies Using Nursery Rhymes (K-2)
This lesson uses familiar nursery rhymes to draw attention to words that end with the same letters. Kindergarten and first-grade students are encouraged to create word family lists and compare them to words in different word families.

Word Sorts for Beginning and Struggling Readers (K-2)
This lesson uses a hands-on word sort to introduce beginning and struggling readers to short-vowel word families. In addition to learning onset and rime, students practice fluent reading and spelling of the words.