Our Word Builder Tiles are now in stock and ready to ship, making it the perfect time to explore how this hands-on resource can support early literacy in Kindergarten, Grade One and Grade Two classrooms.
We asked our curriculum team to share their top tips for using Word Builder Tiles effectively. These magnetic tiles are a powerful tool for developing phonemic awareness, decoding, and encoding skills, while keeping young learners actively engaged.
For detailed routines, classroom procedures, and lesson-ready guidance, read the guides to get the most out of Word Builder Tiles in your classroom:
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1. Maximize Engagement During Whole-Group Activities
Word Builder Tiles aren’t just for small groups. During whole-class instruction, invite one or more students to build words at the front of the class, while seated students build the same word on their own boards. This approach keeps every student actively involved, reinforces learning through repetition and prevents passive listening during whole-group lessons.
2. Start Small with Letter Choices
Displaying all tiles at once can overwhelm students and slow lessons down as they try to find the tiles they need. Display only the graphemes that students have been taught to date.
Kindergarten - Display only the letters that have been taught so far or display just the 26 lowercase letters (a–z)
Grade One – For Unit 1, display only the 13 letters used for the week. Add new letters to the board as they are introduced in each Unit.
Grade Two – For Unit 1, display letters a-z including short and long vowels, and also include the digraphs introduced in unit 1. Add new tiles as they are presented in each new unit.
When adding new tiles to the board, be sure to celebrate each time to build confidence and motivation.
3. Keep Students Focused with the Yellow Staging Area
The yellow staging area is key to smooth, efficient lessons. Before each activity, place only the tiles needed for that lesson in the staging area. This simple routine helps students find letters quickly, stay focused on the task, spend more time building words and less time searching.
4. Use Sound Dots to Support Segmenting
Sound Dots included with the Word Builder Tiles are ideal for strengthening phonemic awareness and segmenting skills. This method may help students focus on sounds before they search for letters.
Have students:
- Say the word aloud
- Slide one Sound Dot into a Sound box for each sound
- Say each sound as the dot is moved
This visual, multisensory approach makes abstract sound concepts concrete and accessible for young learners.
5. Make Tricky Letters Visible and Memorable
Word Builder Tiles are especially effective for practicing High-frequency and Tricky words.
Wavy line tiles are included, which can be used to mark letters that are not making their usual sounds. This helps students:
- Identify regular vs. irregular spelling patterns
- Understand why a word is tricky
- Remember spellings more accurately
Follow up with a Cover, Write, Check routine to reinforce learning and improve retention.
6. Make Independent Learning Fun and Collaborative
Word Builder Tiles work great during independent or partner practice. One favorite activity is “You Be the Teacher”:
- Student A calls out a word from the Fluency List
- Student B repeats the word and builds it with tiles
- Student A shows the list so both students can check spelling
This routine promotes confidence and collaboration, while giving students ownership of their learning.
Want Step-by-Step Teaching Routines?
For detailed routines, classroom procedures, and lesson-ready guidance, read the guides to get the most out of Word Builder Tiles in your classroom:
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