Phonics Fast Reads Decoding Drills | Real and Nonsense Word Fluency Practice

Are you looking for an extra layer of phonics intervention and instruction to support your students who are struggling with fluency and need help decoding words? Phonics Fast Reads is here to help! Students move through the drills at their own pace, increasing their speed and confidence as they go.

*Science of Reading Aligned

Read about how I use these Fast Reads in my classroom HERE!

Phonics Fast Reads: Letter Recognition and Identification

The first set of Fast Reads reinforces letter names. At each level, students are introduced to four new letters. As students master the letter names, they move up a level and four new letters are given. A spiral review is given at the end of each level. These letter task cards are designed to be used in conjunction with the letter sound cards so that students begin to blend and segment words right away.

Phonics Fast Reads: Letter Sounds

The Letter Sounds Phonics Fast Reads are introduced in a sequence that promotes blending and segmenting words as soon as possible. Right away, students learn that letters and combinations of letters make up sounds and words. As students master a level, they move to the next. Each level introduces four new letter sounds and reviews the previous sounds learned. There are seven levels total. The letter sound cards are perfect for those students who are just learning or struggling to identify and blend letter sounds quickly and automatically.

Phonics Fast Reads: Short Vowels

These Short Vowel Phonics Fast Reads are perfect for children who are just beginning to read cvc words or those students who are struggling to decode quickly. Each Fast Read focuses on a short vowel sound and is introduced in a sequence that builds confidence. Students begin by reading short vowel word families. These word families allow students to decode quickly by only having to manipulate the first letter. After reading the word families, students must read a mix up of words with the same vowel sound. The last Fast Read in this bundle includes a mix up of all short vowel sounds! These phonics fast reads work to move students from slowly blending cvc words to a level where decoding is habitual and automatic.

Phonics Fast Reads: CVCe

These CVCe Phonics Fast Reads are perfect for children who are just beginning to read CVCe words or those students who are struggling to decode quickly. Each Fast Read focuses on a specific long vowel. The last Fast Read in this bundle includes a mix up of all CVCe words! These phonics fast reads are designed to move students from slowly blending words to a level where decoding is habitual and automatic.

Phonics Fast Reads: Long Vowels, Tricky Vowels, Vowel Teams, Diphthongs

These Phonics Fast Reads are perfect for students who are learning to read and write words with tricky vowel spelling patterns. Each Fast Read focuses on a specific phoneme and includes all of the various spelling patterns that make that phoneme. These phonics drills and repeated readings are designed to move students from slowly blending words to a level where decoding is habitual and automatic. The word sort is an added bonus!

Phonics Fast Reads: R-Controlled Vowels

These Phonics Fast Reads are perfect for students who are learning to read and write words with the tricky bossy r spelling pattern. Each Fast Read includes real and silly words and comes with a word sort activity.

Phonics Fast Reads: Digraphs

The Digraphs Phonics Fast Reads are perfect for students who are learning to read and write words with digraphs.

Phonics Fast Reads: Blends

These Phonics Fast Reads are perfect for students who are learning to read and write words with consonant blends. Each Fast Read includes real and nonsense words and comes with a word sort activity.

Why did I create these Fast Reads?

I created these cards for the first grade students in my own classroom. After introducing a new phonics pattern my students need practice reading and applying the skills that they have just learned. I love using these cards as a warm up in guided reading groups. Then, I like to give my students paper copies so they can practice reading at their seats, sort the words by patterns, and use paint dabbers to find phonics patterns in their individual books.

The Research

I created these Fast Reads as a way to improve fluency. According the the National Reading Panel, a few things are critical of good reading instruction.

Explicit instruction in phonemic awareness

Systematic phonics instruction

Methods to improve fluency

How do I use these cards in my classroom?

• Use them with individual students.
• Use them as a warm up in guided reading groups.
• Send them home with parents as a tool to practice at home.
• These cards are perfect for parent volunteers. It takes all of the guess work out of instruction.

How do I prepare the Fast Reads?

I like to print on cardstock and combine the cards with a metal ring at the top corner. If you are printing them so that individual students can take them home, you can print on white paper and staple the side.