Nonsense words

In our state we have a new reading assessment for K-3 students called Reading 3D. One of the goals students must complete is to read "nonsense words." The idea behind it is that if a student can read a "nonsense word" with a CVC pattern they will be able to sound out larger words and break them down into chunks easier. One way I have helped my kids do this is use paint strips with word families and letters on them.

FIRST you take the regular paint strips and write one consonant on each square in the strip. You will need about 5-6 strips, depending on how many squares there are on a strip.

I use colors from the same family for this part and colors from another family for the second so my kids can identify which batch they go with easily.

SECOND you will need paint strips with holes in one end. Beside the hole you will write word family endings such as "ack" or "ag" or "eb"  or "ug" on them. You can write as many or as little as you want on these.

NOW you will take the long paint strips with the consonants on them and slide them under the holes to make new words. Students will read the nonsense words as they slide the cards!

I got this idea from Pink and Green Mama (http://pinkandgreenmama.blogspot.com/2009/11/preschool-first-grade-at-home-paint.html).