Free ‘Read It, Build It, Write It’ Mat

Grab our free printable Read It, Build It, Write It mat — a phenomenal tool designed to nurture your child’s phonemic awareness and spelling skills.

I’m a huge supporter of phonics-based instruction when it comes to assisting children on their path to literacy, and for the most part we have followed the Scope & Sequence that Maria Montessori put forth (read more here) and then was later adapted by Muriel Dwyer specifically for the English language.

Recently, though, my kindergartener has been writing notes and letters to her friends and family members. Subsequently, she’s expressed a strong desire to learn the correct spelling of words.

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Do you have a kinesthetic learner who is beginning to read? Try using a 'Read-Build-Write' mat paired alongside a manipulative to capitalize on their kinesthetic memory! Visit www.freeandunfettered.com to download this free printable mat along with Dolch sight word labels available in both cursive and print. #ece #earlyliteracy #kindergarten #homeschooling #montessori #earlychildhoodeducation

What is a Read It, Build It, Write It Mat

A ‘Read It, Build It, Write It’ mat capitalizes on kinesthetic learning. Using the mat, children are able to, first, practice reading a word, then they are able to build the word using a moveable alphabet, and, lastly, practice writing the word using the penmanship lines as guides.

What you’ll love about the ‘Read It, Build It, Write It’ mat:

PHONEMIC AWARENESS – Our mat is specifically crafted to develop and reinforce phonemic awareness—the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds within words.
PLAYFUL – By engaging in playful activities with this mat, your child will master letter-sound relationships, blending, segmenting, spelling, and much more!
FLEXIBLE – You can choose between cursive and print, whichever works best for your students.
LITERACY SKILLS – With this FREE printable mat and a bonus set of the first 98 Dolch sight word labels, your little learner will embark on an exciting journey towards reading success!

I should note that we haven’t formally studied sight words at this point — the ones she knows are either phonetically spelled or, for the ones that are not phonetic, she’s learned them through reading the Dick & Jane books, which, in my opinion, are great for working on reading fluency with children.

Thus, I made some sight word cards she can use to practice reading and writing.

After spending a little time with the work, she quickly discovered it’s much more fun and challenging to read the card, flip it over, and then try to build and write the word from memory!

Of course the ‘Read It, Build It, Write It’ mat can easily be used with any other word cards. You can even use our free CVC cards and blends cards that are also available in the Resource Library!

How to Present the ‘Read It, Build It, Write It’ Mat

Tips

The child should be an emergent reader and show an interest in handwriting.
Pair the mat alongside a manipulative so your child is able to build the words. This helps develop kinesthetic memory. A manipulative could be a moveable alphabet, magnetic or foam letters, WikkiStix, or even Play-Doh.
Provide either a dry-erase marker or a Stabilo Woody 3-in-1 pencil alongside a cloth wipe.

How to Download

The ‘Read It, Build It, Write It’ mat is available for you to download in the Resource Library. Just subscribe to the newsletter below and grab your FREE copy today!

Thanks for Your Support!

If you’re using any of our products, I’d love to see! Feel free to tag me @freeandunfettered on Instagram.