8 Of The Best Science of Reading Activities To Improve Learning

If you teach using a Science of Reading based literacy program, you might be looking for some fresh ideas to keep your students engaged while following best practices. 

I felt the same way after I started teaching with the UFLI Foundations program. I absolutely loved the growth my students were showing, but I found myself needing some supplemental activities to fill out the scope and sequence. That’s why I created dozens of high-quality, UFLI Foundations aligned resources for grades K-3.

Today, I’m highlighting 8 of the best Science of Reading activities to teach in your classroom along with relevant teaching tips. Not only are some of these resources FREE and ready-to-use right now, but all of them are classroom-tested and loved by thousands of educators.

1. Phonemic Awareness Activities

Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the smallest units of sound in spoken words, known as phonemes. This skill is crucial for learning to read because it helps children understand that words are made up of individual sounds. 

For example, the word “cat” consists of the phonemes /k/, /a/, and /t/. Mastery of phonemic awareness enables children to decode unfamiliar words and serves as the foundation for phonics instruction.

Teaching Tips:

• Teach students how to segment words into individual sounds (e.g., “What sounds do you hear in ‘dog’?”).
• Teach blending sounds to form words (e.g., “What word do /s/, /i/, /t/ make?”).
• Identify rhymes and alliterations.

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2. Phonics Practice

Phonics is the systematic instruction of the relationships between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes). It bridges the gap between spoken and written language, teaching children how to decode words by recognizing spelling patterns. 

Strong phonics instruction is explicit and sequential, ensuring students learn foundational skills before progressing to more complex words.

Teaching Tips:

• Teach common sound-spelling correspondences (e.g., the “sh” sound in “ship”).
• Practice decoding words with similar patterns (e.g., “cat,” “bat,” “hat”).
• Encourage word-building activities using magnetic letters.

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3. Fluency Drills

Reading fluency refers to the ability to read text accurately, quickly, and with appropriate expression. Fluent readers can focus on comprehension because they no longer struggle with decoding individual words. Fluency develops through practice and exposure to a wide range of texts.

Teaching Tips:

• Repeat readings of familiar texts.
• Model fluent reading through read-aloud sessions.
• Provide opportunities for paired or group reading activities.

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4. High-Frequency Words Instruction (Heart Words)

High-frequency words are the most commonly occurring words in written text. These words are often referred to as “heart words”.  Approximately 75% of high-frequency words follow a phonics pattern.  Until that phonics skill is explicitly taught, they are considered “temporary heart words”.  About 25% are considered “permanent heart words.”  These words, such as come, of, and said, do not follow traditional phonics rules and must be remembered “by heart.”

Heart words are best taught using a sound to print method which is most effectively done through mapping.  Orthographic mapping is the cognitive process that connects sounds, letters, and meanings.  Mapping is the secret sauce to turn high-frequency words into sight words. It takes 5-500 repetitions for a child to simply memorize a word, compared to 4-20 repetitions through mapping to learn the word.

Teaching Tips:

• Introduce high-frequency words in conjunction with phonics instruction, distinguishing between decodable words and heart words.
• Use orthographic mapping techniques to help students connect sounds and spelling patterns, making it easier for them to recognize and spell heart words like “said” or “come.”
• Reinforce high-frequency words through daily practice using sound walls, and mapping activities, ensuring students recognize both phonetic patterns and exceptions.

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5. Vocabulary Activities

A robust vocabulary is essential for reading comprehension and overall literacy. Children need to understand the meanings of words they encounter in texts to make sense of what they read. 

Vocabulary development occurs through direct instruction, exposure to rich oral and written language, and meaningful engagement with new words.

Teaching Tips:

• Introduce new words in context during reading.
• Encourage word-learning strategies like using prefixes, suffixes, and root words.
• Incorporate games, discussions, and writing activities that emphasize vocabulary use.

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6. Comprehension Practice 

Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading—to understand and derive meaning from written text. It involves a range of cognitive processes, including making inferences, summarizing, and connecting new information to prior knowledge. 

Effective comprehension instruction combines explicit teaching of strategies with opportunities to apply them across different genres and text types. Phonics instruction and guided writing is an important, yet often missed, component to a successful systematic phonics program. Students must be given opportunities to apply phonics skills in an authentic way. Encoding (writing) and decoding (reading) must be tightly linked for maximized learning.

Teaching Tips:

• Ask open-ended questions to encourage critical thinking (e.g., “Why do you think the character made that choice?”).
• Teach visualization techniques to help students picture what they read.
• Encourage discussions about themes, main ideas, and details in texts.

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7. Writing Integration

While often overlooked, writing is an essential component of literacy. The act of writing reinforces phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension skills by requiring students to actively construct meaning. Research indicates that students who write regularly develop stronger reading skills.

Teaching Tips:

• Encourage students to write about what they read.
• Teach sentence construction and paragraph organization.
• Provide opportunities for creative and analytical writing activities.

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8. Assessments

Assessments are vital for identifying students’ strengths and areas for growth. Diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments allow educators to tailor instruction to meet individual needs. Regular monitoring ensures that interventions are timely and effective.

Teaching Tips:

• Conduct phonemic awareness and phonics screenings.
• Monitor fluency through timed readings.
• Use comprehension questions and writing prompts to gauge understanding.

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Final Thoughts

The Science of Reading underscores the importance of evidence-based practices in literacy instruction. By focusing on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing integration, and assessment, educators can build a strong foundation for lifelong reading success. Empowering students with these skills ensures they are not just readers, but confident, capable learners equipped to navigate a world filled with text.

I have personally witnessed outstanding changes in my students’ abilities to decode words based on explicit phonics instruction. I am so passionate about spreading this information and getting high-quality, no-prep resources into the hands of as many teachers as possible. 

Check out the additional Science of Reading resources below, or visit my shop for dozens of the best Science of Reading activities!

More of the Best Science of Reading Activities

1. Decode and Color | UFLI Foundations Aligned | Lessons 6 – 92 | BUNDLE
2. FREE Activities | UFLI Foundations Aligned (Lessons 6 – 53)
3. Letter Sound Sorts ~ UFLI Foundations Aligned | Lessons 1 – 34