Hands-On Activities to Support DIBELS

1. Phonemic Awareness (Hearing and Playing with Sounds)

(Initial Sounds, Phoneme Segmentation, Phoneme Blending)

Sound Stretch

Say a word slowly (“cat”) and stretch it out: /c/ … /a/ … /t/.
Have your child put their “sound arms” up for each sound, then blend to say the whole word.
“Can you stretch and blend ‘sun’? /s/ /u/ /n/ — sun!”

Mystery Sound Bag

Put small items in a bag (ball, spoon, sock). Have your child pull one out and say its beginning sound.
“Sock starts with /s/!”

Jump the Sounds

Say a word with 2–3 sounds. Place one paper square on the floor for each sound.
Your child jumps forward as they say each sound aloud.
“Map — /m/ (jump), /a/ (jump), /p/ (jump)!”

Clap the Word Parts

2. Letter Naming Fluency (Recognizing Letter Names Quickly)

Alphabet Cupcake Liner Match

Write uppercase letters inside cupcake liners, lowercase on small slips of paper. Have your child match them.
“Find the little ‘a’ to match the big ‘A’!”

Alphabet Parking Lot

Draw parking spaces labeled A–Z on cardboard. Drive toy cars into the “correct” letter spots.
“Can you park the car on letter M?”

Spin and Say

Write letters on a spinner or paper plate. Spin, name the letter, and make its sound.
"You landed on D — /d/ like dog!”

Letter Hunt

3. Letter Sound Fluency (Connecting Sounds to Letters)

Sound Builders

Use magnetic letters, tiles, or paper letters to build CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words: cat, dog, sit.
“Let’s change one sound — if we change the /c/ to /h/, what word do we get?”

Sound Sort

Cut pictures from magazines and sort them by beginning, middle, or ending sound.
“Does ‘banana’ go in the /b/ group or /m/ group?”

Sound Freeze

Write letters on small pieces of paper, freeze them in ice cubes. As they melt, name and say each sound aloud!
Adds movement and sensory fun.

Sound Talk Challenge

Throughout the day, speak in “sound talk”:
“Please pass the /m/ /i/ /l/ /k/!”
Encourage your child to decode what you said!

4. Nonsense Word Fluency (Blending Letter Sounds into Words)

Real or Silly?

Write short words (mix of real and nonsense: mop, hig, sob, lut). Read them together and sort them into “real” and “silly” piles.
“Hig is silly, mop is real!”

Blast Off Words

Say a nonsense word: tup. Have your child sound it out — /t/ /u/ /p/ — and then “blast off!” to say it fast.
Add motion by crouching low and jumping up when blending!

Cupcake Word Builder

Use paper muffin cups labeled with letters. Move cups to build new nonsense words and practice reading them quickly.
“Let’s read ‘baf’ — great job blending!”

Switch the Sound

Use magnetic letters or paper squares.
“Make tap. Now switch the /t/ to /m/. What’s the new word?”

5. Oral Reading Fluency (Accuracy, Expression, and Pace)

(Grade 1 Focus)

Echo Reading

Read a short passage aloud, then have your child “echo” you. Model expression and phrasing.
“Listen to how my voice goes up at the question mark!”

Read and Record

Record your child reading a page aloud and play it back so they can hear their smooth reading voice.
“Let’s try reading it a little smoother this time!”

Readers’ Theater

Turn favorite books into mini plays.
Assign parts, make simple props, and read with expression!

Fluency Race

Write short sentences on cards. Time how long it takes to read 3–5 of them fluently — focus on accuracy before speed.
“Can you beat your best time?”

Recommended Read-Alouds That Reinforce DIBELS Skills

• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Letter Names & Sounds)
  
  
• There’s an Alligator Under My Bed (Phoneme Awareness)
  
  
• The Cat Sat on the Mat (CVC Word Blending)
  
  
• Hop on Pop (Nonsense Word Fluency)
  
  
• We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (Rhythm, Fluency, and Expression)