Printable Elkonin Boxes
Does your child need help breaking words into sounds? Use these printable Elkonin boxes to make phonemic awareness concrete.
“How do you spell pet?” I asked my first-grade daughter. The global pandemic had just started and she was doing distance learning at home.
Her teacher gave an assignment. She needed to write an 8-sentence paragraph about her favorite type of pet.
She was in tears because she couldn’t write the word pet. She literally couldn’t hear the sounds in the word.
She didn’t know where one sound ended and another began. She couldn’t spell it if she couldn’t break it apart.
At that moment, I realized she had a learning disability. We had a lot of work to do before she could spell or write.
We needed to work on breaking words into their individual sounds. Printable Elkonin Boxes are fantastic for developing this skill.
And it’s not just for children with reading disabilities. All children need to be able to take apart words into sounds.
Using printable Elkonin Boxes is a simple way to work on hearing sounds and breaking apart words. Grab the free printable Elkonin Boxes today.
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What are Elkonin Boxes?
Elkonin Boxes were first created by D. B. Elknonin. He was a psychologist who used them as a tool to make sounds concrete for children.
Children simply have a set of boxes – either on a printable or on a whiteboard. Then an adult says a word to the children.
They push a token, piece of paper, or small toy into an Elkonin Box for each sound they hear.
Elkonin Boxes are an incredibly powerful tool for developing phonemic awareness skills in children.
Printable Elkonin Boxes
As I’ve shared about using Elkonin Boxes on social media, it became clear that parents and teachers wanted printable Elkonin Boxes.
Sure, you can make or draw your own. But sometimes you just need the convenience of a done-for-you printable.
You just slip these free Elkonin Boxes worksheets inside a plastic page protector or a dry erase sleeve. Grab any manipulative you have at home or in the classroom.
You could use coins, legos, small cars, game tokens, or little blocks. A manipulative is just a small item that makes learning concrete for children.
And you’re ready to help your learner develop their reading and spelling skills.
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Free Printable Blank Elkonin Boxes
There are four pages in the free printable Elkonin Boxes download. The first page is:
- Elkonin Boxes with 2, 3, 4, and 5 phonemes on a page
I recommend everyone start with this first Elkonin box page. The primary purpose of Elkonin Boxes, as mentioned above, is to develop phonemic awareness.
You want to be sure your learner can segment and blend phonemes prior to adding letters into the mix. Like the story I shared about my daughter, they cannot spell with letters until they can hear sounds.
(Please note your child does need to know the alphabet! It’s just separate from this at first.)
Once your child is ready, you’ll find these printable Elkonin Boxes templates helpful:
- Boxes and lines for 3 phonemes (2 per page)
- Boxes and lines for 4 phonemes (2 per page)
- Boxes and lines for 5 phonemes (2 per page)
How do you use Elkonin Boxes?
For younger learners and struggling readers, I recommend you start with just 2 or 3 phonemes. They might even need to start with 2 sound words like:
- at
- in
- to
- my
- on
- it
- up
- so
- be
- no
It is much better to start with the simplest and build up to more complicated words. You want to reduce frustration and struggle as quickly as possible.
Then move on to words with 3 sounds like:
- cat
- dog
- and
- was
- ship
- bath
When you see a good understanding of those, you can try four phoneme words.
Elkonin Boxes for Phonics
Another way to use Elkonin boxes is to build phonics and spelling skills.
Once your child can segment words with just a manipulative, you can begin to introduce using letters.
Just grab a dry erase marker or letter magnets to build words. After your child segments the word, they can push the counters right above the boxes.
Then they write the letters that spell the sounds in the boxes.
Elkonin Boxes Examples
Here are some real-life examples of using Elkonin boxes.
Elkonin Boxes for CVC Words
CVC words almost always have three sounds. So you’ll want to use the Elkonin Box printable with space for three sounds.
Let’s see an example for a CVC word like “cat:”
STEP 1:
- Put out counters or other manipulatives.
- Say cat.
- Segment the sounds to /k/ /a/ /t/.
- Place one counter as you say each sound.
STEP 2:
If your child has good letter-sound knowledge, you can introduce letters.
- Push up the first counter.
- Spell the /k/ sound with a c.
- Push up the second counter.
- Spell the /a/ sound with an a.
- Push up the third counter.
- Spell the /t/ sound with a t.
Example with the Letter X
The exception is words that end with X. The letter x actually spells two sounds /k/ and /s/.
Trying to say the word box out loud. Do you hear /b/ /o/ /k/ /s/?
When you use Elkonin Boxes with words with X, you will put a counter for each sound.
Elkonin Boxes for CVCe Words
Always wonder how to map that silent e? It goes either with the final consonant or outside the last box.
In the picture above, I put it with the final consonant. Just choose what makes the most sense to you and be consistent.
Let’s see an example for a CVCe word like “hive:”
STEP 1:
- Put out counters or other manipulatives.
- Say hive.
- Segment the sounds to /h/ /I/ /v/.
- Place one counter as you say each sound.
- Note there is no sound for that final e.
STEP 2:
If your child has good letter-sound knowledge, you can introduce letters.
- Push up the first counter.
- Spell the /h/ sound with a h.
- Push up the second counter.
- Spell the long i sound with an i.
- Push up the third counter.
- Spell the /v/ sound with a v.
- Explain there is a magic e that makes the vowel say its long sound.
- Add the e.
Elkonin Boxes for Blends
A lot of people think that blends have one sound – but they actually have two distinct sounds.
So you want to make sure your learner places one counter for each sound.
Let’s see an example for a word with both initial and final blends word like “plant:”
STEP 1:
- Put out counters or other manipulatives.
- Say plant.
- Segment the sounds to /p/ /l/ /a/ /n/ /t/.
- Place one counter as you say each sound.
STEP 2:
If your child has good letter-sound knowledge, you can introduce letters.
- Push up the first counter.
- Spell the /p/ sound with a p.
- Push up the second counter.
- Spell the /l/ sound with a l.
- Push up the third counter.
- Spell the /a/ sound with the letter a.
- Push up the fourth counter.
- Spell the /n/ sound with the letter n.
- Push up the fifth counter.
- Spell the /t/ sound with a letter t.
Elkonin Boxes for Digraphs
Digraphs can be another tricky word for parents and teachers. You map each digraph as one sound in Elkonin boxes.
Let’s see an example for a word with two digraphs like “chicks:”
STEP 1:
- Put out counters or other manipulatives.
- Say chicks.
- Segment the sounds to /ch/ /i/ /k/ /s/.
- Place one counter as you say each sound.
- Both digraphs only occupy one box.
STEP 2:
If your child knows about consonant digraphs, you can introduce letters.
- Push up the first counter.
- Spell the /ch/ sound with a ch in one box.
- Push up the second counter.
- Spell the /i/ sound with an i.
- Push up the third counter.
- Spell the /k/ sound with a ck.
- Explain that in a one-syllable word with a short vowel, the final /k/ is spelled ck.
- Push up the fourth counter.
- Spell the /s/ sound with the suffix s.
Supplies for Printable Elkonin Boxes
These are my favorite supplies for printable Elkonin boxes.
Instead of laminating, I suggest using dry erase sleeves when possible.
Lamination can’t be recycled. However, dry erase sleeves can be reused for years.
So if your child outgrows Elkonin boxes or you’re a teacher who switches grades, you can simply recycle the Elkonin box printables. Then keep using your dry erase sleeves for other uses.
- Dry erase sleeves
- Plastic counters
- Pom poms
- Counting bears
- Counting bugs
- Magnet letters
- Dry erase markers
Elkonin Boxes Worksheets
If you’re looking for print and go Elkonin Boxes Worksheets, you’ll love the Word Mapping Worksheet Bundle.
It provides a structure for busy parents and teachers to cover the basic phonics skills:
- CVC words
- CVCe words
- Consonant digraphs
- Consonant blends
- Bossy R Vowels
- Vowel Teams and Diphthongs
Your learner will:
- Say the picture name.
- Tap the sounds on the black dots.
- Map the sounds in Elkonin Boxes.
- Write the word on the lines.
- Read the word.
These Elkonin Box Worksheets are best done with an adult’s guidance so you can make sure your child is correctly naming the pictures.
Elkonin Boxes Word Mapping Activity
I wanted a grab-and-go resource for my tutoring students. As an Orton-Gillingham-trained teacher, it’s important to have a systematic way to teach and review all sounds.
These Word Mapping Activities are multisensory and structured to make literacy learning achievable.
You will:
- Print out one thematic mat.
- Grab some manipulatives like pom poms.
- Print out one set of 12 cards.
- Cut them up.
- Say the first picture name for your child.
Your child will:
- Repeat the picture name.
- Place one pom pom for each sound.
- Map the letters that spell each sound.
- Write the word.
- Read the word.
You won’t want to have to think about which words to map in Elkonin boxes. It’s nice that an activity is already prepped for you and covers a ton of phonics skills.
CVC Hands On Cards
One of the most common questions I’m asked is: how do I teach my child CVC words?
I recommend these CVC Words Hands-on Cards. They are interactive and build solid skills.
You won’t need to worry about your child guessing because they are applying their phonics skills from the beginning.
Your child will:
- Say the picture name
- Segment it into three sounds.
- Spell the word with letter beads or magnets.
- Read the word.
Recapping Elkonin Boxes Printables
- Children need to be able to break apart, or segment, words into sounds to read and write.
- Elkonin Boxes help make this complex skill concrete.
- Your child simply places one manipulative for each phoneme, or sound ,in an Elkonin Box.
- You can use these free Elkonin Box printables to develop phonemic awareness with your child.
- There are Elkonin Boxes for two phonemes, three phonemes, four phonemes, and five phonemes.
- You can use Elkonin Box printables with CVC words, CVCe words, digraphs, and blends.
- If you need more structure, you can use Elkonin Box Worksheets.
Conclusion
It’s a little mind-blowing. One simple hands-on activity can help children learn to read.
Phonemic awareness is critical for reading. Elkonin Boxes are a great tool to develop this important skill.