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Elkonin Boxes (Sound Boxes)

10 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Printable sound boxes: blank 2-, 3- and 4-box templates for any word, and word sets with answer keys for 2-sound, CVC and 4-sound words.

Download the elkonin boxes worksheets

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these elkonin boxes worksheets

Elkonin boxes, also called sound boxes, are a row of joined boxes with one box for each sound in a word. A child says the word slowly, touches or fills one box per sound, and then writes the letter for each sound in its box. Cat gets three boxes: c, a, t.

These sheets put handwriting lines inside every box, so children write each letter at the right size while they segment. Use the blank templates with any word you say aloud. The word sets have two parts: read a printed word and write its sounds, then listen to four words read by an adult. The answer key on page 2 lists the words to say.

All the words have one letter for each sound, so the number of boxes always matches the number of letters. Start with 2-sound words like at and up, move to CVC words for each short vowel, and finish with 4-sound words like frog and jump.

Standards

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.DIsolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (CVC) words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.CWrite a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.DSpell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

How to use them

  1. Say the word, then have your child say it back slowly, stretching each sound.
  2. Before writing, let your child push a counter, button or penny into a box for each sound they hear. Then take the counters away and write the letters.
  3. Point to each box as your child writes: “What sound comes first? Next? Last?”
  4. When they finish, have them slide a finger under the boxes and read the word back.

Teaching tips

  • Begin with blank 2-box sheets and very short words (at, in, up, me) before moving to three sounds.
  • If a child hears only two sounds in a CVC word, it is usually the vowel that is missing. Stretch the middle: s-uuu-n.
  • In 4-sound words like frog and nest, the two consonants next to each other are the hard part. Say them slowly and separately: f-r-o-g.
  • Keep using one box per sound later on, when words have sounds spelled with two letters (sh, ch, ck). Both letters go in the same box.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What are Elkonin boxes?

They are sound boxes: a row of joined boxes, one per sound in a word. Children say the word, mark one box for each sound and write the letters, which links hearing sounds to spelling them.

How many boxes should a word have?

One box per sound, not per letter. In these sheets every word has one letter per sound, so cat has three boxes and jump has four.

Do I need counters or tokens?

No, but they help. Pushing a counter into each box before writing lets a child check the number of sounds without worrying about letters yet.

Are these sound box templates free?

Yes. All templates and word sets are free PDFs with no sign-up, in US Letter and A4.