Elkonin Box Activities

Definition and Instructional Use

They are certainly a crowd favorite in early literacy learning experiences! You know them as “Elkonin boxes,” but they are also referred to as “sound boxes.” In this helpful article, you’ll find explanations, examples, tips, and Elkonin box activities! Read on to learn more.

Defined, “Elkonin boxes,” are used to promote phonemic awareness by requiring students to slowly separate words into individual sounds. This depends on the process of segmenting each word into all of the sounds (phonemes) that comprise it.

To use an Elkonin box, each phoneme is housed inside a square (“box”), and this helps the reader see and say each sound that makes up the entirety of the word.

Some teachers will make use of handheld phoneme manipulatives as they teach with Elkonin boxes. Manipulatives can be:

• counting chips
• tokens
• blocks, or
• other small pieces

This helps the experience of using Elkonin boxes become tactile (hands-on) for these young learners.

Why Use Elkonin Box Activities?

Elkonin boxes…

• deepen a student’s command of the alphabetic principle
• strengthen a student’s letter-sound correspondence accuracy
• boost phonological awareness through segmenting sounds, and later, syllables
• help students identify phonemes, which enhances decoding and encoding

Step-by-Step Implementation

1. Choose your words. Depending on your learner’s age, skills, needs, and interests, select
   appropriate words that can be segmented into phonemes.
2. Place each phoneme within each word in a box. You can do this by hand or print a set.
3. With the learner, identify how many phonemes (sounds) each word has. (Remind the
   learner: “We are looking for sounds, not letters…”)
4. Use a manipulative or other “highlighting tool” to focus on one phoneme (sound) at a
   time. You can use a colorful marker or one of the manipulatives listed above.

Modifications

• collaborate with students individually or as a whole group
• cut out the phonemes housed in each box into pieces to help students move, manipulate, and focus on those phoneme pieces
• select words with vowel teams like “-ea” “-ou” and “-oo”
• direct students to copy or write letters in the boxes as you speak the words

Example

Tips for Mindful Learning:

• Don’t forget to take breaks. Learning can be challenging!
• Always express confidence in a student’s ability to be successful. Start with: “You’re ready! Let’s try it.” or “I know you can do this! You can handle challenges.”
• Use outdoor spaces and sidewalk chalk for a fun spin on this traditional learning method.