It is amazing how much children can learn through play! Setting up a phonics shop in your classroom will make reading and writing new words irresistible for little learners. The phonics shop could be open for morning tubs, early finishers, or centers. Plus, you can set it up to fit any skill you are practicing in your classroom! Just don't be surprised if you see a line of excited "shoppers" waiting to have a turn!
This phonics shop can be customized to fit any classroom! I thought my kiddos would love shopping at a toy store so I collected lots of different toys to fill the shelves. You could also create a grocery store with play food, a pet store with stuffed animals, or an office supply store with school supplies. It's easy to make the store fit the interest of your students. You can also choose any skill to practice at your phonics shop. It could be something new or something that needs some extra practice.
Setting up your phonics shop is simple! To get started, I cleared a little shelf and added a sign to the store using Jumbo Poppin' Patterns Designer Letters. I grabbed some Kraft Paper Price Tags and a bunch of cute toys. I wanted to have a lot of variety, just like a real toy store! I knew my girls would love some adorable plush dolls so I chose Slumber Party Yarn Hair Dolls for the shelves. My boys this year love vehicles so the cars from the Melissa & Doug Mega Race Car Carrier were a must! I also picked a few Bright Stuffed Bears and Bright Pattern Rubber Ducks. I finished filling the shelves with Polka Dot Magic Springs and Wind Up Robots. All of the toys are small enough to fit in the shop and durable so they can be used again and again.
The next step was to decide what I wanted my students to practice! Using observations and data, I determined that my kiddos needed to practice some words with long vowels and silent e. I wrote one word on each Kraft Paper Price Tag with a marker. The tags already have elastic on them so I just wrapped each tag around a toy. I then filled the empty shelves with the toys. You don't have to take a long time setting up, because the kids will be moving everything right away.
Before the phonics shop "grand opening," I added a couple Bright Shopper Tote Bags that held Fun Print Spiral Notepads and Crayola Pip-Squeaks Skinnies Markers. The shopper will use the tote bag as he or she shops, and the cashier will use the notepad to make a "receipt" so you'll want to have those ready! The store operates best with one or two sets of partners at a time. It's really important to model how to work and shop at the store so everyone knows exactly what to do. One partner will be the shopper and the other will be the cashier. The shopper picks four or five toys to put into a shopping bag.
The shopper takes the bag to the cashier and reads the words on each tag. The cashier makes a "receipt" by writing down the words on the tags in the notepad. The partners then work together to put the toys back on the shelves and switch roles. They can keep playing, reading, and writing until it is time to clean up! If you want to collect the receipts you can, but I just left them inside the notepads.
You can easily update the shop by putting new price tags on the toys or changing the items in the shop. There is no limit to the number of different skills you can practice or the type of shop you can create! Little shoppers everywhere will love learning and playing in the phonics shop!
