For my James Scholar project I composed a list of sites that could be useful when teaching phonics in the early primary grades. It includes a few articles about phonics and some phonics assessment tools, but it is primarily a list of fun activities you can do with your students to teach these basic skills. I had a few problems pasteing this from my word processor, so if you notice any missing text or other problems you would like fixed, just let me know. Enjoy your last two days in the classroom!

Sites Containing Information About Teaching Using Phonics

http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/patti/teacher/levels.html
This site is a list of what to expect from children at various stages of phonemic awareness.

http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/Phonics.html
This site contains an article titled Phonics in Whole Language Classrooms, by Contance Weaver. This digest discusses some of the ways children develop functional phonics knowledge in the context of authentic reading and writing, as well as some of the ways teachers can foster such development. 

http://www.parenthoodweb.com/parent_efmfileshttp://ed.info.apple.com/education/techlearn/elless/pros.cfm/341
This site contains an article titled The Great Debate: Whole Language vs. Phonics. It discusses the differences between whole language and phonics methods and provides three suggestions for teaching reading that combine a phonics and whole language approach. Note: the site is geared towards parents.

http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/patti/teacher/spell.html
This site provides suggestions for teaching using phonics, decodeable books, spelling, high frequency words, and literature.

Sites Containing Phonics Games or Fun Activities to Teach Phonics

http://www.pacificnet.net /~mandel/LanguageArts.html
The activity found here is called Fun With Words and it is geared toward students in grades 3-7, but is easily adaptable to younger grades. Fun With Words involves giving the students pieces of old newspapers and having them search for words or phases illustrating specific concepts. For early primary students you can have them search for words starting with certain letters or starting with or containing specified sounds. It can also be used to teach tenses, parts of speech, or a variety of other language arts concepts.

http://www.pacificnet.net/~mandel/LanguageArts.html
This page contains a game titled Pig Out (for Grades 1-5). The game involves listing four categories on the back of cards shaped like pigs (category examples include animals, foods, transportation, etc.). Each category is numbered and students choose a number before drawing a card. The students then have to name a predetermined number of words containing a specified sound that is in that category (for example four words containing the ch sound that are a food). The game is adaptable for practicing a variety of skills.

http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang34.txt
The game explained on this site is a fun way to reinforce the letters of the alphabet or sounds with students (it is geared for grades K-1). The game is a musical chair kind of game involving placing letters on the floor. This is another game that is very adaptable. 

http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang14.txt
The Blending Slide is a fun game found on this site that can be used to teach children how to blend sounds together to make words. As you might guess it involves the use of a picture of a playground type slide and cards with the letters of the alphabet. As students slide letters down the slide they blend them together to make whole words.

http://ed.info.apple.com/education/techlearn/ellesson/k-2soundsanimal.html
This site contains plans for creating a sounds book and animal research project with your students. Included the use of CD-ROM encyclopedias and word processing software.

http://ed.info.apple.com/education/techlearn/ellesson/elem-gofishkgarten.html
Students can learn and practice their letters and associated sounds while playing this version of go-fish.

http://ed.info.apple.com/education/techlearn/ellesson/elem-kindwordfam.html
Students learn which words belong to specified families (groups containing a certain sound) using this simple game.

http://www.coe.missouri.edu/~kyle/ReadingCatInHat.htm
This lesson teaches children about phonograms (examples are -at and -ake) using the The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss.

http://www.creativeteachingpress.com/activity_greeting.html
This site contains samples from a book titled Phonemic Awareness by Creative Teaching Press. The activity on the site changes about once a month. Silly Greetings is the title of the lesson I found on the site when I visited it. The game is very simple. Each day has its own letter. You greet children by replacing the first letter of their name with the letter of the day. For example if the days letter is L then Mary becomes Lary. It helps to teach students about the sounds that letters make.

http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/54.html
This site contains some information about teaching phonics as well as 4 game type activities that can be used to teach phonics skills. This games include bingo, a scavenger word hunt, baseball card browse and a concentration game. 

http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/38.html
Make letter books with your students using ideas from this site. 

http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/47.html
Letter of the Week, as explained at this site, is yet another way to teach your students about letters and their associated sounds.

http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/46.html
Teach children about the first sound in their name using this fun activity. The students, or you, cut out a cardboard shape of the first letter of their name. They then choose something to glue to the letter that starts with the same sound (examples provided include cotton balls for Catherine and tinsel for Timothy).

Sites for Phonics Assessment

http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/patti/teacher/tools/tools.html
From this page your can access 5 types of phonics assessment including those to help you determine if your students recognize rhyme, beginning, and ending sounds.

http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/patti/teacher/alphabet.html
Check out this site to download a handy worksheet to use when assessing for letter and sound recognition with your students.

http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/patti/teacher/inven.html
This site provides helpful worksheets and directions for giving your students an extended phonics assessment. Would be helpful to use when trying to determine the level of your students.