Phonics Codebreaker Practice Worksheet
Reading by Design • Vol. 4 Structured Literacy
Phonics Codebreaker Worksheet
Name:
Date:
au / aw Vowel Teams /aw/
au at beginning/middle (haul); aw at end or before l, n, k (claw, lawn).
ĕa Short /ĕ/ Digraph
ea can make the short /ĕ/ sound as in bread and head (code with a breve: ĕ).
-dge / -ge Final /j/ Spelling
-dge right after 1 short vowel (bridge); -ge after long vowels or consonants (cage, hinge).
1 Part 1: The /aw/ Detective — Choose <au> or <aw>
Apply spelling position rules
Rule Clue: Use au in the beginning or middle of words. Use aw at the very end of words or before final l, n, or k.
1. Start of a race
l nch
2. Bird of prey
h k
3. Animal foot
cl
4. Person who writes
thor
5. Grass yard
l n
6. Pasta topping
s ce
7. Pull heavy cargo
h l
8. Move on hands/knees
cr l
2 Part 2: The Breve on <ea> — Short /ĕ/ Vowel Team Coding
Code: mark ĕ with breve, cross out silent a
Coding Practice: Place a breve (˘) above the vowel letter e to show it sounds like short /ĕ/. Draw a small slash (/) through the silent letter a. Then read the word aloud.
bread
heavy
feather
thread
ready
sweat
Complete each clue with a word from the box above:
-
Mom packed a warm loaf of sourdough ____________________ for the picnic.
-
The hiker dropped the ____________________ backpack to rest her tired shoulders.
-
A blue jay dropped a soft blue ____________________ onto the garden path.
-
Grandpa threaded a thin green needle with strong cotton ____________________.
Reading by Design Intervention Practice • Unit Review Page 1 of 2
Reading by Design • Vol. 4 Spelling Generalizations & Connected Text
Student:
3 Part 3: Final /j/ Rule — <-dge> vs. <-ge>
Inspect the vowel directly before the sound
Rule 1: Use <-dge>
Immediately after ONE short vowel in a 1-syllable base word. (badge, edge, bridge)
Rule 2: Use <-ge>
After a long vowel, consonant (l, n, r), or diphthong. (cage, hinge, barge)
Short /ĭ/ vowel:
bri _____
Long /ā/ vowel:
ca _____
After consonant /n/:
hin _____
Short /ŭ/ vowel:
fu _____
Short /ă/ vowel:
ba _____
After consonant /r/:
lar _____
Short /ŏ/ vowel:
lo _____
Long /ū/ vowel:
hu _____
4 Part 4: Decodable Detective Passage — "The Lodge on the Ridge"
Read and hunt the patterns
At the break of dawn, Paul took a walk to the old timber lodge on the rocky ridge. He paused to watch a wild hawk flap its wings and soar over the green lawn. A gentle breeze shook a soft brown feather from a branch. Paul pulled a loaf of fresh bread from his heavy pack and sat on a wooden bench near the water's edge. He watched an otter dive beneath the stone bridge while he enjoyed a crisp apple and a warm cup of cocoa. It was a calm morning before he had to haul the logs back to camp.
Sort the bold words from the passage into their correct skill columns:
au / aw words
ĕa words (/ĕ/)
-dge words
Challenge: Why -dge?
Why does ridge use -dge instead of -ge?
5 Part 5: Sentence Application & Dictation
Capital letter Target spelling Punctuation
Sentence 1 (Dictation / Teacher Read):
Sentence 2 (Original Sentence using at least ONE target word: hawk, bread, bridge, badge):
Reading by Design Intervention Practice • Volume 4 Master Skills Page 2 of 2
