Practice closed syllable “wild words” with this fun, hands-on glued words activity for first grade students. Simply print this phonics turkey activity to review challenging glued sound words like ind, ild, old, ost, and olt. 
ild ind old olt ost Words
Phonics can sometimes feel like a puzzle, and one of the most helpful pieces in that puzzle is understanding closed syllables. A closed syllable is a syllable with a single vowel followed by one or more consonants, like in the words “cat” or “sit.” In a closed syllable, the vowel makes a short sound, such as the “a” in “cat” or the “i” in “sit.” Most words follow this rule, but some special words—known as “wild words”—do not. These wild words contain patterns that look like closed syllables, but the vowel makes a long sound instead. That’s where glued sounds, or welded sounds, come in. These groups of letters behave differently, and their sounds are difficult to break apart, so we teach them as being stuck together. Today, we’ll focus on five tricky patterns: ind, ild, old, ost, and olt.
Plus don’t miss this open and closed syllables worksheets, learn about the 6 syllable types, and tons of fun and free phonics activities!
Glued Words
These wild words are exceptions, and because they pop up in everyday reading, it’s important for children to get familiar with them. Let’s take a closer look at each pattern.
ild Words
These words have a long “i” sound, even though they end with a consonant.
- child
- mild
- wild
ind Words
Similar to “ild,” these words also contain a long “i” sound.
- bind
- blind
- find
- hind
- mind
- rind
- wind (Notice: “wind” can have two pronunciations. You can wind a watch, or a strong wind can blow.)
old Words
Even though these words seem like closed syllables, the “o” makes a long sound.
- bold
- cold
- fold
- gold
- hold
- mold
- told
- sold
ost Words
In these words, the “o” sound is long. However, keep in mind that “lost” and “cost” are exceptions that follow the usual short vowel rule.
- host
- most
Glued Sound Words
The next step is to put these Wild Old Words into action with a fun turkey glued words activity. Here’s what you’ll need to do:
This activity makes learning engaging, and reading the words aloud helps strengthen your child’s understanding of these tricky patterns. With a little practice, those wild words will soon feel easy to tame!
Turkey Activities
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