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Joy Allcock's Sound Hunt Card for /er/ is a structured literacy resource designed to engage every student and elevate teacher knowledge—and it's backed by independent research demonstrating it works in diverse classrooms.
It's not just evidence-based, it's evidence-proven.
In just 10 minutes before your writing block, this high-impact activity will activate writing and reading for all students.
"The most engaging and effective early literacy instruction taps into children's natural curiosity, encourages them to play with language and provides structured learning opportunities that allow them to discover the alphabetic code for themselves in a way that makes sense to them."
Sound Hunts are more than just a fun activity—they're a proven method for building the foundational skills that support reading and writing. The reverse side of every Sound Hunt offers easy, ready-made activities, including sound hunts, word decoding, and vocabulary building.
Perfect for whole classes, small groups, or one-on-one support, Sound Hunts spark curiosity and boost reading and writing confidence.
Here's what makes them so effective:
This month's Sound Hunt stars the /er/ sound, featuring an Ermine as the animal mnemonic and the decodable sentence:
"Find a nurse with her purse."
Use the sentence to model decoding, then invite students to explore the busy picture. Can they find the ermine, a bird, a church, or a shirt? What else can they hear and see that includes the /er/ sound at the beginning, inside, or end of a word?
Sound Hunt /er/ offers a fun, focused way to help students tune into sounds in spoken words and make critical connections to written language.
Use the Ermine to anchor the /er/ sound for your students. The visual helps them connect the abstract sound to a concrete, memorable image—reinforcing recall when they meet /er/ words in print.
Listen to the /er/ sound. Learning to hear this sound in words then look for the ways it can be written, will help students learn about the diversity of the alphabetic code.
Explore more sounds in our complete pronunciation guide.
Sound Hunt /er/ is part of The Code Is the Key: Year 1
and is ideal
for providing different levels of learning support.
Read Unlocking Literacy for Every Child
for RTI alignment.
What other /er/ words can your students share with the class? How many different ways did they discover for writing the /er/ sound?
Through Sound Hunts, students learn how the alphabetic code works which empowers their writing and gives them confidence to write the words they can say.
Read how Lauren Latimer from NLA Consulting used Sound Hunts to engage reluctant writers across year levels.
BlogCode-Ed Sound Hunts are grounded in the principles of structured literacy and the Science of Reading, and build core reading and writing subskills through:
The Code-Ed approach is supported by independent research demonstrating measurable gains in reading and spelling achievement.
Learn moreInvite students into the playful world of the /b/ sound through Sound Rhyme for /b/. With its rhythm and rich /b/ word discovery, learners build phonological awareness, expand their vocabulary, and strengthen speech-to-sound-to-print connections—all in just a few minutes a day.
