Montessori 'Action' or 'Command' Cards are really easy to use at home. The action cards are simple to make as they can be hand-written or printed. They can be adapted to your child's level of reading, from simple consonant-vowel-consonant  (CVC) words to complex phrases.

The Action Cards contain action verbs. The child reads the word or phrase and then acts out the action. It makes learning to read fun; there are lots of ways to be silly! You can show your child the card and do the action together. Alternatively, you can put the cards in a pile and take turns reading the cards and performing the actions. If the child can't read the word, help sound it out with them. There really isn't a wrong way to do it. So simple!

Using the Action Cards is a fantastic way to do some reading work in short bursts, it's an easy five-minute game that you can play together. 

Montessori Tides School has a brief description for parents on how to use the cards with 3-5-year-olds. The Helpful Garden has some free printables and further explanation which you might find useful. You know I love Miss Rhonda's Readers, and she also has action cards, (a pack of 32 phonetic cards and 32 phonogram cards) which makes it easy to find suitable words for your child, and if you have other sets of hers, you can start to make phrases. 

We are using the free-to-download Phonetic Action Words Set from AMI Digital, which I printed at home. 

The child chooses one card and acts out the word or command. I love that this is a reading/language activity that requires and encourages movement. ❤️

The action words in our set include lots of CVC words. 

The cards also contain consonant digraphs.

This is a great activity to do at home because it can be fun and silly. 

Action Word Resources

1. Phonetic Action Words Set - free download from AMI Digital.

2. Action Word Cards - from Miss Rhonda's Readers - perfect if you don't have a printer at home and for classroom use. 

3. Easy Reader Action Cards - download from Missy Montessori. 

4. Montessori Phonetic Command Cards for Pink, Blue, & Green Series -  download by MoMtessori Live at Teachers Pay Teachers. 

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support! This article was written in 2023 and presented to a five-year-old child.