So you’ve purchased the color coded sound games, and you’re really excited to share them with your students. But how do you fit all this new work on your language shelves? Here are six examples from real classrooms to help you feel inspired, get ideas for storage and display, and feel confident to get started!

What is the best way to display the Color-Coded Sound Games?

This is one of our most frequently asked questions, and it is one of the things that is discussed most often when I present at conferences and do school consultations. There are many factors to take into consideration:

• Do you want all of the games out at once?
• How much space do you have?
• Will you have central storage for things like Bingo Markers or will each set have its own (recommended)

I recommend devoting an entire shelving unit to your letter sound work if at all possible. This makes them look attractive, welcoming, and inviting to the children. It also lets children literally see their progress within the sequence. Moving past a color group is truly a cause for discussion and celebration.

Here is a sample shelf from our friends at the Baltimore Montessori Charter School, in Baltimore MD, taken while the class was in session! (So not everything is replaced perfectly- just as it will be a busy classroom.)

You can see how each set of games is organized by color and each game is found in the same location in each colored grouping, making it each to find and replace by the children. This class chose to unify the color grouping with a large sheet of felt underneath all of the colors of games. She used a clear stacking shelf and turned it upside down to extend her space and make a sub shelf for each color grouping. By pushing the clear plastic shelf to the back of the space, each game was more visible to the children. We think it looks amazing!

Nurturing Nest Montessori School (Bluebirds Class)

Columbia, MD

This class did not have all the games out at a time. The Dice Game and the Sorting Strips are not represented in this picture. The X-Out Games and the Sound Out Cards are grouped together and all colors are housed in one sorting tray on the bottom shelf. (When this picture was taken the other vowels were being used by a child…. So they are missing from the picture!) This encourages children to do more than one set and stretch their concentration!

While I love the look of these containers, the size and shape of the drawers do not let the activities appear in order of difficultly.

Deb Apps

Adelaide, South Australia

This classroom has each of the activities in the color coded grouping on the color coded shelf.

Seemi Abdullah, Trillium Montessori, North Carolina

Ann Schulte Steimle, Glen Spay, New York

This class uses a large shelving unit to house their color Coded Sound Games.

Kalani Schlenker

Cypress Junction Montessori

Winter Haven, Florida

This class chose to house all of the games in identical baskets.

As you can see there are many ways to set up your shelves. The key is to make sure that the children can easily access the materials and easily replace them as well. I love to store everything for each game in the basket for that game. I have enough bingo chips for both the bingo game and the dice game in each color. I have chosen to color code those bingo markers as well but you certainly do not need to! Some classes have used color tape to color code, others have spray painted wooden boxes and still other have used colored dots to mark the groupings of certain cards in clear or white containers. Any of these ideas work beautifully.

Where can I find setup materials for the Color-Coded Sound Games?

Below is a collection of storage solutions and setup items that teachers have found helpful for keeping the games organized, accessible, and inviting on the shelf. Use these ideas as a starting point, and adapt them to fit your space, budget, and classroom style.

We look forward to seeing the pictures of what you come up with to create your personalized Color Coded Sound Games shelf!