Keep on Changing

Word Awareness Keep on Changing

Objective

Students will substitute one word in a sentence for another .

Overview

The teacher says a sentence, and the children repeat it . Then, the teacher tosses a foam ball to a child who repeats the sentence, changing a single word .

Materials

foam ball or other soft object for tossing

Procedure 1. Say a short sentence, and demonstrate making the sentence different by changing one word . For example, “The plant needs water .” can be changed to “The plant needs sunlight .” Ask children to identify the change . Then, tell children that the group will work to keep changing the sentence . After the initial change in this example, the next change might be “Our plant needs sunlight .” In turn, this might be changed to “Our lizard needs sunlight . ” 2. Share a sentence, and have the group of children repeat it . Then, toss a foam ball to a child in the group . You may wish to start with volunteers . The child should say the sentence with a single word change and toss the ball back to you . 3. Repeat the new sentence together . Then, toss the ball to another child who makes a single word change . 4. The game continues until children can no longer think of changes or until you wish to start an entirely new sentence . See sample sentences on the next page . Also, consider using sentences from the children’s favourite books or having children suggest sentences . Differentiate or Extend ▲ If children continue to change the same word, model changing a different word . For example, if they continue to replace one animal for another animal in a sentence, consider taking a turn and selecting a different word to replace . ▲ You may wish to keep count of how many sentences were developed—one change at a time—from the original sentence . ▲ Start with fairly short sentences, and build to sentences with more words . School-Home Connection Send children home with one sentence, and encourage them to work with their families to change the sentence one word at a time . Invite children to share with the class the sentences their families created, which will require an adult sample sampleat home to write them .

Word Awareness Sample Sentences Run! Clap your hands. Let’s play ball. Have some water. They parked the car. Share the blocks. Here comes the truck. The horses are in the barn. The pepperoni pizza is tasty. Birds chirp in the morning. When will we go? The teacher is kind and friendly. We will sing a new song today. They are going to learn about elephants. We were running in the park. Keep on Changing (cont.) sample