Jumping Bean Phonics By Alicia Danyali ‘Updated on Nov 5, 2014
Most little kids hate to sit still, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Take advantage of your kindergartener's energy with this cute game that lets him practice building words, all while acting like a Mexican jumping bean!
What You Need:
Five pieces of large thick paper (oak tag or cardboard work well) Index cards or construction paper Markers or crayons Masking tape
What You Do 1. Start by writing the following consonants on the index cards or construction paper: B,C,F,H,M,P,R,S,D. Review the sounds these letters make with your child and ask him to say them aloud, so you're sure he's familiar with the sounds each of the letters makes. 2. Next, take out your five large pieces of thick paper. On each sheet, write one of the following ending blends: -at, -ig, -og, -an, -it. Tape each sheet to the floor (leaving a bit of room between each). 3. Start by looking at the ending sounds on the floor and saying them together. 4. It's time to jump! Tell your child that he's a Mexican jumping bean, and that his job is to find a partner. Then explain the rules of the game: each time you give your child an index card with a letter on it, he'll try to jump onto as many word matches for it as he can find. (You can use a timer if you'd like, to make things more challenging.) For example, if he had the letter “m”, he could jump on "–at" to make “mat”, or he could jump on "–an" to make “man." But if he jumped on "–it", he would lose his turn, because "mit" is not a word (it's mitt!). The goal is to make as many words as possible, before the timer rings, or the player makes a mistake. This game is a great way to bring home the idea that words are made up of several sounds put together. And it works just as well outdoors, with chalk on a driveway, rather than construction paper taped to an indoor floor. It may be tough for your child at first, but it will get easier. And all that moving keeps things silly, which makes for low pressure and high energy fun. So if you want to help your child with reading, gather some paper, break out the markers, and get a jump on it! Alicia Danyali, BS Elementary Education, taught primary-level students for four years at the International School of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The last four years of her teaching career, she taught at the Washington International School in Washington, D.C. She recently completed writing a series of children's picture books and is a mother of one young son.
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Consonant Blend Scavenger Hunt
By Jennifer Gregory , Updated on Apr 21, 2014
Kids love scavenger hunts. Whether they're chasing down a paper clip or a scarf, the thrill of the game keeps kids excited and engaged. This activity combines the excitement of a scavenger hunt with back-to-basics reading practice: working with consonant blend sounds. No doubt your first grader has already worked with consonant blends in school, and this activity will help reinforce what she's learned.
What You Need: Index cards
Pen
Basket or bag
Timer
What You Do: 1. Write the following blends on separate index cards: bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fl, gr, pl, sc, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw, and tr. Make sure each consonant blend is written on its own card. 2. Hand a card to your child and ask her what sound the blend makes. Remind her that blends
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are letters that work together to make one sound. For instance, the "tr" blend makes the initial sound you hear in the word tree. Practice the sound of the blend with your child. 3. Start hunting! Give your child a basket and tell her that she has five minutes to find as many items in the house that start with the sound on the card. If your child is just learning the sounds, you many want to brainstorm about some ideas of objects that she can find. Here are a few example ideas: o
bl - blue, black, blender, blazer
o
br - brown, brick, bright, bread
o
cl - clothes, cloth, clip, cleaner
o
dr - drawer, drink, drop, drain
o
fl - floor, flat, flip, flake
o
gr - green, grass, grade, gross
o
pl - plastic, play, plush, pluto
o
sc - scream, scrape, scar, scratch
o
sl - sled, slide, slipper, slim
o
sm – small, smear, smooth, smart
o
sn - snake, snack,snap
o
sp – spot, sport, splatter,spatula
o
St - star, stump, stick, sting, stamp, stone
o
sw - sweater, sweet, swing, sweet
o
tr - tree, tray, truck, trunk, treat
4. Set the timer and start the hunt. When the time expires, go over the items with your child. If your child had trouble finding items, go through the house and help her find what she missed. Ask her if she saw any items that were too large to put in her basket, and reward her with a point for each item she names. 5. Give your child another card and have her find items that start with the blend on the card. Continue playing until you have used all of the cards. If your child is just learning blends, you may only want to play with a couple cards the first few times that you play the game. If you child is advanced, you might consider having her compete with an older sibling or friend who's at her level.
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Make a Name Puzzle
Preschoolers are the kings and queens of scribble scrabble. While their “words” don’t quite make sense yet, all that scribbling means that they’re starting to understand that written letters have meaning. You can help your child make the leap to the next level—understanding that letters put together in a certain order make words—by working with a sure-to-be favorite: your child’s own name.
What You Need:
An envelope
Two strips of paper (about 9-12 inches in length)
Scissors
A red magic marker, and a black magic marker
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What You Do: 1. Use the black marker to write your child’s first name neatly in big bold letters on the first strip of paper. Do the same thing in red on the second strip. You’ll want to leave about a finger-width of space between each letter so that you can cut them apart later. 2. Show the black strip to your child and tell him that this is his name. Run your finger under the name from left to right as you say it aloud. Have your child do the same. Now point to each letter, one at a time, and say the letter name aloud. Ask your child to copy you. 3. Leaving the first strip intact, pick up the second strip with the red letters and cut the letters apart into individual pieces. As you make each cut, say the name of the letter that you are cutting off the strip. 4. Mix up the pieces. 5. It’s time to get puzzling! Ask your child to help you put the red name puzzle back together, using the black strip as a guide. This provides him with lots of support as he matches letters to their mates. 6. Speaking the names of the letter aloud helps kids make connections between what they see and what they hear. So for the best practice, nudge your child to say the name of each letter aloud, as he puts it into place. He should also try to put the pieces together in order, so he gets used to the sequence of the letters. You can help him along with hints. (For example, to complete a name puzzle for “John,” you might ask your child to look for the letter “J” first, rather than picking up a random piece and putting it in its place.) 7. After he’s successfully matched the red letters to the black ones to build his name, it’s time to fly solo! Ask him to build his name from memory, without looking at the black strip. 8. Finally, when clean-up time comes, slide all those reds and blacks into the envelope, and help your child write her name on the outside of it, saying each letter aloud as he writes. Store the puzzle pieces and the name strip for later practice. And there you have it—a super easy way to make learning letters fun! Liana Mahoney is a National Board Certified elementary teacher, currently teaching a first and second grade loop. She is also a certified Reading Specialist, with teaching experience as a former high school English teacher, and early grades Remedial Reading.
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Toss and Blend: A Carnival Game By Alicia Danyali ,Updated on Nov 6, 2013
Have you ever played the carnival game where you try to toss chips into a cup to win a fabulous prize? This version may not snag your kid a life size stuffed giraffe, but it will give him a boost with writing and spelling. Sure it's fun, but beneath the carnival atmosphere is a game that helps reinforce beginning sound-letter combinations. So bring out the paper cups and let's build some words!
What You Need:
Paper, for recording words Markers 5 paper cups Tape Handful of coins, buttons, or game chips
What You Do: 1. Using a thick marker, write one of the following beginning blends on the inside lip of each paper cup: BL-TW-QU-CH-SH 2. Next, tape the cups to the floor so they are touching, and visible when viewed from a standing position by you and your child. 3. On chart paper or a pad, create a beginning letter blends chart. Write the blends as you did on the cups across the top of the paper. These blends form the headings for the columns of your chart. Underneath them, you'll list the words your child brainstorms, in the appropriate individual column. Not in the mood to create your own chart? Print out our template. 4. Time to toss! To start the game, take turns with your child tossing a chip into the cup of your choice. When the chip lands in a cup, the player must come up with a word that starts with its beginning blend. For example, if your child's chip lands in the BL- cup, she needs to dream up a word with that beginning, such as “blue” or “black”. Each time someone comes up with a word, let your child (with your assistance) record it on the letter blend chart. How many words did you come up with for each blend? Ask your child to tally the results! Can she come up with other beginning blends to use for a future round? Does she think she's ready to tackle the game with ending blends instead? Get her feedback. And if she's game, get out those chips and keep tossing! Alicia Danyali taught primary-level students for four years at the International School of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The last four years of her teaching career, she taught at the Washington International School in Washington, D.C. She recently completed writing a series of children's picture books and is a mother of one young son.
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100 Words: Word Building By Julie Williams Updated on Jan 28, 2014
The 100th Day of School is an especially big math time in kindergarten, first, and second grade, when kids are starting their addition and subtraction adventures. But that doesn’t mean that words can’t be part of the celebration, too! Here's a great word challenge for early elementary kids. Using common word endings such as -en, -ing, and -at, you and your child can create ten groups of words—a hundred in all—that boost reading and spelling skills, and even build confidence. Once the 100th Day is over, try using this entertaining activity as a way to pass the time on road trips.
What You Need:
10 pieces of card stock, preferably different colors, size 8-1/2 ”x 11”
Black permanent marker and pencil Ruler Scissors Scotch tape
What You Do: 1. To make the first “word slider,” have your child pull out one piece of card stock and place it horizontally on a table. Cut it in half, lengthwise. 2. Put one of your cut pieces aside, and start working with the other. Use your ruler to mark a square one inch wide by one inch tall. Next to it, have her use a black marker to write one word ending (for example, we recommend an old classic: -at). Make each letter about 3/4 inches high. 3. Cut out the 1-inch square you have penciled in to make a window next to it, like this:
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4. Now, pull out your second piece of cut card stock of the same color, and help your child use the ruler and pencil to mark a line 1-1/4 inch from the long edge. Have him cut along this line to make a 1-1/4” x 11” strip. (Note: Don’t throw away the remaining piece—you’ll need it soon!) 5. Using the ruler and sharpie, make nine lines, each 1 inch apart, so that your strip ends up with eleven 1-inch boxes marked, like this:
6. Remember that remaining piece of cardstock, the one that now measures 3” x 11”? Take it out and cut it into a rectangle, 1-1/2” x 4”, center it behind your cut-out window, and tape it down, like this:
7. Now it’s time for some reading fun! Feed your long, marked strip through the tunnel you have just made. In each of 10 boxes, have your child write one or two letters that can be used to start a word with that ending. “At” words are usually a great place to start—remember Dr. Seuss? If you start running out of ideas, here’s our crib sheet: cat, bat, hat, mat, vat, sat, rat,
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fat, pat, that. 8. Slide the letter strip back and forth, and you’ve created TEN words to practice and enjoy. 9. Have your child repeat this process to make nine other sliders, picking from nine of the following word endings, and you’ll have ONE HUNDRED words. (psst: parents, to make things easier, we’ve also included the words we think a second grader, or an advanced first grader, will know!)
Et: let, get, bet, met, net, jet, pet, set, vet, wet, yet An: can, fan, man, pan, tan, van, than, ran, clan, ban In: thin, fin, bin, tin, shin, kin, pin, grin, chin, din, win Ip: clip, drip, hip, grip, sip, tip, nip, quip, whip, chip Ink: think, link, pink, sink, wink, drink, rink, clink, slink, blink Ank: Drank, clank, sank, tank, blank, thank, rank, prank, stank, bank Ing: ding, ping, sing, thing, wing, cling, fling, king, ring, sling Ack: back, quack, track, whack, knack, hack, lack, sack, stack, clack Ick: sick, thick, stick, wick tick, slick, quick, trick, brick, click, chick Special note: parents, you may notice that another common ending, -it, is not on our primary list. “It” does work—you can make bit, fit, hit, pit, wit, flit, grit, slit, quit, and sit. Unfortunately, you can also make at least three off-color words. So we left this off—but parents, the final decision is up to you! As we noted above, these word sliders can be clipped together as a set and pulled out again many times. In addition to being a boost to a kids’ reading self-esteem, they are great practice for young spellers. We recommend clipping the cards together and sticking them in the car. Add a stopwatch to the mix when you’re on a long trip, and you can have hours of fun as your child learns to move from sounding out each word to recognizing it on sight. In the process, we suspect your teacher will be pretty grateful for your teaching support, too. Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
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Paper Plate Phonics By Liana Mahoney ,Updated on Jul 3, 2013
In first grade, the reading wheels are turning. First graders develop their reading skills rapidly, applying lots of different strategies to decode words they don't know. One strategy is learning to recognize beginning and ending letter patterns, such as "st-" and "-ack." Once kids start learning these patterns, reading new words gets a lot easier! This spinning phonics wheel is a cool way to practice word endings, and it's fun to make, too. In phonics terms, beginning letter patterns are called onsets, and endings are called rimes. Rimes always start with a vowel, while onsets are groups of letters that come before the vowel.
What You Need:
2 paper plates Scissors Marker Brass fastener
What You Do:
4. 5. 6.
7.
1. Stack the paper plates on top of one another, and poke a small hole straight through the center of both plates. Separate the plates. 2. Use scissors to cut a 2” square in the top plate. The square should be about an inch to the right of the center hole. 3. Use the marker to write a rime (or ending letter pattern) on the right side of the window, such as “at.” (See the list below for some common first grade rimes.) Be sure to write the rime about the same height as the cut-out window, and use lower-case letters. Attach the two plates with a brass fastener at the center. The plate with the rime and window should be on top. Use the marker to write a letter (or a cluster of onsets) on the portion of the bottom plate that appears in the cut-out window, such as “c”. Turn the bottom plate clockwise until the “c” disappears, then write a different letter in the window. Continue in this manner, writing a letter, then turning the plate, until you come back to the letter “c.” Now it's time to play! Hand your child the plates, and have him turn the wheel until a letter appears in the window. Help him blend the beginnings and endings to make new words! Some common first grade rimes include: -ab, -ag, -ack, -at, -ap, -an, -am, -ad, -ake, ate; -ed, -en, -ell, -eck, -eel, -est,; -id, -ill, -ig, -ick, -ip, -ide, -ike; -op, -ot, -ock, -og, -oat; -ug, -uck, -ut. Liana Mahoney is a National Board Certified elementary teacher, currently teaching a first and second grade loop. She is also a certified Reading Specialist, with teaching experience as a former high school English teacher, and early grades Remedial Reading.
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Play with Words: A Pretend Bakery Game By Mary Anne Edwards Updated on May 24, 2013
Tie on that apron. Break out the mixing bowls. If your child loves to play pretend, and needs practice with letters and the sounds they make, get cooking with this activity! Not only is it playful fun, but it builds key reading skills.
What You Need:
1 toy blender or large mixing bowl and spoon
Markers
2-3 foam sheets (can be found at any craft store)
Safety scissors
Construction paper
Paper or plastic plate
Pretend money
What You Do: 1. Set it Up. Using the foam sheets, help your child write each of the 26 letters of the alphabet on the foam, leaving two finger spaces between each letter. Make at least one extra for each of the vowels in the alphabet (A, E, I, O, U). As she's writing the letters, have your child say each letter name aloud and remind her of the sound(s) it makes. Now get out those safety scissors! Ask her to cut the letters into squares. (They should look like Scrabble game pieces.) 2. Make a Menu: In this game, your child will pretend to run her own bakery, but instead of cooking with flour and sugar, she'll be mixing letters together in her blender or bowl to make words. No bakery would be complete without menus. Give your child some construction paper and markers, and ask her to write down the items she has available, so her customers
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can order what they want. She should use the following list: o
cat
o
hat
o
tip
o
sip
o
bed
o
red
o
hop
o
top
o
hut
o
cut
3. Mix it Up!: Have your little chef get out her toy blender (or a large mixing bowl and spoon) and put all of the letter tiles inside. As the customer, it's your job to shout out your “order.” When she hears the word, your chef should mix her ingredients, then look inside the bowl for the letters in the item you've ordered. For example, if you order “cat”, she should search for the letters “C” “A” and “T”, then lay them out on the plate and tell you your order's ready. If you arrive at the counter to find that she's spelled the word correctly, pay for your purchase and thank the chef. If the word has mistakes, tell her, “That's not exactly what I ordered” and help her figure out how to correct it. 4. Stay Hungry: Reading takes practice, so make sure to build on what your child has learned so far, rather than just doing one word at a time. Place another order, sticking to something in the same word family. For example, if you've just tried “cat,” move on to “hat”. Repeat this process for each word on the menu. Once your child has mastered everything on the list, help her dream up new words to add to her menu, for example, “bat” or “mat”. This is a really fun way to help kids practice their letters and sounds. So get those ingredients ready, and cook up a good reader! Mary Anne Edwards has taught preschool, first, and fourth grades. She has also lead second grade reading groups.
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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The Build-a-Word Card Game: Better than Go Fish!
By Kathy Meindl Updated on Feb 8, 2013
A compound word is a long word that is made up of two smaller words—think “bookcase,” for example, or “playground.” Compound words may look hard at first, but things get easier if kids can spot two smaller words that they already know. Want to add a little “holy moly!” to something that can feel "ho hum?" This card game will help you practice making compound words—and have some fun while you’re at it!
What You Need:
Index cards
Pencils, markers, crayons or a combination of writing utensils
What You Do: 1. Make a set of “word cards.” Give your child the following list of words: life time can not cross walk moon light any body mean back ground bath room break fast day dream down town up stairs some butter fly fire thing one else where base ball day up side no air plane bed
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time 2. Set it up. Ask your child to write each word on its own index card. Then have her lay the cards in a pile, word down, and shuffle the deck. Each player gets 5 cards. The rest of the pile goes in the middle. 3. The object of the game: Collect as many compound words as possible, by finding “pairs” of cards that go together to form a word. The player with the most pairs at the end, wins. 4. Starting with the youngest player, each player looks at his hand and asks another player for cards. For example, if a player had the word “any” in his hand, he might ask, “Jason, do you have cards that go with “any?” If the other player has any words that can be attached to “any” (for example, “body”, “day”, “where”, or “time”) to make a compound word, he hands them over. 5. If a player gets the card(s) he asks for, it’s still his turn. He can ask for something else, for example, “Mom, do you have any cards that go with “cross?” But if a player asks for a card that his opponent doesn’t have, he’s told, “Go Build!” He must pick up the top card in the middle pile. If it’s something he can make a compound word with, using one of the cards in his hand, he shows the pair and his turn goes on. Otherwise, his turn ends. 6. Play continues like this. Each time a player find a compound word match, he shows the other players, then lays it beside him in a pile. Whoever had the most compound word pairs in the end, wins. 7. Want to check your work? There are many possible answers, but here are some words that were originally used for the list above: lifetime cannot crosswalk moonlight anybody meantime somebody butterfly firefly something someone elsewhere baseball today upside nowhere background breakfast daybreak daydream downtown upstairs bedtime airplane 8. Of course, there are thousands of compound words in the English language. So don’t limit yourself to this list! Brainstorm as many as you’d like to add to the deck. And let your kid in on the challenge! Kathy Meindl has taught first grade, kindergarten, and fourth/fifth grade for 8 years in Tucson, AZ. She holds a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership.
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Play Flip Over Vowels
By Liana Mahoney Updated on Mar 27, 2014
In first grade, students are overwhelmed with reading strategies. They're exposed to wave after wave of phonics patterns, and internalizing these patterns can take tons of repeat practice. Here's an activity to reinforce simple short and long vowel words and help your child get a quick visual representation of the "silent e rule". Easy and fun, this activity is sure to have your child flipping over vowel practice!
What You Need:
White card stock, cut into a large circle about 7 inches in diameter
1-inch wide strip of white card stock, about 5 inches long
Variety of writing tools: markers, pencils, colored pencils, crayons
Brass fastener
Blank index card
What You Do: 1. Poke the brass fastener through the center of the circle. Use the fastener to attach the strip to
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the back of the circle so that it hangs over the side of the circle by about an inch. 2. Fold the excess paper over the front of the circle so that you create a flap that you can easily turn around the perimeter of the circle. 3. Use a black marker to write a lowercase "e" on this flap. 4. Use the marker to write a word on the circle directly to the left of the letter e. The word should follow a simple consonant, short vowel, consonant pattern (CVC words). Some suggested words include kit, hat, cub, tub, bit, rip, cap, rat, tap, rod, cop. 5. Turn the flap slightly so the e is in a new space, and write another word from the list. Continue in this manner until you have about ten words written around the circle. 6. On an index card, use a pencil to write a description of a special treat or reward for your child, such as enjoying popcorn together, or making an ice cream sundae. Flip the card over so your child can't see what you wrote. 7. Now, unfold the flap with the letter e, so all your child can see is the CVC words on the circle. Have her read each word to you. Assist as needed, and remind her that these are short vowel words. 8. For each word, have her draw a small illustration in the space to the right of the word. For “hat,” she can draw a simple cowboy hat, and so on. Have her continue in this manner until all the words are illustrated. 9. Now tell her she's going to practice some long vowel words. To read them, she will simply “flip” the vowel sound, so the vowel sounds like its own name. Illustrate this, by flipping over the letter flap in front of the word “hat.” Say “hat,” then flip the e over so it is visible, and say “hate.” Have your child repeat this action, then turn open the flap, turn the wheel, and repeat for each word on the circle. 10. Assist as needed. Flipping vowels can be tricky! Encourage your child to keep trying, and tell her that if she flips the vowels all around the wheel, you have a special reward for her. 11. When she's finished, have her flip one last time. She flips the index card over to reveal her special reward! Liana Mahoney is a National Board Certified elementary teacher, currently teaching a first and second grade loop. She is also a certified Reading Specialist, with teaching experience as a former high school English teacher, and early grades Remedial Reading.
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Phonics Treasure Hunt
By Julie Williams Updated on Nov 8, 2013
By the end of kindergarten, kids have spent a lot of time developing their “phonemic awareness”—the ability to hear sounds and connect them to letters. They've worked especially hard on “initial sounds”, such as the way “ball” starts with B or “cat” starts with C. This whimsical, challenging treasure hunt calls on that knowledge of initial sounds and helps kids string those sounds together to start to decode words. It's a great activity for kids working in teams, allowing them to work together and share what they know. Don't be surprised if it's still lots of fun throughout first grade. Whether you're five, six, or seven, it's hard to overdo phonics practice, and there's no such thing as too many treasure hunts.
What You Need:
Set of “Spykinder” cards (click here and here for printable versions)
Several sheets of blank paper
Pencil for your treasure hunt decoders
“Treasure route” around your home, yard or park
Pack of 5-8 crayons or different colored markers to serve as a prize for each treasure hunter
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What You Do: 1. Prepare your Spykinder cards. Each card has a picture of an object, such as a banana, that begins with a clear letter sound. Print the card page, and cut along the dividing lines. Write the initial letter for each picture on the back of each card. For bee, for example, write "b". Note that there are two different cards for each vowel: one for a short vowel sound like the “e” in elephant and one for a long vowel sound like the “e” in eel. 2. Parents should set the game up by planning a route around your house, yard, or park, with 5-8 locations that kids will find. At each location, hide one crayon or marker from the prize set. 3. Now gather your treasure hunters and explain to them that their bounty can only be revealed if they crack a secret “spykinders” code. Give each treasure hunter a sheet of paper and a pencil. 4. Lay out the cards, picture side up, so the first letter of each object is a letter in the word you want to spell. For example, the word "bag" would be a bee, apple, and grapes. Make each word or phrase a location in the treasure hunt. 5. Challenge the kids to crack the code by identifying the first letter sound of each object, then writing the letter on their sheet of paper. Once they have all the letters, have them sound the whole word out. When they have conquered the challenge, send them off to that location to find their prize. 6. While the kids are running off, arrange your next “spykinder” code word or phrase, and continue the process until the kids have found all the markers or crayons. 7. Once everyone has found all the markers, the game ends—but don't be surprised if the kids beg you for more. There's something irresistible running around with your friends while discovering how letters and sounds make words, and words make tangible meanings that help you find great things. 8. Finally, once you've used up all the cards, wrap up the activity by challenging your kinders to identify the one letter of the alphabet they didn't encounter. Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
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Play Beanbag Letter Blend Toss
By Julie Williams Updated on Apr 15, 2011
Back in kindergarten, kids did lots of work with single letter-sounds like the “t” in turkey or the “d” in dog. Now that first grade’s here, they’re also going to need to be adept at recognizing lots of letter blends, such as “ch” or “sh.” Sounds like these probably seem like a cinch to you, but for little kids they can be tough. The sound of “ch,” for example, sounds so unlike either “c” or “h” that lots of justice-minded kids will complain that “it’s just not fair!” Fortunately, you can help make the rules of the game a lot easier to take. The key is familiarity, and practice really helps. Want a memorable and hilarious way to practice letter blends? Try this “Beanbag Letter Blend Toss.”
What You Need:
A flat wood or cardboard rectangle, about 2 feet by 4 feet, marked into eight squares. Eight pieces of white paper Magic Markers 3-4 bean bags A couple of eager first graders
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What You Do: 1. Set it up. Start by drawing eight different letter blends in big, strong block letters on your eight pieces of paper. Choose among first grade “greatest hits” such as: ch, th, sh, wh, oo, ee, ing, tion, and str, among others. 2. Explain to your child that the aim of the game is to hit the sound you hear. Each child gets 34 tries (depending on the number of beanbags available). 3. Draw a line for contestants, and place the board on a floor or smooth backyard surface. 4. Now, as referee, say the sound and then invite the child to land the beanbag on it. Each kid gets three throws in one turn. Each beanbag that makes it onto the correct letter sound represents a point, and the child with the most points after 2-4 turns (depends on how many kids you have and how long the attention span of your group) can get to be referee next time. Note: this activity works especially well when kids are comfortable with tossing beanbags, and they have pretty decent aim. If you’ve got a more scattershot bunch, it works just as well if you put the board against a fence or wall, and have kids run up to it and touch the correct square for a few rounds. Why this works: In order to master letter blends in first grade reading and spelling, kids need to practice, practice, practice. While flashcards and room decorations help them remember visually, there’s nothing like “kinesthetic” (whole body) learning to help kids integrate their lessons for keeps. Don’t be surprised if you end up with some happy family memories while you’re at it. Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Compound Word Art By Jennifer Gregory Updated on Mar 18, 2014
If your child enjoys drawing, this compound word pictures project is the perfect way to let your kid get creative while helping increase his vocabulary and improving literacy skills. Compound words are formed when two words are combined, and this activity is a visual way to show your child how two words can join up to make a word with a whole new meaning.
What You Need:
White or light-colored copy or construction paper Markers, colored pencils or crayons Scissors
What You Do: 1. Fold the paper horizontally and cut the paper on the fold. You should now have two long strips of paper. 2. Place the paper horizontally in front of you. Fold each end of the paper inward so that the two ends touch and create two folded sides, giving you two doors that open. 3. Tell your child that a compound word is a word made up by two different words. Talk about how the words mean something different when they are separate words. Explain that when the two words are put together that they make a new word that means something different. 4. Have your child pick a compound word. Sample compound words include: sunflower, earring, seahorse, pancake, toothbrush, eyeball, keyhole, fireman, ponytail, teapot, jellyfish, toolbox, eggshell. Would you like to introduce any new words? 5. On the left door of the paper, have your child draw a picture of the first word in the compound word and write the word underneath the picture. For example, if she picked the word seahorse, she will draw a picture of the sea and then write the word "sea" underneath it. 6. On the right door, have your child draw a picture of the second word in the compound word. Using seahorses as an example, she would draw a picture of a horse on the second door. 7. Have your child open both doors and draw a picture of what the compound word means together. For example, she would draw a picture of a seahorse and write the word "seahorse" underneath it. 8. After your child has finished, have her tell you about the compound word. If she's up for it, encourage her to pick another word and draw another picture. 9. Hang the pictures on the refrigerator. Throughout the day, point out when you encounter other compound words, and try to think of even more compound words that we use every day!
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Phonics Scavenger Hunt! By Keren Perles Updated on Jun 18, 2013
What can you do to keep your child busy that uses few materials and will actually help her review her phonics skills too? Try this phonics scavenger hunt that will keep your child hunting around any room for words that fit a given phonics skill. Try it out next time you're in a busy waiting room with your preschooler, or stuck inside on a stormy day. You can even use the magazines in the waiting room to keep the game going.
What You Need:
Paper Pen Old magazines Crayons or markers (optional)
What You Do: 1. Choose a letter that your child knows the sound of. For example, you might choose the letter “B.” 2. Call out the name of the letter and encourage your child to find as many objects around the room that start with that letter as she can. For example, she might run around pointing out a bed, a broom, a blanket, a brush, and a bottle. As she finds each object, you should respond, “Yes! ‘B’ is for ‘bed’!” 3. Make a list of all of the “B” objects that your child has found. When your child finishes finding all of the objects, read the list back to her and congratulate her on finding so many objects that begin with the same letter. 4. Look through some old magazines and let your child add pictures from the magazine to the list. For example, your child might find a picture of a bowl or a bucket. 5. She can illustrate the list with any writing or drawing materials you have handy. 6. Repeat this process with other letters that your child knows. Keep a collection of these word lists in your purse or hang them on the wall, and revisit them with your child periodically.
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Play Alphabet Matchup! By Trish Kuffner Updated on May 13, 2014
Research shows that children who know the names and sounds of letters when they enter school, learn to read sooner. You can help! During the preschool years, children develop at an extraordinary rate. Although your child’s incessant curiosity may be aggravating at times, especially at the end of a long day, it provides an opportunity for you to help her connect daily experiences with words. Small things, that aren’t particularly exciting to adults, can be fresh and fascinating to curious preschoolers. Take something as un-glorious as the standard wooden clothespin. To you? Nothing special. But to your preschooler? Fun just waiting to happen and a great way to launch reading off the page! Here’s a project that will help your child match sounds to objects he sees every day. It doesn’t take a lot of money, or a lot of skill—it’s easy!
What You Need:
Clothespins Paper Tape Pen or marker Old magazines Scissors
What You Do: Write the letters of the alphabet on small pieces of paper and tape them to clothespins, or print the letters right on the clothespins. Cut out magazine pictures, one for each letter of the alphabet, and have your child match the clothespin letters to the beginning sounds of the objects in the pictures. They can clip the pictures to the corresponding clothespins as they find them! Adapted with permission from "The Preschooler's Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner (Meadowbrook Press, 1998)
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Rhyme Game in a Bag
By Gina Dal Fuoco Updated on May 9, 2014
What do Little Miss Muffet and Humpty Dumpty have in common? They taught generations of young children (like us) how to rhyme. We were learning phonemic awareness and we didn’t even know it! Phonemic awareness is a fancy term that means that kids understand that words are made up of a series of sounds, put together. It's a critical piece in learning to read. Rhyming helps kids perfect it, plus, rhymes are something kindergarteners are drawn to naturally. For a fun game that uses rhymes, try this activity on for size!
What You Need:
A bag or pillowcase 10 to 20 small objects A table
What You Do: 1. First things first… Brainstorm a list of small objects that rhyme. Or use this list of common household objects: car
star
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duck truck doll
ball
frog
dog/log
pen
hen/ten
snake cake/rake/lake bee
tree/three/key
hat
cat/rat
bug
mug/rug
rock
lock
socks box/fox sock
clock/rock/block
house mouse man
can/fan
pig
twig
2. It shouldn’t take more than a walk through your child’s room to find everything you need, but you might want to take a trip to your local dollar store if your bag is lacking luster. 3. Once you've gotten your objects together, put half of them in your bag and the other half on the table. It's time to play! Invite your child to the game but before you play, take a look at what's on the table and make sure you and your child agree on the same name each of the objects. For example, decide that the hen is going to be called a hen and not a chicken, or that the rug is not going to be called a carpet. 4. It's picking time! Have your child close his eyes and reach into the bag to pull out an object. After he pulls something out of the bag, encourage him to look for its rhyme on the table. Once he finds a match, he should say the name of each of the objects aloud. 5. Now it’s your turn. You can add a little twist to the game by letting your child "help” you find your match. As you pretend to have difficulty finding a rhyme, say a few possibilities aloud, for example, “Hmm…I know house rhymes with zouse, but where is it?” The sillier you are, the more fun your kindergartener will have trying to help you figure out the correct match. 6. After all the objects have been paired up, go back and take turns naming your rhyming pairs. You can even try making up your own song or chant: House/mouse, mouse/house, house and mouse rhyme. Gina Dal Fuoco has been an elementary school teacher in California for over 12 years, and has also taught English as a foreign language in Italy. Gina is the mother of a toddler and a kindergartener.
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Bowling for Phonics By Julie Williams Updated on Jul 2, 2013
"When two vowels go out walking, the first one does the talking." Remember that rule? There are exceptions, of course, but this rule can be helpful in the development of young readers in many cases. However, learning this only through worksheets can make kids restless. Instead, try this goofy game that turns old soda bottles into bowling pins, where your kids will "bowl" for vowel patterns they'll come across everyday. "Double-vowel" words can be very tricky for kids, but this game allows kids to stay active while building their reading vocabulary—and it can make for hours of fun as well!
What You Need:
6 empty 2-liter soda bottles
Nontoxic spray paint for plastic
Sheet of clear plastic acetate (used for overhead projector slides and available at office supply stores)
Clear plastic packing tape
Index cards
Permanent marker
What You Do: Setup: 1. Make sure that the soda bottles are empty and dry. Start by spray painting them with nontoxic paint, either in black or in a bright color. (Be sure to leave the caps on as you spray paint.) These will become your "bowling pins." If you plan to play indoors with a light "bowling" ball, you can leave the pins empty. Otherwise, use a heavier ball and add about 2 inches of sand to each bottle to keep it balanced and to make it a little harder to capsize instantly.
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2. Cut up the plastic acetate sheet into six 4" wide by 1-1/2" high pieces. Horizontally place one plastic acetate sheet on the side of each bottle, and tape the bottom and sides of the sheet to create a "pouch." 3. Cut index cards in half, so that each one is 2 1/2" x 3", and divide them into "packs" of six. The word cards will be placed in the "pouch" on the soda bottles, and each "pack" will include a group of words using the "two vowels" rule.
Pack 1: ea: leaf, bean, lead, treat, peak, seal, real, deal, leap, cheap (pick any six)
Pack 2: ai: rain, pain, stain, gain, main, drain, train, main (pick any six)
Pack 3: ie: field, thief, chief, yield, grief, belief
Pack 4: oo: soon, moon, balloon, noon, raccoon, loon
Pack 5: ee: see, bee, tree, deep, peep, creep, need, keep, green, peel, reel, sleep (pick any six)
Pack 6: oa: boat, foam, goat, roam, float, throat, coat, moat (pick any six) How to play!
1. Start with the first pack, and place one index card inside each clear pouch so that the word shows clearly. Then line up the "bowling pin" soda bottles in a triangular formation with three in the back row, two in the middle row, and one in front. Give your child a ball (anything from a lightweight Nerf ball to a soccer ball, depending on whether you're indoors or outdoors and whether you've weighted your pins). Depending on the skill of your bowlers, you may also want to make an alleyway with spare boards or children's blocks. 2. Have kids take turns "bowling" to knock down the pins. Once they've knocked some pins down, have them read each word in the pouch of the knocked over bottle. They will get one point for each word, so make sure to tell your kids they won't get a point unless they successfully read the word. Teammates can coach and provide support, but remember to hold the rule: no word, no point! Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
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Make an Alphabet Book By Donna Lybarger Updated on Feb 8, 2013
Let your child play with scissors! Put her to work, creating a book that will keep her busy, and help her practice her letters, too. Long after all those preschool finger paintings have left the front of your refrigerator, you can look back at this book, for a glimpse at what your preschooler thought was special.
What You Need:
Construction paper Glue stick Markers Magazines, newspapers, stickers, and other materials with pictures Binding material (a hole punch and yarn, staples, or whatever else you choose)
What You Do: 1. Ask your child to pick 26 pages of construction paper. Take a marker and write one letter of the alphabet at the top of each page. 2. It’s time to work that alphabet! Give your child a stack of newspapers, photos, magazines, and anything else with pictures that you don’t mind cutting up. Start with the letter A and ask your child to go through the gathered materials in search of words that begin with that letter-apples from the grocery store ad, Aunt Thelma’s picture from last Easter, an alligator from a magazine, an ant sticker… If your child needs help, you can make the sound the letter makes, to help her in her quest. When she makes a mistake, gently correct her, but without criticizing. For example, “That word starts with “eh” and the letter A sounds like “ah”. 3. After your child has collected all the images, ask him to help you label each one. Your child can tell you what the picture and you can write the name below. Or older preschoolers might want to take a crack at it themselves, writing the words with a little help from mom or dad. 4. Repeat this process with each letter of the alphabet. For tougher letters, like x, you may need to go to the computer and print out some pictures to have on hand. 5. Once you’ve finished with all the letters, stack the pages in order, from A to Z. Let your child decide on a title, for example, Michael’s Alphabet Book, and then write the name on a cover page, with a byline beneath. Let your child decorate to his heart’s content. 6. You’ve reached the final stretch! Now it’s time to bind your book. The fastest and easiest way is to punch holes in all of the pages and use yarn to tie the book together. If you don’t have yarn or a hole punch, you can use staples. Or, for a spill proof version, take your creation to the copy store and have them laminate and bind it for you. Don’t forget to read your book! As you look over the letters, both now and in the future, you’ll remember how much fun it was to create (and how hard it was to find a picture of a xylophone!) Donna Lybarger currently teaches kindergarten in Texas. Before that, she spent time as both a first grade and preschool teacher.
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Make a "Word Slider" By Julie Williams Updated on Nov 4, 2013
The English language is full of thousands of beautiful words, but learning to read them can sometimes be overwhelming. In school, teachers make it easier for kids to read English by helping them see patterns in the words they're learning. To do this, teachers use word families, specific groups of word endings and beginnings that consistently have the same pronunciation. For example, in the -op word family, kids learn that chop, hop, pop, and bop have different beginning sounds but the same op ending sound. You can support your child's ability to learn word families with this hands-on, phonics activity that has kids making "word sliders" out of paper plates. "Word sliders" can help your child interact with words and become more adept at visualizing word patterns. Put these "word sliders" up on your child's wall as he's learning—ideally right near an area where you like to sit together to read. See how many show up in your books each evening!
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What You Need:
5 or 6 small (dessert-size) paper plates, in one plain color White or colored card stock paper, 8-1/2" x 11" Scissors Permanent marker
What You Do: 1. Make two, 1-inch cuts on each plate, parallel to one another. (See Image 1). 2. To the right of the two parallel cuts, write a 2-letter word ending such as -op, -ip, -it, -at, and -ot. (See Image 1). As your child becomes more comfortable with reading, you can create more complex word endings with four or more letters. 3. Cut a strip from your card stock, approximately 1 inch wide and 8 inches long. Use a pencil to mark dividing lines at each one-inch interval. (See Image 2). 4. Have your child write one consonant or a two-letter blend in each square, taking care to see that it goes with the ending you have picked. (See Image 2). As he writes, have your child practice saying the letter sounds out loud. 5. Next, thread the letter strip through the two cuts on the plate, so that one letter shows at a time as you slide the strip through. (See Image 3). 6. Repeat this process with the rest of the plates and card stock, using different consonants and endings. 7. Play around with your slider—children are usually delighted by the “magic” of the disappearing letters—and then keep it near a place where you and your child often read. The next time you sit down with an early reading book such as “Hop on Pop,” or “Pig in a Wig,” take out a slider first and have him practice those word families!
What's Going On? Researchers remain divided over the best way to teach reading—is it better to learn by using phonics or by using a whole words approach? Educator groups such as the International Reading Association answered this debate by arguing that the best way to learn to read is to balance the two approaches. With homemade toys like these "word sliders", you can help your child identify whole words while practicing his phonics. With this handy tool, he’ll build confidence with those important kindergarten and first-grade words, a gift that can carry through years of reading in future grades. Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
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Make a Double "ee" Eel to Practice Phonics!
By Julie Williams Updated on Jul 2, 2013
In first grade phonics, that double “ee” is a big project. It's pretty strange, if you think about it: double a “t” or an “l” and the sound doesn't change … but double an “e” and, well, eek! Here's a rainy day phonics craft project that you and your first grader can enjoy creating. Play with it, and keep it nearby the next time you read any book together that includes those double ee's, whether it's a story of a tree, or feelings, or the deep, deep sea … you name it!
What You Need:
4-5 cardboard toilet paper tubes Tempera glitter paint and paintbrush 2 wiggly eyes 2 cardboard egg cups, cut from an egg carton 1 24" strip of elastic, 1/2" wide Black sharpie pen Small strip of red felt Craft glue Round stickers in a coordinating color (optional; available at office supply stores)
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What You Do: 1. Start by painting the toilet paper tubes and egg cups with the glitter paint. If you want to go with a “realistic” look, you might try black, brown, or green paint, but feel free to branch out, perhaps even to hot pink, or purple, or both. While you're at it, your child might even choose a name for this eel creature. 2. While the toilet paper tubes are drying, cut a “tongue” from red felt, about ½” x 2” long. If the felt seems thin, go ahead and make two layers, and glue them securely onto the end of the elastic. 3. Put a small hole in the bottom of each egg cup, large enough so that the elastic can fit through it. 4. Once the tubes are dry, cut each one in half, leaving 8-10 tubes, each about 3” long. Explain that these are your “ee” tubes, and brainstorm these words with your child. Help him write a different “ee” word on each tube, making sure that one of the tubes, which will go in the front, says “eel.” (Hint: try green, keep, deep, seep, creep, feel, reel, heel, wheel, tree…) If you also want to add stickers, now is a good time, too. 5. Now it's time to string your eel together. Start by running the elastic through the bottom of one egg cup until it hits the edge of the red tongue, facing out. This will be the eel's head; glue on two googly eyes to complete the effect. 6. Then string the tubes, starting with the one that says “eel.” Go all the way to the end of the tubes, and then poke the elastic through the other egg cup. Keep it straight but not taut, and knot it off or staple it securely. 7. Want to make the eel “slither”? Grab the tongue, pull the elastic to tighten the eel, and then let go! Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
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Play Contraction Concentration! By Kathy Meindl Updated on Feb 8, 2013
A contraction is an abbreviated form of two words. It contains an apostrophe which indicates that there are missing letters. Help your child figure out contractions and their original two words by playing this simple game.
What You Need:
Index cards Pencils, crayons, markers or a variety of these items
What You Do: 1. Prepare. Make a list of contractions and the two words that make them up, such as:
can't - can not I'm - I am didn't - did not what's - what is won't - will not doesn't - does not isn't - is not you'll - you will I'll - I will they're - they are it's - it is she's - she is we're - we are he'll - he will 2. Make word cards. Write the list of contractions individually on index cards. On another set of index cards, write the two words that make up each contraction. For example, for "can't" you will have two cards. One will say, "can't" on it and the other will say, "can not". Your child can participate by writing the contractions and their base words. 3. Set it up. Turn the cards face down and lay them out in rows on the floor or on the table. Ask your child to turn over two cards at a time. The object is to find the correct two words that make up the correct contraction. Once a match is made, ask your child to remove those cards from the rest of the game. If you play with more than one child, each one takes turns drawing two cards, trying to make a match. If a match is made, that child gets to take another turn. Otherwise, play continues as normal. Continue flipping cards two at a time until all the matches have been made. The result? A game that’s sure to make learning contractions a whole lot more fun! Kathy Meindl has taught first grade, kindergarten, and fourth/fifth grade for 8 years in Tucson, AZ. She holds a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership.
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Practice Eggshell Phonics
By Liana Mahoney Updated on Jun 20, 2014
This is a phonics craft activity with a “teacher talk” introduction: “Short vowel” word families such as “ing,” “ack,” and “ick,” get lots of attention in a first grade classroom. That’s because kids need to be able to blend beginning sounds, called “onsets,” with word endings called “rimes.” Teachers use a variety of methods—oral, hands-on, and auditory—to practice the all-important skill of being able to blend onsets with rimes. Whenever a child can make a strong, memorable association with a phonics skill, he is more likely to remember how to apply that skill quickly as he encounters it. For the "-ick" word family, for example, one of the first things that comes to mind for many children is the word “chicken.” In this activity, your child gets to make a fun, hands-on tool that will help him practice short vowel words ending in "-ck" based on the “chicken” association. This same pattern can be adapted to make an adorable, creative paper duck!
What You Need:
White construction paper, four half-sheets and two full sheets
Yellow construction paper, two full sheets
Crayons
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Scissors
Black marker
Brass fasteners
Pencil
What You Do: 1. Assist your child in cutting out an egg shape from one half sheet of white paper. Then, have him cut the egg in half with zigzag cuts to make it look like it has been cracked open. 2. Push the egg halves together and overlap them slightly. Use a brass fastener to attach the two halves together so that the egg is still attached loosely on the left side of the crack. 3. Turn the egg sideways, so the crack now goes from top to bottom. Use a marker to write the word “chick” on the egg so that the "ch-" is on the left half of the egg and the "-ick" is on the right half. 4. Now assist your child in drawing a simple picture of a chick on a new piece of white paper. Have your child color the chick with crayons, and cut it out. 5. Attach the chick to the back side of the egg with the same brass fastener so that the chick is revealed when the egg is "cracked open." Now when your child blends the onset with the rime and reads the word “chick,” he can open the egg to see if his decoding was correct. 6. Repeat these steps to make three more eggs to represent other short vowel words with "-ck" endings: for example, "peck," "duck," and "quack." For the duck, simply draw a picture similar to the chick, only with rounded bill instead of a beak. For the word “quack,” draw another duck, and draw a speech bubble beside his head to indicate that he is saying something. For the word “peck,” draw another chick, and draw movement marks near his beak to show that he is making a pecking motion. This craft is a great way to build up some important phonics skills in your kid as he practices forming "short-vowel" words orally, pictorially and through writing. Want another fun way to practice short vowel families with your child? Sit down to a Speakaboo screening of Chicken Little. Liana Mahoney is a National Board Certified elementary teacher, currently teaching a first and second grade loop. She is also a certified Reading Specialist, with teaching experience as a former high school English teacher, and early grades Remedial Reading Instructor.
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Building Words By ChristianMiller Updated on Jun 9, 2014
It’s a game . . . it’s phonics practice – no, it’s Building Words! If your first grader has a hard time remembering key vocabulary words, help him learn in style with a game that is as fun as it is educational. Change up the themes to accommodate holidays and family events to create a game that can be enjoyed throughout the year.
What You Need:
Construction paper Scissors Pen Pencil Colored pencils Scratch paper
White board Timer
What You Do: 1. Help your child cut out squares from the construction paper. The squares should all be about the same size, but the actual dimensions don’t matter. Just make sure that the squares are at least bigger than a square inch. 2. Use a pen to write one consonant letter on every paper square. Each consonant in the alphabet should be written at least once. 3. Decide if this round of Building Words will have a theme. Themes can be inspired by the current season or an upcoming holiday -- even a favorite movie! 4. Encourage your first grader to decorate the paper squares with the colored pencils. Remind him to keep the theme in mind as he colors. 5. Shuffle the squares together. 6. Give your child five of the squares, a sheet of scratch paper and a pencil. 7. Write down one vowel. 8. Start the timer. Your child has one minute to write down as many words as possible using the consonants on his squares and the vowel on the board. 9. When the timer goes off, tell your child to set his pencil down. 10. Look over the words he wrote down and correct any possible spelling issues. Ask him to tell you what each word means. 11. Count up his score, awarding one point per word. He also gets a point for each correct definition. 12. For themed rounds, award an extra point for words that relate to the theme. That means he can earn up to three points from a single word. 13. To play another round, hand out five new squares and write down a new vowel. Building Words is even more fun as a group game! Invite the whole family to take part in a round. For bigger groups, just create more consonant squares.
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Pin the Tail on the Silent E Word!
By Julie Williams Updated on Jul 2, 2013
In first grade, students will spend a lot of time developing their confidence with “silent e” words—remember them? They’re the words in which the “silent e” at the end transforms the vowel in the middle. These letters are the trick that turn words like “hop” into “hope” and “dim” into “dime.” They’re also, for many kids, a big brain stretch. So, how can you help? Here’s a fun party or playdate game for at least 4 players—enough to make two teams in which kids can help each other out as they compete.
What You Need:
Posterboard (or large wall surface that you can chalk on, or use a whiteboard marker on)
White card stock paper
Black marker
Scissors
Blank wall space that kids can bang
Stick-on velcro Three Letter Word List: Dim, Pin, Tim, Con, Hop, Ton, Her, Cam, Mad, Man, Can, Sid, Sam,
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Bar, Pal, Car, Sal, Far, Tap
What You Do: 1. Pull out your posterboard, and choose 20 three letter combinations from the list above to write in large block letters, in neat columns (words should be at least 1’1/2”-2” high). Make sure you leave a generous space after each word (you’ll be adding “silent e”), and between words vertically. Invite your first grader to look over your shoulder, or even to write some of these letter combinations if she likes. 2. Fasten the paper to a wall, and make sure that all the words are at a good height for your first grader to reach. At the end of each word combination, stick on a strip of Velcro. 3. Cut 20 squares of card stock, each 2” square, and on each one, help your child write a clear “e” in large, black print. Stick a strip of Velcro on the back of each card. 4. Now you’re ready to play! Give each team 10 “e” cards, and line the kids up behind a starting line. Kids will take turns running up to the poster, one team at a time. They must say the three letter word correctly, and then add the “e” and say the new word. They’re encouraged to “cheat”—team members can help them—they just have to say it out loud and proud. 5. Although you can play this game as a pure team-on-team competition, another favorite way to play is “beat the clock.” How fast can this whole bunch of kids fill in that silent “e” and say it correctly for all 20 words? Try it a few times, learn it backward and forward, and see if you can set a “personal best” for the day. Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
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Play Syllable I Spy By Kathy Meindl Updated on May 24, 2013
At some point in your life, you’ve probably played the game “I Spy.” It’s perfect for boring waits at the grocery store, or long car rides. But with a little tweaking, the game can also help kids practice a key first grade concept…syllables. Here’s how to play:
What You Need:
Hat Paper, ripped into small strips
What You Do: 1. Start the game with a little refresher. Tell your child that just as music can be divided into beats, words can be divided into syllables. Spend a few minutes talking about a few multisyllable words, clapping at each syllable to show your child where the “breaks” are. 2. Let 'er rip! With your child’s help, tear a piece of paper into a bunch of small strips. On each piece of paper, write a number from 1-4. When you’re finished, throw them all into the hat. 3. Time to play! The first player picks a slip of paper from the hat. Just like in “I Spy,” he must come up with an object for the other player to guess. But in this version of the game, he must come up with an object with the number of syllables on the slip. For example, if he picked the number 2, he might choose “table” or “teaspoon” or “stapler.” With children this age, the number of syllables itself probably isn’t enough of a hint to keep the game from getting frustrating, so give clues that incorporate other hints as well, for example, “I spy something black with two syllables” or “I spy something you eat on that has two syllables.” As your child gets the hang of it, don’t be afraid to throw a bit more challenge into the hat. Or, hat aside, just ask your child to think of a word with five syllables, or even six! He’ll look at your refrigerator in a whole new light. Kathy Meindl has taught first grade, kindergarten, and fourth/fifth grade for 8 years in Tucson, AZ. She holds a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership.
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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"G" is for Ghost! By Erica Loop Updated on Oct 17, 2013
Celebrate this Halloween in a spooky (and educational) way! Create a fun decoration that will inspire your child to bring out the artist within, while learning about the letter "G". This art activity will help your child with letter recognition, and the sound that "G" makes. Practice repeating the "G" sound and saying “g” words such as green or ghost in this great gooey project.
What You Need:
Newspaper Tape Tempera paint in green and at least one other color A paint brush Papier-mache mix (this can be store bought or made at home) White construction paper or other thin paper Tissue paper Scissors
What You Do: 1. Begin by discussing the letter G. Ask your child to write (or trace) the letter on a piece of paper. Next, have her practice making a ‘G’ sound. Brainstorm words that begin with this letter sound. Connect these words to the activity. Pose questions such as, “What color begins with the letter ‘G’?” or, “Can you tell me what letter the word ghost begins with?”. 2. Create a form or armature for the ghost. Using a full sheet of newspaper, have your child create a ball in the center of the paper. Place a piece of tape around the base of the ball, allowing the remaining newspaper to flow freely as the ghost body. 3. Mix a batch of papier-mache paste in a bowl. This can either be store bought (look for nontoxic, washable paper paste mixes at art or craft stores) or made from household items such as flour (there are many different recipes on the internet). 4. Have your child help you to cut long strips out of the white construction paper. 5. Ask your child to dip the paper into the papier-mache mix (coating both sides of each strip), and cover the ghost form. Some paper will be hanging on the bottom of the body. Remind your child that this activity focuses on the letter ‘G’. Have her describe the papier mache mix trying to use words beginning with G, such as gooey. 6. Set the gooey ghost aside to dry. 7. Once dry, it is time to turn the ghost green. Give your child some green tempera paint and a brush. For an added lesson on color and color mixing, provide her with yellow and blue paint instead of green. Ask her to mix the two colors together and create her own shade of green paint. Paint the entire ghost, turning as it dries. 8. Add two eyes with a second color of paint and a small paint brush. 9. Set aside to dry.The Great Gooey Green Ghost is now ready. Display your child’s Halloween creation in a prominent place as a creative decoration. Erica Loop has a MS in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education. She has many years of teaching experience working in early childhood education, and as an arts educator at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.
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Phoneme Practice Postcards
By Alicia Danyali Updated on Jan 28, 2014
As they learn to read, first graders spend a lot of time learning spelling patterns. These patterns can get complicated, and with so much new stuff coming their way, it's always helpful to get to know a few "tricks of the trade." Let your child get some spelling practice in while creating a wacky postcard in this activity that has him using five different vowel "phonemes," or vowel sound patterns, that appear often in the English language. Word banks and example cards are provided below to give an idea of how the phoneme/vowel blend will translate to sentences for the postcard stories.
What You Need:
5 large, blank index cards or blank postcards (can be purchased at any post office)
Paper
Pencils
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Markers
What You Do: 1. Collect a “sound bank” of vowel patterns. Some examples could be: o
Ow—town, about, mouth, sound, loud, our
o
Oy—boy, noisy, joy, toy
o
Ar—shark, party, bark, mark, park
o
Ear—hear, sheer, steer, deer, fear, near
o
U—brook, look, shook, wood, put
2. Pick one set of vowel patterns. For this example, the "ow" vowel pattern (town, about, mouth sound, loud, our) will be used. 3. Work with your child to write a short message or story onto a 4" x 6” index card—one sentence is just fine to start—that uses as many words as possible from that group. For example: "Our Aunt Sally took us on a train ride. The sound of the beachside town we traveled to was loud. She told us about the legend of the mouth of the river that made this destination famous." 4. If your child can handle the writing, have him write the message on one side of the 4" x 6” index card. If not, it's fine to write for him for now, but do invite him to do this important final step: take a highlighter and highlight every word that includes an “ow” sound! 5. Turn the card over, and invite your child to draw a picture on the front to illustrate the message. To protect the picture, cover it with a sheet of clear plastic contact paper, trimmed neatly to the edge of the card. 6. When you're done, send it off, and don't hesitate to keep writing more! Alicia Danyali, B.S. Elementary Education, taught primary-level students for four years at the International School of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The last four years of her teaching career, she taught at the Washington International School in Washington, D.C. She recently completed writing a series of children's picture books and is a mother of one young son.
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Make an ABC Nature Book By Mary Anne Edwards Updated on Jan 28, 2014
Need to get your kids out of the house? Take a nature walk in your backyard or local park to find one object for every letter of the alphabet! Your child will be loving the outdoors while practicing her science, reading, and writing skills! Kindergarten kids love to explore - so grab some bags and get going!
What You Need:
2-3 large zip-top plastic bags
Glass jar
Aluminum foil
Safety scissors
Pencil
Yarn
Construction paper
Hole puncher
Elmer's glue
Scotch tape
Binoculars (optional)
What You Do: 1. Tell your child that her mission is to find one object in nature for every letter of the alphabet. (For example, A=ant, B=bug, C=caterpillar, D=dandelion, etc.) Be sure that whatever your child finds can fit inside your plastic bag or, if it's a living insect, into the glass jar (you should cover the jar with a piece of aluminum foil, and poke a few holes in the foil so that the
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creature can get air). It may be difficult for your child to find objects that correlate with every letter (“z” and “x” are particularly challenging), so help your child. If she doesn't complete the entire alphabet, have no fear. Now you have an opportunity to introduce her to some new creatures, increasing her vocabulary. Talk with your child about some of the many things found in nature that start with difficult letters. A few we came up with are: xanthareel, xantus, zonure, and zemni. 2. Spice this activity up by using binoculars to play "I Spy" by saying "I Spy, with my little eye, a caterpillar which starts with C!" This will help both your child's science observation skills and her reading/phonics skills by pointing out the first letter of each object's name. 3. When you get back home, create a book using one page for each letter of the alphabet. Use scotch tape or glue to attach each object to the middle of the construction paper page. If it's a live insect, have your child draw an illustration of the animal on the page, or take a photograph and tape the image onto the page (after she is done with it, the insect should be released into the garden). Then use a pencil to write the object's name and one sentence to describe it. This could be about the object's color, size, shape, or where it lives. Here are two examples: "This is a green caterpillar we found on a leaf." "This acorn fell down from a tree." Let your child get in on the writing: allow her to write as much as she can herself. 4. Be sure to label the top of each page with a capital letter. ("A" on acorn page, etc.) 5. Arrange the pages in alphabetical order. 6. Use a hole puncher to place 3 holes down the left side of each page. Then use safety scissors to cut 3 pieces of yarn about 6 inches long each. Use the yarn to tie all of the pages together into one book. If your objects are too thick, you may need to create 2 books, one for letters AK, another for letters L-Z. 7. Your child may also want to create a cover page for her book and a title such as "Jenny's ABC Nature Book." Your child will love sharing her books with the rest of the family and sharing stories about what happened on her nature walk! This is a fun way to help her practice reading, science, and writing. So go enjoy the outdoors! Mary Anne Edwards is a freelance writer with teaching experience in preschool, first, and fourth Grades. She has also taught second grade Title One reading groups.
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Digraph Bingo
By Liana Mahoney Updated on Mar 27, 2014
Digraphs are letter pairs that together make a single sound. There are three “biggies” to watch for: “sh,” “ch,” and “th.” As experienced readers, adults take these combinations for granted, but for early readers, they can be pretty frustrating. After all, kids only just learned the sound of “s” and “h.” It can seem downright unfair to them that these letters make an entirely different sound when they're together! Fortunately, you can help, and make it fun, too! Here's an activity that gives your child some good practice hunting for digraphs around the house, then turns them into a fun game the whole family can play.
What You Need:
Digital camera and printer or stack of old magazines
2 sheets of paper
Scissors
8–10 index cards
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Marker
What You Do: 1. Review the following consonant digraphs and their associated sounds with your child: o
sh: /sh/ as in shell
o
ch: /ch/ as in chair
o
th: /th/ unvoiced, as in thin
o
th: /th/ voiced, as in then
2. Look for objects around the house that begin or end with these digraph sounds. Have your child use the digital camera to take photographs of the items. If you don't have a digital camera, you can cut out photos of these objects from old magazines. Some suggestions: shaker, fish, brush, shell, shoe, sheets, polish, dish, shovel, chocolate chips, chopper, cherries, watch, chain, thumb, thimble, three, bath, mouth, teeth, cheese, chair, couch, etc. 3. Assist your child in printing these pictures, cutting them out, and arranging them so that there are 9 pictures (three rows of three) on a piece of paper. Repeat on another piece of paper, but using a different set of pictures. 4. Cut the index cards into fourths. Use a marker to write a digraph on each small card. You'll want at least 9 cards for each digraph. Mix the cards, stack them in a pile, and turn them face down. 5. Now it's time to play! To begin, pick up the top card and read the featured digraph. Have your child look at the pictures on his Digraph Bingo board and try to find one that features the same digraph sound. If he finds a match (and there may be more than one to choose from), he covers that picture on his bingo board with the card. He may only cover one picture per turn. If he cannot find a match, he should put the card on the bottom of the pile, and it's the next players turn. 6. Play continues until one of the players completely covers his playing board. Liana Mahoney is a National Board Certified elementary teacher, currently teaching a first and second grade loop. She is also a certified Reading Specialist, with teaching experience as a former high school English teacher, and early grades Remedial Reading instructor.
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Magnets in the Snow
By Jennifer Gregory Updated on Jul 2, 2013
Does your child wish it would snow so he can play with snowballs outside? While you are waiting for the real stuff, this activity lets your child play in pretend “snow” while practicing early reading skills and learning about magnets. And you don’t even have to put on your mittens and go out in the cold!
What You Need:
Shallow plastic container
White Styrofoam packing chips (or "peanuts")
Magnet
Magnetic letters
White index cards
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Cookie sheet
What You Do: 1. Select a word family, such as AT, AN, or EN. Based on which word family you selected, pick out the following magnetic letters: AT family: A, T, S, M, R, C, B, and P AN family: A, N, C, D, F, M, P, T, and V EN family: E, N, B, H, M, and T. 2. Cut the index cards in half. On each piece, write the letter for each magnetic letter that you selected. 3. Put the styrofoam chips in the shallow container. (If you have children under 3 years of age, be sure to keep the container out of their reach because the styrofoam can be a choking hazard.) 4. Show your child the magnet and demonstrate how the magnet picks up the magnetic letters, but not the index cards. Watch how the magnetic letters are pulled through the snow towards the magnet. Show your child how the magnetic letters also stick on the cookie sheet, but the index cards do not stick. 5. Hide the index cards and magnetic letters in the “snow”. 6. Give your child the magnet and tell him that it’s his turn to find all the magnetic letters. During the hunt, talk about how it is easier to find the magnets than the index cards because they are pulled towards the magnet. When your child finds a letter, have him place it on the cookie sheet. 7. Ask your child to find the base letters for the word family that you picked (AT, AN, or EN). Have your child pick up one of the other letters. Put it in front of the base word and sound out the word. Talk about how the two letters can be used to make lots of different words. After you have finished the hunt, you can have your child hide some other magnetic items and nonmagnetic items in the snow. Play the game again with a new set of letters, and you'll be practicing core reading skills with a game you can play any day!
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Make a Letter-Sound Book By Erin Zlatunich Updated on Jul 5, 2013
A is for apple, B is for bear, C is for...Craft this funky picture book to help your kindergartener practice identifying the sounds that letters make! In kindergarten, kids are constantly practicing the different sounds that letters make. Give Dora a run for her money by inviting your child to become an explorer in search of objects that begin with the letters in his name. Snap shots of each object, and compile a personalized picture book that lets your child can use over and over again to practice his letters and the sounds they make!
What You Need:
Several sheets of 8 1/2" x 11" card stock paper Colored markers Glue stick Small (1x4") address labels Hole punch Yarn Camera
What You Do: 1. Lay a piece of card stock horizontally, and invite your child to write his first name in big block letters across the top. Then glue a photo of your child underneath and let him finish the effect with any border decorations. 2. Pull out the card stock, one piece for each letter in his name. Have your child write one letter, nice and big, at the top right hand of each page. 3. Now you're ready to explore! Take a camera for a trip around the neighborhood, the local park, or the zoo and encourage your child to point out any object that begins with a letter in his name. Take shots of a school for "s", a tree for "t", an car for "c", a bird for "b", etc. What you find depends on where you do your exploring. Who knows? You might find something silly, unusual, or exotic! Aim for at least two pictures for each letter page. 4. Print the photos, and then help your child sort them by what letter they begin with. 5. Trim and glue each picture down on the appropriate page. For example, if your child's name has a "d" in it, paste the picture you snapped of the dog onto the "d" page. 6. Write the name of each object next to the picture. If your child can do this writing, that's great! But don't push it; it's also fine for him to dictate to you. Be sure to read out loud each letter as you write it down. 7. Assemble the pages in order. Use the hole punch to poke a few holes on the left edge of the pages, and tie them together with yarn. You'll end up with a gorgeous piece of work that's personalized just for your child! Read it together to practice his letters and sounds. Erin Zlatunich, M.A. Curriculum and Instruction, is a kindergarten teacher in Millbrae, California. She is the mother of two young children.
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Play the Rounds of Sounds Game By Vanessa Genova DeSantis Updated on Apr 21, 2011
For early readers, the printed page is so tantalizing. Kids can see words they know, interspersed with ones that have them stumped. It can be a challenge for parents: while you don't want to discourage your child with books that are too hard, you also want to help him stretch his “decoding” skills so that when he does run into new words, he's ready to take them on. Here's a kindergarten activity that teaches this skill, wrapped into a cute take-anywhere game.
What You Need:
Nothing — just a kid who's learning phonics
What You Do: 1. Remember that old chant, “Concentration!” (snap, snap) “Are you ready?” (snap, snap), “If so…” (snap, snap), Let’s go!” (snap, snap)… This game has a major educational component—it works on beginning sounds, but kids love to play it. Why? Giving games rhythm makes them more fun, not to mention, challenging. 2. In the game Rounds of Sounds, you’ll clap your hands, snap your fingers, or slap your knees to a slow beat. Then, after you’ve set your rhythm, say these words: I’m thinking of the ______sound/Now let’s try a round/Ready/Set/Go! 3. You can substitute any blend into the rhyme, whether it be sh, oa, ing, ee, or fr. It’s your pick! Let’s say you chose the sh sound. First, you’d explain to your child that you’re going to go back and forth coming up with sh words. The sh can be any part of the word, beginning, middle, or end. So words like brush, mushy, and shut are all possibilities. 4. Set your rhythm, and try it. Here’s how a sh round might sound: I’m thinking of the SH sound/Now let’s try a round./Ready, Set, Go! PARENT:Shut! (Wait about 4 beats and then point to your child)
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CHILD: Shout! (Wait 4 beats) PARENT: Shin! (Wait 4 beats) CHILD: Shampoo! (Wait 4 beats) PARENT: Bush! (Wait 4 beats) CHILD: Bash! (Wait 4 beats) PARENT: Pushy! (Wait 4 beats) CHILD: Mushy! (Wait 4 beats) 5. Keep going with other sounds. You can pick anything you’d like to play this game. Just make sure you set a slow, steady beat when you start, especially when introducing a new sound. Take this game outside, to a party, or on the road. No supplies needed—just your own two hands, and a child that’s game! Vanessa Genova DeSantis has been teaching for fourteen years in public and private elementary and middle schools. She's also an educational freelance writer as well as a private tutor for elementary, middle and high school students.
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Stretch and Say: A Reading Activity By Cindy Middendorf Updated on May 7, 2014
Beginning readers need practice “sounding out” and “blending” letter sounds back into words—in classrooms, you can expect to see activities, worksheets, and flashcards all devoted to developing this skill. But even with all these resources, it can be hard for kids to figure out how individual letters can really blend together to make a word. Here's an easy, at-home activity that uses elastic to help your child build concrete, visual connections to the reading process.
What You Need:
1–2 yards of 3", white elastic, available in any sewing department or store Permanent marker Optional: Colored masking tape
What You Do: 1. Cut the elastic into 3" to 4" strips. You can put masking tape on the ends to keep the elastic from fraying. 2. Write a one-syllable, consonant-vowel-consonant word on each. Good examples include: "Dad," "kid," "mom," "sit," "book," and so on. Put a short line across the bottom so your child can quickly tell which side is up! 3. Now you're ready for some elastic fun! Have your child hold each end of the elastic. As he gently stretches it out, have him vocally stretch the sound out for each letter. After stretching the last sound, he can let the elastic “shrink” and vocally compress all the sounds together into the word. Once the word has been read, have your child use it in a sentence to help with comprehension. You can also make more sets of elastic for word families (like "tot, pot, rot" or "man, can, tan") and for short vowels (a, e, i, o, u) to really stretch his skill! Why This Works: Much of kindergarten and first grade reading is spent "pulling apart” sounds to help children develop an ear for language. This activity allows children to see the letter, hear themselves say the sound as they see each letter stretch, and then blend all sounds together to create a word. Cindy Middendorf, an elementary teacher for 30 years in Tioga Couty, New York, is the author of Differentiating Instruction in Kindergarten, and a nationally respected teacher trainer and mentor.
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Fox in Socks-Inspired Tongue Twister Contest By Melissa Blough Updated on Sep 19, 2012
"Knox on fox in socks in box." Try your hand at some Seusslike tongue twisters! After you read Fox in Socks, your tongue will have plenty of practice using rhyming words. Get the whole family involved by coining your very own Fox in Socks tongue twisters, and facing off to see who can rattle them off the quickest!
What You Need:
A copy of Fox in Socks Pencil Paper
What You Do: 1. Assign each family member a word or phrase from Fox in Socks. 2. Give everyone a few minutes to write up a tongue twister that incorporates their assigned word or phrase. 3. After everyone has come up with a tongue twister, invite the whole family to sit in a circle, but make sure you keep your tongue twister a secret. 4. Pick one player to begin (perhaps the player with the coolest socks!) and have that player recite his tongue twister. 5. Continue clockwise around the circle, each person reciting player one’s tongue twister until you come back to player one. If anyone hesitates or repeats the twister incorrectly, that player is out! 6. The next step is to speed things up! Go around 4 more times saying player one’s tongue twister, speeding up each time you go around the circle. 7. Once you're done, write down how many people got out from player one’s tongue twister. 8. Bring all the players who got out back into the game and repeat start all over again with a new player! Continue until each player’s tongue twister has had a chance to tie everyone's tongues up! Keep track of how many people get out for each tongue twister. 9. The player that gets the most people out with their tongue twisting prose wins! The best tongue twister is the one that ties up the most tongues! The more the merrier with this game! Invite friends and family to join in the tongue twisting fun to celebrate Dr. Seuss and help build those vocabulary skills while you're at it!
This activity was inspired by the book "Fox in Socks" by Dr. Seuss. Random House, Inc. New York. 1965.
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Grocery Store Decoding By Victoria Hoffman Updated on Jul 28, 2010
This quick and easy activity teaches kids how to break words down by introducing them to word families. With little more than a stack of magazines and a spiral notebook, you can help your first grader tackle common word families and start him on the road to reading success. What's a word family? Word families are groups of words that share a common ending as well as a common sound. All words containing the “ook” ending, for example, are in the same word family: hook, book, took, look, etc.
What You Need:
Old magazines or grocery store advertisements Composition or spiral notebook Glue Pencil
What You Do: 1. Start by looking through the magazines or grocery store advertisements with your child for a picture of a product that contains a word family chunk in its name. For example, if you find a picture of grapes, you can use the “ape” word ending for the activity. You can use any picture that's simple enough to build a word family around. 2. After selecting a picture, have him cut it out and glue it at the top of the first page of the notebook. 3. Review the word ending with him. How does it sound? Under the picture, have him spell out the word family. Example: for dog food, write the letters "-og" under the picture. 4. Now ask him to write all of the words he can think of that end in "og" and are pronounced the same. Give him a few hints to get him started, then let him take the reins. Words he could write could include dog, fog, smog, jog, log, etc. Encourage him to sound out each word as he writes it down. 5. Over the course of the school year, continue to add more pictures to the notebook for new word families. As he becomes more familiar with the activity, he can start choosing his own sound chunks to focus on. The more he practices, the better he'll be at recognizing word families! Be creative! Look for possible product names to use everywhere in your environment. You can choose names of restaurants, stores, toy brand names—anything he may be familiar with. The more creative you can get the more likely he will be to remember that word family. Victoria Hoffman, M.A., is an elementary school teacher, writer and mother from Leonardtown, Maryland. She has taught grades K-5 in both regular and special education classrooms.
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Three Legged Compound Word Race
By Julie Williams Updated on Jul 3, 2013
In second grade, kids work hard to "sound out" new words as they build up their reading vocabulary. Sometimes, it’s easy; other times, more challenging…and if you’re new reader, having a few patterns up your sleeve can really help things along. One very useful tool is understanding “compound words”—long words that are really made from two shorter, familiar ones, combined. Here’s a goofy party or park game for a bunch of second grade kids who are learning to read long words. Play it once, play it many times—it should still be good for learning and laughs.
What You Need:
16 yellow 5" x 8" index cards
16 blue 5" x 8" index cards
Hole puncher
String or yarn
Stretchy rag or tie for tying kids’ legs for the race
Flat, open space for a relay race
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Bunch of wiggly second graders (and any extra early reader friends hanging around)
What You Do: 1. Start by making word cards. Parents, you may be tempted to write these yourself. To help your child get the best learning benefits possible, however, sit him down with a thick black marker and have him do the writing here. Use one card per word (but do note that some words are repeated--that's okay!): Blue cards are the opening segments of your compound words: jump, up, child, finger, any (make three), every (make three), hair, birth, some, pop, show, be. On the yellow cards, write: rope, side, hood, tip, body (make three), one (make two), cut, day, thing (make three), corn, case, and cause. 2. Punch a hole into each upper corner, and tie string through the holes to make a “sign necklace” that a kid can hang from his neck…and pull off quickly! 3. Divide kids into “three legged race” pairs. Tell them that they will be doing a relay race in which they must “carry” compound words to a basket across the field. When they run across the field, each partner will wear half of a compound word, so that together they make one compound word. 4. Place a bunch of other words in the basket at the end of the field. When the pair gets there, they must quickly take off the compound word they’re wearing, and then cooperate to pick out a new one, put it on, and then get back to the starting line so the next pair can go. 5. Back at the starting line, read off the words that the players are carrying back. What do you see? Are they all real words? Teammates should be prepared to help out here, or else pairs may be sent back to the basket! 6. The race ends when every three legged pair has gone across the field and back. If you have a fairly small group of kids, you can play this relay against the clock, and see if you can beat your time. Or, if there are lots of kids, this game works well with two teams. No matter what, plan to play a few rounds. It’s great exercise, great teamwork…and above all, great practice enacting and reading those crucial “compound” words. Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Word Detective Game
By Mary Anne Edwards Updated on Jan 28, 2014
Got a kid who’s learning to read? Looking for a new game to add to the bunch? No need to go to the store. With a little help from your child you can make a game of your own! Young children love to play guessing games, and they can never get enough trivia. This game delivers, and throws in practice with the alphabet and letter sounds, too.
What You Need:
52 index cards Word Detectives activity sheets: page 1 and page 2 Crayons Markers Shoebox Construction paper Tape
What You Do: 1. Ask your child to draw pictures on index cards for each letter of the alphabet, following the word list below. This will include beginning, middle, and ending sounds. While middle and ending sounds can be difficult for new readers to hear at first, this game is a fun, and lowpressure way to practice. Beginning sounds list:
apple banana cat dog
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egg fire goose queen van yellow zipper
Middle sounds list:
grapes feet bug hit rope
Ending sounds list:
clap stick hill ham pan jar grass hat wig box
2. While your child is drawing the picture cards, take the other 26 cards and write “clues” on them, using the Word Detective activity sheets. If you like, write the answers on the back of each card. 3. Once all 52 cards are finished (the picture cards and the clue cards), put the clue cards in a single pile. Ask your child to mix up the picture cards and lay them in rows on the table. 4. Pick the first clue card from the pile. As you read it, have your child find the matching picture card. For example, if the first clue is “ Which letter comes at the beginning of a red fruit?” The answer is letter A, for apple. 5. Each time she gets a correct match, have your child put the set aside, until all of the clues have been solved. If she gets stuck, be sure to remind her that some letters make more than one sound when spoken (for example, c and k, or short and long vowels). 6. When play is over, put everything in your handy dandy shoebox, and put it on the game shelf for next time. If your child's feeling crafty, she can decorate the box and give her game a fancy title. If not, a plain old shoe box works just fine. Happy gaming! You can extend this activity by having your child make up his own clues and matching picture cards. Or involve an older sibling and have him read and write clues. This is a great way for your child to practice letters and sounds. Plus, it's just plain fun!
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Slide Sounds to Teach Reading By Liana Mahoney and Liana Mahoney Updated on Jul 3, 2013
Learning to read is incredibly exciting, but it’s like a complex puzzle—for it to happen, all of the pieces need to be in place. One of those pieces is something called phonemic awareness, which in plain English, means that a child knows the sounds that the letters of the alphabet make. And once they know those individual sounds, they need to learn how to blend them and how to break them apart. This activity will help them practice. Readers, ho!
What You Need:
A list of three-letter words that follow the consonant-vowel-consonant pattern, such as cat, pan, bit, hop, had, did, bet, wig, dot, and jug.
What You Do: 1. Choose a word from the list, for example, “cat”. 2. Tell your child it’s time for her to make a human slide! Have her hold out her left arm, palm side up, at a diagonal. Then tell her that her arm is a “sound slide”, with three parts. Point to her shoulder, inner elbow, and wrist. 3. Ready to start? There’s no time like the present! Put your child in the driver’s seat and tell her she’s going to use her right hand to slide sounds down her arm. Using “cat” as your first attempt, ask her to point to her shoulder and say the first sound: “/c/” 4. Slide her right hand down to her inner elbow and say the short vowel sound: “/a/” 5. Swish to the bottom by sliding her hand down to her wrist. Then say the last sound: “/t/” 6. Once you’ve got the hang of it, go back to her shoulder and repeat the sound slide several times, speeding up each time until she is able to slide down her arm in one sweep and say the blended word, “cat.” 7. Repeat the blending activity on her “sound slide” for other words on the word list. 8. Got the blend down? The flip side of the coin is segmenting, breaking the individual sounds in words apart, rather than blending them together. To practice segmenting words, have her break out her trusty slide again, but this time, when you say the selected word aloud, have her point to the three points on her sound slide as she says each separate sound. Blending and segmenting words takes practice, but it’s well worth it. These skills will serve your child well on the road to reading. And in no time, she’ll be slip sliding away! Liana Mahoney is a National Board Certified elementary teacher, currently teaching a first and second grade loop. She is also a certified Reading Specialist, with teaching experience as a former high school English teacher, and early grades Remedial Reading.
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Write a Concrete Poem For Mom By Liana Mahoney Updated on Jan 28, 2014
A concrete poem is a poem that takes the shape of its subject. For example, a concrete poem about an apple, describes the apple in a poetic way, and the words are written on the paper, in the shape of an apple. Concrete poems are a fun form of writing that first graders really enjoy because they combine the fun and creativity of both writing and illustrating in one activity. Your youngster will enjoy this activity even more, when she writes a concrete poem and gives it as a gift. This Mother’s Day, help your child to write a concrete poem about one of Mom’s favorite things it can be anything from her favorite sweater or her cup of morning coffee. When your child gives it to Mom, Mom will surely add it to her list of favorite things!
What You Need:
Pencil Paper Colored pencils Construction paper Scissors Glue stick Markers
What You Do: 1. Have your child think of one of Mom’s favorite things. 2. Next, assist your child in using a pencil to lightly draw a simple sketch of the selected favorite thing. Make sure the sketch is simple enough that words can be written along the shape easily. Your child should only draw an outline, if possible. 3. Now, talk to her about words that describe Mom as well as Mom's favorite thing. This is the perfect time to introduce a few new words and stretch your first grader's vocabulary. Is Mom easy-going? A cinephile? A fashionista? A gourmet? Does she have a green thumb? Using the pencil outline as a guide, have your child use colored pencils to write words that describe Mom and her favorite thing in the shape of the sketch. Turn the paper as she writes so that your child is always writing from left to right along the outline of the shape, and help her in choosing colors that will bring the picture to life. 4. Continue writing words until the poem is complete and the outline is full. Cut out the concrete poem. Fold a piece of construction paper in half to form a card, and glue the poem to the inside. 5. Have your child use markers to decorate the card however she thinks Mom would like it best. Did You Know? From the earliest years of school, children learn about holidays in their community and how to participate in a variety of ways. And in Kindergarten and first grade they will be learning to read and write. With this activity, you bring it all together—and also let Mom know how much she is loved in the process. Liana Mahoney is a National Board Certified elementary teacher, currently teaching a first and second grade loop. She is also a certified Reading Specialist, with teaching experience as a former high school English teacher, and early grades Remedial Reading Instructor.
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Play Letter-Sound Hopscotch! By Julie Williams Updated on Nov 6, 2013
It's not shiny or digital, but hopscotch is classic fun for little kids. You probably remember playing it with numbers from one to ten, and that's great; but as your child prepares for first grade, try getting creative with letters, too. Here are two variations of “letter-sound” hopscotch that can build your child's phonics skills and help her jump right into first grade reading.
What You Need:
Piece of sidewalk chalk Small rock Perhaps a friend or sibling or two!
What You Do: 1. “Letter Blend” Hopscotch Game: Find a nice blank section of pavement—on a playground, sidewalk, or driveway—and use your chalk to draw twelve large square boxes. (See diagram). Kids start by hopping on one foot at a time, and say the name of the letter they land on. But when they land on the squares that go two across, one foot on each, they need to say the sound that the two letters make together. So, for example, a kid would start by hopping on one foot on “C,” and saying it out loud. Then she'd hop on one foot to “H,” but then land on the “crossbar,” in which the left foot is on “C” and the right foot is on “H.” Now the letters combine, and your child should shout the sound “CH”! Once she's got the hang of it, she's ready to play with the rock; she'll throw it onto successive boxes, hop around it while saying the letters, and then try to pick it up without losing her balance. Click here for printable version 2. “Vowel Sound” Hopscotch: In first grade, kids will learn the difference between vowels— a,e,i,o, and u (and sometimes y)—and consonants. They'll learn how every word in English has a vowel in it, and they'll practice finding vowels in words. What’s often tough, however, is that every vowel has not one but two possible sounds! In technical terms, we call these the “long” and “short” sounds. The “a” in “apple,” for example, is the “short” a sound, while the “a” in “cake” is the long one. Want to help your child jump into first grade vowels? Try this: Use your chalk to make simple hopscotch squares, but instead of labeling them with numbers, label them with vowel names. You have ten hopscotch squares to work with, which means you have space for both long and short vowel sounds for a,e,I,o, and u. Either you or your child can write a letter in each box; on top of the letter, though, write the symbol for long or short. So the “a” in “apple” (short sound) should look like a with a u on top, but the “a” in “cake” should have a straight line on top. Click here for printable version 3. As your child hops on each box, have her say the letter sound correctly in order to advance. Invite a friend or two, and you've got a friendly game going; miss the sound and you go back; say it right and you jump ahead…not just into hopscotch, of course, but into important parts of your first grade curriculum! Julie Williams, MA Education, has been working in education for more than twenty years. For the last five years, she has worked in classrooms with primary-level students learning to read. She also taught English and History for seventeen years at Aragon High School in San Mateo, California. She is the mother of two young sons.
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Introducing Palindromes
By Beth Levin Updated on Mar 28, 2014
Palindromes are a fun and silly way to practice a whole host of writing skills. Challenge your child to come up with as many palindromes as she can in this crazy writing activity!
What You Need:
Paper Pen or pencil Dictionary
What You Do: 1. Start by explaining what palindromes are. They're not as scary as they sound—a palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or sentence that can be read in either direction and says the same thing both ways. Punctuation is allowed and it does not have to be the same in either direction. 2. Next, have your child brainstorm some words that are palindromes: “wow,” “huh,” “madam,” “mom,” and “dad” are great examples. Have her write down the words she thinks of on her paper. 3. After she has come up with some palindrome words, see if she can put those words (along with some non-palindrome words) together to make palindrome phrases or sentences. 4. Then, let her read aloud her completed palindromes, or draw pictures to accompany them, to practice skills in art and public speaking. 5. When she's done, your child can also try to find palindromes while out in town. For example, in Yreka, California there is a place called “Yreka Bakery”! Beth Levin has an M.A. in Curriculum and Education from Columbia University Teachers College. She has written educational activities for Macmillan/McGraw-Hill and Renaissance Learning publishers. She has a substitute teaching credential for grades K-12 in Oregon, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.
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Nonsense Book By Trish Kuffner Updated on May 13, 2014
My 18-year-old daughter, Andria, was about six when she began reading fluently. One day, when my sister complimented her on her reading ability, Andria replied with a sigh, “Yes it’s opened up a whole new world to me!”My sister thought this statement was hilarious coming from a child, but I recognized it as one of the carrots I’d dangled before Andria as encouragement. And it’s true! A child’s world is forever expanded and enriched when he becomes a reader. Parents can have a big impact on reading development. Children who read well come from homes where there are plenty of books, magazines, and newspapers and where everyone reads them. Children who read well have parents who encourage reading and make time for it. But helping your child learn to read doesn’t only have to mean using books from the library or from the store. You can make a book of your own—a nonsense book!
What You Need:
Ten or more index cards A small notebook Pencils, crayons, colored pencils, or markers
What You Do: 1. Divide the cards into two sets. On each of the cards in the first set, write a sentence subject like Dad, Justin, The cat, The Hat, and so on. On each card in the other set, write a predicate like has a bath, is tired, has a bib, is in bed, and so on. Write all the subjects in one color, and all the predicates in a different color. This will make the cards easier to use. 2. Now let the fun begin! Allow your child to pick a subject card and a predicate card. Then have them join the two cards to form a sentence, for example: The hat has a bib or The cat is in bed. Your child can read the sentence aloud, or you can read the sentence for him. 3. If you’ve got an emerging writer on your hands, have her practice her printing by writing the sentence at the bottom of one page of the notebook.(If your child can’t write yet, you can write the sentence for her.) Now break out those markers and crayons! Let your child illustrate the sentence. Repeat this process several times until you have at least a half a dozen pages. Now read it aloud. You’ve made a nonsense book! Adapted with permission from "The Preschooler's Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner (Meadowbrook Press, 1998)
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Jump Rope The Days of the Week! By Julie Williams Updated on Aug 27, 2012
For many kids, the bounce of jumping rope is not only fun and a great cardiovascular exercise, but it also helps a child's ability to focus and learn. In first grade, emerging readers spend lots and lots of time on letter sounds and rhyme. They practice on everything, including days of the week and favorite foods. The next time your first grader pulls out a jump rope, try sneaking in a little academic support as well. Here are two jumprope chants your child can jump to, and that help with “body memory” of key reading concepts. Your child will have fun jumping rope and the rhymes will help her learn the days of the week in no time!
What You Need:
Jump rope Optional: Print-out of rhymes (below)
What You Do:
If you are the jump rope-turner, sing the rhymes aloud for your child. If she is jumping by herself, sing the rhyme for her until she knows it by heart and can do it on her own. Write out the rhymes and ask her to read the words she knows, then read the rhyme to her. One that teaches days of the week and matches them to their initial letters and to movement: M for Monday, turn around, T for Tuesday, touch the ground, W for Wednesday, jump so high, T for Thursday, touch the sky, F for Friday, say hooray! S for Saturday, time to play, S for Sunday, clap your hands, It’s time to start all over again! One that teaches days of the week…and fun foods to go with each one: Monday, mango, start the week. Tuesday, tunafish, what a treat. Wednesday, watermelon, red and cool, Thursday, turkey, that’s the rule, Friday, fresh bread, eat it hot, Saturday, slurpees, thanks a lot, Sunday, spaghetti, sun or rain, Then start the week all over again!
Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Play Beginning Sounds Clothespin Match-Up
By Liana Mahoney Updated on Apr 15, 2011
Kindergarteners are alphabet experts! By the end of kindergarten, children know most or all of the capital and lower-case letters, and their associated sounds. The idea that letters represent sounds is called phonological awareness, and is a key ingredient to success in reading. Kindergarteners develop phonological awareness skills in a variety of ways, including lots of fun, hands-on games. Here’s a fun, albeit “roundabout” way to get your child to listen to beginning alphabet sounds and match them with their letter symbols.
What You Need:
digital camera and printer paper
clothespins
fine point permanent marker
a 7-inch circle, cut from card stock
scissors
glue or tape
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paper lunch bag
What You Do: 1. Assist your child in taking individual pictures of family members. Print the pictures, and cut out the faces. (Note: You’ll want the pictures to be small – no more than 1 square inch each.) 2. Glue (or tape) these faces around the outside of the card stock circle, and allow to dry. 3. Ask your child to point to each face, and say the person’s name. Ask her to tell you the sound she hears first in that name. Then ask her if she knows what letter represents that sound. Use a permanent marker to write the letter on the closed end of a clothespin. Repeat until you have one clothespin per person. 4. Now have your child clip each clothespin to the circle by matching the initial consonant sound to the person whose name begins with that letter. 5. Make a game of this activity so the fun can last. Put all the clothespins in a lunch bag. Add some extra clothespins to the bag, labeled with letters she doesn’t need. Have her pick one clothespin at a time, and decide if it should be clipped, or not clipped. See how many tries it takes her to finish clipping all the pictures on the circle. Have her try to beat her score the next time. 6. Store the pieces in the lunch bag for repeated practice. 7. As your child gets better at this, make it more challenging for her by varying the information on the clothespins or on the circle. For example, play “Clap ‘n Clip!” On the other side of the clothespins, write the number of syllables in each person’s name. Have her clap each person’s name (for example, JENN-EE = two claps) and match the numbered clothespin to the number of syllables in each name. Now you have two match-up games in one! For another variation, flip the circle over, and have her add pictures of common household objects. Label a new set of clothespins for her to match to the objects. Liana Mahoney is a National Board Certified elementary teacher, currently teaching a first and second grade loop. She is also a certified Reading Specialist, with teaching experience as a former high school English teacher, and early grades Remedial Reading.
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Make Peek-a-Boo Books Collect This Activity By Mary Anne Edwards Updated on Jun 18, 2013
Does your preschooler love to play hide-and-seek? Is he always trying to name things he doesn’t know the words for? Then this is the activity for you! Build a peek-a-boo book and give your child a vocabulary and reading boost, on the fly!
What You Need:
10 lined index cards 2 pieces of colored construction paper pencil hole punch safety scissors 10 pieces of yarn (each about 5 inches long) crayons
What You Do: 1. Help your child to fold 1 piece of colored construction paper into 8 sections. First fold it in half, then fold that in half once more, and then fold the remainder in half again. This should create 8 sections about the size of a 3x5 index card. Do the same thing with the other piece of construction paper. Have your child use her safety scissors to cut out the sections on the folded lines. You should have 16 pieces in all when finished (this gives you a few extras in case of mistakes!) 2. Let your child know that she’s going to create her own Hide-and-Seek game…inside a book. This Peek-A-Boo book will allow her to practice matching pictures with their names. She’ll “hide” each picture under an index card, with its name written on top. 3. Ask your child to help you make the first card by thinking of her favorite animal, then using crayons to draw a picture of it on one of the cut out pieces of construction paper. When she’s done, ask her the name of her animal, and help her write it in pencil on one of the index cards. Using a hole punch, punch two holes in the top of both the lined index card and the picture card. With your child’s help, bind them together using two pieces of yarn—the lined index card should be on top of the picture card. 4. Repeat this process for each of the following objects, in order to create a total of ten small Peek-a-Boo books. 5. Once your child gets the hang of it, you can use these materials to create multiple stories. You can also have her write longer books. Take down what she says and choose one word of each sentence to highlight in a different color. Then make that words the picture that’s “hiding”. These books are a great way to practice vocabulary and grow reading skills. And they also make a cute gift for a far-away relative! Mary Anne Edwards has taught preschool, first, and fourth grades. She has also lead second grade reading groups.
3 – Day Workshop on Developing Reading Skills through Phonics for PRTs, ZIET Mumbai
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Guess The First Reading Challenge
Letter: A
By Julie Williams Updated on Oct 3, 2011
As your first grader learns to read, experts advise that you aim for a balance: give her lots of time to read to you, balanced by lots of time when you read back to her. When she reads to you, she’s practicing her decoding skills and learning to read text smoothly. When you read to her, you can read more challenging language, and help her stretch. Here’s a tried and true game challenge that you can use with your first grader the next time you read together. Start at the easy levels and work your way up—this is a useful practice technique through every early reading stage, and it’s even fun to mess around with later on!
What You Need:
A picture book with clear, fairly large print that your child likes and has read with you at least once before. Small post-it flag papers A clipboard with a piece of blank paper for scoring
What You Do: 1. Pull out a picture book with clear, fairly large print. Make sure it’s a book that your child likes and has read at least once before. 2. Now pull out ten little post-it flags. Use them to cover ten initial letters in key words throughout the book. In the “Little Red Hen,” for example, you might cover the “H”, or in “Goldilocks,” you could cover the “G” in the heroine’s name, and perhaps the “b” in bed.” 3. As you read, you’ll open to the pages where you’ve placed the flags. Although you’ll be doing the main reading, invite your first grader to tell you: what letter goes at the beginning of those words? She can then lift the flag and see immediately if she was right. 4. Each round consists of ten words. Give your child a point for each correct one, and see if she can keep track of her personal best over several days. If she keeps getting tens, she’s ready for higher levels: Level One: Words that start with single consonants, like "cat" or "dog." Level Two: Words that start with two letters together, such as “chair” (cover the “ch”), or “start.” Level Three: Words with “two vowels going out walking”—can your child tell what two vowels belong, for example, in “chair” or “clear”? Level Four: Entire words—can your child recognize and read that one? Note: Be sure to keep an eye on your expectations. If your child gets scores of nine and ten, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your level is too easy; it may be a source of great satisfaction to your child, and constant practice in these early reading skills is always good. If your child routinely scores lower, don’t keep on at that level. Step back, make it simpler, and then you can always stretch later. What’s most important at this point is that your child develops both solid skills and confidence. She can do it: fluent reading just needs to come in its own time. Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
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Message Magnets By Julie Williams Updated on Jul 2, 2013
Parents, have you ever had a feeling that what you just told your child went in one ear and out the other? Sometimes talking to your child just doesn't cut it. Here’s a humorous but practical way to get some messages across to your first grader, and help build her reading skills while you’re at it!
What You Need:
A digital camera Glue-on refrigerator magnets Sturdy Cardstock paper Index cards Optional: laminator
What You Do: 1. This activity starts with some straight talk between you and your first grader. Ask your child how she knows when mom or dad is worried, angry, or happy. Review how a parent’s face and body tend to look in each of those states, and then model them for your child. Invite her to take a picture of you acting out each emotion. 2. Tell your child that the two of you are going to work on making some special “magnet” messages for your fridge. Print out each photograph of yourself doing each emotion (happy, mad, worried) and glue it onto sturdy cardstock. Have your child help you cut out the photos, laminate them if you like, and then glue a magnet on the back of each one. 3. Pull out several index cards and make a circle with an arrow at the bottom, like a "speech bubble" in a comic. You may want to color code the cards, with one color representing each emotion. Write one simple message in clear block letters on each index card. A “mad” message might be, “Please hang up your backpack!” A “happy” one might be, “Thank you for the hug today.” They should be short, simple, and clear. Help your child practice reading each one. 4. Each index card should be put on the fridge with the matching magnet. For example, an "angry" index card would be accompanied by the "angry" magnet. 5. Keep all the magnets in a basket or drawer near the fridge. Be sure to rotate the display according to how your child is acting that day. Kid coming home from school? Start with happy messages. Kid dumped the lunchbox on the floor again? Move on to an angry message. Maybe this time, kids will read more than your lips! Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
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Fall Syllable Game By ChristianMiller Updated on Oct 10, 2014
Learning syllables is an important part of understanding how to correctly pronounce words. This activity is great demonstrating to kids how syllables work. As an added bonus, it'll also help your child master the art of reading out loud. This simple fall-themed syllable game is a great way to introduce the concept of a syllable to your young learner.
What You Need:
Sheet of paper Marker Ruler
What You Do: 1. Using the marker and ruler, your child should divide the paper in half lengthwise. 2. Have your little help you come up with a list of between 10 or 20 two syllable, fall-related words. Here are some from our list: autumn, pumpkin, scarecrow, cornstalk, harvest. 3. Using the marker, on the left side of the paper write a list of the first syllable of each word you chose. The left half of our paper looked like this: Aut Pump Scare Corn Har 4. Then, still using the marker, on the right side of the paper write a mixed up list of the other syllables followed by a blank line. The right half of our paper looked like this: kin ____ stalk ____ umn ____ vest ____ crow ____ 5. To begin, your child must figure out which syllables can be arranged to form a full word. Then, she should draw a line between them. 6. Finally, have her write each complete word out on the blank spaces in the right-hand column.
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Pipe Cleaner Letters
By Jasmine Evans Updated on Mar 1, 2013
Your kindergartener may be learning phonics and starting to read his first words. Use fun and fuzzy pipe cleaners to help your child learn how to form important letters and letter combinations that make up the words that are the building blocks of phonics.
What You Need:
Pipe cleaners
Pictures of letters for reference (if necessary)
What You Do: 1. Take two (or more if necessary) pipe cleaners and bend and twist them to create the lowercase letters "a" and "t". Put them together. 2. Have your child create the letters c, b, m, and p. 3. Put the "c" your child created in front of your "at". 4. Have your child read the word. 5. Repeat this process with the rest of the letters he created. You can repeat this activity with "ie" and have your child create words like lie, tie, die, and pie. Don't forget, you can also practice with uppercase letters!
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Make a Lunchbox Magnet Board By Julie Williams Updated on Feb 13, 2014
Are you bracing yourself for the back to school lunchpacking rush? If so, you’re not alone. Trying to incorporate nutrition awareness and “green”-consciousness into the lunch routine can make that simple lunchbox feel like a chore. Chances are, your child is already fascinated by her lunchbox. As you prepare for the upcoming school year, don’t hesitate to take advantage of her enthusiasm and slide in some lessons about nutrition and the environment. Here’s a way to bring your kids into the action and help simplify things. As a bonus, this magnet activity can also help young readers explore “environmental print” —a common part of every early reader’s curriculum!
What You Need:
Metal-backed white board, or a rectangular space on your fridge
Pack of flat, glue-on magnets (available at craft stores)
3x5” index cards, cut most of them in half to make 3x2-1/2” cards
Food labels from your common lunch foods (cut them out or your can draw her own)
Dry-erase marker (if you’re using your fridge, check first to see that the marker can be erased!)
What You Do: 1. Explain to your child that every good lunch should contain four main elements: protein (such as meat, cheese, beans, rice, and peanut butter, etc), carbohydrates (kids will recognize bread, crackers, rice, among other things), a fruit and/or veggie, and something healthy to drink. In addition, many schools also ask for a snack, and again you can talk about healthy options with her. 2. Once you’ve laid out this basic information, you both can create your magnet board. Start by
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marking out a chart, like this: 3. Then invite your child to help you make cards for each type of food. For items like bread and crackers, invite your child to help you cut out pictures and labels and paste them down on your cards. For items that don’t come with illustrated packages, such as some veggies or fruits, encourage your child to draw a picture and then write the word for each food beneath. If categories seem challenging, you can also try color-coding your cards. 4. Finally, if you plan to pack sandwiches or certain rice dishes, with a combination of ingredients, try using a full-size, 3x5” card, which can straddle two categories on your chart. 5. On the back of each card, glue a magnet. Store the cards in an envelope or basket near your magnet board area. 6. The night before a school day, invite your child to plan her lunch with you. Pull out labeled pictures of the foods that you’re comfortable providing for the next day, and let your child select and categorize each one. Do it regularly, and you can expect some impressive new knowledge and pride as your child learns how to identify, pack - and hopefully eat- a healthy, balanced school lunch! Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school history and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
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ABC Book for Dad By Julie Williams Updated on Dec 28, 2012
If you have an emerging reader at home, you've probably heard it lots of times: there's no such thing as too much practice with those A,B,C'S! The challenge, of course, is to make letters and sounds as relevant as possible to the wide world around us. With Father's Day coming up soon, why not “seize the day” by connecting the holiday with some valuable literacy learning, and make Dad happy in the process? Here's a simple, fun way to do it. Download Activity
What You Need:
6 sheets of white legal size paper (8-1/2”x14”) 1 sheet of colored construction paper, 12x18” Stapler Markers Digital photographs (optional)
What You Do: 1. To make a “book,” start by cutting a cover from the colored construction paper, slightly larger than the legal size paper (about 9-1/2”x15”) Fold it in half horizontally so that it measures 7-1/2”x9”. 2. Now fold the legal sized paper in half, so that it measures 8-1/2”x7”. Insert it into the folded construction paper, and use the stapler to fasten everything along the fold line. 3. On the cover, have your child write “ABC Fun with Dad,” and either draw a picture of Dad or glue on a picture of him—all the better if it's a photo with Dad and kid together! While you're at it, make sure that your young author has also signed his work. 4. At the top of each page of the book, have your child write a letter of the alphabet, moving from A to Z. If your child is just starting out with letters, capitals alone are just fine, but don't hold your kid back if he wants to add lower case letters as well. On the rest of the page, have your child make a picture of something that Dad does that includes a word that starts with that letter. Does Dad play tennis? Love to take your child swimming? Eat watermelons in summer? Presto: you've got pages for T, S, and W already! 5. Do take notice: for little kids, this is a big project. Parents, it's probably wise to work in stages here—perhaps just a few letters a day over several days. For kids, it's all outstanding learning: each letter matches a sound, each sound contributes to a word, the words describe Daddy, and you can bet on it—he'll be truly delighted by this gift. Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
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It's All Natural! A Materials Scavenger Hunt By Victoria Hoffman Updated on Jan 27, 2014
In today's “green” conscious society, it's increasingly important to teach kids about items made from our environment. Many parents work hard to encourage an all-natural lifestyle for their kids. But for literal-minded kids, it's a stretch to understand how many of the manufactured products we use everyday could have started out in nature. Here's an activity that can open the door to conversation with your kids about how things are made and what exactly they're made from. How amazed will they be when they learn that glass comes from sand and books come from trees!
What You Need:
Several manufactured items found in your home
Color-coded round labels in 5 colors (available at office supply stores)
What You Do: 1. Show her several manufactured items you have collected from around your home. These could include such items as a paper bag, a metal toy car, a wool mitten or hat, a cotton sock, a wood ruler, a glass jar, or a book. 2. As you show her each object, ask her what she thinks the object is made from. Ask if she knows where the material they named comes from. Many children will know that wooden items come from trees and woolen clothing comes from sheep. Explain to her that paper comes from trees, cotton fabric comes from plants, metal comes from mineral in the ground and glass comes from sand. 3. As you identify the source material for each object, write a "master color code" card, and
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make a different color label for each kind of source material: plant, trees, animal, metal, or sand. Emphasize that all the source material comes from our environment. 4. Now it's time to introduce some new vocabulary! Go on a tour of the house with your child, and identify at least 25 different source materials you can see. Place a color dot on each one as identification (for example, you might use green for trees and red for animals). Tell her she may use her own clothing to label as well, and it's also okay to raid the kitchen! As you go, bring a clipboard. After your child has picked each object, list its name on your paper, and leave some room between each item. 5. Once you've labeled the house, you're ready for a fun scavenger hunt that also supports first grade reading skills. Invite your child (and a friend, too, if she likes), to go find every object on your word list, and then put the appropriate sticker or stickers next to the object name. Milk and cookies for the scavenger who can read each word and recapture every sticker around the house! This activity can also be joined with many books that discuss how things are made from objects found in nature. The Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall and Kids’ Clothes From Start to Finish by Samuel G. Woods & Peter Casolino are just two examples of many. Victoria Hoffman, M.A., is an elementary school teacher, writer and mother from Leonardtown, Maryland. She has taught grades K-5 in both regular and special education classrooms.
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