CURRICULUM MONDAY -- MOVE!

   

    The most basic of lessons can be become motivating to the child. How? Why has Spelling Baseball been a classic in classrooms for so many years?  It's its physicalness the students seek.*

     But there are many other ways to turn lessons physical. She correctly reads a line in her phonics lesson? She earns 10 seconds to do jumping jacks, skipping, or running across the room. (Believe it or not, she almost always calms down quickly if she know such activities will stop immediately if she doesn't!)

    Or the movement can be a part of the lesson. She claps her hands together three times, then four times more, and adds them together. Or a math challenge is written on a card. She computes it correctly. You wad up the card, and she runs as she catches it on the fly. 

     Or the child is learning to recognize description. Her challenge? To pop up every time she comes across another description in a story. (It might be best to give specific instruction, such as to stand only when she sees descriptions over one specific object or event in the story.)

     Or she is learning where certain punctuation marks go, such as quotation marks. You (or someone) reads an unmarked passage, and she throws up her arms (as if exaggerated quotation marks over her head) when she "hears" them.

     Okay, obviously you are not going to offer such movement activities all the time. You might already be getting dizzy, just reading this. Many lessons are enjoyable by themselves, and sometimes the child is going to do lessons because, because -- because she needs to, that's all. But on other days...

     Try some. Make up your own.
     And be prepared for a lot of laughter.

*This is assuming the child is healthy and not restricted physically.
PHOTO CREDIT: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobalt/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

CURRICULUM MONDAY -- RHYMED PAIRS (BLENDS)

  
 Once the child has mastered simple short vowels (3 letters, with the vowel in the middle, such as "cat" and "hot"), it's time to expand into consonant blends. Because the child must now hold not three sounds ("c-a-t") but four sounds ("s-c-a-t") before blending, this is tricker. Child having repeated trouble? Practice, practice the consonant blend first. Then, when reading a word, have her say the blend as if it were one sound, not two ("sc-a-t" and "dr-o-p").
     Examples of consonant blends: 
     Initial blends: st-, sp-, scr-, sw-, br-, bl-, dr-, gr-, gl-, cr-, cl-, fr-, fl-, pr-, pl-, tr-, tw-
     Final blends: -nt, -nd, -st, -sk, -sp, -ft, -lf, -lk

     Okay, to the activity:
     Give the child a rhymed pair (See below). She draws a picture of the rhymed pair but only writes one of the words on the picture. Can the other child figure out the missing rhymed word? (For parents at home: Adult draws the picture and writes the one word. The child unlocks the missing word). Add acting? All the more fun.

     Go!
     clock block
     slurp and burp
     sled bled
     jump and bump
     duck cluck
     clam slam
     black crack
     twin grin
     grab crab
     press dress
     duck truck
     cross boss
     slit mitt
     slick brick
     twin grin
     last gasp
     step on desk
     lick stick
     dressed nest
     stop and drop
     flat hat
PHOTO CREDIT: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/radioflyer007/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

CURRICULUM MONDAY -- "IF YOU CAN READ IT, DO IT," SHORT VOWELS

     

     A kindergardener or first grader comes to school, so enthusiastic about learning to read, and what do many workbooks do? Hit her with dry phonics lessons. Ach!
     It doesn't have to be that way.
     I still make sure the child has the basics of blending out a word first, but only the very basic skill ("d-o-g," "s-i-t"). I don't ask her to be proficient. After all, it's all about practice and practice. Why not combine phonics and movement and silliness -- just what she likes?
     So the mantra for the following exercise is, "If you can read it, you get to do it." I decide what phonics I'm teaching, then create phrases using that skill that can be acted out.
    The child works alone or with a  partner, but in no way does anyone else help her. (Okay, she can be helped with the non-short vowel words shown in boldface, but no other words.) If she can figure out the words, she get to act it out -- far more fun than getting a star on her paper. If she can't, she doesn't get to do the acting.
     Simple -- and highly motivating. The students will work to come up with the phase so they can act. What could be better?

NOTE:
a. A box of props nearby is nice but not necessary.
b. I use this with other phonics lessons, too. I will post their phrases periodically.
c. This works just as well informally at home as well as during lessons.

1. Go rub -a dub in a tub.
2. Run as fast as a van.
3. Be a mad dad.
4. Jump on a bump.
5. Be a mom.
6. Be a fox.
7. Kiss a bib.
8. Be sick.
9. Kiss a sock.
10. Put your legs on your neck.
11. Swim fast.
12. Be a duck.
13. Be a rat.
14. Zip up pants.
15. Get ants in your pants.
16. Put on socks.
17. Pop up.
18. Quack.
19. Yelp.
20. Hum and hop.

PHOTO CREDIT:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alaskaval/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

CURRICULUM MONDAY -- SHORT VOWELS AND TONGUE TWISTERS

     So he just knows how to read short vowel words? No problem. There's still so much he can read. That is fun. And silly. 

     Here are a few tongue twisters below I made up that use mostly short vowels. (Okay, so I copied a few of them.) The object is not to help him -- at all. The reward for him once he conquers the words is to get to say the tongue twister over and over -- the faster, the better. Add some acting to it or some running or hopping -- it's amazing how much more fun reading is when you get to hop and run and do skits, right?

NOTE: A) Okay, you can help with the non-short vowel words that are in boldface, but nothing nothing nothing else. B) Periodically I will offer other tongue twisters for other phonic skills.

1. The bass with a bad back Dad whacked with a bat.
2. Will the vet get that pet into a net? Not yet.
3. How many cans can a canner can

    If a canner can can cans?

4. Did Mick quick-kick sick Rick?

5. The duck ducks under a dock.

6. If a fat cat pats a rat,

    Can the fat rat pat the cat back?

7. Of all the felt I ever felt

    I never felt a piece of felt

    That felt the same as that felt

    When I first felt felt.