Around the World: Idea #61

If your students like competitive games, they will like the game 'Around the World'. They have to think and speak quick to win. It's an exciting way to practice letter sounds. The only thing you need for this game are alphabet flashcards. Here's how you play:

1. Put your class in a line.

2. Ask the first two students in line to come to the front of the classroom.

3. Show them a letter flashcard.

4. The student who says the letter sound on the flashcard the quickest stays at the front of the class with you. The other student goes to the end of the line. The student who is the quickest is also given the flashcard of the letter sound that they won. Every time they are the quickest, they get a flashcard.

5. Then you ask for the next student in line to come up to the front to compete against the student who won last time. The student that is the fastest at saying the letter sound, stays at the front with the teacher and gets the flashcard. The student who looses, goes to the end of the line.

6. Once all of the flashcards have been given, the student with the most cards is the winner.

I hope your competitive students enjoy this game! 

Thimble: Idea #60

When I was a kid I loved to play the thimble game. It's fun and easy. I've changed a few things in playing the game to make it educational. Here's what you do:

Things you need for this game: a glass of water, a thimble, paper, pencil, and the straws from yesterday's Idea #59

1. Have your students get in a circle. Invite one student to be 'it'. Have your student pick a straw and announce the letter that they got.

2. Your student then gets the paper and pencil and writes down a word of something that begins with that letter, but it must be in the room. The student is to write it so that no one can see it (perhaps in a corner or something).

3. Then the student fills the thimble with water by dipping it in the glass of water. The student begins to go around the circle. Each person in the circle has to guess something in the room that begins with that letter sound. When someone guesses the word that is written on the paper, the thimble of water is thrown on them. Then that person gets to be 'it'.

4. You don't really keep score for this game, it's just fun. Also, if your student picks a straw with a letter sound that isn't in the room, have them pick another straw.

Games are the most fun when everyone is learning together. Have fun playing this entertaining game!

ABC Charades: Idea #59

Charades is a fun game for students to play. It can be both entertaining and educational. All you need for ABC Charades are some straws and an index card. Here is what you do:

1. Count out 26 straws.

2. Get an index card and cut it into 26 little squares.

3. Write A-Z on the 26 little squares.

4. Staple the A-Z squares on the 26 straws.

5. Put the straws in a LARGE glass.

6. Have a student come up and pick a straw out of the glass.

7. The student announces what letter he/she received to the audience/class. The student then thinks of something that begins with that letter sound, whispers the word to the teacher, and acts it out.

8. The audience/class yells out what they think it is. The student gets 1 minute to act it out. If no one is able to guess it, the student must go again and choose another straw. Once someone guesses it, the guesser gets to have a turn.

What an exciting way to practice letter sounds! Have fun!

Bowling: Idea #58

If your student enjoys sports or is really active, you might think about incorporating sports into your lessons. It is simple to do. For example, if your student loves to go bowling, here is how you could make it educational:

1. All you need are some flashcards, a bowling ball, bowling pins, and a scoreboard.

2. Divide your students into two teams. Have them form a line with their team.

3. Invite the first person from each line to come to you. Show them one of your flashcards (they can have letters, or sight words, or short words to sound out). The student who yells out what is on the flashcard first gets to bowl. They can also get points for their team (depending on how many pins are knocked over). The student who wasn't first, simply goes to the end of their team's line.

4. Invite the second players in line to come up to you. Show them one of your flashcards. The student who yells out what is one the card first gets to bowl. Continue this process until every student has had a turn or one of the teams have achieved the goal score of your choice.

This is great practice and a fun way to get your students actively learning.

Word List: Idea #57

You have been reviewing letter sounds with your student for almost 2 whole months now. At this point your student has mastered many letter sounds. Make a list of the letter sounds they know, and have them start sounding out words that contain those letters.

For example, if your student knows the following letter sounds: A, B, C, F, P, S, T

You might have them practice sounding out the following words: bat, bats, cab, cabs, cap, caps, cat, cats, cast, fat, fast, past, pat, pats, sat, tap, taps, tab, tabs (maybe you can think of more).

Although these words are simple and short, these are the sounds your student may have mastered. Naturally these words will be pretty easy for your student to sound out since they already know the sounds. What a great way for your reader to gain some confidence and realize that they can actually read!

Hubbard's Cupboard: Idea #56

Hubbard's Cupboard- A great literacy website. The best part of this website are the free printable booklets. Here is how you get to them:

1. Click on the literacy tab
2. Scroll down to printable booklets
3. Click on Word Family Booklets
4. Pick the word family you desire

Obviously there is a ton of other stuff you can look at on this website, but the printable booklets are fun for them to practice reading and they can color the pictures.

FYI: When you print the booklets, they print two copies on each page for you to make two booklets. 

Here's the website: http://www.hubbardscupboard.org

Sundance Literative Readers: Idea #55

Sundance Literactive Readers- This website has a ton of easy books that your kid can read online. The computer can read the stories to them first and then they can start reading them on their own. Each set of books get harder. Have fun checking it out.

Here is the website: http://www.sundancepub.com/c/@UuWuDGAOhoDrM/Pages/literactivereaders_set1.html

Vowel Game: Idea #54

When students are learning their letter sounds, vowels tend to be the very hardest. Here is a fun game to help your students remember what the vowels are:

1. Put your students in a circle.

2. You start by pointing to each student and saying, "A, E, I, O, U sit down." So you would say "A" and point to a student, go to the next student and say "E", go to the next student and say, "I", go to the next student and say, "O", and the next student "U sit down". That student then sits down and you start over.

3. You finish when there is only one student standing. That student then becomes the person in the middle of the circle saying "A,E,I,O,U sit down".

This game is quick and easy. It's a fun way for kids to learn their vowels. Once they have learned their vowel letters, you could play the game with the vowel sounds instead of the vowel letters! Have a great time playing!

ABC Turkey: Idea #53

Want to do some holiday fun? Make this simple ABC turkey with your student. It is a wonderful way to motivate your student to learn all of their letter sounds. Here is what you do:

1. Trace your hand (or your student can trace their hand).

2. On each finger make six lines about the same distance apart. Then draw a line between the turkey's neck and body.

3. Write the letters A through X in the squares. On the neck and body write Y and Z.

4. Each time your student masters a letter sound, let them color in that square on the turkey. The different colors make it a lot more fun for your student.

5. Once your student has learned all 26 sounds, let them finish decorating their turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Letter Sound Meal: Idea #52

Last night as we were sitting down for dinner, I realized that everything on my plate started with the letter P. I had pasta, peas, and peaches. We even had punch to drink! This could be a really fun activity to do with your student.

Choose the letter sound your student is struggling with and make them a meal, or have them help you make the meal, that all begins with that sound. They may never forget the letter sound after this! What a fun and yummy way to practice letter sounds!

Here are some ideas:

M BREAKFAST- Milk, Malt-O-Meal's Marshmallow Mateys, muffin, Minute Maid

S LUNCH- Soup, salad, sandwich, sugar cookie

B DINNER- Barbecued chicken, broccoli, baked potato, biscuit, brownies

Painting: Idea #51

Get out your water paints! Kids love to paint! Here is a fun activity to do with your student for letter sound practice:

1. Give your student a worksheet similar to this one: http://homeschooling.about.com/od/langearlyread/ss/letterswrite_6.htm?terms=s+d, or one that you make. Make sure the worksheet has the letter sound your student is struggling with.

2. Give your student water paints. Tell them that they have 2 minutes to paint as many things as they can think of that begin with that letter sound. So if they have an S page, they might paint a snake, a seal, a sister, spaghetti, etc.

3. Your student will be painting around the letter on the page. The fun is that they only have 2 minutes.

4. If you see that your student is struggling, allow a little more time to paint. When their time is up, see how many pictures they drew, then give them another piece of paper and try a different letter sound.

5. If you have more than one student, you can make it into a competition to see who draws more pictures.

Awards: Idea #50

In my experience being a teacher, kids love to get recognized for their achievements. When they have gone up a level in their reading, or received 100% on a Spelling test, a student deserves recognition. A great way to get your students excited to learn all of their letter sounds is to give them a special award and certificate when they have mastered one. Adults feel good when they have worked hard for something, kids are no different. You can buy some simple, cheap awards and certificates at the dollar store or Wal-Mart. Kids will cherish their awards and once they receive one, they will want to receive them all!

Check out these websites for ideas:
AWARD RIBBONS- http://printables.kaboose.com/blank-ribbon.html
AWARD CERTIFICATES- http://www.paperdirect.com/Certificates?SCID=GGNB20E&CMP=tog-google-certificates_printable_certificates&gclid=CPHho9ay27MCFWlxQgodN0IAkw

Alphabet Animals: Idea #49

Most children love animals. What better way to introduce letter sounds than with animals? Kids will enjoy learning the different animals that start with different letter sounds.  Here are a few examples:

A- Alligator
B- Butterfly
C- Crab
D- Dolphin
E- Elephant
F- Fox
G- Gorilla
H- Hamster

Check out some of these websites to see some creative ways they use the animals to make the letters and have fun introducing them to your student!
http://somethinkfun.blogspot.com/2009/04/animal-alphabet.html
http://graffitink.com/tag/a-z-letter/
http://www.alphanimals.net/Products.aspx
http://www.examkick.com/free-online-test-paper/mobp8aqrrwz/Alphabet+Animals

Letter Books: Idea #48

Alphabet books are a great way to help kids remember letter sounds. Each letter of the alphabet has their own book full of pages with pictures of things that begin with that sound. For example, in the b book you may find pictures of a ball, a bear, a boy, etc. Kids love the colorful pictures. As a teacher I would always introduce a letter sound using an alphabet book. It gave my students a quick overview of the sound we were going to be working on. Plus, did I mention that they loved the beautiful pictures?

Check out Lakeshore's alphabet books as an example. You don't have to get this brand, this just gives you an idea of what these alphabet books look like.

ABC Fishing Booth: Idea #47

Carnivals are like a child's paradise. You've got games, candy, rides, and best of all you can win stuff. No wonder schools love to put on a good carnival. What do carnivals have to do with letter sounds you may ask? There are some great carnival games that you can make educational. Kids already love the games, so why not put an educational twist to it? Here is a fun way to make the fishing booth educational:

1. You will need: A short pole/stick, string/yard, a clothespin, a blue sheet, ABC flashcards, and prizes.

2. Attach your string to the pole to make a simple fishing pole. Then tie a clothespin at the end of the string.

3. Decorate your blue sheet to look like water.

4. To play the student is given an ABC flashcard (similar to the ones on this website). The student must look at the card, say the name of the picture and what letter sound it starts with. For example, a student might say, "This is an elephant. It begins with the e sound."

5. If your student says the incorrect response, have them give their ABC flashcard to the next person in line and move to the end of the line. If student says the right response, give your student the fishing pole. The student then puts the pole over the blue sheet.

6. The person behind the sheet finds a fun prize and clips it on the clothespin. When they finish, they give the string a few tugs and the student pulls the pole up to get their prize.

7. If you are super ambitious you could give them a prize that begins with the letter sound that was on their ABC flashcard. For example, if they had a card with a picture of spaghetti, you might give them smarties because it starts with the same sound. 

Your students will love practicing their letter sounds this way. It's so fun to go fishing for prizes!

Mister Rogers: Idea #46

Did you know that there is a Mister Rogers website? Not only does this website bring back some great childhood memories, but it is also great for modern day kids. Here are some things you can find on the website:

1. SONGS- You can listen to his songs and print off the lyrics.
2. GAMES- Many of the games are educational. One is called 'Alphabet Doors' and is perfect for students learning their letter sounds.
3. VIDEOS- You can watch Mister Rogers' full length episodes online!
4. COLORING PAGES- Kids can color pictures online. You can also print the pictures off for your student to color.

The website is: http://pbskids.org/rogers/

Have fun checking out this great website. Sometimes it's okay to take a walk down memory lane!

Alphabet Hopscotch: Idea #45

When I was a kid, I loved hopscotch. So, I have come up with a way to play hopscotch and practice letter sounds. I call it Alphabet Hopscotch. Here's what you do:

1. Get some sidewalk chalk and draw a hopscotch design on the ground. Make sure there are ten boxes, similar to this:

2. Instead of writing the numbers 1-10 in the boxes, choose ten letter sounds that your student needs to practice and put them randomly in the boxes, similar to this:

3. Give your student a rock or something small to throw on the squares.

4. Starting with the first letter on your hopscotch design, your student throws a rock to land on the first square. Before going, the student must tell you what sound it makes. If my student was using the hopscotch design above, he/she might say, "E makes the e sound" before jumping. The student is to skip the square that has the rock in it.

5. Once the student has finished hopping, they are to throw their rock on the second square. They are to look at the letter, say the sound, and then hop, skipping the box that has a rock in it. If my student was using the hopscotch design above, he/she might say, "J makes the j sound" before jumping.

6. If the student doesn't know a letter sound, allow another student to have a turn, or even the teacher.

Have fun practicing at recess!

Magic picture: Idea #44

A fun way to get your student to practice their letter sounds is to make a magic picture. It is very simple and only involves: a piece of white paper, a white crayon, water paints, and a paint brush. Here is what you do:

1. Give student a sharpened white crayon along with a blank white piece of paper.

2. Tell student a letter sound. The student is to draw pictures with their white crayon that all begin with that letter. For example if the letter sound was P, your student may draw a person, a pearl, a peacock, a pebble, a pig, etc.

3. Once your student has filled up the paper with different pictures that all begin with the same sound, give them their water colors. They must completely paint the white page to see all of the pictures that were drawn. Make sure they paint over their white crayon pictures.

4. When the student has completely painted the white paper, leave the page out to dry. Once it is dry, hang it up for their reference and as a reminder. 

5. If your student enjoys this activity, choose another letter sound and repeat the activity. Take advantage of your student being excited and engaged about letter sounds. I hope you enjoy making these magic pictures!

Dr. Seuss: Idea #43

Do you remember learning in school that an alliteration was a sentence that had words that all began with the same letter? Wasn't it fun discovering that and finding sentences that had alliterations? When I think of alliterations I automatically think of Dr. Seuss. He is the king of alliterations, especially in his Dr. Seuss’s ABC book.

Reading books with alliterations is a great way to help your child learn their sounds. As you read this Dr. Seuss book with your student, you may stop after each page and ask "What letter sound did you hear at the beginning of each word on this page?" 

While reading each page, try to make it really obvious to your student what the sound was, so that they don't get frustrated. For example, one of the pages in the book says, "Barber baby bubbles and a bumblebee." Read it to your student like this: "Barber baby bubbles and a bumblebee." The only sound that should be loud is the one you're trying to have your student guess. Then ask your student, "What letter sound did you hear on this page?" Your student would then confidently reply, "B!"

Kids love reading books with an adult and they especially enjoy Dr.Seuss books. Have a great time listening to all of his fun alliterations...don't forget to help your student learn their letter sounds along the way!

makinglearningfun.com: Idea #42

Boy do I have a great website for you! This website has some wonderful resources to help your progressing reader. Take a look: www.makinglearningfun.com. Here are some things you may find:

1. Emergent Reader books you can print
2. ABC Cards
3. Zoophonics
4. Calendar Activities
5. ABC coloring pages
6. ABC printing practice
7. ABC dot-to-dots
8. Early Readers printable books
9. Nursery Rhymes
10. Chica Chica Boom Boom activities

AND MORE!!! Check it out!

clipart.com: Idea #41

Does your student like to color? If they do, you should try out this idea! Go to www.clipart.com and don't forget to subscribe. Under keywords type in 'alphabet' to find some awesome letter pictures. When you see the letters you want your student to practice, drag them to a word document and print them off.  

Have your student identify each picture before they color it in the letter. This helps them find more words that all begin with the same sound. It's great practice. I have attached letters O and R. 

Alphabet Scramble: Idea #40

Get your student to practice their letter sounds by giving them an alphabet scramble page. All you do is print off a worksheet similar to the one above (just to give you an idea). You could also make your own, just as long as the letters are all mixed up and out of order. Once you have given a copy of the Alphabet Scramble to your student, say a letter sound. They are to listen to the sound and then put an X on the letter sound they heard. Play the game until every letter has an X. 

Reward your student if they remembered all 26 letter sounds. This game will obviously get less time consuming as your student continues to study their letter sounds. Enjoy discovering what your student already knows!

Pictionary: Idea #39

Pictionary is a great game for all ages. All players get to guess, draw, and compete. This game can be played focusing on letter sounds. All you do is choose a letter sound that your student needs practice on. Then when it is your turn to draw, you must draw something that begins with that letter sound. For example, if the letter sound chosen was m, when it was my turn to draw I may draw a picture of a muffin. The rest of the players try to guess what I am drawing. The fun part is they can only guess things that begin with that particular letter sound.

If you only have two people (you and your student), just take turns drawing. If there are more players, just have everyone guess what the artist is drawing. Whoever is the first person to guess the picture correctly, gets to be the next artist. 

This game is nice because it doesn't involve any preparation on the teacher's part. You also don't need very many materials, just a paper and pencil (or white board and marker). 

I would recommend that you review with your student things that begin with the letter sound chosen before you start playing the game. Otherwise, when it is their turn, you could be waiting a while.

Alphabet Book: Idea #38

Making an alphabet book is a great way to motivate your student to learn letter sounds. They will love the opportunity to be creative in drawing pictures and remembering the sounds they have learned. Here is what you do:

1. All you need is: a pencil, crayons, 26 pieces of paper, and 1 extra page for the book cover that says My ABC Letter Sound Book.

2. After your student has mastered a particular letter sound, give them a piece of paper to add to their ABC Letter Sound Book. For example, if they have mastered the letter sound A, give them a paper that says: 'A is for _______.' 

3. Your student can tell you what they would like to write in the blank and you can help them write it.

4. After they have written the word in the blank, let them draw a picture to go with it.

5. It is okay if they do the letters out of order, as long as the pages are put in the correct order at the end.

6. Once your student has mastered all 26 letters and has drawn a picture for each one, put the pages in the correct abc order and staple the book together. Kids love making books and will enjoy showing their book to their family and friends. The book can become a great reference and constant reminder to your student.

Chutes and Ladders: Idea #37

Have you ever played the game Chutes and Ladders? It's really simple and fun. It's a good game to help kids practice counting to one hundred. You can also incorporate literacy into the game. Here is how you play to practice letter sounds:

1. You need: the board game Chutes and Ladders and some alphabet flashcards.

2. Each player chooses a game piece and puts it on the board.

3. When it is your turn, choose an alphabet flashcard. Look it and say the sound that the letter makes. If you say the correct sound, you can spin the spinner and move that many spaces on the board. If you say the incorrect sound, allow the next player to have a turn.

4. Whenever you land on a space with a ladder, go up the ladder to where it ends. Whenever you land on a space with a chute, go down the chute to where it ends.

5. The first player to get to box 100 wins the game.

Kids are so engaged playing this game. The alphabet flashcards make it even a little more competitive and exciting.

Alphabet Cubes: Idea #36

As a teacher I noticed that my students loved writing on the white board. They especially loved drawing pictures on the whiteboard. For some reason it was more exciting than drawing on paper. Try playing the following game with your student so they have the opportunity to draw on a white board:

1. Give your student a small white board and dry erase marker (make sure the marker works!)
 
2. Get a few alphabet cubes that have a variety of different letters.

3. The teacher rolls one alphabet cube. Whatever letter the teacher rolls, the student must draw a picture of something that begins with that letter sound. For example, if teacher rolls the letter J, the student might draw a picture of a jeep. 

4. Every time the student draws a picture that begins with the letter sound correctly, the student gets a point.

If there is more than one student playing, you may want to make it into a race. The student who draws a picture that begins with the letter sound the fastest, gets a point.

If you do not have an alphabet cube, you may want to make one out of paper by using this website: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Paper-Cube or buy some using this website: http://products.lakeshorelearning.com/search#w=alphabet%20blocks. If you don't have a white board, kids also love chalk boards.

5. If the student draws something that does not begin with the right sound, correct them and then roll the alphabet cube for a different sound. They also do not get a point.

6. The game ends when the student gets to the goal score the teacher has chosen.

You may want to take notes as you are playing the game with your student. This is a great way to discover the letter sounds that your student still does not know. Have fun!

Allkidsnetwork.com: Idea #35

There are a lot of great educational websites out there. Take a look at http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/. This website has fun crafts, worksheets, and activities for kids. It's a wonderful resource for reading comprehension, alphabet, and sight words practice. The worksheets are simple and straight forward. They are perfect for beginning readers. Have fun discovering all the wonderful things this website has to offer.

I Spy: Idea #34

Another game you could play in the car or when you have some down time is I Spy. It is easy and kids love playing it. Try playing I Spy using letter sounds. Here is how you do it:

1. The parent/teacher looks around the room and silently chooses an object that the student can see.

2. The parent/teacher says, "I spy with my little eye something that begins with the b sound."

3. The student begins to look around the room and then guesses things that begin with that letter sound.

4. If the student is having a really difficult time guessing the object, the parent/teacher can give a clue like, "I spy with my little eye something orange and round".

5. Once the student guesses what the parent/teacher was thinking, let the student have a turn choosing an object.

Bean Bag Toss: Idea #33

Do you remember going to carnivals as a kid? I bet one of your favorite games was the bean bag toss. Well, not much has changed because kids STILL love the bean bag toss. Here is how you can play the bean bag toss to practice letter sounds:

1. Buy some alphabet bean bags (or make some bean bags and write a letter on each one).

2. Get some type of score board that your student can throw bean bags through (you can make one or buy one).

3. To play the game the student is given a bean bag and must say the letter's sound that is on the bean bag. If they say the correct sound, they can throw the bean bag to get points. If they didn't say the right sound, let someone else have a turn. 

If they are the only one playing and they get the letter sound wrong, let them choose a different bean bag.

This is a fun way to test your student on their letter sounds. Doesn't this game bring back some great childhood memories?

Costume Party: Idea #32

I know, I know, it's the day AFTER Halloween, but you can really have a costume party whenever you want! Costume parties are a fun way to get your student to learn a particular letter sound. Everyone who comes to the party MUST dress up in a costume that begins with a particular letter. For example, if the letter is d, one may dress up as a dinosaur or a dog or even Dracula. This would be an exciting way for your student to connect the letter to its sound. Try celebrating Halloween another day this year!