Since today is my last day posting on this blog, I thought it would be appropriate to share the idea of popcorn reading. Popcorn reading isn't affective for everyone, but for some it truly is. When you do popcorn reading choose a text that is a little longer and make sure to have a group of four or more students.
WHAT TO DO... One student begins reading the text until they decide to stop. They can stop at the end of a page/paragraph/sentence or even in the middle of any of those. When they stop, they are to call out a name of someone else in the group to begin reading where they left off. It is a fun listening activity and a great way for teachers to see how students are improving in their reading skills. If they do a good job reading, maybe you could reward them with a tea party or something!
Thank you so much for looking at my blog! I have learned a lot this year and hope to some day use all of these ideas. Check out my new blog I have started with my sisters at the following website: http://sevenflakesisters.blogspot.com/ .
Enjoy!
Since I will only be posting one more day on this blog, I thought I would share five awesome ideas that I found blog hopping. All of these ideas can help your reader with sight words or high frequency words:
1. Where's the Bear?- Get about four Dixie cups and write a sight word on each one. Then hide a plastic bear under one of the cups. Each student gets a turn lifting a cup, reading the word, and trying to find the bear. You can read more about this game here.
2. Rotten Apple Sight Word Game- This game is played with a paper tree that has cut out apples on it. Each apple has a sight word written on it. A few of the apples have worms in them. Your student is to "pick" each apple off the tree and read the word on it. If your student can't read the word, the apple goes back on the tree. If your student gets an apple with a worm, ALL of their apples go back on the tree. You can read more about this game here.
3. Sight Word Island Jumping- Write sight words on index cards and tape them to pillows that are neatly placed in a circle. Say a sight word to your student and then they are to jump to the pillow that has that particular sight word. You can read more about this game here.
4. Sight Word Flip Books- Check out these awesome sight word flip books to help reinforce some of those tricky words. You can download the books for free here.
5. Clothespin Words- Write one letter on each clothespin. Then give your student a bunch of sight word flashcards. Have them match each letter of the sight word with the correct clothespin. You can read more about this game here.
I hope you enjoy these great games!
It's time to have fun learning sight words! Go to your local Lakeshore Learning store and invest in Sight Word Tracers. The tracers help children practice writing and recognizing sight words. They include dots to help children know exactly how to write and form each letter. Students write the letters with a dry erase marker, which allows them to write the words over and over again.
I like to lay the tracers out on the table (about ten of them), say a sight word, and then have my student find the correct word. Once they have found the word, they trace it with the dry erase marker. This is a great way to test your student's sight word knowledge and help them practice the spelling of each word. You can find these sight word tracers here. Enjoy!
If your student is a tactile learner, you should invest in some sight word tactile cards. Tactile cards can help your student see, touch, and trace each sight word. Your student will love practicing their sight words with a more hands-on approach.
Lakeshore Learning has a tactile card set that comes with 75 different sight words. There are three levels included in the set. Each level has 25 words. Once your student has mastered the first level of sight words, go on to the next! You can see what the cards look like here. Have fun!
I remember as a kid I loved getting kid magazines in the mail. It made me feel so grown-up! Magazines can be a great way to promote reading at home. Find something your student really likes (animals, sports, Disney princesses, etc.) and most likely you will be able to find a kid magazine that focuses on that. Maybe you have heard of some these kid magazines: Highlights, National Geographic Kids, American Girl, Time for Kids, Discovery Girls, Kids Discover, and Yum Food & Fun for Kids. These magazines are geared towards a young audience and include topics that your student may find interesting. Check out a list of kid magazines here. I hope you find one that your student will enjoy!
I really enjoyed reading this list about making reading fun for your child. I found it in the Reader's Digest. My favorite ideas were: find a cozy place to read together and talk about the book when you finish it. What great ideas to help promote reading! Sometimes it is the simplest things that can help get our students reading more. Have fun checking out the list. You can find it here.
Time for another fun sight word game. Try playing the game Spill and Spell. This game is for up to 4 players. All the players do is draw sight word cards, roll the dice, and try to spell the words on their cards. When the players spell the words right, they record them on their scorecards. Then they draw new cards and go through the process again.This game is super easy to play and is fast paced. Kids who are competitive would really enjoy playing this game. This game includes 100 cards and 2 levels. You can take a look at it here. Have fun!
I just googled beginning reader activities and found this great website. Although the website is mostly geared towards babies, there are wonderful ideas listed. The list is even organized into ideas for auditory learners, visual learners, and physical learners. Some of the ideas listed that I particularly liked were: great your child a library card, write a letter to your child's favorite author, go to a book signing party, make a reading fort, turn a book into art, leave notes for your child, and buy a big book. Check out this website to see what would be best for your student. Enjoy!
Spot books are great for beginning readers. Spot books have a lot of repetition and he is a fun character to read about. Check out the Fun with Spot website here. You and your student can read up on the author, buy Spot books, download Spot activity worksheets, and even play Spot games online. The games force your student to read in order to find where Spot is hiding. After your student has read a Spot book to you, they will love exploring this fun website. You can find a list of Spot books here. Have fun reading!
Looking for fun books for your student to read? Try the I Can Read book series. These books are geared towards beginning readers. The books have fun characters and interesting plots. Maybe you have heard of some of the characters: Pinkalicious, Biscuit, Fancy Nancy, Berenstain Bears, Amelia Bedelia, Splat the Cat, and more! Take a look at the following website to order these books as paperbacks or e-books: http://www.icanread.com/index.cfm. This website also includes fun worksheets and reading tips you can download on your computer. This website also has online games you can play that have to do with the characters found in I Can Read books. Have fun seeing all that this website has to offer!
Today I found yet another wonderful literacy website. Just check out http://www.abcya.com/ for some excellent reading games. On the website you will find:
-Grades K-5 leveled activities
-Easy to navigate games for young learners
-ABC games
-Stories
-Sight Word games
-Spanish Word games
-Spelling Word games
-Vocabulary Word games
You will love this website. Have fun!
Everyone loves playing and watching Jeopardy! Try playing Sight Word Jeopardy with your students. They will enjoy playing. You can make your own or go to this website to play it online. In Sight Word Jeopardy a player gets more points if the sight word is more difficult to read. What a fun way to practice and find out what sight words your students know. Have fun!
If you love to watch or play Wheel of Fortune, you will love the game Word Reveal. Get your student excited to practice sight words by playing this fun game. This is all you do:
1. YOU WILL NEED: Word Reveal Game Board found here (make sure to print it on legal paper), fine tip dry erase markers (or pencils if you choose not to laminate), page marker post-it notes, laminator (optional), and a list of six sight words.
2. PREPARATION: Once you have printed the Word Reveal Game Board and have laminated it, get your sight word list. Write the sight words (with one letter in each box) with the dry erase marker. Then place a post-it note page marker over the top of each letter. Don't use yellow post-its because your student will be able to see through!
3. TO PLAY: Ask your student to guess letters.
4. Uncover the letters as your student guesses them.
5. Encourage your student to guess which of their sight words are on the game board. Once they have guessed correctly, have them spell the word, peeling the post-its off as they say each letter. This will help them know they are right and have won!
You can check out this fun game here. Enjoy!
A fun way to see how well your student is reading or comprehending is to give them a Following the Directions worksheet. When students do a Following the Directions worksheet, they either listen or read directions and then do them. In this case, your student would read the directions.
Find or make a worksheet where the directions are written right on the page for your student. Look over the words in the directions to make sure they are not too difficult for your student to read. If your student enjoys more hands-on activities, you might try a Following the Directions cut and paste worksheet. Here are a couple that I found:
1. http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/printables/TCR/1576901106_34.pdf - This one is really simple. Your student reads the words and then colors the items on the page.
2. http://millertooth.blogspot.com/2010/09/following-directions.html - This one students actually cut out items and then paste them on a new page after reading the directions.
3. If you want to make your own worksheet to better fit your student's needs, try using a sight word list or other familiar words to write the directions. For example:
1. At the top of the page write your name.
2. Put a sun up in the sky.
3. Draw a girl and boy playing.
4. The girl has a red flower.
5. The boy has an orange ball.
If there are any tricky words in the directions, make sure you go over them with your student first in order to reduce frustration. Have fun!
A fun way to get your student reading a book is to watch the movie. Tell your student that after they finish reading a particular book, they can watch the movie. I know what you're thinking, do picture books have movies made about them? The answer is yes. Most Disney movies are picture books. You can find a pretty complete list here. Your student may never stop reading now!
Try reading with your student every moment that you can. Below is a fun idea to do while grocery shopping. Just keep in mind that you will spend a lot more time in the store, but it will be a great opportunity for your student to practice reading. Here's the idea:
While at the grocery store, give your student your grocery list. Then give your student a letter of the alphabet. Your student then must tell you the items on the list that begin with that particular letter. For example, if you said C, your student might read: Cheerios, cupcake mix, cheese, crackers, cantaloupe, carrots, etc. Let them help you get the items (obviously your student will need assistance finding the items). Then go on to a different letter until your list is finished and you have everything on your list. As a reward let them pick out a treat that begins with the letter of their choice!
I found this idea here. Grocery shopping was never so much fun!!
There are so many great educational websites out there. I just found another great reading website called Mighty Book. You can see it here. This website includes:
-Stories and Songs (with the words at the bottom of the screen)
-Games (word recognition, coloring, counting, and more)
-Jigsaw Puzzles
-Coloring Pages
-Flashcards
-Fun with Art
Have fun checking out this great website. Your student will LOVE it!
Have you ever played the game Crazy Eights? If not, you should, but put a word family twist to it. Here is what you do:
1. Make a set of cards that can be divided into four different word families. For example: -an (fan, can, ran), -et (bet, let, set), -it (hit, fit, lit), and -og (hog, log, fog).
2. Pick an equal number of words from each word family and write them with one word on each card. Mix up the colors in a word family because you don't want any one word family to be all of the same color. So, use four different colors to write on the cards.
3. Make a few Wild cards, Skip cards, and Reverse cards.
4. Give each player seven cards. The remaining cards should be face-down in a neat pile.
5. Flip one card over from the stack.
6. Try to match either the color or word family that appears. For example, if you saw the word can being played and it was green, you would put down a card that was either green or was part of the -an family. If you didn't have a card to play, you would draw a card from the stack until you got a card that you could play.
7. When one of the players only has one card left, they must say "Hop!" If the player neglects to do so, the player will not be able to go out that round.
8. The first player to run out of cards is the winner.
You can download this game here. Have fun!
Check out this awesome website called Primary Games. The games are free and cover the alphabet, sight words, simple sentences and more. There are crossword puzzles, hangman, word scrambles, and even word searches. You will love all the fun games this website has to offer. Check it out here.
Ready to get your student excited to read more? Get your student started on Smart Tutor lessons. The lessons focus on Phonics, Phonemic Awareness, Vocabulary, Sight Words, and Reading Comprehension. Your student will love the bright and fun pictures on this exciting website. Check it out here. Enjoy!
Check out some really cool reading and spelling games here. You will find games where you have to put words in alphabetical order, crossword games, vowel games, word scrambles, word searches, and more. You will love having so many reading games to choose from. Take a look!
Trying to find books to read with your student online? Check out Johnny's Story Page. On this website you will find links to interactive stories and also reading activities for kids. There are stories for beginning readers, classic stories, and stories for older readers. You will love all that this website has to offer. Check it out here. Have fun!
Looking for more reading opportunities with your student? Try doing a reading pocket. I read about it here. All you do is throughout the day gather random things with written words and slip them in your pocket. It could be a comic strip, a card, a fortune, or even your horoscope. At the end of the day, find a special time to share what you gathered in your pocket throughout the day. Your student will be so excited to read with you what you encountered during the day. Reading was never so much fun!
Just thank me later, okay? I found this wonderful website that lists TONS of interactive reading websites for young readers. By each website is a brief description of what you will find on the website. Not only is there a list of Reading websites, but there is also: Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Assessment. Take some time and check out this wonderful website. See which links would be most beneficial for your student. Just click here. Enjoy!
It's time to check out yet another great reading website! Children's Storybooks Online include books for younger children, older children, and even young adults! Some books include the audio, others do not. The pictures are cute and enjoyable. Some of the books you can just scroll down to see each page, other books you have to click next to get to the next page. This website also includes: Phonics Links, Riddles, Quizzes, and Award Links. Check out this great website here!
I just found this really cute idea today on the web called a Passport to Reading. What a fun way to motivate your student to read!
Inside the passport the students write down how many minutes they read each week. Kids can even glue in a self portrait and sign their name, like a real passport.
A fun way to get students to fill in their minutes is to have them only record the books they have read that take place around the world, like they are really traveling! You can check out these really cute Reading Passports here. Happy reading!
When I was a kid, the Pizza Hut Book It Program was a big deal. If your student loves pizza, you should look into getting them signed up for the Book It Program. Here is what you do:
1. Go to the following website: http://bookitprogram.com/
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page under the Teachers category.
3. Click on How to Enroll.
4. Click on the school type, then your zip code, and lastly find your school! If you are not a teacher, go here: http://www.bookitprogram.com/parents/documents/enrollflierparent.pdf
5. Once all of the information is filled out, you will be sent all the forms needed to participate in the program.
Look through the website and you will find other great resources to help your child with their reading. This program is fun because students keep track of their reading and in the end get free pizza. Have fun getting your student started!
Do you remember playing the game Telephone as a kid? For me, it was a usual recess activity. Why not try putting a sight word twist to it? Here is what you do:
1. You will need sight word flash cards for this game.
2. Put your students in a line.
3. Have the first student in line pick a sight word flash card, read it to himself, and then whisper it to the next student in line.
4. The next student then whispers what they hear to the next person in line, and so on.
5. Once the word has gotten to the end of the line, the student says the sight word outloud. Then the first student says if it is the correct sight word or not. Usually it will two different words!
6. When the round is completed and everyone is done laughing, choose another student to have a turn being first and drawing a sight word.
Have fun!
Time to make reading really fun! Try playing the Sentence Game for Juniors with your student. This board game has two options of how to play it:
OPTION #1: On one side of the board there are pre-made sentences. This is the easier version. Each player takes a turn reading two of their tiles and placing them on top of the corresponding words on the game board. Each time a player completes a sentence, he earns a point. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
OPTION #2: On the other side of the board the spaces are blank in order for players to create their own sentences. This is the more advanced version. All of the tiles are divided evenly between all of the players. On your turn, you place two or more tiles on the board to make a complete sentence. You can also add one or more tiles to a sentence that is already on the board. Points are received for each tile that is placed on the board.
As the teacher, decide which option is the most appropriate for your student to enjoy the game.You can buy this game here. Have fun!
