Reading Chart: Idea #221

Reading charts are a fun way to motivate your student to read. It is so important that your student is reading everyday, even if it's just for a short period of time. A reading chart can help your student develop a love of reading and come to understand the importance of it. Below you will find a chart your student could use to document each day they read. 

 

I like this chart because every day of the year is specified and accounted for. Have your student color in a box every day that they read. By the end of each month, see how many days they read. Give them prizes accordingly. You might try this:

      Student read less then 10 days-----prize: sticker

      Student read 10-20 days------------prize: pencil

      Student read 20-25 days-----------prize: eraser

      Student read EVERY day---------prize: gift certificate

Have your student use one color crayon for each month. For example, use the color blue to color in the boxes for January and the color red to color in the boxes for February. This way, by the end of the year you can easily see which month your student read the most and how your student has improved. I hope you enjoy using this daily reading chart!

100 Books: Idea #213

Try to motivate your student to read by rewarding them for their efforts. A fun way to do this is to make a 100 Books chart and give your student prizes along the way. You decide the prizes depending on your student's interests. Check out some ideas below:

1.

Chart found here.

Make a simple hundreds chart for your student representing the books they have read. Each time they finish reading a book, have them color in a box, or put a sticker on the number. When they finish a row (or have read ten more books), give them a prize. Prizes could be something simple like a sticker or an eraser. Once they have read one hundred books, give them a trophy or a gift certificate. Make sure your student knows what the prize is when they get to one hundred so that they will be motivated and excited to keep reading!

2.

Image found here.

This chart can be completed the same way as the other one. Just color in the objects instead of the boxes. 

Make sure that you set some solid rules before your student begins reading. I would suggest that your student cannot color in anything, unless they have read the book to you. Sometimes students say they have read a book, but fail to do so. I would also suggest that the books must be on their reading level. However, you know your student best! I am sure your student will enjoy coloring in those boxes and seeing what they can read!

Sight Word Assessment: Idea #159

A great way to keep track of the sight words your student knows or needs to learn is to keep a record. On the Make, Take & Teach website they call it an assessment. Take a look at how they have made a very complete sight word assessment:

You can find this assessment here: http://www.maketaketeach.com/docs/sightwordass1_3.pdf

On the Make, Take & Teach website they explain that you keep track of your child's progress by placing a + in the box of the words your child knows. If your child doesn't read the word in 3 seconds, put a - in the box. After you have tested your student on the sight word lists, chart it on the graph below:

You can find this chart here: http://www.maketaketeach.com/docs/sightwordass1_3.pdf

Just count the number of sight words your student could read to you, and color it on the graph. Retest your student every week or so to see how they have improved. You could even have your student color in the boxes to see how many more sight words they have mastered. This chart could be a great motivator for your student to learn more sight words!

100 Words: Idea #144

Try making your student a word chart to get them excited about learning to read new words. The chart below is made out of the number 100 to encourage students to learn 100 words. Just make100 boxes and then fill each box in with a word that you would like your student to master.

Most of the words on my chart are Kindergarten and 1st grade sight words.

Every time a word on the chart is mastered, color in the box.

Once all 100 words on the chart are mastered, give your student a prize. I always like to give the 100 Grand candy bar and a certificate.

I hope this motivates your student to learn more words!

Word Wall: Idea #104

A word wall is an organized collection of words that are largely displayed on a wall or chalkboard or bulletin board. Word walls mainly include high frequency words, sight words, names, hard words, or any words that seem necessary for a student to frequently see.

A word wall is also nicely organized in alphabetical order. This makes it easy for a student to make the connection of which words start with same sounds. The student also kind of memorizes the location of words on a word wall so that when it comes time to write a sentence, they can use the word wall as a reference.

Word walls help kids recognize tough words in their reading and see patterns between words. They can also help students with spelling and reading practice.

Try using a word wall with your student. Maybe start with a few simple words and then add a few more each week. 

Check out some great ideas on word walls here: http://www.theschoolbell.com/Links/word_walls/words.html 

I hope this helps your student!

Santa Alphabet Boards: Idea #75

A fun way to get your student excited about learning letter sounds is to make a simple alphabet board. Since it is the Christmas season, it is especially fun to make a Santa Alphabet Board. Here is what mine looks like:

 

All I did was put 26 small Santa faces on a page. Then I printed it and wrote each letter of the alphabet on the beards. When your student has mastered a letter sound, have them color in the Santa that has that letter. 

Make sure that this alphabet board is posted where your student can see it and can be frequently reminded of what letter sounds they still need to work on!

I got this idea from the following blog, so go check out their Santa Alphabet Board! http://littleliteracylearners.blogspot.com/

Letter Sounds and Real Life Sounds: Idea #9

When kids are learning their letter sounds, it may be useful to teach them using sounds they already know. For example, the sound o makes the sound you would say when the doctor tells you to open your mouth. Or the sound s is the sound a snake makes. This helps kids connect the letter sounds to their real life experiences. 

Here is a list of different sounds that can help your child learn their letter sounds:

Letter Sound	Real Life Sound
A	When someone is screaming AKA “Ah!!”
E	When someone doesn't care (short e sound like 'elephant')
H	When someone is breathing really hard
I	When one sees something one doesn't like (short i sound like 'it')
M	When one tastes something one likes AKA “Mmmm!”
O	When someone opens their mouth
S	The sound a snake makes
U	When someone says, “Uh”
Z	The sound of a bee

You could even turn this into a matching game where the child has to match the letter sound with its real life sound. 

I came up with this list, but please comment below if you have any other ones that I missed. Thanks!

Sounds Chart: Idea #1

Before one can learn how to read, one must master letter sounds. As a teacher I would use a sound chart to test my students, similar to the one below:

 I would use alphabet flashcards to test them on their sounds every day. When they knew a letter sound, they got to put a sticker on that letter (or color the letter box) on their sound chart. After they learned all of their 26 letter sounds, they got a special prize. 

This may seem like a simple idea, but the students loved it and were always so excited to put on another sticker or finally get their special prize. I made it into such a big deal every time they learned another sound. They need the positive reinforcement!

This chart may seem a little boring, but if you print them a chart that has pictures on it, it gives them too many clues as to what the letter sound is.