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!
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!
Remember listening to books on tape as a kid? Now kids listen to books on CD. Even better, Lakeshore Learning has created a Phonics read along kit. It is perfect for students just starting out on their reading journey. The kit includes books that focus on short vowels, long vowels, and vowel combinations. Kids love reading about Patty Cat and Tiny Tiger, along with other fun and interesting characters. Each kit has 4 copies of each book (perfect for a small group) along with a CD that reads the text. Kids love following along to the stories and learning just how one uses expression and becomes a fluent reader. You can check out the Read Along Books here. Have fun!
Looking for a fun way to help your student master word families? Try using the Word Family Listening Center Program. The program includes 5 fun cds that go along with write & wipe cards. All you do is put the cd in and choose the word family you would like your student to work on. Then your student uses a wipe marker to do the activities.
There are 19 activities reinforcing 37 different word families. There are enough materials for 8 students to work at once. You can find this great program here. Enjoy!
Does your student love playing with phones? If so, you should invest in a Hear Myself Sound Phone to motivate them to read. They will really enjoy using these fun phones. Here is some information on the phones:
-Your child speaks through one end of the phone and can hear himself out of the other end.
-Using the phone is an independent activity. Your child can talk, listen and read on their own!
-The phone can help your student focus as they practice sight words.
-It is a quiet toy. A student can whisper into the phone and hear it loudly in their ear.
-It is the perfect size for a young student (about 6.75" long).
-You can check out these awesome phones here.
Try using the phone to have your student practice sight words or read a short story. Your student will be enjoy using the phone so much that they will want to read A LOT. You could use the phone as an incentive when your student is working hard or has reached a reading goal. Maybe too much time talking on the phone isn't such a bad thing!
A great way to help your student learn sight words is to show them the Meet the Sight Words dvd. Your student will learn to instantly recognize sight words. The dvd is animated and is really cute. They repeat the sight words over and over again, but as we know repetition is key to learning. I believe there are 3 different dvds of the sight words. You can view a preview of them on Youtube or you can buy the dvds on Amazon. Have fun checking it out!
In my classroom we had Center Time every day. During Center Time the students were in small groups and rotated to different areas in the classroom. They stayed at their center for about ten minutes doing an activity. Every center focused on a different learning style (visual, verbal, auditory, etc.). This gave the students an opportunity to learn their letter sounds in their own learning style.
One of my favorite centers was the Listening Center. At this particular center the students each had a set of headphones hooked up to a cd/tape player. They would listen to the cd/tape and do the activity that went along with it. The kids were totally engaged and on task. It was great practice and review.
The one we used in our classroom was from Lakeshore. While the students listened, they each had a dry erase marker to do the letter sound activity page. Usually the cd/tape would have them circling certain pictures and listening for certain sounds. When they got to the end, the student got to practice writing that letter sound. One of the reasons the kids loved this center was because they got to use the dry erase markers!
I found my students learned words that began with particular letter sounds at this center. Even if they already knew the letter sound, it was a great reinforcer. It is important to try different pathways of teaching to see which way is most helpful to your individual student.
