Hooray!
My monthly
activities for September are now up!
This has been a task of love for you from my wonderful webmaster Alex May
and me! You’ll find simple
and practical activities for Writing, Speaking and Listening, and
Language. Here are a few examples:
Writer’s Chant
- Children repeat each line to this chant as you open your arms wide and clap
while stepping from side to side.
Chorus:
Who knows the
writing process?
I know the
writing process.
First step. (Hold up one finger.)
Brainstorm. (Hands on the side of your head and
shake down.)
Chorus
Second step…(Hold
up 2 fingers.)
Write it down…(Pretend
to write with index finger on palm.)
Chorus
Third step…(Hold
up 3 fingers.)
Edit your work…(Shake
finger.)
Chorus
Fourth step…(Hold
up 4 fingers.)
Publish your work…(Brush
hands together.)
Oh, yeah! (Hands on hips with an attitude.)
Mystery
Backpack – Purchase a backpack, or simply find an old one in lost and found
and use it for this activity. Put
a direction card in the backpack that says, “Today your child is bringing home
the mystery backpack. Please help
your child find one object that is special to her to put in the bag. Write three clues about the object on
the enclosed card. Tomorrow we’ll
read the clues to the class and see if they can guess what is in the backpack.” The next day read the clues, and then
encourage the children to ask questions about the contents of the
backpack. The anticipation will
build until they “solve” the mystery.
This activity gives children a turn to feel special, and it encourages
thinking skills and language development.
Questions and
Statements - You will need two lunch sacks and a variety of small classroom
objects for this activity. Draw a
question mark and write “Question” on one bag. Draw a period and write “Statement” on the other bag. Fill each bag with several
objects. Children take turns
drawing an item from the bag. If
they chose the question bag, they must make up a question about the item. If they choose the statement bag, then
they make up a statement about their item.
