WORD BAG

This is a super idea for a center, homework activity, or partner project. It can easily be adapted to different skill levels and age groups.


Word Bag
Put flash cards with vocabulary words, sight words, spelling words, etc. in a zip bag. Add different multi-sensory materials similar to those below. Children can take the bag and choose any material they like to reproduce the words.

*Wikki sticks

*magnetic letters

*colored pencils 

*alphabet stickers

*alphabet blocks

*dry erase board

*play dough

Mystery Word
Choose a word each day as a “mystery word." Write it on the board and then tape a sheet of paper over it so the children have to “take a peek” as they enter the classroom. At morning meeting discuss the meaning of the word. Can they dramatize the word? Can they use it in sentences?

More?

You could do shape bags, letter bags, etc. for young children.

DICTIONARY DAY

October 16th is Dictionary Day because it's Noah Webster's birthday. However, any day would be a great day to let your kids make their own "personal dictionaries." OWNING their own dictionary would be a meaningful way to reinforce vocabulary, sight words, and spelling words.

MY PERSONAL DICTIONARY
Materials: pocket folder, prepared pages with alphabet letters, markers

Directions: Ask students to tell you what they know about dictionaries. Brainstorm the many uses of dictionaries. Model looking up words and reading definitions. Explain that each of them will get to create their own dictionary that they can use to help them the rest of the school year. First, let the children decorate the outside of their pocket folder. Insert the alphabet pages. As you add new words to the word wall or have new spelling words, ask the children to write them in their dictionary. Encourage students to use their dictionaries when they write independently.

Hint! You might want to go ahead and type your core sight words on the pages before running them off.


Here are some other activities you can play with their dictionaries.



*Play “mystery word” where you give clues about words. 
 Can you find a word that starts with /m/ and ends with /d/? 
 Can you find a word that is the opposite of “fast”?


*Play the “rhyme” game. 
 Can you find a word that rhymes with “bike”? 
 Can you find a word that rhymes with “log” and is a pet?


*How many one letter words can you find? How many two letter words? Three letter words? 


*Ask children to clap out the syllables in words. 


*Can they match up words in their dictionaries with words in the classroom? 


*Sort words that refer to people, things we do, describing words, etc. 


*Have children find a word that starts with each letter in their name. 


*Have children make up sentences (oral or written) with the words. 


*Ask children to illustrate words or find magazine pictures that match the words.

*Demonstrate how to use the dictionary on the internet. How is it like their dictionary? How is it different?

SEASONAL DICTIONARY
Add a separate page each month with seasonal and holiday words children might want to use in their stories and journals.

VOCABULARY PASSWORD

Research continually highlights the relationship between vocabulary and comprehension as children progress in school. We know that:

- Rapid vocabulary acquisition occurs in pre-literate years (before children can read)

- Vocabulary is strongly related to reading and thus school achievement

- Systematic and direct instruction can increase children’s vocabulary

Here are some simple, meaningful strategies to add to your “vocabulary vitamin” bottle.

Attendance
Have a class puppet that gives a password every day. For attendance, the children say the password instead of “here.” Use this chant to introduce the password:
Liberty, Liberty (or whatever your puppet is named),
Oh, what do you say?
What is the password for today?

Hint! Tally the number of times children use the word during the day.

Visor
Write the vocabulary word on an index card and tape it to a visor. One child is selected to be the “supervisor” of the day and wear the visor. The “supervisor” stands at the door every time you leave and classmates must say the word before they can exit.

Name Badge
Put the word in a name badge and wear it (or let a student wear it) all day.
When the teacher says:
“Right now! Right now! Right now! Right now!
Whisper the password out right now.”
Children say the word.
Children then find a partner and use the word in a sentence.

Say, Spell, Sign
Look at the dictionary on aslpro.com to learn how to sign vocabulary words.
1. Children say the password.
2. Children fingerspell the password.
3. Children sign the password.

WACKY WAYS WITH SEASONAL WORDS

Let's have some learning fun with seasonal words. You can use these for October, autumn, Halloween, or any season or holiday throughout the year.

Mixed Up Words
Take vocabulary words, Halloween words, or spelling words and mix up the letters. Challenge children to figure out the words and then try to write them correctly on their paper.
Hint! Colored pencils or smelly markers make this so much more fun.



Word Makers
Give children a seasonal word or vocabulary word. How many other words can they make using the letters in that word? (This might be a good activity for children to do with a partner or in a small group.)

Pumpkin Head
This game is similar to “Wheel of Fortune.” The teacher thinks of a word and makes blanks on the board for the number of letters. As children call out 
letters, the teacher writes them on the appropriate blanks. If a child calls out a letter 
that is not in the word the teacher draws a pumpkin on the board. For each letter 
that is not in the word the teacher adds features (stem, eyes, nose, mouth, etc.) to the 
pumpkin. The children try to identify the word before the pumpkin head is completed. 

*Keep a “bone pile” in the corner where you write letters that are not in the word. 


Picture Words
Challenge children to write words in a way that reflects their meaning. For example, write “spooky” in shaky letters, “fall” in letters that go down, “colorful” with many colors, “candy” decorated with sprinkles, etc.

WHAT TO DO INSTEAD OF HALLOWEEN

I know that some of you are not allowed to dress up on Halloween. I was looking through old blog posts with vocabulary words and I found this idea that Ginny McLay shared when I was in New Hampshire several years ago. It dawned on me that it would be a fun activity on October 31st - or any day.

Vocabulary Word Costume!
Ginny McLay and was inspired by her love of vocabulary to help her kids love learning new words with a costume party.

After focusing on words (synonyms, antonyms, nouns, verbs, and adjectives) invite children to think of a word that they LOVE, ADORE, AND ADMIRE and create a costume for their word.

Easy steps to make a costume!
1. Think of a few words that are really interesting.
2. Choose a word that you can make into a costume.
3. The word and definition must be somewhere on the costume.
4. Practice the word and definition
My word is _____. It means:_________.

Ideas for costumes:
1. Write the word and definition on a headband.
2. Write the word and definition on a piece of paper and make a necklace out of it.
3. Write the word and definition on a t-shirt and decorate with fabric paint.
4. Write the word and definition on a brown paper bag…cut it like a vest!
5. Use a costume you already have at home and think of a great word. Write the word and definition on a sash.


Can you tell? "Mysterious" and "celebrate"?

Great reads for vocabulary include:
Miss Alaineus – A Vocabulary Disaster by Debra Frasier
Fancy Nancy Books
Max’s Words by Kate Banks


NURSERY RHYME PARTY
A substitute for Halloween for younger children might be to have a nursery rhyme party. Children could all dress up like their favorite nursery rhyme character and then take turns reciting their rhyme. I'll share some snacks with you tomorrow.

DO YOU HAVE HOMEWORK?

If young children go to school and sit and listen and work and learn for six hours, they deserve to do what they want when they get home. They need to play, move, laugh, yell, imagine, and be KIDS!

Homework should teach children responsibility. Homework should be a tool to help parents see what their child is doing at school. Homework should extend learning from the classroom to the home. Homework should be MEANINGFUL!

Here are some strategies that might encourage children to develop responsibility and positive attitudes about homework.


Tic Tac Toe Homework

Make a tic-tac-toe grid and put a different assignment in each section. Children can do as many activities as they choose, but they must do at least 3 to get tic-tac-toe by the end of the week.
Hint! This is perfect for the parents and children who actually “like” homework because they can do all nine.

Homework Folders
You will need a pocket folder, crayons, and markers to make a homework folder. First, let children decorate the outside of their folders. Trace around their “left” hand on the left pocket. At the end of each day children put completed work in that pocket and it is “left” at home. Trace around their “right” hand on the right pocket. Use a homework sheet similar to the one below. Fill out assignments for the whole week and place it in the “right” hand side of the child’s folder on Monday. On Friday save homework sheets in children’s folders. Review with parents at conferences.

Weekly Homework Sheet

Monday ________________ Tuesday ______________

_______________________ ______________________

_______________________ ______________________

Parent Signature/Comments Parent Signature/Comments

_______________________ ______________________

Wednesday_____________ Thursday_______________

_______________________ ______________________

_______________________ ______________________

Parent Signature/Comments Parent Signature/Comments

_______________________ ______________________

Clipboard Homework
Each child will need a clipboard that she can decorate with her name, stickers, etc. Each night clip the homework assignment to children’s clipboards. (Think outside the box with interactive activities, rather than worksheets!) Make sure parents know that their job is to look at the clipboard each night, help their child with the assignment, and send it back to school the next day. 

Monthly Calendar
Send a calendar home at the beginning of each month and ask parents to complete at least ten activities and return by the end of the month.
Note! You can download these free on my website drjean.org.

https://www.drjean.org/html/monthly_act/act_2011/07_Jul_css/pg03.html

WORD FAMILIES

Focusing on word families is a powerful strategy for beginning readers, and with the songs and hands-on activities below children will be successful.

Note! “Onset” refers to the initial letter or blend. “Rime” is the vowel and letters following it.

Rime Time (Tune: "The Addams Family")
Chorus:
Rime time, (Snap! Snap!)
Rime time, (Snap! Snap!)
Rime time, rime time, rime time. (Snap! Snap!)

There’s can and there’s pan. (Touch hands to alternate knees to the beat.)
There’s fan and there’s ran.
There’s man and there’s tan.
The “an” family.
Chorus

Pet-jet-vet-net-let-set…
Like-hike-bike-mike-trike-pike…
Pot-dot-hot-not-lot-got…
Ball-call-hall-fall-tall-mall…
Sit-lit-hit-kit-fit-pit…
Book-look-cook-hook-took-nook… Word Family Song
Here's another song to the tune of “BINGO.”
There is word family you should know
And at is it’s name-o.
M-a-t, mat
H-a-t, hat
C-a-t, cat
They end in at you know.

*Write the words on a chart and point to them as you sing.


Block Rimes
Cut paper the size of square and rectangular unit blocks. Write onsets on the squares and rimes on the rectangles. Children put blocks together and read words.

Rime Eggs
Using plastic eggs, write onsets with a permanent marker on one half of the egg. Write a rime on the other. Children twist the egg and read the words.




Flower Rimes
Cut 4” circles out of construction paper. Cut paper petals similar to the ones shown. Children write the “rime” on the circle and then write words on the petals.

BLENDING

Children will be actively engaged as they practice blending sounds with some of the activities below.

Body Touch
Blend words touching parts of the body. Touch the head as you say the beginning sound in the word. Touch the stomach as you say the middle sound. Touch the feet as you say the final sound. Quickly move from head to feet and blend the sounds.

*You can also use the body to isolate sounds.
For example: Where do you hear the /s/ in bus? (Children touch feet.)


Sound Sack
Take a small sack and fill it with common objects or small toys. Engage children’s attention with this song to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot.”
What’s in the sound sack, who can tell?
Maybe it’s a book or maybe it’s a shell?
What’s in the sound sack, who can say?
Blend the sounds, you’ll know right away!

Choose an object and stretch out the sounds. When children can blend the sounds and say the word, remove it from the sack and place it on the floor. Before putting each item back in the bag, segment the sounds again.

*Start with compound words. When children are successful with that, use objects with two syllables. Finally, children will be able to blend individual phonemes.


Finger Tap
Bend in your fingers and extend your thumb. Going from the left tap a finger for each sound with your thumb.
For example: /j/ /e/ /t/. Run your thumb over your fingers as you blend the sounds and say the word.



*You can do a similar activity by extending your left arm in front of you. Make the first sound as you touch your shoulder, the second sound as you touch the elbow, and the third sound as you touch the hand. Then quickly sweep the right hand down your left arm as you blend the sounds and say the word.

SYLLABICATION

Syllabication is the practice of breaking down words into individual sounds. Syllabication can help children read unknown words and learn to spell words.

Mouth It!
Have children gently place their palm under their chin and ask them repeat to words. Surprise! The mouth opens on each syllable (all syllables have vowels and the mouth opens).

Move It!
Clap, hop, walk, or nod the syllables in classroom objects.
*Disco, hula, swim, or march to syllables in rhymes and songs.
“Beep” like aliens or “Wa wa” like Charlie Brown’s teacher as you say words or read.


Instruments
Have children beat out syllables with instruments.

*You could also use cardboard rollers, straws, pencils, etc. like drum sticks to tap out rhythms and syllables.


Syllable Show
Slowly say a word. Children hold up the number of syllables they hear on their fingers.

*You could also let them show the number of syllables by placing the appropriate number of poker chips or other objects on their desk.

Clap a Name


Cut out small hands from construction paper. Glue them under children's pictures to indicate how many syllables in their names. Make a book with their pictures and clap your hands!

Hickety Pickety
Slowly clap hands to the beat as you say the chant below.
Hickety, pickety bumblebee
Who can say their name for me? Child’s name.
Clap it. (Clap out syllables as you say the name.)
Snap it. (Snap syllables in name.)
Whisper it. (Whisper name.)
No sound. (Lip sinc name.)

ALLITERATION

Alliteration is the repetition of initial phonemes. Young children will enjoy playing with sounds in the activities below.

Which One Doesn't Belong?
Say a series of words that begin with the same sound. Say one word that does not begin like the others. Children listen and identify the word that does not belong.
For example: sun, sand, top, see (top); boy, house, big, ball (house)


Hand Phone
Have children cup one hand around their ear and the other hand in front of their mouth. The teacher says a series of words that begin with the same sound as the children repeat.

Marvelous Monday
Think of adjectives for the days of the week and months of the year.
For example: Thrilling Thursday or Marvelous May


Bappy Birthday
Sing the birthday song by inserting the first sound in the child’s name for each word. For example, Mary’s birthday song would be:
Mappy mirthday mo mou…



*You can also insert the sound that the child’s name begins with in “Tooty Ta."
Mooty ma, mooty ma, mooty ma ma...

Hint! If their first name begins with a vowel, use the first sound of their last name or middle name.


Sounds Like…
Think of adjectives and other words that begin like children's names.
Linda...lovely...lollipops…likable…
Pablo…paints...pizza...purple...

*Sing children's names in the "Alphardy Song" to practice alliteration.
W for Will /w/ /w/ /w/
B for Bella /b/ /b/ /b/ /b/ /b/ /b/
H for Henry /h/ /h/ /h/
C for Carolos /c/ /c/ /c/


Gumball
I put a penny in the gum slot.
I watched the gum roll down.
I get the gum and you get the wrapper,
Cause I put the penny in the gum slot.

Sing substituting the initial consonant sound of each word with “B,” “N,” “P,” “G,” “L,” and “F.”

Activities: Cut out paper gumball machines and write different letters from the song on them. Substitute other consonants, blends, and diagraphs in this song.


Nursery Rhymes
Practice saying traditional rhymes with alliteration such as "Peter Piper picked a peck" and "She sells seashells..."

RHYME TIME

Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize sounds in oral language (rhyme, alliteration, syllables, etc.). Children must first hear the sounds before they can relate them to letters (phonics). Let's start today with rhyming. Learning to rhyme doesn't happen it one lesson...it takes a lot of oral language (nursery rhymes, finger plays), songs, books, and games to help children develop this skill.

Rhyme Detectives
Tell the children that they will get to be detectives andlisten for words that rhyme. You say a word, and they put their pinkies up if they hear a word that rhymes with it. Pinkies down if it doesn’t rhyme.
For example: Cat - hat (pinkies up), run - dog (pinkies down).

Handy Rhymes
Have children extend their arms as they say pairs of words that rhyme. For example: sun (extend right hand) - fun (extend left hand). As they progress, the teacher says a word as children extend their right hand.

Rhyming Song
Do this activity to the tune of “Skip to My Lou.”
Cat (hold out right hand)
Hat (hold out left hand)
Those words rhyme.
Cat (hold out right hand)
Hat (hold out left hand)
Those words rhyme.
Cat (hold out right hand)
Hat (hold out left hand)
Those words rhyme.
They all end with “at.” (Roll hands around as you say this.)


Rhyme Puzzles
Cut paper plates in half using puzzle designs similar to those shown. Glue pictures that rhyme on each half. Mix up the pieces. Children say the words and match up the plates that rhyme. The game is self-checking because the pieces will fit if they match the correct pictures.
*You can also use season shapes to make a rhyming game.



Rhyme Ball
You will need a ball, beanbag, or other object to toss for this game. Children sit or stand in a circle. The teacher says a word and then tosses the ball to a child. As the child catches the ball, she must say a word that rhymes.

Riddle Rhyme Game
Let children make up their own rhymes in this game. First, they choose an object in the room. Next, they say a word that it rhymes, along with another clue. For example: “This rhymes with hair and it is something you sit on.” “This rhymes with look and it is something you read.”

Rhyme Bag
Give each child a lunch bag and for homework ask them to bring two objects that rhyme. As they take turns sharing their items encourage classmates to think of other words that rhyme with their objects.

TOP TO BOTTOM - LEFT TO RIGHT

Sometimes I think we put "the cart before the horse" when it comes to teaching young children to read. Here are some tricks and tips for helping children learn some basic concepts about print.


Magic Fingers
Have children hold up their pointer and explain that it is their “magic finger” to help them read. Put a little spritz (magic lotion) on their finger. Use the finger to touch the front of the book and the back of the book. Touch the top of the page and the bottom of the page. Sweep your magic finger under each line from left to right.


When You Read You Start at the Top
Children can sing this song to the tune of “London Bridge” as they practice the movements:

When you read you start at the top,
Start at the top,
Start at the top.
When you read you start at the top
And go to the bottom of the page.
When you read go left to right,
Left to right,
Left to right.
When you read go left to right
And then go to the next line.


Yummy Pointers
Give children Bugles to put on their fingers to practice following a line of print. They can eat them when they are finished.

*Pretzel sticks also make edible pointers.

Finger Pointer
Glue a fake fingernail to a craft stick. What an engaging way for children to track print from top to bottom and left to right!




Envelope Bookmark
Cut a diagonal corner off an envelope. (One envelope will make 4 of these.) Let children decorate these with markers. Practice reading books and putting the bookmark on the upper corner to “save your place.”

Simon Says
Each child will need a book to play this variation of “Simon Says.”
Simon Says show me the front of the book.
Simon Says show me the back of your book.
Simon Says show me the first page in your book.
Simon Says show me the last page in your book…

WEATHER REPORT

No matter where you live, there is WEATHER! It's real and it's something that children are naturally interested in.

We always sang a weather song at morning meeting. Each day we had a "meteorologist" who would remind us which word to use in the song. The "meteorologist" would make a big deal out of walking to the window, looking around, and then choosing the word to sing in the song.

Weather Song (Tune: "Shorting Bread")
What will the weather, weather, weather,
What will the weather be today?
He/she says its sunny, sunny, sunny.
S-U-N-N-Y today.

*Insert cloudy, rainy, snowy, etc. in the song.

Weather Song #2 (Tune: "Bingo")
There is some weather in the sky and sunny is its name-o.
s - u - n - n - y, s - u - n - n - y, s - u - n - n - y,
and Sunny is its name-o.


Weather Song #3 (Tune: “My Darlin’ Clementine”)

Sunny, sunny, sunny, sunny,
It is sunny in the sky.
S – u – n – n – y Sunny
It is sunny in the sky.
Cloudy…
Rainy…
Windy…
Snowy…


Weather Words
Write weather words on a language experience chart and point to the letters as you sing.

*Challenge children to come up with synonyms for different types of weather. For example, sunny could be bright, hot, cloudless, etc.


Weather Journal
Staple several sheets of paper together to make individual books. Each day have children illustrate the weather and write descriptive sentences.

*Graph the weather for a month. Were there more sunny days or cloudy days?
There are several different versions of this you can download free off the internet.



Thermometer
Place a thermometer outside your classroom window so children can learn how to read the thermometer and judge appropriate clothing for outdoor play.




Wind Tester
Make a wind tester by taping a strip of tissue paper to a craft stick. Hold it up to see if the wind is blowing. What direction is the wind blowing from?

How Can You Find Out?
Brainstorm different ways to find out about the weather. For example, download a weather app, look at the newspaper, watch the weather report on television, look out the window, etc.

WELCOME TO MY PUMPKIN PATCH

Who's got a field trip to the pumpkin patch this month? 

Once I Had a Pumpkin
(Tune: “Lassie and Laddie”)
Oh, once I had a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin.
(Hands over head like a pumpkin.)
Oh, once I had a pumpkin with no face at all.
With no eyes and no nose and no mouth and no teeth.
(Point to facial features.)
Oh, once I had a pumpkin with no face at all.
So I made a jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern.
(Draw a jack-o-lantern in the air.)
So I made a jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern.
With big eyes and a big nose and big mouth and big teeth.
(Draw facial features in the air.)
So I made a jack-o-lantern with a big funny face.

*Draw a jack-o-lantern on the board as you sing the song.

Pumpkin Paint
Mix equal parts of flour and salt. Stir in orange tempera paint. (Obviously, if it’s powdered, you will need to add some water, too.) Add a spoonful of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to the paint and stir. Children can paint a pumpkin, pumpkin pie, or whatever they want. Their painting will be textured and smell good, too!

Pumpkin Seeds
Before carving your pumpkin, have the children estimate how many seeds they think it will contain and write down their estimations. Have the children separate the seeds and count them. Who guessed more? Who guessed less? Who guessed the closest amount? Cook some of the seeds by rinsing them and frying them in a little butter and salt. Save some of the seeds to plant in the spring.


Paper Plate Pumpkins
Make pumpkins out of paper plates. Choose five children to hold the pumpkins as you say the rhyme. You could also cut pumpkins out of felt and use on a flannel board.




Pumpkin Play Dough
Make homemade play dough and add red and yellow food coloring to make it orange. Let the children knead in pumpkin pie spices. They’ll have fun making pumpkins, pies, and other characters.

Math Games
Make games where children seriate pumpkins from large to small or put pumpkins in numerical order.

http://bit.ly/drjeanHalloween

AVOCADO Halloween!

Form the pumpkin
Carve the pumpkin
Jack-o lantern, funny jack o lantern

Form the mummy
Wrap the mummy
Walk like a mummy

Form the skeleton
Dance the skeleton
Shake your bones

Form the brew
Cook the brew
Stir the brew - oooooo

Form the cave
Go in the cave
Bats and spiders

Put on your costume
Go trick or treat
Eat the candy eat all the candy

Form the avocado
Peel the avocado
Guacoween – happy Halloween!

http://bit.ly/drjeanAutumn