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

BOOTIFUL JOKES AND RIDDLES

Jokes and riddles are a delightful way to develop children’s sense of humor as well as language standards (Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases…).

*You might want to choose one joke each day and write it on the board. Invite the children to read it with you. Ask children who "get it" to “think out loud” and explain their interpretation to classmates. This will enable children who “don’t get it” to scaffold to a higher level.

*Satisfy writing standards by asking children to write and illustrate jokes and riddles. Peek-a-boo flaps and lunch bags work well for this. Put their jokes together to make a class book.

*Encourage each child to learn a joke that they can share with their classmates. (Speaking and Listening Standards) Let children decorate craft sticks with their names and put them in a “Joke Can.” When you have a few extra minutes, choose a stick and let that child tell a joke to the class.

                                                

Note! “Bat” you’ll “scream” for some of these Halloween jokes! However, you can use riddles all year long. Non-holiday jokes are plentiful on the internet.

What kind of bats fly around the school at night?
AlphaBATS!
                  
What do ghosts put on their cereal in the morning?
“Boo” berries and “boo”nanas.

What do you get when you take the inside out of a hotdog?
A “hollow” weenie.

What are the birds giving out for Halloween this year?
“Tweets!”

Why was the baby ghost sad?
He wanted his “mummy.”
                                                   
What did the boy ghost say to the girl ghost?
You sure are “boo” tiful!

How do you make a witch itch?
You take away the W.

What pants do ghosts wear?
BOO jeans.

What do ghosts serve for dessert?
I scream!

What did one jack-o-lantern say to the other jack-o-lantern
on their way to the party?
Let’s get “glowing”!

Why do witches fly around on broomsticks?
Because their vacuum cleaners are too heavy.

What did the little ghost say to his mom?
“I’ve got a boo boo!”

How do you make a skeleton laugh?
Tickle it’s funny bone.
                            
Why did the vampires cancel their baseball game?
Because they couldn’t find their bats.

Where do baby ghosts go during the day?
DaySCARE centers.

Who did Frankenstein take to the party?
His ghoul friend.

How do you mend a broken jack-o-lantern?
With a pumpkin patch.
         
What’s a ghost’s favorite party game?
Hide and go shriek!

What do baby ghosts wear on their feet?
BOOties.


Knock, knock!
Who’s there?  Canoe.
Canoe, who?
Canoe tell us some knock knock jokes today, too?

Knock knock! 

Who's there?
Orange
.
Orange who?

Orange you glad it's Halloween?

Knock Knock!
Who’s there?
Olive.
Olive who?
Olive Halloween!

Knock knock!
Who's there?

Boo!

Boo who? 

I didn’t mean to make you cry.
                                      
Knock knock! 

Who's there?
Frank. 

Frank who?
Frankenstein!

Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Wanda.
Wanda who?
Wanda go for a ride on my broomstick?
                        
Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Phillip.
Phillip who?
Phillip my bag with candy.

Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Ben.
Ben who?
Ben waiting for Halloween all year.

Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Who.
Who who?
Are you an owl?

Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Lettuce.
Lettuce who?
Lettuce have some candy, please.
                                                      
Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Justin
Justin who?
Just in time for Halloween!

Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad you visited my blog today?

http://bit.ly/drjeanJokes