Playing games is one of the best ways to learn skills because it keeps the child's attention and he is apt to play longer because he is having fun.  This is an example of one of the games we play to practice using context clues to identify and define unknown words.

Phonics skills were used to sound out the names of Pokemon characters (without looking at the pictures), then the students matched up the names to the characters.  With this lesson we practiced digraphs, consonant blends, vowel pairs, and r-controlled vowels.  The students can't wait to do it again! 

Going on a Letter Hunt!

Here's a fun activity we use to learn/practice identifying letters and letter sounds.  A roll of the letter dice shows us which letter we will be hunting.

Students move around the room framing the letter with a swatter wherever they find it. 

As they hunt, the students call out both the letter name and its sound. 

It's a great way to incorporate movement in our lessons while we are learning.

It was wonderful talking to so many parents during conferences on Friday.  Thank you for coming by.  If you were not able to make it, please feel free to email me and set up a meeting.

Sight Word Practice

These are some of the fun ways we learn and practice our sight words.  It's so important to know these words without stopping to sound them out each time.  In the activity above a periscope is used to read the words that are posted.

Using boggle cubes to spell out the sight words is another fun activity.  The timer is optional.

Here we use a ziploc bag filled with paint to draw words or letters. 

Letter stamps are pushed into Play-doh to form words.

Spin the spinner to decide whether to write the words in pencil, marker, crayon, or highlighter.

We use magnetic letters to make words.

Writing in rice creates a multi-sensory experience when practicing letters and words.  There are many more similar activity ideas online.  They are a great way to learn spelling and vocabulary words as well!

October is Lockport Blue Month.  Let's show our support for our local police force with blue lights in our windows.

Star Assessments for K-5 will be administered Thursday, Sept. 15th through Wed. the 21st.  Once the results are available you will be notified.

Welcome back!  I hope everyone has been reading over the summer.  I, for one, can't think of a better way to spend my my free time than getting caught up in a great story.  Research shows the best way to get better at reading is to... read!  Find something that interests you and read about it.  

     In the Literacy Center we will utilize the Leveled Literacy Intervention program ( Link:  Leveled Literacy Intervention), literacy centers and games, writing, reading websites, and reading apps to improve reading skills and to grow our love of reading.  We will work in small groups to maximize instruction and create an atmosphere of cooperation and support. I can't wait to get started!
 Please stop in during the Opening Picnic on August 31st.