IT'S ABOUT TIME, TEACHERS, for STELLALUNA & ALL THINGS BATS!

 

Introducing my learners to Stellaluna, by Janelle Cannon, is one of the things I most look forward to in October. Immersing my class in all things bats is so fun. Check out these resources:

Here's a peek at some of the activities in this unit:

Extend the learning with these bat-themed centers:

These resources are bundled to save you 30%!

FALL RESOURCES for ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS

 

It's about time for FALL!  That means you'll need fun activities with a fall theme for your elementary classroom.

Acorns are a sure sign of fall and these ACORN CENTERS will bring the feeling of fall into your primary lessons.

4 of these centers focus on ELA skills:

3 centers focus on math skills:

If you'd like to see more about these centers, watch the following video:

All of these centers are available in print and digitally on TPT Easel.  You can also save 30% by buying the bundle! 

USING POETRY IN THE CLASSROOM - Part 3

It's about time, teachers, to describe more ways I use poetry in the classroom . . .

Poetry is absolutely wonderful for phonics instruction.  Consider the following poem:

By drawing your students’ attention to the rhyming words at the end of the lines, you can quickly establish an understanding of rimes.  For example, high rhymes with dry.  The rime, however, is spelled quite differently.  Similarly, crawl and fall illustrate 2 rime spellings for the same phoneme.    

Certainly, phonemic instruction with poems is not limited to rimes. I use the following poem to focus on vowel sounds:

I’m a big fan of anchor charts that remind students of phonemes we have studied. Using an enlarged copy of the poem, I ask the children to find words with the long /a/ sound.  We record them on a chart.  Then I have them find the words with the short /a/ sound and we record those words.  We collaborate to add more words to each side of the chart and, thereby, extend the learning.

The following poem could be used to work on consonant blends.

My learners are asked to look for and circle all the consonant blends they can find.  Students should be reminded that the blends are not limited to the beginning of words.  BTW, I require my students to work in pencil so that mistakes can be corrected.

Hopefully, it is now clear that the possibilities for phonics instruction are nearly limitless!

You may be interested in these poetry resources:

MORE New Centers for Primary Classrooms

Literacy Centers, that is!

Here are 3 more literacy centers your primary students will love:

Watermelon Words is a center focused on compound words.  Your students will find pairs of watermelon slices that form compound words.  The words have a summer theme.  

For the youngest learners, the task is to simply find the pairs.  More capable students can place the 30 cards facedown in a 5x6 array and then play a game of Memory.  This center includes labels for you center folder and a recording sheet.  Watermelon Words literacy center can be found in its entirety in my poetry unit, Poetry Possibilities for Summer.  Now, for the first time, it is offered as a stand alone product.

Lunchbox literacy center is another compound word center.  Students will find pairs of lunchboxes that can form a compound word.  The words in this center are all school related.  A recording sheet is included, as are labels for your folder. This center is included in my Back to School Poetry Possibilties.  It is now available as a stand alone product.  

Flying Dragon Bingo is a versatile center focusing on initial consonant blends.  You can set it up as a small group center, or use it for a whole class game.  Like traditional bingo, each player has a board.  The teacher or leader holds up a picture card.  The students determine the initial consonant blend, covering it with a flying dragon piece.  Each bingo board has the same set of consonant blends; rearranged, of course.  

This center includes 26 bingo boards, 96 picture cards, and as many flying dragon markers as you need.  Labels are provided for your storage folder.  

It's about time to try some new centers!  For even more center ideas, follow/join my collaborative Pinterest board, It's About Time for Literacy Centers.

Other centers you may like:

     

USING POETRY IN THE CLASSROOM – Part 3 – PHONICS INSTRUCTION

It's about time, teachers, to describe more ways I use poetry in the classroom . . .

Poetry is absolutely wonderful for phonics instruction.  Consider the following poem:

By drawing your students’ attention to the rhyming words at the end of the lines, you can quickly establish an understanding of rimes.  For example, dressed rhymes with best.  The rime, however, is spelled quite differently.  Similarly, cheer and hear illustrate 2 rime spellings for the same phoneme.  

Certainly, phonemic instruction with poems is not limited to rimes. I use the following poem to focus on vowel sounds:             

  

I’m a big fan of anchor charts that remind students of phonemes we have studied.  Using an enlarged copy of the poem, I ask the children to find words with the long /e/ sound.  We record them on a chart.  Then I have them find the words with the short /e/ sound and we record those words.  We collaborate to add more words to each side of the chart and, thereby, extend the learning.

/ea/ as long e	/ea/ as short e
sea hear eat bead	dead spread sweat deaf

I use the following poem to work on consonant blends.

Given the number of times it appears in this poem, /wh/ would likely be the focus of my instruction.  

Hopefully, it is now clear that the possibilities for phonics instruction are nearly limitless!

Building on phonemic awareness naturally leads to another important reading skill – using the context.  The following poem is great for exploring the sounds of /ow/:

                

After conducting a guided reading lesson on the 2 sounds of the vowel digraph /ow/ and making an anchor chart,

/ow/ as in know	/ow/ as in cow
grow snow thrown bow	how now frown bow

I have the perfect opportunity to introduce or review using the context to decide which sound of /ow/ is appropriate.

Next time, I will explore grammar lessons that can be taught through poetry.

If you would like more ideas for teaching with poetry, you may be interested in: