Teaching Sight Words

A few months back I posted the 10 Activities for Learning Letters and Sounds activity kit that I developed for a few first graders who hadn’t yet mastered letters and sounds.  The idea behind the kit was to provide fun, hands-on activities for either classroom voluteers or parents to work with their child at home.  Well, since that time, those little first graders have learned their letters and sounds and are now ready to focus on sight words.  So here’s the activity kit for learning the Dolch sight words.  Of course we’ll begin with list 1 (first 25), but I’ve made the activities through list 3. To assemble your very own kit, first print this 4-page pdf.  This file contains

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Teaching Blends and Digraphs

Seems like this week there’s been quite a few questions about blends and digraphs.  Teachers have been asking and wanting to know what the difference is between a blend and a digraph, which to teach first and the best way to teach these skills.  Well, with all these questions, that was motivation enough for me to finish this post that I started literally a year ago.  I’m hoping this post can answer some of these burning questions about teaching blends and digraphs. Question 1: What’s the difference between a blend and a digraph? Consonant Blends A consonant blend is when two or more consonants are blended together, but each sound may be heard in the blend.  The most common beginning

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I (Heart) Vowels

I know it’s a little crazy, but I really do love vowels.  It’s so important that our young readers learn those vowel sounds correctly so that they can decode words and use them correctly in their writing.  Activities which involve discriminating the vowels sounds are so helpful, especially for those students who are having difficulty hearing the difference between the similar sounding vowels.  I created the vowel sticks activity with a little Valentine twist for use during your small group instruction.  For children just learning the vowel sounds, you may opt to begin with only two vowels (begin with dissimlar sounding vowels such as the /o/ and /i/) and then gradually work up to using all five.  You simply say the vowel sound and have the students hold

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Ready for Some Football?

Ready for some football?  The big game is quickly approaching–unfortunately the Lions won’t be playing so I’m not sure who I’ll be cheering for.  Anyway, Super Bowl Sunday is really fun at our house.  We typically gather with our close friends and make a night of it.  I’m thinking maybe the Ravens? To celebrate the big game, Kyle and I quickly whipped up a fun sight word activity.  All you’ll need to do is print the footballs  single-sided to double-sided (I usually print them on cardstock), cut them out and you’ll have a ready-made game!  This activity is easily differentiated as you choose how many and which sight word footballs to use.  To play the game, students take turns choosing footballs and reading the

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Four In A Row Winter Themed Freebie

These cute little 4-In-A-Row templates have just been sitting in my computer files just waiting to be made into an activity.  Last month I used the templates to create activities for sight words, but I know many of our kinders are now working on decoding CVC words and I wanted to make an activity specifically for them.  Of course, there are first graders who could use extra practice with this skill, too. Click the following link to download this freebie! Winter 4 In A Row CVC Words My first grade friends are now working on decoding CCVC/CVCC words.  So I whipped up this 4-In-A-Row game board. Click the following link to download the 4-In-A-Row game board for blends Winter 4

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My Favorite Resources for Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities

We are often asked by parents if we think their child has dyslexia when the child is having difficulty learning to read.  This question certainly is raised if the child is reversing letters or numbers in writing.   There seems to be a certain mystic around the term “dyslexia”.  “Dyslexia” simply means “difficutly with words” as dys means “difficult” and lexia, “words”.   The term “dyslexia” is used mostly used within the medical profession when describing children who are struggling with reading.   In the school setting, when a child’s reading difficulty is so severe that he or she requires special education, the child is often labeled with a “Specific Learning Disability” (SLD).   We know that dyslexia occur on continuum.  The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) reports that perhaps

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One of My Favorite Quotes for Teachers

One of my teacher friends had this quote hanging above her computer.  Every Monday when I visited her classroom I would make it a point read the quote.  It  just set the tone for my week and was a gentle reminder of the power we have as teachers in the lives of children.   Teaching skills, of course, is an important part of job, but establishing relationships and creating an atmosphere where all children feel valued is crucial.   Sometimes we have difficult children in our classrooms who can absolutely drive us crazy .  Especially with those children, it is very important that check ourselves and be sure that we are still treating those children with compassion and understanding. Click

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Cookie Sheet Activities Volume 6- Word Families

I’m so, so glad to have completed Cookie Sheet Volume 6.  Kyle and I have been working on it for quite some time (like, FOREVER) and, I assure you, it’s well worth the wait.  I’m thinking this is now my new favorite!  This volume is jam packed with 43 pages of word family fun.  There are 15 word families represented and 62 unique and colorful pics created by my awesome artist, Kyle.  Most of my teacher friends have been using the Cookie Sheet Activities for their literacy centers, but they also work great for small group instruction. Click the following link to download a sample template complete with the corresponding pictures. Cookie Sheet Activities Volume 6 Sorting Template and pics This volume also

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