Here in Northern Michigan winter can last for months (and I mean months and months). We often have snow from late November through mid-April. Well, up in the north, putting on your boots, mittens, hats, coats, and snow pants is an everyday event. It can take up to 10 minutes … [Read more...]
Build a Snowman Activities for Rhyme and Beginning Sounds
Last year we created these absolutely adorable snowmen to practice the concepts of rhyme, beginning sounds and word families. The kiddos loved them! They were just perfect for winter-themed centers. This winter, I decided to update them a bit - I made the pictures larger and … [Read more...]
8 Hands-On Activities for Teaching Long and Short Vowel Sounds
Learning vowel sounds can be so tricky for our young readers. Not only do several of the short vowel sounds sound similar (for example, the short /a/ and short /e/ sounds), but vowels have two sounds-- a short sound and a long sound. Teaching students that vowels have two … [Read more...]
The Importance of Teaching Rhyme
Before children learn to read, they must first have an understanding of how sounds work within words. Learning to recognize and produce rhyme is one of the very first phonological skills that children acquire on their way to becoming proficient readers. Working with rhyme is … [Read more...]
Developmental Sequence of Phonological Awareness Skills
Click the following link to download this free handout Developmental Stages of Phonemic Awareness My good friend, Heidi, who is a Reading Specialist at one of our local elementary buildings, asked if I'd be interested in co-presenting with her at our next year's district-wide … [Read more...]
Rhyming Ice Cream Cones
These rhyming ice cream cones have certainly been a hit with our little preschoolers and kindergarteners! The activity is easily differentiated as you can choose how many rhyming cones and scoops to use. For those kiddos just learning the concept of rhyme, you'll likely want to … [Read more...]
Rhyming Caterpillars
I have such fond memories of reading The Hungry Caterpillar to my own children and to my preschool students. It was one of my very favorite books. I use to have a puppet which started as a caterpillar and then flipped inside out to turn into a butterfly. Now that my … [Read more...]
Rhyming Cupcakes Freebie!
Oh My Goodness! I walked into my local Walmart last night and there they were! Two years ago I created rhyming stickers to go along with these little plastic cupcakes I found in the holiday section at Walmart. Last year around Easter, they were nowhere to be found so I was … [Read more...]
Super Fun Activities for Valentine’s Day!
Valentine's Day is just around the corner and it's time to change it up the literacy centers and small group activities. Here are a few fun little activities for rhyme and learning letters and sounds. When you download the Valentine Hearts activity, you'll receive 48 colorful … [Read more...]