Friday, December 23

Literacy Games

    Games encourage learning at any age. Play can help to develop phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, reading comprehension, fluency and critical thinking skills. We have been experimenting with word searches and games like vocabulary/sight word BINGO, and Boggle. Our challenge this week was to see how many words could be made from the letters in "SNOWFLAKE". 

    Literacy games do not need to be structured. While out and about try games such as Eye Spy and 20 Questions to expand vocabulary or watch for words with unusual spellings. For example vacuum is one of the few words with the double letter u.

                

Check out a game we will be trying in the new year called "BAM".

BAM

This game is best with 2-4 players

• craft sticks
• marker pen
• container to store craft sticks

Get Ready:

Use the marker to write a focus word on one end of each craft stick. Repeat until you have two sticks for each word. Write BAM! on the remaining five craft sticks. Place all sticks into the can so that the end with the word on it is hidden inside the can.

How to play:

Players take turns drawing a stick from the can. Players can either read the word on the stick, or quickly look at the word, cover it up, and then spell it without looking. If the player answers correctly, she keeps the stick. If the player answers incorrectly, the stick is returned to the can.

If the player draws a BAM! stick, she must return all her sticks to the can.

Play continues until the parent calls time. Alternatively, a time limit can be set and the winner is the person with the most sticks in their possession when time is up.

The above game has been shared from the Scholastic website 

"5 Literacy Games to Play with Your Child"

Have a fun and relaxing winter break, 

I look forward to seeing you in 2023! 

Mrs. P 

Friday, December 16

Post #7

December 12-16

Reading Fluency

I can read with accuracy, an effective pace and expression.

Grade 5 Literature Circle reading "Restart" by Gordon Korman

     Reading fluency is the ability to read with appropriate speed, accuracy and proper expression. Students in grades 3-6 are encouraged to identify words automatically or decode them efficiently. Reading in a broken, slow or fast pace will affect understanding of the text. Fluency skills can develop over time with practice.

Practicing fluency while reading with a friend.

How can students improve their fluency?

• Track the words with your finger or bookmark when reading to yourself. Or follow along while an adult is reading.
• Try pausing at commas (yield sign) and stopping briefly at periods (stop sign) to develop an appropriate pace.
• When listening to adults reading a loud, movies/tv programs and audio books, notice the phrasing (how words are grouped together when spoken). What works? Try to match this when you are reading.
• "Buddy Read" with a friend, sibling or pet to practice reading out loud. Try experimenting with expression and phrasing.
• Reading sites such as Raz Kids and Epic Books have the option to follow along with the text as it reads to you. Listen for proper phrasing and pace.
• Practice reading familiar or favourite books and poems smoothly and with expression. Reread them until you feel comfortable with the words, pace and phrasing.
• As your fluency improves practice using tone, volume and emphasis to make your oral reading more dramatic.

Grade 4 "Buddy Reading" about winter celebrations around the world. 

 

Friday, December 9

Post #6

December 5-9

Making Connections To Text

    Students who make connections while reading have a deeper understanding of the text, retain the information better and often find the material more engaging. Our curriculum refers to three types of connections (I have also included some in class examples) : 

Text to Self:

Students connect what they are reading to personal experience(s) or knowledge. 

    "I find history and wars interesting, especially the planning part of it."

    Gr 5. student while reading the WW2 scene in Butterfly Lion by Micheal Morpurgo

" I remember when my Grandma's dog was sick."

Gr.4 student when Little Willy's dog dies in the final chapter of Stone Fox 

by John Reynolds Gardiner

Text to Text:

When a student can connect what they are reading to other books, magazines, or newspapers they have read or listened to before.

" I heard and read  'Extra, Extra...' in Spiderman comics and movies."

Gr. 5 student while reading Frindle by Andrew Clements when Nick's story appears in the newspaper.

Text to World:

Any connection to real world events (past or present), social issues and other people etc. These connections may be from TV, movies, music, or social media. 

"I wonder if their flight will be like Elon Musks..."

Gr 6 student when first introduced to The Lion of Mars by Jennifer Holm

"Was this book written before or during COVID?"

Gr 6 student while reading the opening setting of The Lion of Mars by Jennifer Holm

Connection Questions to Ask Yourself While Reading

Focusing on Text to Self connections:

• What does this story remind you of?
• Can you relate to the characters in the story?
• Does anything in this story remind you of anything in your own life?

Focusing on Text to Text connections:

• What does this remind you of in another book you have read?
• How is this text similar to other things you have read?
• How is this text different from other things you have read?

Focusing on Text to World connections:

• What does this remind you of in the real world?
• How are events in this story similar to things that happen in the real world?
• How are events in this story different from things that happen in the real world?

The above questions are taken from www.readwritethink.org

Friday, December 2

Blog #5

November 28 - December 2

What is a Sight Word?

    It is any word that is recognized instantly and effortlessly, by sight whether it is spelled regularly or irregularly. These words help develop fluency and in turn develop comprehension when reading. Recent research has changed how we look at "high frequency" or "sight words". In the past, students were asked to learn, identify and spell both regular patterned and irregular words using rote memorization. However, the approach to word recognition is evolving. Students are now encouraged to look at letter-sound relationships and spelling patterns to help them spell and identify words.

    In our classroom we use direct instruction, word mapping and play to make connections to the sounds in words. In general, high frequency words are decodable (follow patterns) with the exception of some "rule breakers". Today's post will concentrate on regularly patterned high frequency words. Educators may refer to these regular patterned or decodable high frequency words as "Flash Words" with the intention students can read or spell them in a "flash."  

     The Alberta curriculum encourages grade 1-3 students to learn a list of specified high frequency words. If a student learns each recommended grade level list, by the end of grade three they will know 300 high frequency words. At conferences several parents asked for a copy of these 300 grade three words.

    The photos below are cumulative, you will notice different coloured sections. These colours indicate at which grade students are recommended to learn the given words. (Please feel free to send me an email if you would like a hard copy of these words.)

                                         Grade One - Blue (numbers 1-10)

                                         Grade Two - Green (numbers 11 -126)

                                         Grade Three - Pink (numbers 127-300)

    It is my hope that students will practice these words in manageable chunks throughout the year. I encourage students to choose a few unknown words off the list and look for sound patterns ex) "igh" makes the long "I" sound like in "high". During daily reading and when "out and about" look for those high frequency words. Students can also practice building or writing them using Scrabble tiles, white boards or even in the snow. 

Word play on a chilly Calgary day :)