-
Demonstrate understanding of syllables in words.
Activity 1: Chopping/Clapping Syllables:
Say a word to the student and have the student clap/chop the word into syllables.
Example: committee= com- mit- tee
Activity 2: Counting Syllables
Say a word to the student. Have the student use fingers to break the word into syllables and count to tell how many syllables are in each word.
Example: committee= com- mit- tee = 3 syllables
Sample Syllable Practice Word list:Beginning
Excellent
Respectful
Tennis
Mascot
Picnic
Population
Economics
Emergency
Enormous
Discovery
Dinosaur
Distinguish long/short vowels in spoken words.
Activity 1: Name the vowel
Say a word to student.
Student finger taps the word apart.
Student names the vowel and tells whether it is long or short.
Activity 2: Isolating the middle sound
Say a word to the student.
Student repeats the word and isolates the middle sound. Student can raise both arms up when saying the middle sound in the word.
Student identify the vowel as long or short.
Activity 3: Coding/reading words using long vowel rules
Write a word for students. (Examples: sticky, glade, spill, freely, shocked, swine)
Students look for suffixes in the word to code.
Then students look for digraphs to code.
Finally, students look at the vowel and code to determine if it is long or short.
Students read the word.
Coding long and short vowels example video
Sample Word List:
Budge Fact Slack Grade Straight Strike Speak Clam Spread Swift Snip Tray Tweet Shock Flee Glue Swift Grow Spice Chug
Decode regularly and irregularly spelled words.
Activity 1:Sight Word ZAP!
Write the sight words onto popsicle sticks. Each player gets a turn to pick a stick and read the word. If he/she is right, he/she gets to keep the stick, but beware of the sticks with ZAP! Why? When you play the game, and you pick a ZAP stick, you have to give all your “winnings” back to the cup. The ZAP stick is left out of the cup. The player with the most sticks when the cup is empty, wins!
Make it a little harder by adding the rule that you have to use the sight word you pick in a sentence. This way the adult can see if the learner understands the meaning of the sight word read, and it is not just rote learning.
Don't have popsicle sticks? You can substitute flash cards or slips of paper.
Activity 2: Timed Sight Words
Using a sight word list, students will see how many words they can read in 1 minute. Repeat this activity often and set goals to challenge the student to read more words each time.
Activity 3: Spell It
Students need slips of paper with sight words written on them. Students take turns picking up a card from the stack and reading the word. If the answer is correct the player gets a point. The player with the most points wins.
Make it harder. When taking a turn, have the student pick up a card, read it, then cover it up, and spell it. If the student spells it correctly, then he/she gets a point.
Activity 4: Basketball Spelling
Students will need a clean trash can or large container and some paper.
Students will write a sight word on a piece of paper, and then crumple the paper into a ball. Place all the crumpled papers in the container or trash can.
Students will take turns reaching into the container to choose a paper ball with a sight word on it. Students will then un-scrunch the paper ball and either read aloud the word and then cover up the word and spell it.
If the student answers correctly, they can crumple the paper up again, and try to shoot a “basket” in the trash can. For each basket scored, the player receives one point. Continue playing until all of the paper balls are in the basket, or take them out and start all over again.
Suggested word lists:In addition to grade level sight words, the regularly and irregularly spelled lists below may be useful to incorporate into the activities.
Regularly Spelled Words
Short Vowels
Wish, brick, ship, duck, slug, moth, drop, slip, black, chop, slam
Long Vowels
Hope, snake, tune, pile, sleep, boat, slime, mail, fruit, neat, float
Irregularly Spelled Words
some, they, come, any, done, been, both, do, are
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
Activity 1
Read a story with your student. Have your student retell the stories using our Retell Hand. Hold up thumb for characters, index finger for setting, middle finger for beginning, ring finger for middle, and pinky finger for ending of story. Give a high-five with Retell Hand if the student can name the main idea/topic.
Read aloud nonfiction texts on topics that interest your student. Use Retell Hand to name 5 facts for the story (1 fact for each finger).
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
Activity 1: Ask questions
Read a story to your student or have your student read a story. Ask the following questions: Who was/were the character(s) in the story? What was the setting? Can you explain the problem to me? How did it get solved?
Activity 2: Beginning, Middle, and End Comprehension
Read a story to your child or have your child read a story. Give them a tri-folded piece of paper. Have them write/draw the main events from the book in the beginning, middle, and end format.
Explain the difference between informational texts and texts that tell stories.
Activity 1: Fictional Reading
Read a fictional story with your student. Remind him/her that fictional stories are not true. Discuss the story elements of a fictional text – they have characters, a setting, a beginning, middle, and end, there is a problem and a solution, and illustrations. Have your student draw a picture or write a sentence about one (or more) of the story elements after your discussion.
Activity 2: Nonfiction Reading
Read an informational/nonfiction text to your student. (There are great read alouds available online.) Remind him/her that nonfiction texts are real and teach informational facts. Walk through the book with your student and point to each text feature that makes it a nonfiction text – real photographs, labels, headings, table of contents, glossary, charts/graphs, index, and true facts.
Recognize and demonstrate features of a sentence (first word capitalization, ending punctuation, spelling, etc.)
Activity 1: Sentence Recognition
When reading a sentence in print, ask your student to identify the features of the sentence by having him/her point out the capital letter(s), punctuation, correct spelling (especially of sight words).
Activity 2: Sentence Writing
Have your student practice writing a sentence using proper capitalization, ending punctuation, and correct spelling.
Example sentence topics:
Favorite sport
Family
Favorite thing to do at school
Favorite food
Something he/she did that day
Expand upon an idea through writing.
Activity 1: Expand the sentence
Give student a simple sentence with just a subject (noun-person, place, thing, or animal) and a verb (action word). Have the student add more details to the sentence to create a sentence with more details. Practice a few first by sharing ideas, then practice writing it on paper.
Example:
Simple Sentence= Sally walks.
Have the student add details about how, where, when, or what to the simple sentence. (Silly Sally slowly walks on the sidewalk.)
Activity 2: Writing and expanding sentences
Have your student write a simple sentence. Ask your student if their sentence answers who, what, and where. If the sentence does not, ask them how he/she could include those things in the sentence to expand it.
Example: She is climbing.
Who? She
What? Climbing
Where? The sentence does not answer where she is climbing. This information can be added to the sentence in order to expand it.
Expanded sentence: She is climbing the tree in the yard.
Select a School...
