Friday, January 20, 2012

Sticky Links

Some things in life are just easier to remember when they're linked to something else.  The only reason I know our Vice President's name is because one day my cousin Laurie used charades to teach it to me.  I'm terrible about such things.  I know, I'm a pretty sorry excuse for a US American.  (I couldn't resist.  Have you seen the infamous Miss Teen USA interview?)  I digress.  

Anyway, first graders are certainly no different.  I love these helpers that hang out in my room.  They help create a link for some tricky phonics patterns, and thus learning sticks better.  I have Janice Sullivan, my reading mentor and the one who trained me in Reading Recovery, to thank for many of these ideas.  I just prettied them up.
Here we have the ing brothers.  
(We don't spell it out when we say it.  We pronounce the "ing.")
These would be the er sisters.
(We pronounce the "er.")
We hug ourselves and say, "eeeeeeee" in squeaky voices.  
(The kinesthetic part is a link in and of itself.)
 Meet Cousin Ed and the three sounds he makes.
 Here we have the quiet brothers.
 This is the bandaid chunk.  We pinch ourselves and say, "ow."
  (another kinesthetic move)
Yep, it's the Chocolate Chip Cookie Chunk.
I included this picture for the fun of it.  My kids know it by heart.  Yeah, pretty impressive. :)

Finally, here's one of my favorite sayings from Janice Sullivan. It's not really a link, but in honor of Janice and her great wisdom, I must share. My kids have heard me say it so many times that when l start it, they finish it.  

If you can say it, you can write it.
 If you can write it, you can read it.

 Any other links out there that will increase the stickiness of the learning in my class?  I'd love to know about them!

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18 comments:

  1. I love the Cousin Ed and the ee/ea hug! Great ways for the kids to learn. I do the bandaid one and the kids LOVE that. You are right, makes it so much easier to learn something new when attached to something already learned!

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  2. I want every student to learn from you. Since that isn't possible, I want every teacher to learn from you!

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  3. Lori, all I have to is hug myself and kids who are stumped with an ea/ee word can read it. Pretty cool!

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  4. Laur, after the week I've had my head tells me otherwise. Thanks for being such a supportive voice.

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  5. We do something very similar in my room with The Phonics Dance! :) Love it!
    Lisa
    Stories From Second

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  6. Lisa, the phonics dance intrigues me!

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  7. I love this! I especially love that last picture. =) I wanna put up a sign like that in my classroom. I am always saying that to my kids. =)

    Ms. Smith
    Adventures of Ms. Smith

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  8. Thanks for dropping by Ms. Smith. I'm glad you enjoyed what you saw!

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  9. Loved everyone of the links! Kids need them, especially if they struggle. Great quote too! Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Thank you Sandra! Thanks for taking time to comment. :)

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  11. Nicely done Lori! Love the link. :)

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  12. Thank you for linking up to my Reading Recovery party! Sorry I am just now noticing... The posters are cute!

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  13. I love the ing brothers. I have used them for years, this year I will put faces with them. Thank you so much.
    Bobbi

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    1. Bobbi, I love the ing brothers too. Thanks for coming by!

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  14. I LOVE cousin Ed for the sounds of -ed. Do you have these posters in an electronic form?

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