Wednesday, June 22, 2016
A Traveling Visual
Does anyone else still struggle to help their littlest people with b and d? I was pretty sure I had seen all the tricks of the trade until this last year when I thought I invented a new one. Come to find out it wasn't so new, and I still wonder how in the world I just came to know about it 22 years into my career, but it really makes a ton of sense. Maybe there's someone else out there who hadn't seen this either. Anyway, I realized that you can make a lowercase b and d on each hand as a way to check on directionality. Since b comes before d in the alphabet, the kids could tell that b is on their left hand and d is on the right. The best part of this trick is that the visual is mobile. It travels with them wherever they go. They don't need to look anywhere but on their hands. Brilliant!
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It is always fun to learn new things (even if they are not new!!) Makes our job exciting :)
ReplyDeleteEm, it's even more fun if you think you invented it. :)
DeleteYeah we use that all the time too. It's a good one. I have some freebie cards to go with it, if you're interested: http://bit.ly/28StYEf
ReplyDeleteAre you on summer holidays yet, Tammy? I have 5 more days:). Take care!
Barb, thanks for the freebies! Yes, I'm on break. You guys sure do go late! Happy last 5 days. :)
DeleteI will have to remember that next year. It's probably the most commonly asked question in my room by the students-is it a b or a d?
ReplyDeleteMiss Trayers, I'm happy to hear someone else hadn't heard of this before. :)
DeleteI have seen this trick before. But what I hadn't heard before was that the b comes before d in the abcs so the b is your first hand! That makes this make more sense. I didn't use this trick much because I knew my strugglers would still get the b/d mixed up. But that little extra bit will definitely help! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLori, Ha - so maybe I did make up something new! :)
DeleteMy favorite and what has worked best for mine that struggle most is having them put a capital B on the top corner of their paper (I do it on the board too and leave it up) and then trace the lowercase b within the capital in a different color or darker. I don't know where I saw that, but it works!
ReplyDeleteCrystal
Crystal, thanks for another idea. Whoever invented b and d wasn't thinking of first graders, for sure. :)
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