Compound Word Practice Minus a Worksheet

I'm sure there's a worksheet out there for what I'm about to share, but I sure do love the fact that my kids didn't have to use it.  

I recently introduced them to compound words.  Actually, our weekly big book introduced them to compound words.  After a few days of working with the book and the concept as a group, it was time to individually practice.  Previous to the lesson, I wrote words on small post-its.  Half of the words were compound words and the other half were not.  As you'll see in the following pictures, the post-its found themselves stuck to foreheads.  The kids made Yes/No T charts and traveled around to each other, writing down words.  Compound words went under "Yes."  The others, "No."  

Of course, this activity could be modified to fit most any skill.  It's so easy to prepare, requires no paper waste, and is loads better than a worksheet! 

The Name Game

Patricia Cunningham has exceptional authentic ideas for the classroom, especially concerning phonics.  For several years I've put to use a modified version of her name activity from Phonics They Use.

  

I call it the name game.  It occurs each day, beginning about day four of school and continues daily until each child's name has had a chance to play.  Here's how it works.

It all starts with a hat.  Each child's name is on an index card inside.

The name that comes out is our name for the day.  I start off with a quick modeled writing as we ask the child four questions.  (Four is simply a quick and easy number.)  While the child learns how to use complete sentences, or as I say, "Use all your words" to answer the questions, I write a short newspaper article about them on chart paper.  What I choose to highlight depends on what I feel needs reinforced: spacing, punctuation, capitals, complete sentences, writing words in a snap, pulling words out of the mouth, etc.  After school, the child's newspaper article goes up the wall.

Then we analyze the person's name:
How many capital letters does it have?
We count the letters.
We spell it and at the same time touch our heads when we say a tall letter, hips for small letters, and toes for descending letters.  (This is a useful connection to handwriting.)
We look for and highlight any chunks.
We clap the syllables.
We rhyme with it.  (I let the child choose three rhymers.  "Good rhymers are good readers.")

Then I grab a larger version of the persons name.  The extra space between each letter allows me to cut between them.

The child uses the megaphone (if they'd like) to lead us in a cheer as I cut each letter.  

As I cut the L, Lawrence says, "Give me an L."  The kids respond, "You got your L.  You got your L."  Lawrence places the L in the pocket chart.  As I cut the a, Lawrence says, "Give me an a."  The kids respond, "You got your a.  You got your a."  He places it in the pocket chart and so on until the whole name as been cut.

While I hum a little tune, I scramble his name and ask if it looks right.  

Then the kids chew up his name and pull his name slowly out of their mouths one sound at a time.  They pull and say /l/.  The child chooses someone from the crowd to come to the pocket chart, find that letter, and place on the pocket underneath.  Then the kids pull again, repeating the first sound and pulling out the next.  The child chooses another child to come up.  We continue doing this until the name looks right once again.

Lastly, the name from the hat goes into this song that we then sing.  I borrowed the song from Dr. Jean.  It's sung to the tune "Hello Ladies."

With 23 kids, this obviously takes me 23 days but I feel like the 15 minutes a day is well worth the time.  There are so many skills that I can teach in a very authentic and meaningful way.

Relatable Phonics

This post certainly isn't life-changing, but it's a little idea that can make certain phonics concepts a little more relatable for young readers.  Recently we were learning about Qu, so each child got to wear a modified name tag for the day.

I replaced the consonant(s) at the beginnings of their names with Qu.  Did they think that was ever so funny, and of course, it was meaningful as well since their names are the most important words in the world to them.  What about doing this with blends and digraphs too?

I Can't Think of Any

Seriously is there any concept that couldn't be turned into a classroom book?  I can't think of any.  How about compound words?  Uh huh...

I put the kids in partnerships, gave them a compound word that would be easy to draw, and put them to work.  They drew the compound word, added a + sign, and then wrote the compound word on the back so that readers could guess what the word was before turning the page to see if they were right.  Can you guess correctly?

What a meaningful way to collect, display, and enjoy our learning, not for just a day or two but for the rest of the year.

Right in Front of Your Nose

Links are powerful but more so when they're right in front of your nose, especially if you're a six-year old.  Below is a picture looking down at one of my two tables that kids can write at during Write to Self.  For years I've covered the tables in butcher paper to protect them from wayward pens, markers, or even graffiti.  (Yes, even in 1st grade.)  Then one year it finally dawned on me that kids would be more likely to use the helpers I recently posted about (click here to see that post) if they were practically part of the table itself, right in front of their noses.  Some of the helpers seem upside down from this view.  Kids sit on both sides of the table, so they aren't upside down to them.

I've included all my table versions of the helpers below.  (These are smaller than the ones I use on my wall.)  If I did this right and if there's anything here that looks useful, you should be able to click on the pictures for your own personal copies.  

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!