Word Sort with Beads

We do a lot of word sorts, which are great for ESL students and help with discriminating between words and reading visually similar patterns.  This week we were working on sn and sw words.  We did two different activities using our beads, a listening activity and then a visual identification activity.

For the listening activity, each student had two beads, a blue for words beginning with sw and a green bead for words beginning with sn.  I read down their list of words, and for each word, they would put the corresponding bead on the desk.

For example, the word snail, they would put a green bead down, for swim, a blue bead, and so on.

The second part of the lesson, they had the word list and seven green beads and seven blue beads.  They would place a bead over each beginning blend.  It is easy, quick, minimal preparation and minimal clean up!

Phones

These are pieces of PVC elbow pipe, available at big hardware stores, such as Home Depot and Lowes.  I use them for primarily three things: reading fluency, hearing letter sounds, and revising writing.

The sound through the pipe accentuates what they hear and they are more cognizant of how they are pronouncing.   It really helps some children hear the vowel sounds that they are making.

The kids love using them and are excited to reread a book or poem while they "listen" to themselves read.  They only have to read at a very low volume to hear themselves, so several children reading at the same time is not a problem.

When we are revising writing, I have the students read their writing quietly to themselves (usually sitting at an area like a writing center) and then go back and read it a second time using a blue pen to make changes.  Sometimes they are reading for flow, sometimes with a purpose, such as adding strong verbs or similes and metaphors.

The piping is inexpensive and can be decorated with puffy paint, stickers, or names written in Sharpie (it wipes off with rubbing alcohol at the end of the year).  It's a fun tool to have in the classroom.

Sand Tray Letters

One tactile way of developing letter-sound correspondance skills is by using sand trays to trace letters.  I usually use this in one-on-one situations or small groups.  I hold up a card (Fundations or Orton-Gillingham cards are ideal), but any letter card works and say the name of the letter and then the sound while they repeat the sound and trace the letter.  For younger children we work on one a few letters at a time until they have built a knowledge bank and than add additional letters.

Eventually we move into using the cards to create cvc words that they trace in the sand.  A gentle shake of the tray with erase/reset the sand for the next letter, and eventually it is a quick process.  The kids love the tactile input and some kids truly excel when learning is "hands-on."