Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Word Families

We're knee deep in our word family practice!  We've covered several short a, i, o, and u families so far.  The kids are doing really well!  I've posted about how I do my Phonics instruction before, but I have a lot of new followers so I thought I'd share it once more!

So each week I choose 2-3 word families to focus on.  I like to do more than one because it provides opportunities for kids to practice sorting words.  I always start with short vowels first semester and then move into long vowels later.  I like to have a systemic approach so the kids are familiar with the routine each week.

On Mondays, I introduce the families.  We brainstorm the words together.  I write them on my chart paper and the kids write them on their recording sheets.  We read through them and practice saying them in sentences after.  They head back to their seats to color the word families in after we finish. Next, I introduce my poem of the week.  This is a poem that has one of the word families we're focusing on in it.  You can see what poetry books I use by clicking here. 



On Tuesdays, we re-read the poem.  We also read through the little word cards that I place in my pocket chart Monday evening.  I like to use these b/c they are small and compact and can be up without taking up tons of room like the anchor charts do.  The anchor charts sometimes get covered, also.  Next we play a game of some sort and do a practice page.


On Wednesdays, we re-read the poem again and review stretching the words out on our dry erase slates.  We'll also do another practice page afterward.


On Thursdays, we re-read the poem.  We also do some writing with a mini-book/sentences.  This usually takes the bulk of our time.




Fridays are busy!  We have "Open Mic Fridays."  If we have time, we'll do another game and finally we review our words with partners for our Spelling test. The kids love doing Find-a-Friend!  You can get these for FREE by clicking the picture below!



I love having my word family posters handy as a visual in the classroom.  If the kids are unsure of how to spell a word, I simply remind them of the posters and they remember!  The kids have also been having fun playing "teacher" with the anchor charts we create together.  Isn't the picture below so adorable!?



To check out my word families pack, click below.  It's on sale today, Tuesday, September 30 through Friday, October 3!!!

xo
Megan

4 comments:

Lori Rosenberg said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Such fun stuff! I'm really looking forward to find a friend!

Amy B said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Find a friend was so much fun and your word family unit looks AWESOME!!!

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Not "rime", but "RHYME". Good ideas but please check your spelling!

Denise said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Loving these ideas of working with poetry. We have a poetry folder but I struggle with how to make it meaningful!

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