Lucas and I watched a PBS Kids "Super Why" video about Hanukkah. Embedded in this video were key reading skills and information about the Hanukkah holiday. We also previewed another PBS Kids reading video series, "Between the Lions." We will use some of these videos and games to learn more about short vowel sounds in reading and writing CVC words.
Given a page of pictures, Tristan was tasked with listening to riddles to determine to which picture the clues were related. Adjectives were reviewed. Tristan was asked to name adjectives for given nouns. Tristan worked on a creative writing activity that involved using time order words when describing how he would help a turkey escape from Thanksgiving dinner.
Lucas and I read "A Look at Pets" as our warm-up book. The topic was familiar and he made connections easy. First, we reviewed consonant and vowel sounds then sang "Alligators All Around." Next, Lucas practiced identifying the ending sounds in words and rhyming words. We also counted syllables in words associated with Thanksgiving. Finally, Lucas added the sight word 'I' to three cloze sentences and placed it in his pocket chart.
Lucas practiced identifying the letters representing the beginning sound in words by pointing to them on his alpha chart. He also completed a beginning sound matching activity. We then worked to hear and identify the ending sound in words. Next, he practiced tracing and writing the ending letter (lower case) for a set of pictures. Finally, we read aloud "A Giant-Sized Day" after he closely examined the illustrations and determined it would be a funny story.
Lucas practiced reciting alpha names and sounds using picture clues. He correctly identified the beginning sounds for a set of words and wrote the letters. Next, he identified rhyming pairs and added an example of his own. Finally, he sequenced the events in a read-aloud story, "Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears."
Halloween is in the air! First, Lucas and I watched a story video about a scary Trick or Treat night. After that, we made a list of words associated with Halloween and counted their "beats" syllables. Then, we played a matching game with Halloween symbols.
Lucas and I began our session with a game of memory, matching pairs of Disney characters. After that, we read "Library Day," a Joy Cowley story about book characters that come to life. Next, Lucas practiced segmenting and blending sounds using colored squares to denote each sound. He excelled at this!
Kaitlin and I co-read several chapters of The War That Saved Me. I focused on the figurative language used by the author and the historical context, World War II. Kaitlin is reading very well and making insightful comments.
Kaitlin and I co-read The War that Saved My Life, pausing to discuss character development. Kaitlin and I debated several short answer questions about the reading from an online source, Bookrags.
