Word Family Neighborhood

Here's a quick easy way to do the Word families all year long.  Each week I cover one word family.  I usually use the word family that is on the Daily Oral Language worksheet that week but, you can go in any order you choose.

All I do is make a house and at the top of the house I write the word family that we are covering.  Then I ask my students to come up with words in that family and I write them inside the house.  If I am in a drawing mood I try my best to put a picture by the word.  Sometimes the words may not have a picture I can draw, so I don't and sometimes I just write the word with no picture because I feel they can read without the scaffold.  It's all up to you.  We go over these words throughout the year whenever we have a minute or two. 

I line the neighborhood up on the wall.  The students see our neighborhood grow.  During Open House my students must read one house of words to their parents.  At the end of the year I take them down (the houses or apartments) and let each child take one home.  They love it.

Here is a  close up of one but I can't figure out how to rotate my picture, sorry about that. I hope you don't mind turning your head.

Have a terrific tomorrow!

31 High Frequency Words Cards added to my TPT store!

Well I finally had some time in between cooking up some carrot cake cupcakes for our Family Reunion tomorrow to up load the High Frequency words cards I use for the Treasures Start Smart Lessons.  They can be found in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  Just click on the TPT button and type in my name (Cindy Tirado) to check them out.

I have been trying to make the pieces I have found to be missing in the Treasures Reading Program our district chose to adopt last year.  I quickly wrote up cards on the white blank word cards last year and have now choosen to make them a little nicer or prettier.  I thought well if I can use them perhaps there are others out there that would like them too. 

I am still eventually going to try and teach myself how to put an item I've made on my blog, but just haven't had the time to research since school started. 

Most of my first grade team has been busy Dibels testing our first graders.  How do you keep 5-6 years olds busy and not needy for you while you test?  It seems to be every first grade teachers issue particularly at the beginning of the year.  I have started this year with an easy once a day center rotation.  This idea comes from one of my fellow first grade teachers and she has used this rotation in other grades too.  Basically our rotation starts once the aide arrives.  I stop what ever I am doing and go into our Easy Rotation for Language Centers.  For each group at this point in the year I have a leader (that is one of my better students).  They help run the activity, pass out materials, etc.

Language Centers
1.  Aide:  works with a group on Phonemic awarness or phonics skill activities or games
2.  Students work at tables practicing their spelling words.  They can copy their words three times each on white boards, a student can dictate the spelling words (almost like giving their group a spelling test) and the others write down the word.  There are so many activities that can be done here.  Make words using magnetic letters, stamping ink letters, using letter tiles etc.
3.  Students play the a game where they must say the High Frequency word that is flashed to them by the leader.  If the say it correctly they get to keep it, if not it goes to the bottom of pile.  Once the pile is gone whom ever has the most cards wins.  They also play the game that puts all the cards in a pile.  Leader start first and picks a card if he/she can say he /she keeps it, if not it goes to the bottom of the pile.  It continues until there are not cards left.  Whom ever has the most wins.  (In both games the leaders can usually help the group with the words that is missed, so hopefully by the next time they see it someone will remember it).
4.  Another group is playing an Alphabet game.
5.  The last group is doing a daily packet with a variety of worksheets.  Pages could be:  writing their first and last name, copying their spelling words, Daily oral language, Daily oral math, perhaps a phonics page, and a math page (if they complete their packet they may read a book).!

Doing it this way I am free to Assess my students for a least 30 minutes. 

Something else I do and I found it while reading blogs this summer is turn on a little camping lantern (I wish I could give the person who came up with this idea some credit, but I don't know who it was), if the lantern is on it means "do not bother me" because I  am working with someone.  It works very well. 

Well, Happy Labor Day everyone and perhaps you'll be able to sleep in a little.  I know I will.

Thanks for reading!