Skip to main content

Sight Word "Go Fish"

Image
By
Recently I had the sweetest student teacher in my class. It was a thought provoking experience- it certainly makes you aware of your own little idiocyncrasies and question why yourself about your teaching and learning program.

It also means that for a block of time (in this case, one week), you have a student teacher in full control of your class. So all of a sudden you have time to GET THINGS DONE (of course I was still busy supporting them in their new role etc, but it is nowhere as full on as fulltime teaching).

It was a bit of a shock to the system initially. There are so many things to get done that I didn't quite know where to start. However, after 5 minutes the shock wore off and my hands and mind were racing.

I have been meaning to create some more learning activities for my two dyslexic students, and here was the perfect opportunity. First stop- Adrian Bruce. Adrian runs an amazing website dedicated to free, printable learning games and activities. If you haven't already been there, call into http://www.adrianbruce.com/ for a plethora of awesome activities.


In particular, I made this sight word game (link at the end of this post). It is based on the more common card game "Go Fish", but instead of finding pairs of digits, the students are finding matching words from the sight word lists. I followed Adrian's lists, but with a few adaptations in the actual making. He suggests printing and laminating the cards, but I made them up on cardboard cut into large playing card sized squares. I think that this is easier to use/ hold, a bit more durable and easier to make and replace. Its also pretty darn cost effective.

I also used a blue permanent marker to highlight blends/ digraphs etc, as this is currently a learning focus for us. As I made up multiple sets all in one go, I made a small mark on the back of each card to distinguish between the sets. Usually I would put a matching stickers on the back of each set, but just gave up this time. Each set is stored in a little zip lock bag, and popped into their reading group box.

The students absolutely love the game. They naturally adapted it to a sight word memory game after a while, and alternate between the two games as desired. It is a popular request as they get to pick someone from another (higher) reading group to play with.... and will often win! Thank you Adrian Bruce and thank you student teacher!

Link to Sight Word Go Fish:
http://www.printablereadinggames.com/room5/reading-games-5.html
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Plague Upon All Your Houses

By
I find Math to be an absolute headache in terms of resource management. There is never enough resources, occasionally too many, and they are often in bad repair. This is why my next few posts are about Math resources. Enjoy! As I teach in NZ and follow the Numeracy Projects, place value houses are a common material to work with. I printed mine off A4 size from http://www.nzmaths.co.nz/sites/default/files/Numeracy/2007matmas/Bk4/MM%204_11.pdf . Each 'house' was copied onto a different coloured paper, and then cut out and laminated. I didn't cut them out again after laminating, as it made it easier to punch a hole in the corner and thread a ring through (are they 'magazine' rings?).  My awesome set can now hang from the wall if there is space. No more scrunching up in the bottom of a drawer! They are also really quick and easy to unclip and use, then pack up again. I started off using a whiteboard pen to write the digits directly onto the laminated charts
9 comments
Read more

10 Alternatives to Plastic Counters

By
Shifting classrooms always requires a scramble to inventory current equipment and to replace those old regulars that you use a lot. I know that almost every classroom must need counters at some point in time! Having a range of alternatives can often pique children's interest, but can be a budgetary stretch at the same time. Here are 10 alternatives that I have rustled up with a minimum cost. 1. Smooth stones come ready made and freely available from your local beach or stony river. Small pebbles are perfect as game tokens, or collected for use in Math lessons. They look great with stickers and glitter glued on and are REALLY durable. However, they can be heavy when stored en masse. 2. Wooden shapes are available in packs of 12-20 from your local dollar shop. These are particularly awesome to use for number stories (i.e. 6 bumble bees were sitting on a flower and 3 flew back to the hive, how many were left?). They are more durable than paper cut outs, intriguing and reasonabl
Post a Comment
Read more

Writing Jobs Part A

By
In my class we use Math and Reading rotation boards to manage independent work while I am working with small groups. It is an incredibly effective system, once you have got all your resources up and running etc. Writing is a little different. At the moment I have four writing groups. We start with a whole class lesson/ explicit teaching, then go back to our tables to write. My teacher aide (I get a small period of time 3 times a week) works with the 'slow starters', helping them get their ideas on paper. I work with another group on a teaching point. I then conference with the third group, and mark the last group overnight. Then it all changes the next day, enabling me to see as many students as possible. But there are always some fast finishers in our class who complete their tasks... and then what? First they are expected to edit their writing with a green pen, correcting capital letters and full stops. Some groups are beginning to use the dictionary or classroom resources
1 comment
Read more