Phonics Fun! Short e

Something new for me in my first grade curriculum is spelling tests.  I’m slowly figuring out the best way to practice our spelling words in a way that is meaningful, hands-on and fun for my kiddos. I think I’ve found what works for my kiddos -- So far, so good.

Here’s what we do..

Each week we have a new list of words – we are currently working through the short vowels as a review from Kindergarten.  I am following the Scott Foresman Reading Street spelling curriculum for the whole class (but I will begin to differentiate with our word sorts next week).

Monday:

We start off the week by introducing our spelling pattern and brainstorming words that follow that pattern. We hang this anchor chart up for the children to refer to the entire week.

On Tuesday we will read the corresponding Phonics Poem and look for our spelling pattern.  I use the poems from this book:

On Wednesday we read the poem again and get our own copy to add to our poetry notebook. He highlight the spelling pattern and practice reading the poem for fluency. We also play some sort of word game – just depends on time!

On Thursday, we will practice our words on our dry erase paddles. 

Friday is our spelling test!

Throughout the week, the children work on various activities during their word work time for Daily 5.  I’m slowly putting these together in packets – so far, only Short e is finished.  I have a lot of bits and pieces, but everything isn’t assembled into one spot.  Someday when life slows down….

But, here’s what I have so far…

My kiddos loved using these activities during Daily 5.  There is a good mix of center based materials, easy print and go sheets, and whole group games. 

I also used a lot of activities from these units:

Our Daily 5 rounds last for about 15 minutes, so the games and activities are perfect – just enough time to keep them engaged!  I have also been working on some fun word work sheets for ANY spelling or sight word!  I’ve been working on these since last spring and slowly adding to them.  I can’t wait to share the finished product with you!

Have a wonderful, wonderful week!