Week 4: Chapter 5

This week's readings discussed strategies and activities to help students with spelling and reading. Chapter 5 of the textbook focused on phonics and spelling patterns.  I liked that it provided interactive and fun ways to practice spelling and reading.

One example is Guess the Covered Word.  I think that this activity is a great idea because it breaks down the steps of reading a new word and uses context clues to help.  This game also uses the idea of seeing reading as finding meaning. First, students first guess any word that might make sense in the sentence. Then the see the first letters until the vowel and alter that list of words before finding the correct answer.  This game is also nice because it can be adjusted to build off of earlier lessons- incorporating sentences and paragraphs, as well as digraphs. I really like this activity because it steps away from the boring 'sounding out' of words, and teaches smart strategies and thought processes that 'good readers' use. I also liked trying to figure out the examples of Guess the Covered Word in the book!

For similar reasons, I thought the Using Words You Know activity was a fun idea. This builds upon words that readers are already confident about, and helps them learn the task of finding similarities between known and unknown words. I also think that kids will enjoy the game because it uses rhyme and allows the students to write on the board. This activity sets up the skill to use spelling patterns to help learn new words.

               

1. What are some of the possible challenges in an activity like Guess the Covered Word?

2. What are some ways to take the Using Words You Know activity to the next level?