Happy Monday! This week, I want us to focus on staying motivated for the last few weeks of the school year. One great way I have discovered that helps keep students engaged is to provide fun activities [GAMES!] that discreetly teach them, too.
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One of my favorites is a fill-in-the-blank activity. This can be Mad Libs where the goal is to laugh while inserting parts of speech...or it can something more generalized, too, but yet apply to ANY subject or category. Kids, no matter the age, benefit from practicing vocabulary, context clues, and language/listening comprehension. Fill-in-the-blank does not always have to be filling in words, but it could also be filling in the missing letter, which then targets spelling skills, on top of all the others!
Bonus tip: Consider providing/using a visual word bank and review the terms ahead of the activity to complete.
Extra credit tip: Consider having the students create their own fill-in-the-blank by using this website [just make sure that you practice HOW to do this with them ahead of time!] https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/generator-fill-in-the-blank.html
This week's #TutorTipTuesday is on S blends. S blends include: sc/sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw. They can be quite difficult to learn for any child, especially a child with a speech disorder; however, I am here to help ease this task with these tips. Make sure your students can hear, say, and read the different types of S blends. This is especially important in elementary school students who are still developing their speech patterns. To reinforce this concept, use visual aids and even tactile elements to ensure all senses are engaged in the learning process. My favorite multisensory line during reading is, “Say and trace,” in which the student looks, says, and touches the letters simultaneously. This increases the odds for retention. Another fun way to reinforce these concepts is incorporating items that begin with the S blend such as skate, slipper, smile, snake, spoon, stop sign, and swimmer. This is a super fun and engaging way to teach S blends.
Be sure to check out my social media for this week's #WinningWednesday where I will be celebrating a student’s wins. Also, make sure that you're taking time out of your day to celebrate the small wins and the large wins. It's important that we take time to acknowledge ourselves and our accomplishments so that we don't get burnt out.
This week for #functionalfriday, ask your students if their backpacks are organized and clean. This pertains to students STILL using their backpacks for school! I know we're coming to the end of the school year, which means it is more crucial than ever to get into organizational gear! If our materials are more organized and easily accessible, the work gets done more efficiently and studying gets done with less stress. Below, I am providing a list of steps on how to clean and organize your backpack. Share this with your students this week!
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Step 1: Empty your backpack and sort papers, notebooks, and books into piles based on subject.
Step 2: Throw away any trash in the bottom of the book bag.
Step 3: Organize school supplies by how often you use them! The things you use often can go in the smaller pockets. Start stacking items from the bottom to the top based on how often you use them.
Step 4: When repacking your books, papers, and notebooks, make sure that they remain organized by subjects so that everything you need for one subject is together!
Have a WONDERFUL week!