Open & Closed Syllable Patterns

So, I've been implementing a ton of new strategies based on the Orton Gillingham Approach to Reading and Spelling. I love it!  I'm in the process of creating an interactive phonics notebook that will hopefully be finished sometime soon, although it's been getting pushed to back burner-I will keep you posted.

With that said, I've been reviewing syllable types with my kiddos and this was a quick review of open and closed syllables. I simply wrote words on index cards and taped them to the door cutting each word in half leaving open syllables on the left side and closed syllable son the right.

When the door is OPEN the vowels scream their name!!   Seriously, make sure to open the door wide and scream each vowel sound!!  Yet, when it's closed the consonant closes the vowel in and makes quiet so it says the short vowel sound.   lol .....The whole process flashed me back to Jim Carey as Ace Ventura when he opened and closed the sliding door in the movie Pet Detective.  

Just wanted to share this activity that my kiddos loved!  It's a great ticket out the door and can be easily changed to switch up vowel sounds.

Enjoy!   :)  What other ways do you review syllable types.. Moving on to v-c-e soon and Hope to show you a more fun ideas I have roaming around in my head.

Student Reminders

There are many ways we as adults have adapted to use strategies when trying to remember something, maybe you keep post-it notes in your back pocket, scribble a to-do list, or write a note on your hand.  On the other hand our students have a much more difficult time remembering little tasks or routines.

We often have a student or two who have difficulty keeping things organized or remembering things like using capital letters or putting spaces between words when writing.  We know its not always easy to keep track of which student needs these little reminders, especially if they need reminders during an independent station or center activity.

One quick way to help students is to use a visual. In the past I've used cards and/or checklists taped to desks or folders.  I've found that these visuals often get lost and you have to continually replace them- Until now.....  I was shown a new way to use binder clips. Seriously, what teacher doesn't have a handful of these amazingly useful office supplies?

 The Occupational Therapist  at my school showed me this idea to help some of our students remember to use spaces and capital letters when writing. We used a large binder clip and printed out a reminder that will be used with my students' writing journal. This is a perfect way to make the student accountable for his work.  It also a book mark so they can easily flip to the last page they were working on. You can make whatever reminder you want,  the options are endless! Just be sure to keep it simple and try  not to overwhelm them with numerous reminders in each notebook/folder.

In third grade it's very important that my students are becoming accountable and more self reliant. They need to begin to develop skills to help them become a successful member of community.

Until Next time,

Desiree