As a certified structured literacy dyslexia specialist, I have been using an Orton-Gillingham approach to teach students of all ages for more than 20 years. I love sharing my knowledge and resources with other teachers and helping them learn more about structured literacy and the science of reading.
👉 Quick Tip: Easy Word Building Activity + a Freebie! 🎉
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Dear Reader, I don't know about you, but by this time of year, my head is all over the place. I got to school today only to realize that I had left not only my lesson plan at home, but also the word-building activity I had painstakingly planned for my student. 🤦♀️ With 10 minutes before my session began (because, naturally, I was also running late), I had to think fast. Fortunately (or not?), I have had a lot of practice at thinking on my feet and was able to improvise something that turned out even better than I could have imagined! My student has been working on the final stable syllables -cious and -tious, and I had planned an activity with printed syllable cards to create as many real words as possible. I tried to remember the words I had used in my lesson and then quickly wrote the syllables from the words on the board. Here's how we did the activity: 1️⃣ First, I had him connect the syllables (trying short, long, and schwa vowel sounds until he created a real word) and write the words on the board. In about five minutes, look at how many words he made! 🤩 2️⃣ Next, as an extension activity, we underlined the suffixes that affect the part of speech and labeled each word with a symbol. 3️⃣ Finally, he chose a few words and wrote sentences with them. As he is an English-language learner, this activity was also great for his vocabulary! (This is the kid who went home and told his little sister she was too loquacious!) 🤣 This matrix focuses on advanced concepts, but it would be simple to adapt this idea for easier words as well. For example, you could combine simple prefixes (un, non, re, pre) with base words (kind, stick, read, heat) and a few basic suffixes (-ness, -s, -er, -ing) and challenge students to make as many words as possible. Rather than identifying parts of speech, you could color-code the vowel sounds or any other element you'd like to highlight. Anyway, despite my initial panic, the lesson turned out just fine. Sometimes being unprepared can actually inspire creativity--and I can always use the syllable cards I had created in another lesson. 😅 Speaking of which, I am attaching to this email a PDF file with the syllable cards that I use. These are fantastic for getting kids excited about playing with words, and they also build fluency and improve spelling. Kids love seeing how many big words they can build. The attached file includes examples for two- and three-syllable short vowel words, but I've also added blank cards so you can create your own! ⭐️ PDF Syllable Cards ⭐️ Want a free editable PowerPoint version? Reply to this email and let me know. Is life too hectic to make your own materials right now? Consider one of these no-prep options: Am I the only one who's struggling to keep afloat at this crazy time of year? 😵💫 What's your best story about having to improvise in a lesson? I would love to hear it. Just hit reply and let me know! Happy teaching... LET'S CONNECT |
Step by Step Literacy
As a certified structured literacy dyslexia specialist, I have been using an Orton-Gillingham approach to teach students of all ages for more than 20 years. I love sharing my knowledge and resources with other teachers and helping them learn more about structured literacy and the science of reading.
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