An innovative word study activity introduced by Patricia Cunningham (1991), students are guided through the process of manipulating a set of letters in sequence to construct words.
Perhaps the most creative events that I did were for English. One activity was for spelling, reviewing all the spelling words we had done up to that point; and the other activity was one that I had gotten from a resource book, “Making Words”. Like Active Mathematics, these English activities required a lot of space, hence they all took place in the hard court.
The first activity required different colored Post-It notes, markers, and chart paper. Each team got a pad of Post-Its and a marker while I, the teacher, required a microphone and chart paper taped to a pillar. The teams all stood opposite of me, and their goal is to write the spelling word I have identified on a Post-It note, then race to the chart paper beside me to post it. The first team to post their note with the correct spelling of the word got four points, the next team got three, the next two points, and so forth.
This activity was a lot of fun. My students enjoyed it as much as I did, and they were very enthusiastic about it. My P3/1s, exceptional spellers to begin with (they’re able to spell ten-letter words very easily) enjoyed this game so much that they have requested it more, and I have done so a handful of times to review their spelling words. I have also used it for their science words. My P3/2s had a tougher time on the other hand, because half of the class were “novice” spellers that had different spelling words than the other, “advanced”, half. For them I had to choose words that both groups were familiar with. Nevertheless, they also enjoyed the activity.
The second activity, just as fun yet more preparation on my part, is very similar to the one above, where students race from one side of the field to the other as team members, but this time, instead of spelling the spelling words, a letter of the alphabet was taped to their backs.
Prior to the activity I had divided each one of my classes into three teams and printed and cut out the letters T, E, A, M, W, O, R, and K for my twenty-four P3/2s and an extra G and O for my thirty P3/1s. On one side of the field the students stood, while on the opposite side were chairs for them to sit on. When I say a clue, the goal for each team is to figure out the answer and how to spell it, and, using the appropriate letters, spell the answer on the opposite side where the chairs are. For example, when I say, “This is what you drink when you are thirsty.” Kids with the letters W, A, T, E, and R run to the opposite side and spell it by sitting together in the right order of letters. The fastest team got the point.
This game was fun and challenging, though I admit that I might have been too challenging for my P3/2s. It was good enough for me to use a modified version for morning hard court assembly, however.
"Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know it just as well as you. You are all learners, doers, teachers."
- Richard Bach
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