Lyndsay A. Gurnee
The following is a list of additional activities that may be incorporated as whole group activities or small group center time. Most of these are basic activities and centers found within many primary grade level classrooms and are directly related to aforementioned objectives and standards within this unit.
Center Activities:
Word Family Houses
Students will focus on a particular word family to write and read rhyming words.
Students are provided with a black line master of a 'house' with an identified word family on top and lines within the house for students to write on (I would recommend laminating originals and utilizing a dry erase marker for student practice). Students are also provided an envelope with consonant letters to make the beginning sound of words within the word family. Students pull out one letter at a time and place the letter at the top of the house to create a word. The student will read the word first, write the letters of the word on the line, and then place the used letter to the side. Once the student has used every letter in the envelope, he or she may read words out loud, to a partner or a teacher.
This activity is great even for nonreaders who know beginning sounds and understand the concept of rhyme. A true sense of accomplishment is evident in those students who come to recognize they are able to "read" a whole list of words on a page!
Extension: For students who are comfortable reading and writing rhyming words, you may extend the center activity by having students make up sentences using at least two rhyming words and familiar sight words. Extension Example: The fat cat sat on a mat.
A rat saw the cat on the mat. The rat is fat.
Whole Class Activities
Read, Write & Draw a Rhyme!
This is a fun activity that could be used as a part of a rhyming lesson or when you have just a few minutes to spare and have access to simple classroom materials. First, the teacher will write a sentence with at least two rhyming words in it. Then, the students copy the sentence on their own paper and create an illustration that the sentence describes.
For example, the teacher may write: "The king with the ring can sing!"
Students will ideally produce an illustration of a king with a big ring singing.
This activity should be modeled by the teacher prior to letting students tackle it on their own.
Extension: Once students illustrate the teacher provided sentence, they may flip their paper over and write their own rhyme accompanied by a picture.
Class Poems
Writing poetry can be a daunting task for both teachers and students. Although my focus is more on the reading of poetry, this particular poetry activity creates a strong sense of community within the classroom. Each student will each create one line to have included in a class created poem.
For example: Each student completes the statement,
"I am _________".
This may be done as a whole class or in small groups. Once each student has a response in writing, the teacher will provide students with one sentence strip to copy their words on to display as part of the poem. The teacher may choose how to assemble the poem (whether it is alphabetical by name, chronological by age, or a random selection). At the end of the poem, the class may decide on a final line, with the prompt of
"We are ______ !"
(the teacher may also decide if appropriate).
