March 3

Fun with Pasta

Many students enjoy and benefit from learning things kinaesthetically.  I try to include lots of kinaesthetic options into our learning, such as smacking our spelling words with fly swats or throwing a squishy ball around during a discussion.  Today we made our entire spelling list out of Alphabet Pasta!

January 1

Quote of the Month

Each month in my classroom we have a quote that is on display. I chose a range of quotes where the message can be related in a classroom setting, either in terms of learning, socialising with others, striving for success, attitude, etc.

We also discuss who said the quote so some background knowledge can be developed, as students learn a little about some of history’s most prominent characters.

I refer to the quote throughout the month, where relevant. You can also use the Quote of the Month for extension tasks. Students can;

– research more about the person to which the quote is attributed

– find other quotes that are similar or are by the same person

– make their own display, bookmark, artwork etc for the quote.

With the quote I sometimes use it as a sentence of the day study, analysing punctuation, grammar and vocabulary, or even get the students to write and illustrate the quote in their handwriting or publishing book.

Here are some samples of the quotes I have used.

To download 20 readymade posters with quotes, click here.

To find more quotes online for students, click here, here and here.

June 6

Spelling Activity Cards

As part of my literacy groups I have a group that works on spelling activities, with their current spelling list.  So what do they do each week? I wanted something fun, engaging, easy to organise, no hours of creating worksheets, simple to mark (if any) and independent.

After trawling the internet and thinking creatively I came up with these Spelling Activity Cards. The group gets the card and equipment, brings their spelling book and Voila! Ready made spelling activity.

There are 42 different activities, most able to be used with classes from Year 1 to 6. At the beginning of the year I use them with the whole class, as a modelling activity. It’s helpful to do this the week before they have to do it independently, especially with younger students.

Here are some images of some of the cards and students completing the different activities.

And here is a link to the actual spelling cards

Spelling Activity Cards

What other ideas do people use to practice spelling?