Are you in need of some fresh ideas for reading groups? You want to make the most of your time, keep it engaging and see real results…I get it!
I wanted to share a few ideas I have to keep it fresh and engaging with your littles at the back reading table.
Phonics & Movement
Get your students up and moving a bit…you can also use this whole class as you are lining up, etc.
Remember the OLD school Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes game? Well, you can use that to work on phonemes and blending!
I like to have my students stand up and if we are working on CVC words I have them touch their head and say /m/ then their shoulders and say /a/ , then their waist or knees and say /t/. Then the whole word and use it in a sentence of course to bring meaning to the word and build their oral language skills.
You can certainly use this technique with longer words or syllables too! Have them touch their head for a digraph /sh/ then their shoulders for /ee/ , then their waist or knees for /p/.
My students love this activity! Sometimes, if I notice my group is tired ( after lunch ) or not engaging. I’ll use it as a little brain break/pick me up to help us get refocused!
Sight Word Mats
Another fun activity that I like to do at the end of my groups OR it’s nice to have my students work on with partners if I’m performing a quick running record on someone and need them to still be engaged for a bit.
This activity I learned about from the Reading Teacher’s Top Ten Tools:
Prepare mats for your small group and have a stack of sight word flash cards. ( I like the heart word cards ) They have 3 columns to use and as they say their sight words they have to decide :
a.) Do I know it QUICK as a flash or snap? If so that card goes in the ROCKET column.
b.) Did I hesitate / pause or sound it out? Then it goes in the medium CAR column
c.) Do I not know or recognize this word? Then it goes in the last WALK column.
I’ve found that my students are very honest with themselves and LOVE to see their rocket column GROW!!!! If they are in pairs they are sure to keep one another accountable if you have any concerns I can promise you that! You can find my mats here if you are interested!
Engaging Tools for Reading Groups
It’s a tie for several of these strategies that I shared from this blog post – read here. This includes lots of hands on ideas that I incorporate into my groups quite often. Use playdoh, inflatable hammers, HULK fists, salt trays etc.
Hope this helps spice up your small groups just a bit. Sometimes incorporating just one new idea makes all the difference.
Be blessed my friends.
xoxo,
