Teaching Words with the Show and Tell Apron

As teachers we are constantly looking for a way to have engaging activities. The brain learns by pattern but seeks novelty! That means that we have to constantly change what we are doing so that their ever growing brains sit up and pays attention. I *might* just have a new novelty for you to add to your teaching tricks!

Ever met someone who made you smile all.the.time!?  I have...her name is Sandy.  She is the nicest, funniest person, EVER.  I met her in Vegas at the I Teach K conference when she gave me one of her precious Show and Tell Aprons. She also gave me some cards to build sight words in the pockets. I was doing a session on words so this was perfect. I wore the apron during my presentation and modeled making the words. Those teacher didn't walk, they ran, to her booth! They bought her out! She sold every single one!

What ways can you use the apron? Here are a few of my favorite ways.  Make a sight word in your apron. After discussing the word, cover each letter with a blank card. Invite the children to write the word on a dry erase board, in sand or with shaving cream.  Reveal your word one letter at a time. Invite the children to check their word to see if it matches the word in the pocket. IF not, discuss and cover the word again. Now, the children try the word again. Keep repeating the process until the children can write the entire word. This process trains the brain to look all the way through the word and not at just the first letter. 

Little did I know that there was so much you can do with the Show and Tell Apron. How fun at the beginning of the year to use the apron to make their names. Put the name of one of your kids in the pocket. Cover with blank cards. Reveal one card at a time to see if they can guess whose name is in the pocket! OR Mix the letters up. See if they can get them in the right order in the pockets.

Another way to use the Show and Tell Apron is to use the sight words and picture cards to build rebus sentences. Build a sentence like the one above. Invite the children to read the sentence. Now, place another picture card in front of the one in the pocket. Read the sentence again. Repeat, pattern reading builds prosody. Prosody is the natural rhythm that comes with good reading. It is essential for children to develop prosody if they are going to become fluent readers.
Want to read more about these aprons and how you can use them in your classroom? Hop over to my friend Deedee's blog and see how other teachers are using them.
http://mrswillskindergarten.com/learning-with-novelty/