Early Learning: Interventions, Activities, and Games

Hodgepodge Alert! This blog post is a hodgepodge of ideas that I shared at the I Teach K and I Teach 1st conferences. Each day I am going to post a little bit about what I did in each session and post a freebee. Read all the way to the bottom to find the FREE resource!

The First 30 Days

The First 30 Days is kinda like childbirth. After about Day 30, things start to settle down, the kids have the routine, and you once again love kindergarten. At the beginning of each year, you probably hear yourself say something like, “This is the lowest class I have ever had.” OR “Oh my, these kids are going to give me a run for my money.”
One way to get ahead of the game is to plan a killer Open House! We set up a scavenger hunt to keep our families busy! You can read all about the Open House in this blog post.

Phonemic Awareness

 One of my favorite ways to teach phonemic awareness is through music. I love "Vowel Bat" by Shari Sloane. You can find her music on her website, www.kidscount1234.com. I made this fun music book to go along with the song.

During the song she uses the Batman theme song to teach each vowel sound.

Reading Strategies: Comprehension

One of the easiest ways to determine if a child comprehends a story is to ask them to retell it to you.  This fun little book is for retelling The Three Pigs.  After making the booklet, attach the wolf to the booklet with a string. This strategy is great anytime a character “travels” through a story. Invite the children to draw or paste pictures to sequence the events on the pages of the booklet. Now, as they turn the pages in the pig book, the wolf is on the string to “talk” to the pigs. This resource has this idea and TONS of others for retelling stories.

Dollar Store Delights

There are literally things in the Dollar Store to teach almost any standard!  I love these divided plastic plates. The are great for number bonds. Start will all the buttons in the large section. Now have children divide it into two parts. Then, push them all back to the whole. Now divide another way. This is important for conservation of number and subitizing! Say this:

• Put all of the buttons in the large section and say, “I have 7 buttons."
• Divide the buttons into the two smaller sections and say, "I have 3 buttons and I have 4 buttons." (Point to each part.)
• Return all of the buttons to the large section and say, "I have 7 buttons.”

This free file has alphabet cards that you can use for making playdough letters.  Are you looking for more intervention activities? This resource is full of ideas to tackle the alphabet!