Building Independence in the Pocket Chart

Pocket chart...we all have them, but do we use them?  In this blog post I share how I created some activities that could easily build over the months. This method helped kids build independence in this center since the activities follow the same format--just different skills!

Poem of the Month

Each month I write a simple poem with 4 short sentences with matching pictures. The kids sequence the pictures and then match the sentences to each picture.

Then, I reproduced each sentence on a different color of card stock.  I cut apart the sentence. The kids sequence the words over the completed sentence. After a few tries, the kids can probably sequence the cut apart sentence without the completed sentence.

Then, in a center, the kids can cut apart the sentences to make their own book.  This book is a great way to practice fluency.  Invite the kids to keep it in their bag of books for repeated reading!

Find the Hidden Picture

The kids LOVE this game. To play the game, create a set of cards following a theme.  In this example, I created a set of word cards on cloud clip art.  What you put on the cards can change throughout the year, depending on your kids...letters, words, pictures, etc. To play the game, the kids take turns selecting a word to read. After reading the word, they turn over the card to see if the "hidden picture" is behind that word.

Woo Hoo! We found the kite!

As the kids read the words, invite them to locate the word on the recording page. Using the bingo dotter, mark each word.

Word Ladders

This activity is a great way to show kids that you can make new words by changing the letter in the beginning, middle, or ending of the word.  To play the game, the kids sequence the 5 picture cards. Then, using the letters, invite the kids to make the first word.  Now, make the second word. Which letter did you change? Repeat until all of the words are made.

After playing the word ladder game, collect a work sample! Invite the kids to complete the 3 different word ladders on the recording page.

Vowel Sound Sort

Another great activity for the pocket chart is a sort.  It could be beginning sound, ending sound, word families, syllables, etc! For March, we made a vowel sound sort.  The kids name the picture on the pot of gold. Then, they sort the picture under the correct rainbow.

You can do a cut and paste as a follow up to check for understanding.

We used that same sort to make a beginning sound game, too. After sorting these word cards under the correct rainbow, the kids identify the beginning sound for each by placing the correct letter in the word.

Matching Game

Each month we also have some type of matching game.  For this lion/lamb themed game the children name the picture on the lion and then find the lamb with the correct letter to represent the ending sound.

These ideas are from our March Pocket Chart Unit.