Teaching Than or Then

Make learning fun! In the early grades, children learn to read the words than and then.  These words sound the same but have very different meanings and should be used as clues to help your child know what to expect. Use interesting and/or familiar pictures to teach the words than and then to children. The pictures used in this activity are from Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA.

Then is used to compare the strength of the wind to the strength of the base of the tree

Then is used to sequence the order of events - tree standing, windstorm brings tree down

Then is used to compare the size of the pelican to the size of the duck

Then is used to sequence the order of events - the duck is standing alone, the duck is standing with a pigeon

Than or Then Reference Chart

Activity - Comparison or Sequence

Activity = Cloze Activity

Video - Than or Then?

Green Eggs and Ham You Say? What A Wonderful Way To Start the Day

Green Eggs and Ham You Say?   What a Wonderful Way to start the DAY!  Fun activities to promote reading, sequencing, cooking, graphing and writing.  Kids will have fun while learning!

How Will We Eat Your Green Eggs and Ham?

Reading and Following the Directions to Make a Green Eggs and Ham Soufflé

Writing Activity

Graphing Favorite Ways to Eat Green Eggs and Ham.

Learning How To Alphabetize

Alphabetical Order - learning how to alphabetize is a needed skill.  Bibliographies, indexes, glossaries, and organizing files are a few examples of how alphabetizing is used in everyday life. I have found that many second, third, and fourth grade students do not know how to alphabetize. Students are often amazed how easy it is.  I begin with a few simple words that begin with different letters. I then introduce alphabetizing to the second letter and beyond when students have to look at the second letter or third letter of each word to alphabetize the words.

Reference Chart - Introducing Alphabetical Order (words with different beginning letters) 

Reference  Chart  - alphabetizing to the second letter

Practice Paper - Students write the words in alphabetical order on a separate sheet of paper.  They cross off each word they write.  They can also use the alphabet chart below when alphabetizing the words.

Reference

Reference

Valentine's Day Cooking and Crafting Activities

Valentine’s Day Cooking, Crafting, and Learning –With your child, bake a delicious cake, cupcakes, and create a decorative mailbox to receive Valentine's Day cards and letters!

Baking with adults improves children's reading and math skills: vocabulary building, sequencing of events, measurement, comprehension and problem solving.  Together read the ingredients, organize the ingredients and cookware and follow the directions to bake delicious Valentine cakes.

Cookware used for baking

The ingredients have been mixed and are ready for the oven.  Adult supervision is needed.

When removing  from the oven let the cakes cool for 15-20 minutes before frosting.

Next, apply frosting and then be creative with the sprinkles

Now create  a Valentine's Day mailbox.  Using construction paper, cut out several hearts of different sizes and colors. Next arrange them and tape or glue  them onto the box.

Now you are ready for a fabulous Valentine's Day!

 Baking Video

Find the Code

Find the Code - Begin by Introducing our shape friends apple, ball, can, cube, diamond, egg, heart, insect, moon, noon, octagon, plus sign, sun, triangle, and up.  Explain that their beginning sounds will help us spell, decode, and read short vowel words. 

First Grade Student Work

Model the Activity

Have fun finding the code

Find the code for short vowel a words.  Children will find the code by writing the letter that represents the first sound heard for each shape represented.  As in the example below, children write the first letter for each shape sound represented, h for heart, a for apple, and t for triangle, spelling the word hat.  Next, children blend the sounds together /h, /a, /t/ to read the word hat. Reproducible practice sheets are available for short vowels a, e, i, o, and u.     

Completed Example - Find the code for short vowel a words

Reproducible - Find the Code for short vowel e words

Reproducible -Find the Code for short vowel i words

Reproducible - Find the Code for short vowel o words

Reproducible - Find the Code for short vowel u words

Resource for children

Video of Activities and Review - Pause for children to answer