I have a little poppy,
as red as red can be.
To help me remember those,
who keep Canada free.
Remembrance Day is observed on November 11 in Canada. This day of reflection is meant to honour the sacrifices of the brave men and women who serve and have served in our armed forces to protect Canadian freedom. This day can be abstract for young children so I have created some resources to use in our literacy and art centers as supports. Feel free to download and use in your program!
"/P/ is for pumpkin!
After I'm done painting I'm going to write a P on my paper!"
When children are learning to read, there are many foundational skills that help set them up for success. One of these important skills is initial sound fluency.
Initial sound fluency is the ability to quickly hear and identify the first sound in a spoken word. For example, when a child hears the word sun, they can tell you that it begins with the /s/ sound. When they hear ball, they know it starts with /b/.
This may seem like a simple skill, but it is actually an important building block for both reading and writing.
Before children can connect letters to sounds, they need to be able to hear the sounds within words. Initial sounds are often the easiest sounds for young learners to identify because they occur at the beginning of the word.
When children practice identifying beginning sounds, they are developing their phonological awareness. This helps them:
Children who can quickly identify beginning sounds are often better prepared to learn letter-sound relationships and decode simple words.
The good news is that practicing initial sounds can be fun and playful.
Try some of these simple activities:
Play a game of "I Spy" using sounds instead of letters.
"I spy something that starts with /m/."
Children can look around the room and identify objects such as a marker, map, or mug.
Invite children to search for objects that begin with a particular sound. They might collect items beginning with /t/ or find pictures that start with /p/.
Pause during a favourite story and explore words that begin with the same sound.
*"Bear begins with /b/. Can you think of another word that starts with /b/?"
Gather small objects or picture cards and sort them according to their beginning sounds.
To help practice these skills in a whole and small group experience, I have created two resources. Feel free to use with your students!
"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
Albert Camus
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Autumn is my favourite time of year. Once we have settled into the new school year it's amazing to head outdoors and appreciate the interesting changes happening in nature. There is so much potential for math learning outside of the classroom.
To celebrate the 1500th copy of Autumn Math Walk being published here are ten free printables to use with children during outdoor math exploration. Autumn Math Walk is available through Amazon. Enjoy!
Print and laminate this page so that children can bring it outdoors and see how many objects they can collect. Challenge children to find 100 of the same objects (e.g., acorns, leaves). If children's collections are made of different objects challenge them to see how many of each there are and total these to 100 (e.g., 20 acorns + 15 rocks + 12 leaves...)
Provide a copy of this page for each child. During time outdoors ask children to focus on something that piqued their interest. This page can be used to delve more deeply into the observation using the 'see, think, wonder' thinking routine.
Before heading out on a math walk children can predict what they might see and draw these in the left column. For the walk have children attach the page to a clipboard and track how many of each object is observed using check marks or tallies.
This graphic organizer can be used to help children represent all the interesting things they observed on their autumn math walk. Papers can be distributed for individual use or a large one can be printed and used by the class when reflecting after their walk.
Colouring can be a soothing activity. This fun page can be used by children during quieter moments of rest and reflection. It can also be sent home at the end of the day.
Ask children to look for different numbers or groups of objects on their walk. As they notice different arrangements of things they can fill them out on this page (e.g., 1 duck, 2 trees, 3 ladybugs...).
This template can be used once children return from their math walk. It asks children to reflect upon their favourite part of the walk by drawing a picture of what they saw, and completing a sentence to further explain their thinking.
As children explore outdoors ask them to consider the size of objects they find. This template can be printed and laminated for children to use outdoors as they place objects directly in each column (e.g., small acorns, leaves, flowers, sticks). Children can also reflect upon their walk and draw pictures of small and large objects on the paper once returning from the walk.
These five and ten frames can be printed, laminated and brought out with children on their explorations outdoors. Challenge children to use the frames to count different collections of objects that they find. (The frames can be enlarged on a photocopier before laminated to accommodate very large objects).
Our classroom door welcomes every learner and celebrates the diversity of our student population. Our classroom is a safe space for all.
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A sensory wall welcomes children to the space along with a photo of staff and books to inspire those who visit.
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A light up sensory table is also near the door and offers children an opportunity to explore different materials in a fun way. The trellis behind holds photos and vocabulary cards related to the materials being explored to encourage literacy behaviours.
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