Publisher's Synopsis
This unique resource gives you an exciting, sequentially organized activities program to help you spark young children′s interest in learning the alphabet and develop beginning reading skills right from the beginning to the close of school. Included are over 500 ready–to–use individual and classroom activities designed to be used sequentially, from one month to the next, to build skills, relate reading to other curriculum areas, and foster children′s enthusiasm for books and learning to read.
Each month includes a list of 10 picture books for daily reading phonics and other basic skills instruction..."ABC Marching Band Letters" for learning letter–sound connections reading links to holidays and special events...reading links to writing, math, social studies, science health&author–of–the–month; studies and activities+ ...10 to 13 illustrated reproducible activities.
For easy use, all of the activities are organized into nine monthly sections, September through May/June, and printed in a big 8–1/4" x 11" lay–flat binding that folds flat for photocopying of more than 100 activity sheets. Here′s just a sampling of the contents for each month:
September: Feather letter (letter sounds)...Can You Name the Letter? (phonics)...Let′s Give Our Hands a Workout (motor coordination)...Play a Math Shape Guessing Game (listening skills visual awareness)...The Caterpillar is Hungry for Information (Eric Carle)
October: The Cow Can Jump Over the Moon (alphabet review)...What′s the End? (ending sounds in words)...Bring on the Leaves and the Nuts (seasons)...Autumn Pen Pals (writing)...Feathers for Lunch (bird study)...Create a Spanish Mola Design (Lois Ehlert)
November: Working With People Words (substitute words)...Meet Philip the Frog and the Flute (letter f and ph)...Line–up Scramble (phonics)...Many Tribes One People (multicultural)...It′s Harvest Time Give Thanks (holiday customs)...The Comparison Goose (Patricia Polacco)
December: The Root Word Train and the Caboose (root words endings)...The Missing Letter (phonemic awareness)...We Need Good Scientist (hobbies)...The TV That Wanted to Go and Play (story starter)...Put on Your Visiting Manners (rules regulations)...I Just Love Borders (Jan Brett)
January: Make a Word Study Box (categories)...Meet Quinella Quail and the Quill (letter rules)...The Kuh, Guh, Yuh Car Start–Up (rhythm and rhyme)...Celebrate With Martin Lurther King, Jr. (speeches)...Musical Birthdays (famous composers)...Arthur′s Dream Bubbles (Marc Brown)
February: Story of Rick and the Mud Giant (vowel rules)... Compound Word Puzzles (building words)... Consonant Buddies (consonant blends)...President George Washington Visits Betsy Ross (math and art)... Rivers Far and Near (geography) ...The Lady With the Beads (Jerry Pinkney)
March: An Orchestra of Voices (choral reading)...Meet the Knackers (syllables)...&Hear,; Here! Concentrate on Listening (homophones)...Butterflies and Caterpillars (spelling)... Set Up a Sink/Float Area (science experiment)...Strega Nona′s Magic Lessons (dramatic play)...Cooking Up a Story Pot (Tomi dePaola)
April: January Complains to June (abbreviations)...Ape and Alligator Chant (vowel review)...Kites Sail High (verbs)...Celebrate Clara Barton (citizenship)...Bouncing Numbers (odd even numbers)...Set Up a Flea Market (consumerism)...Chicken Eggs Are Beautiful (Ruth Heller)
May/June: ABC Book–Making Workshop (collaboration)...Giving Directions (listening)...A Spring Festival of Poetry (performance)...Memorial Day (holiday traditions)...Weather Probability (charts)...Let′s Make Birds (creativity)... Words, Spoken Memories (nonverbal communication)...A New Book Cover (Aliki)
As a further help, the first section of Let′s Read! gives you easy–to–follow directions and reproducible forms for assessing children′s needs, ensuring ongoing communications with parents, using art to assess success with reading, integrating reading skill–building activities with other curriculum areas, and setting up reading portfolios to evaluate each child′s reading progress.
