Planning Lessons

 Hello everyone! I had said in a post a LONG time ago that I would outline how I plan out my lessons, and I never did it. So, I'm doing it now.😊

For reading and writing lessons, I always give the kids words for their "Word List" on the previous week based on the words they had a hard time pronouncing from their reading time. So I start that week's session by having them say their words from last week (no more than five words a week). 

Then I move on to something fun or interesting, like the question of the day. 

"What's your favorite food?"  "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

"What is your favorite animal?" "Do you have any pets? What are their names?"

And so on. You can easily Google "Icebreaker questions for kids" to find some that you like. Most kids like the question of the day. Sometimes kids like to co-write a one-page story with me where we take turns writing sentences. In this activity, I focus on neat handwriting. It's fun for most kids. I have one child who insists that he doesn't have the imagination to do this. 

After we have our opening activity, I have them read the words on their word list. The child's reading ability determines how many words they have on their word list. I meet with each student once a week. I have an advanced 9-year-old who is learning 50 words on his list, and a 7-year-old who is slightly behind on his reading skills, mostly due to his dyslexia. He has 30 words on his word list. I have a 3-year-old who is learning to identify the letters of the alphabet, and a 6-year-old who is just beginning to learn to read, and she has 10 words on her list. It usually takes them about a month and a half to learn to say all of their words without ANY help at all. Then they win a $5.00 gift card to Walgreens (which I purchase using some of my earnings). 

After reading the word list, I have them read from a book - fiction or nonfiction, whatever their preference - and write down the words they have trouble with. I have them write the words down in their notebook to hopefully look over during the week. (Most of them don't. I encourage the parents to go over the words with them, but this rarely happens.) 

After they read and can say the words and know what they mean, we play a learning game. 

I have word-match Bingo, "Say or Spell", word toss spelling, and the cup game, where a word they're learning is taped inside a red Solo cup and they have to get three words correct, then I mix the cups up and they do it again. They have to do this three times without getting interrupted by the cup that says "ZONK" inside it. They don't need to start the whole game over if they do get ZONK, just that round. 

This usually fills up the hour I'm working with them. I hope this helps! Also, I welcome any ideas you may have! I love my job!