B-I-N-G-O!

Alphabet Bingo has been an absolute favourite! Originally we were playing the game based on letter recognition for those needing practice, and quick retrieval for those who have mastered their letters. As we continue to play on, the game has become progressively harder as the children grow in confidence. For instance, one day I would say the letter sound without showing the actual letter. The children would name the letter that makes that sound and I would show them the letter card to see if they were on track. On another day I would say a word like "tickle" and they would have to identify the letter sound at the beginning of the word and then check to see if the "Tt" was on their BINGO card.

A really easy game to play, but with little twists it can still be challenging!

Something Useful

Each morning we predictably sit and discuss the letters in my helper's name. Students are exposed to both upper and lowercase letters during this time and the specific sound that each of the letters make. I try to find various ways to review the letters (this month being if they are tall, small, or if they fall) so that the children continue to be engaged and feel success as they increase their recall.
Each week we do the "letter of the week" so we don't miss any (like q, z, x, etc.). When teaching the letters and their sound there is always an action that goes with them from a program called Jolly Phonics; I found this handout online and thought I would share:

http://www.communication4all.co.uk/Phonics/JP%20action%20Sheets.pdf

So far we have worked specifically on Tt, Ll, Hh, Ii, and Ee.

Hope it is useful!

Really? Are you sure?

Have you asked your child what they did today at school and their answer was "nothing"? It seems to be a typical kindie response! Too funny.

Each morning I select a student to take attendence down to the office and that person becomes my number one helper for the day, the line leader, and our circle time revolves around that students name. We talk about the capital letter in the name, its associated sound and jolly phonics action, we identify the remainder of the lowercase letters, we compare the capital letter to its lowercase partner, we count how many letters are in that persons name, print the numeral and talk about its formation, and show what that quantity looks like in pictures and on a ten frame.

 

That is just a mini glimpse of one of our learning opportunities. Hope this helps to fill some gaps and spark some conversations!