Modified/Extended Activities for Kit 1 - Book 01 Planet Visit
As parents and educators, we are always searching for ways to differentiate instruction for our children. I like to compare it to children learning to play a sport, like baseball. The child begins by hitting the ball off of a tee, then progresses to coach pitch, and then to regular pitching. The child builds on each skill. Reading is the same. We must always start with the foundations necessary to understand sounds and how words work. If a child is struggling, often they may have missed an integral part of the steps of learning to read. Our Ned & Patrick Series has books and activities that are prepared for a teacher or parent to use, but that doesn’t mean that everyone should do exactly the same thing with our Literacy Kits. A child may not be ready to group words by syllables if they have not been taught what a syllable is. In this blog, we give suggestions as to how to modify or scaffold the activities to meet your child wherever they are in this exciting journey of learning to read. We must build their confidence as we go!
Note: The activities in each book can be modified for a reader who may need extra support. Below are ideas to use with the activity cards for readers who may not be ready to attack the word cards independently. The activities will build skills necessary for successful reading. The extension activities are for readers who may need supplemental work. These consist of a list of words to enhance vocabulary. The words can be discussed orally in kid-friendly language. A child can use the words in spoken sentences or written sentences. There is also a list of comprehension questions to encourage deeper thinking about the stories. Again, these can be discussed to promote oral language or written responses can be created.
Modified Activity One: Phonemic Awareness - Child will gain an awareness of sounds through listening activities.- Choose 5-10 of the word cards. You can focus on one vowel sound or mix them up.
- Give the child the sounds of the words and have them blend them and repeat them back to you. *Count each sound by tapping your thumb to a finger for each sound.
- Example: Say, “ I am going to give you sounds and you repeat the word back to me; /r/ /e/ /s/ /t/. What’s the word? Child says, “rest.”
- Read the cards to the child and ask for a thumbs up if the words rhyme and thumbs down if not.
- An extension for this activity is to have the child produce a rhyming word for the words that you orally give them.
Extension Activity One: Words Worth Knowing
pals - another word for friend
pond - a small body of water
bob - move up and down, especially in water
gab - another word for talk
dapper - looking very neat in appearance
giggle - another word for laugh
glad - another word for happy
Extension Activity Two: Questions Worth Asking:
At the beginning of the story, how did Patrick know Ned was happy?
How do fish breathe under water?
When Patrick got out of the pond, how did he know that there was magic on Zet?
Did Ned and Patrick actually travel to a planet called Zet?