Modified/Extended Activities for Kit 1 - Book 02 Fossil Find

by Kim Kemen March 16, 2021

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:

Choose the word cards for Book 02 - Activity 01. Choose as many as you feel are appropriate.
Have child make a fist with one hand and make their other hand flat.
Show them how to repeat a word and tap the fisted hand into the flat hand for each syllable.
Say the words from the story and have the child tap out the syllables into the palm of their flat hand.
Example: “dinosaur” will be tapped three times. If the word has less than five syllables, the child can extend a finger on the fisted hand each time they tap and then hold up the number of fingers to show how many syllables are in the word.

Modified Activity Two: Phonics - Children can read each word part and sort them into closed and open syllables.

Choose the word cards for Book 02 - Activity 2.
Tell the child that they will make two piles of cards. One will be open syllables and one will be closed syllables.
Have the child read the syllable parts of the words.

Extension Activity 1: Words Worth Knowing:

stoop - another word for a step on a porch

scurry - to move away quickly

crater - a large hole in the ground or on the moon, usually caused by an explosion

volcano - a mountain or hill with a vent where lava, gases, and rock escape.

fossil - the remains of a pre-historic plant or animal that is preserved or cast in rock

museum - a place where art, scientific artifacts, or other exhibitions are put on display for all to see

predict - to guess or estimate that something may happen

Extension Activity Two: Questions Worth Asking:

What do these two phrases mean? (Introducing similes)

1.) “Ned, you look like a lion chasing that spider.”

2.) Patrick’s legs felt like tree trunks because of the long climb.

Why do you think the baby lizard on the fossil only had half of a tail?

Do you have a collection of anything that you consider “treasures?”