Welcome back to our Building Back to School Linky series! We're getting together every Monday in August to bring teachers awesome tools for building up to a fabulous school year.
This week, we've got some great bloggers coming to you with Tools for Language. When we talk about teaching for language, we're talking about providing intentional opportunity & tools for students to learn and practice reading, writing, listening, & speaking.
One of the many difficult aspects of language is its incredibly abstract nature. One way to help guide students through their journey of acquiring language is to use pictures! I know we talk about this a lot, especially in primary and/or ELL, but are we being intentional about putting the idea into practice? Reading a story, studying a text, introducing a new topic, modeling writing, practicing incorporating adjectives, studying point of view and learning about a new place are all great times to incorporate pictures.
This is a photo from my all-time favorite children's book: Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon. It would be a great conversations starter before or after reading the book, or just when you want to take some time to talk about personalities, feelings, point of view, descriptive words, self esteem, etc. Other than picture books, here are some other places you might find great photos for conversation:
This pack includes 7 questioning cards to help guide your and students' thinking. They're great for teaching & reminding students of question words, guiding students as they add detail to their writing, and providing a tool to help students engage in & comprehend their reading.
The pack also includes a list of over 50 thought-provoking conversation questions to help get you & your students started!
If you're interested in this set, you can head over to my store and download it now! It's a FOREVER freebie, just for you, my lovely friends! ;)
This week, in honor of "Building Language," I'm also giving away ANY one product from my store!!! For your chance to win, simply enter the rafflecopter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This week, we've got some great bloggers coming to you with Tools for Language. When we talk about teaching for language, we're talking about providing intentional opportunity & tools for students to learn and practice reading, writing, listening, & speaking.
One of the many difficult aspects of language is its incredibly abstract nature. One way to help guide students through their journey of acquiring language is to use pictures! I know we talk about this a lot, especially in primary and/or ELL, but are we being intentional about putting the idea into practice? Reading a story, studying a text, introducing a new topic, modeling writing, practicing incorporating adjectives, studying point of view and learning about a new place are all great times to incorporate pictures.
This is a photo from my all-time favorite children's book: Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon. It would be a great conversations starter before or after reading the book, or just when you want to take some time to talk about personalities, feelings, point of view, descriptive words, self esteem, etc. Other than picture books, here are some other places you might find great photos for conversation:
old calendars
National Geographic
photo of the day websites
photo albums (yours or students')
magazines
text books
product labels & advertisements
walking down your halls
movie cases
picture cards designed for classrooms
art gallery/books
I would encourage you to find time to sit down with your students and just have conversations. Let them ask questions too! This is also a great way to get them engaged in a story or writing piece. To help with this process, I've loaded a great new FREEBIE to my store! (woo!)
This pack includes 7 questioning cards to help guide your and students' thinking. They're great for teaching & reminding students of question words, guiding students as they add detail to their writing, and providing a tool to help students engage in & comprehend their reading.
The pack also includes a list of over 50 thought-provoking conversation questions to help get you & your students started!
If you're interested in this set, you can head over to my store and download it now! It's a FOREVER freebie, just for you, my lovely friends! ;)
This week, in honor of "Building Language," I'm also giving away ANY one product from my store!!! For your chance to win, simply enter the rafflecopter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for stopping by! I would love to connect with you. :) Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, & BlogLovin' to stay in touch & to keep up with the adventures!
If you'd like to link up with is with your favorite language tool, PLEASE DO! :) Just grab the button and link back here!
If you'd like to link up with is with your favorite language tool, PLEASE DO! :) Just grab the button and link back here!
Thanks again for more great ideas! I used the I spy with my 3 year old this week. We focused in finding the letters she knew but I liked that she was getting exposure to sight words.
ReplyDeleteJessica
http://notesfromtheportable.blogspot.com/2015/08/language-tool-poetry-throughout-year.html?m=1
I taught ESL and loved it when my students became engrossed in a conversation, in English. It was often difficult to stop them from speaking their home language as it was easier for them to express themselves, so when it did happen, it was wonderful! I used to use a Fun Fact to get them started and that usually sparked an interest.
ReplyDeleteThanks for these lovely ideas!
Margaux
Learning with Sunflower Smiles
Thanks again for hosting the linky. It's been so fun hopping around to everyone's blogs!
ReplyDeleteWhitney
Thefirstgraderoundup.blogspot.com
Love the question cards!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, pictures can be a big deal. I could definitely use more pictures in my instruction. The kids need something to anchor their thinking, and the particular students at my school often don't get a variety of experiences to increase their knowledge-base and vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing,
Sarah :)
Talking is a great way to start. I like having kids talk about something that they did kind of like a book report.
ReplyDelete