Elmer the Safety Elephant Presentation

No PALS today, instead the JK/SK - Gr. 2 students enjoyed a safety presentation with a police office and Elmer the Elephant. 

Logan (1A) and Isabella (JK/SKC) were chosen as volunteers to help demonstrate how to properly wear a helmet. The students were told to use the rule 2-V-1: 2 fingers above eyebrows, your ears should be in the "V" of the straps, and 1 finger should fit under chin strap. 

Braydee (1A) was chosen to demonstrate how to describe how someone looks if in trouble. 

Ideas for practicing sounds and words at HOME

My son Ryan is in SK,  so I am always looking for ideas to keep him motivated to practice sounds and sight words. Here are a few I do at home with my kids:

• Last year when he started JK,  I used the PALS words and put them on little cut-out stars I made. I laminated them so I could change the words once he mastered the ones that were up. I used a dry erase marker which comes off easily when wiped. Then I taped them to the ceiling and we read them at night before he went to bed. You can do this in the dark with a flash light or with the lights on. 

                                         

I wrote the sight words on little circles and made a word caterpillar. I let my son hold a pointer and we practice sight words this way. 

                                           

• I bought a set of foam letters (from Toys R Us...I'm pretty sure I saw the same ones at the Dollarama too) and we practice the sounds in the bath tub. My daughter (who is now three) likes this too. I try to make a game of it and ask them the sounds, if they get it right, then they get to stick the letter to the wall. You can also show the letter and ask if he/she can tell you a word that starts with the same letter. 

• Bought some small paper cups from Dollarama. My son and I wrote sight words on them and we built some "castles." He was pretty excited to "play" this game. 

• I also have a large book shelf in both my kids rooms with seasonal books (Right now I have Winter and Easter-themed books). I order most books through the Scholastic Book Club or I get some from the Public Library. 

Grade 1-Speed Racer

This is a game I made to practice the sight words. 

Each pair of students gets a laminated "Speed Racer" mat, coloured die, and a pointer. 

The students take turns rolling the dice and read the list of words under the corresponding number. For example, if the student rolls a number 3, each pair read the list under the number 3 as quickly as possible. 

Grade 3 Shared Reading

At the beginning of every PALS class, I like to take some time and do  shared reading with the students. We are currently reading, "The Mouse and the Motorcycle." 

Here are some comprehension questions that are on the foam dice that we use.

Before reading:

• Predict what will happen in the story
• What background do you bring to the story?
• What does the title tell you about the story?
• Is the story fiction or nonfiction?

During:

• How does the story relate to your life?
• Choose a problem in the story. How could this problem have been avoided?
• What questions do you have about the story?
• Who are the main characters?

After:

• Summarize the story
• What is the main idea of the story?
• Identify a paragraph that used descriptive writing. 
• How are you and the main character alike?

Grade 1 Blends

KPALS - Guess My Word

Here is a slideshow I will be using with the JK/SK students this week to review the sounds.

Happy 100th Day

Today at St. Bernard the Primary classes celebrated the 100th day of School...100 Days Smarter!

Here are a couple pictures from 3J wearing our 100 Day Glasses - many were camera shy; although I don't know why, they were all so cute!

Light it Up!

I wanted to change things up a little yesterday in PALS. The JK/SK and grade 1 classes enjoyed "Light it Up," PALS-Style! I bought a little light-up wand at Dollarama (where else?) and we did PALS in the dark.

... They were on Fire 

February High Frequency Words

Friendly Reminder for 3/4J

Scholastic Book Club orders due tomorrow February 6th.