I don’t know about you but the needs of my students this year are vast! Covid has added more students with varying gaps in their literacy journey than ever before. The intervention has to be regular, targeted, and applied in multiple ways. YES!!! Multiple ways of intervention- what this looks like with my groups is 8 minutes of phonological awareness practice using Heggerty (because my students need phonological mastery- they are not there yet. Heggerty is affordable and does not require any other tools or preparation. Science of Reading is a wonderful way to look at the needs of early readers K-2 grade and those with intervention needs. But, whole group instruction alone cannot make the major shifts that students need. Students need time to practice what they are learning in a low-stress environment that is engaging. This is more than the I do, we do, you do the process. It is all the students determining the correct answers with their peers without your guidance or input at all. But, of course, you will loop around and listen in on student conversations in order to hear achievements or needs.
When students play games that reinforce concepts they have been practicing with you it allows them to take control and the power of their learning. It is a scaffold before applying it in their reading skills.
This small group of kiddos is working on the 1,2,3 syllable race game. They clap, tap or point out the syllables of a word based on the picture. They place the picture card below the corresponding number of claps. The race comes from the students choosing which number of claps will have the most picture cards related. They all choose which one will have more before they begin- it creates a race-like competition. I try to reserve 1 or 2 cards to make the game different each time it is played.
The picture above shows the Big Card Game that focuses on picture cards with one or two syllables. The big cards make this game exciting- we even play on the floor to make it more fun! These four fun phonological games (letter sounds, no alphabet association) help students practice 1,2,3 syllables segments and counting syllables. This is very important for students to grasp on their reading journey. You can even extend these games into phonics once students have masted phonological awareness by having students write and break down the word into parts.
I love these games! I love how much my students love these games! They have so much fun and I can see the students make progress toward mastery or even master so we can move on to their next need. Small group games make learning engaging and mastering skills and concepts a piece of cake!
Find the games on my TpT page- print them in color on plain paper, laminate with a personal laminator, cut, and get to playing! The whole setup took me minutes to get the first game prepped. It took seconds to teach my groups how to play it and off they went to success and learning enjoyment.
Curve Your Learning 