K-6 Literacy Resources for Teachers & Parents
Groundhog Day is February 2nd and I know just the thing to celebrate…even if Punxsutawney Phil does see his shadow and predicts six more long weeks of winter! Get your February off to a fun start with a Groundhog Day poem written from the perspective of the groundhog! My Groundhog Day In my hibernating slumber, …
Read moreWarm Up a February Literacy Lesson with a Groundhog Day Poem!
The vocabulary word valentine provides a natural opportunity for teaching the -ine word family. As I’ve said before, just one poem can teach a wide variety of language skills. This Valentine’s Day poem certainly targets some phonics with the -ine word family, but there are several other ways to stretch learning into other language arts …
Read moreJust One Valentine’s Day Poem Helps Teach the -ine Word Family
With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, November is a shorter teaching month, so every literacy mini-lesson really needs to count. Would you believe one short Thanksgiving poem can help you teach all five of the essential components of reading? It’s absolutely true. For example, the Thanksgiving poem, “Mashed Potatoes,” targets the consonant digraphs /ch/and /sh/ …
Read moreTeach the Five Components of Reading (with Just One Thanksgiving Phonics Poem)
THE classic Thanksgiving Poem, “Over the River and Through the Wood,” was published in 1844 by Lydia Maria Child (February 11, 1802—October 20, 1880). The poem celebrates traveling to her grandfather’s house, said to be the Paul Curtis House in Medford, Massachusetts. When the poem was turned into a song by an unknown composer, the …
Read moreAn Abolitionist Wrote This Famous Thanksgiving Poem
Halloween is all about having some spooky fun, so it’s a great time to harness that high interest to teach your English language arts curriculum. These Halloween poems embedded with compound words make it easy to teach them. There are three kinds of compound words: 1. Closed form compound words: Two (or more) individual words …
Who wants to teach dry or boring phonics lessons? No one, that’s who. That’s why short Halloween poems written especially for kids help make teaching phonics skills easier, more targeted, and definitely a whole lot more fun. Halloween poems are perfect for teaching literacy mini-lessons in October It would be a shame not to include …
It’s October, so get ready for Halloween It’s officially October and the countdown to Halloween! I’ve always loved the creepy vibe of the autumn season, so I was mighty disappointed when our school opted out of the school-wide Halloween costume parade and classroom parties, in favor of a more PC autumn festival. Fortunately, there are …
Okay, so Piggie Pie! is not technically a “Halloween book,” but the main character is a witch…so it totally works! Summary Gritch the witch wants to make some Piggie Pie, but she doesn’t have any piggies. Problem! So she looks in the phone book to find some piggies and flies off on her broom to …
Read more8 Ways to Teach Literacy Skills With Piggie Pie! at Halloween
Here’s a poem I specifically wrote for teaching the rather small, but still important word family of -ould (should, would, could). Kids often misspell these words so they should be taught together…see what I did there? I like to think this also makes a good poem for teaching about logical consequences of behavior choices too …
I love the fall, but I especially love the weeks just before Halloween when the wind takes the leaves, the days grow short, and there is a special quality to the autumn light. This is when I most enjoy reading one of my all-time favorite picture books, The Spider and the Fly by Tony DiTerlizzi, …
Read more6 Ways to Use The Spider and the Fly as a Halloween Mentor Text