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      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
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      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
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    • environmental print
    • fluency
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    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
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    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
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      • new for us foods
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      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
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quick & easy grid games: concepts of print

home / reading / concepts of print / quick & easy grid games: concepts of print
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quick & easy grid gamesIt’s been a busy few days for us, but we’re slowly getting back to the routine, and it (gulp!) feels pretty good.

Though boy oh boy do we miss Disney. . .

So this week, I pulled out Cora’s Kindergarten packet (wah!), looked through the ideas, and reminded myself that I really should do some more focused activities with her, even if only a few times a week.

Usually I try to give Cora some major flexibility and choice during work time–that sacred 20-30 minutes after we pick up Owen and Maddy, after snacks, when we all sit down together to cover school work.

If Cora wants to paint, color, or sort, I encourage her to go with it. If she’s up for puzzles or word searches, she does it.ย  If she wants to freely create a masterpiece, she creates.ย  But as the days and weeks until my 5-year-old walks into the doors of Kindergarten quickly approach, I’ve tried to narrow her choices a bit.

So I grabbed one of our faves this week–grid games–hoping that they’d be quick, they’d be easy, and they’d be fun for her.ย  (And secretly give her a chance to practice that ever-important left to right return sweep. . . )

Here’s the skinny. . .

  • Sunny & Rainy Grid Games–Concepts of Print: These are simple, quick, and allow for some major flexibility in terms of how we use them.

Which is why I really love them.quick & easy grid games

Cora counts out four–which she rolled on the red die–and double-checks her board-covering.

We used our sunny rainy grid gamesย which can be downloaded here and printed if you’d like.ย 

It was a gorgeous, sunny day, so I thought that though we were blue about our vacation being over, the smiling sunny faces would lift our spirits.ย ย  And we used Cheerios to cover our board because it was snacktime.ย  And we were both hungry.

The concept of Grid Games is simple: cover the board in an organized, left-to-right return sweep fashion, the same pattern we use for reading.

And the goal is to be the first one to cover your board. Simple!

quick & easy grid games

 

We have used dice–with dots and numbers–flipped playing cards, a handful of beads or beans, and magnetic numbers pulled from a bag as our ‘counters’ and we’ve used a ton of things as our board markers:

  • Cheerios
  • candy hearts
  • stickers
  • beads
  • beans
  • marshmallows
  • stamps
  • a big ‘x’ written with marker

We played several times–first with the smaller boards, with 12 sunshines on the board just so she wasn’t overwhelmed, and the last few times we played with the larger boards, with 40 sunshines and rainclouds on them.ย  We rotated dice, sometimes using the die with numerals on it and other times using the die with dots.

 

quick & easy grid games

Grid Game attempt #5 (or 6? or 8?) was a success!

It didn’t matter what we used as our counters because my focus for Cora was more on the literacy end. ย  I wanted to make sure she was starting at the left and moving toward the right and then returning to the second line and doing the same thing.ย  The last few times we used Grid Games, she was all over the place, refusing to follow the left-right return sweep, so I was crossing my fingers that she’d go with it this time.

And she did.ย  Woot!

So while Maddy and Owen finished their work, Cora and I played, and once our boards were covered, we ate our Cheerios.ย  And we were finished! Just like that–and she had no idea how important this little game was for helping her to read. . . and that’s totally cool with me.

There are a ton of other fun ways of helping kids learn the left to right return sweep, but if you want some more super-fun, super easy Grid Games, check out:

  • Fun Fall Grid Games
  • Halloween Grid Games
  • Open Grid Games
  • Sunny Rainy Grid Games
  • Bunny Grid Games

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About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

Previous Post:mini multiplication math fact cardsmastering multiplication tables (with mini flash cards)
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This yearโ€™s registration deadline is approaching, but you still have time! 

What better way to get students to engage in civics and contribute to their communities? 

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Have you heard of The National Civics Bee? #ad 

The National Civics Bee is an initiative aimed at encouraging more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. 

Organized in partnership with The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the competition in your community will inspire middle schoolers to become better informed about American democracy, to engage respectfully and constructively in the community, and to build greater trust in others and institutions. 

Learn how to bring The National Civics Bee to YOUR community now: https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

Iโ€™m thrilled to have partnered with @mom_select and @civicsbuzz for this exciting campaign! โ™ฅ๏ธ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ’™

#CivicsBuzz #middleschoolers #teachersofIG #communitypartners
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Oh HEEEEEYYY, @luvvie โ€” did you see that @littletroublemaker made our hallway bulletin board? ๐Ÿ˜‰โ™ฅ๏ธ

(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

#readingteacher #raiseareader #kidlit #bestbooks #linkinbio
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How can people with dyslexia learn to read? ๐Ÿค”

Here are the 3๏ธโƒฃ elements that reading instruction should contain in order to be most effective for students with dyslexiaโ€”

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #readingteacher #teachreading #dyslexiaawareness
View
Open
Lately when I find four leaf clovers, Iโ€™ve been leaving them. ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ

So if youโ€™re in Maryland, and you happen upon a lonely, little 4-leafer with very little grass, weeds, or leaves around it, I donโ€™t know WHO tried to set you up for success.

#yougotthis #keepyoureyesopen #itsthelittlethings #kilpattyluck
View
Open
Okayโ€”how do we know if someone has dyslexia? 

Which professionas are able to make that important determination? 

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch to find out. 

Hit me with the questions you still have about dyslexiaโ€”and know we have a few more posts to go!

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #teachreading #readingteachersofig
View
Open
What are some of the common signs of dyslexia?

Watch to learn and find out!

#demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading #dyslexia
View
Open
True โœ… or false โŒ?

#demystifyingdyslexia #dyslexiaeducation #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading
View
Open
What do you know about dyslexia? 

What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia

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