K-3 Teacher Resources Reading Activities Printable Flashcards Fun...
Q. When are Flashcards NOT Flashcards?
A. When you IMMERSE CHILDREN IN THEM!....
I get so excited about word cards and flashcards.(mmm need a life!)
I have witnessed some truly wonderful results when children are simply totally IMMERSED in WORDS...HERE IS HOW...
Language is exciting - it has fabulous patterns to play with, we can use it to share, to learn, to explore, to communicate, to express. Yes, there are certain rules and etiquette for spelling and layout, but these do not have to become CHORES to learn. Let's help our children EXPLORE the patterns of our wonderful language...
....YEP with the aid of flashcards...
Tips for IMMERSING Your Children In WORDS....
- *Never put away your flashcards....
there are just SO many ways they can be utilized. They do not have to be just sight word cards flashed up, parroted off, then put away - cut them up into syllable puzzles, put them into sentences, circle all the phonics patterns using whiteboard markers, go for a word walk and find them, cut the pictures off and match with word....soooo many ways to utilize - SEE MORE BELOW...
- *I would have piles of them in the classroom...
all sorted into themed containers or pockets, on word walls, in word groups etc. They definitely do not have to sit in the corner.
- *A flashcard activity every day....
Each and every literacy session would involve some sort of printable flashcards activity. I would usually choose an activity from the '101 Fun and Educational Flashcard Activities'. These would be something like......choose 3 words from the dolch sight words bucket and make those words up from cut out magazine letters....use whiteboard markers to trace over the 'Space' theme flashcards ......put the 'Pets' theme flashcards into alphabetical order etc etc....depending on the main learning focus at the time.
- *Refer to them often throughout the day...
If children needed to know a word I would send them to find it in the appropriate bucket or pocket. Eventually, they know that if they need the word 'cricket' it will probably be in the 'Sports' theme bucket.
Also a great way for children to self-check the spelling when editing their writing.
- *Easily accessible to children....
I have stored them in labelled buckets, hanging pockets and made mini word booklets very successfully.
They would come out onto themed display walls, word walls, when we were doing a concept book and needed to see certain words, when we were brainstorming and writing with a certain theme, etc.
I have also recently seen them cut out and laminated underneath each other, and hung at the front of the classroom like a ladder.
*Examples of Printable Flashcards available from our site...
- PDF Document '101 Fun and Educational Flashcard Activities' - download the first 30 for free...
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