The Five Building Blocks of Literacy
Phonemic Awareness - the ability to orally hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds or segments of sound in words- Have students sound out the words from the lists on the
A,
E,
I,
O,
U,
Short Vowel and
Long Vowel pages.
Phonics-a method of teaching reading that focuses on letter-sound relationships
- Use the
Vowel Cards from the
Games page. Have lower case letters represent
short vowel sounds and the uppercase letters represent long vowel sounds. Ask children to pick cards and then say words
that use that letter and the short or long vowel sound.
[Printing Help]
Fluency-reading quickly with accuracy and expression (as opposed to "word calling")
- Have students pick a
Trading Card and read the facts about the character they've chosen.
If they've read the book that features the character, ask them to read another fact about that character.
Vocabulary- understanding the meaning of words
-Have students pick one of the word lists that appear on the
A,
E,
I,
O,
U,
Short Vowel and
Long Vowel pages
and ask them to make up a story using as many words as they can.
Comprehension - understanding what one has read
This is Dan the Ant.
Dan is sad.
Dan likes snacks.
Dan has no snack.
Dan is sad.
Dan likes snacks.
Dan has no snack.
-from Dan the Ant © Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
Questions:
What kind of bug is Dan?
How does Dan feel?
What does Dan like?
Questions:
What kind of bug is Dan?
How does Dan feel?
What does Dan like?
Luke has a brown mule.
His name is Duke
Duke has a blue plume.
Sue likes the plume.
His name is Duke
Duke has a blue plume.
Sue likes the plume.
-from Luke's Mule © Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
Questions:
What does Luke have?
What is the mule's name?
What color is Duke's plume?
Questions:
What does Luke have?
What is the mule's name?
What color is Duke's plume?
Playtime Activities: [Printing Help]
Finger Puppets and Stickers:Click here for images of the characters, vowels, and story images from Barron's Reader's Clubhouse.
-Print onto plain or colored paper, wrap around finger with picture showing, then tape at
back to make Barron's Reader's Clubhouse finger puppets
-Print onto labels to use for stickers
-Print onto labels to use for stickers
Learning Activities using Barron's Reader's Clubhouse books:
Dan the AntDan the Ant made a map to get to his snack. Create a lesson in which students make their own map like Dan did. Perhaps the students need help on how to get to A Street, E City, I State, or Vowel Island!
Ted Saw an Egg
Ted found a new pet, and it is about to hatch. Have students name all the silly and not so silly pets they can think of and then draw pictures of an animal they'd like as a pet, and where that pet would sleep.
Nick Is Sick
Nick gets some gifts from his friend because he is sick. Students can draw a gift they would like to get if they are sick.
Too, Too Hot
No matter what the weather is, we are always looking for ways to keep cool or stay warm. Using vowel sounds, have students write down what they would wear if it was too hot or too cold.
The Caterpillar
Using the word Caterpillar have students write down as many three and four letter words as they can using these letters.
Parade Day
Students can make up a Vowel holiday and list some of the things that would be included in the Vowel Parade using the letter they picked. .
The People on My Street
This is perfect for getting to know the neighborhood near school. Have students draw key places in their neighborhood and then write what people do there.
Two Nice Mice
Have students make up a menu using vowel sounds.
Joe Boat
Traveling to far away places is always fun. Students can draw their favorite destination and then write down how they would get there and what they would pack.
Luke's Mule
Click here to link to the U Page for a word search using words from Luke's Mule
