Post by rollypop on Jul 23, 2008 9:01:05 GMT 8
So I`m on this kind of hokey "All About Spelling" mailing list that occasionally sends out good ideas. Here`s what I got a few days ago. It`s aimed at things you can do with your personal children, but some could probably be applied to the classroom/games. Or go rent some kids.
21 Ways to Encourage Writing this Summer
1. Go on a nature walk with your child and have him bring a sketchbook. Encourage him to draw sketches of insects, flowers, and other things he observes, writing the names of them under the sketch. It is interesting for kids to read their notes later.
2. If you have a garden, your child can keep notes about the vegetable or flower varieties you planted.
I know elementary kids out here all do gardening, so there could be a tie-in there.
3. Encourage your child to write letters to pen pals, relatives, or friends.
4. Let your child make up a treasure or scavenger hunt, complete with written clues and a map.
This could be really freaking awesome.
5. Show your child how to keep a scrapbook of summer activities and write captions under the photos.
Have kids bring in a photo from the summer and make a photoboard with captions?
6. Get a pad of Mad Libs and have fun filling in the words and reading them to each other.
I`ve done mad libs with chu3nens before, and if they`re simple, they can be a lot of fun.
7. Help your child write and "publish" a book of poems or stories to share with friends and relatives.
8. Ask your child to design and write the invitations to a summer party or family barbecue.
9. Write a note for your child to discover. Put it under his pillow, in his backpack, or next to his dinner plate.
I would not recommend this.
10. Encourage your child write a play to perform with friends.
I did this for a kids` conversation class and they absolutely hated it. If you know how to make it work, I`d be happy for some tips.
11. Cut individual words out of a newspaper or old magazine. Arrange them into sentences with your child.
Also useful for writing ransom notes.
12. Give your child the important job of creating weekly shopping lists or menus for the family.
13. Get a box of colored chalk and have fun writing messages on the sidewalk with your child.
14. Have your child write out his favorite recipes on index cards to create a "personal favorites" recipe collection. Then make the dishes together.
15. Play a rhyming game together in which you give your child a simple word, like "splat." He goes through the alphabet and writes down all the words he can think of that rhyme with that word. This game can also be played verbally and is great for long car rides.
16. Make a copy of the first paragraph or two of your child's favorite story. Then cut out each sentence, mix them up, and have your child put the story back together.
17. Clip out a comic strip. White out the words, and let your child create new dialogue for the characters.
So, if you have no Paint on your pc, go old-school?
18. Have your child invent a new animal, draw a picture of it, and write about it. He can describe what it looks and sounds like, what it eats, where it lives, and so on.
19. Play Boggle, Scrabble, or Upwords together.
20. Have your student randomly select ten words from the dictionary or old spelling lists and shape a poem around those words.
Teach kids how to do English haikus?
21. Plan a trip. Look up books at the library and map out the route.
And disappoint your kids by not taking them on it.
I have a group of 3nens that are fixated on Kenya, going to Kenya, their trip to Kenya, the baseball team going to Kenya, so that might be kind of fun for them.
21 Ways to Encourage Writing this Summer
1. Go on a nature walk with your child and have him bring a sketchbook. Encourage him to draw sketches of insects, flowers, and other things he observes, writing the names of them under the sketch. It is interesting for kids to read their notes later.
2. If you have a garden, your child can keep notes about the vegetable or flower varieties you planted.
I know elementary kids out here all do gardening, so there could be a tie-in there.
3. Encourage your child to write letters to pen pals, relatives, or friends.
4. Let your child make up a treasure or scavenger hunt, complete with written clues and a map.
This could be really freaking awesome.
5. Show your child how to keep a scrapbook of summer activities and write captions under the photos.
Have kids bring in a photo from the summer and make a photoboard with captions?
6. Get a pad of Mad Libs and have fun filling in the words and reading them to each other.
I`ve done mad libs with chu3nens before, and if they`re simple, they can be a lot of fun.
7. Help your child write and "publish" a book of poems or stories to share with friends and relatives.
8. Ask your child to design and write the invitations to a summer party or family barbecue.
9. Write a note for your child to discover. Put it under his pillow, in his backpack, or next to his dinner plate.
I would not recommend this.
10. Encourage your child write a play to perform with friends.
I did this for a kids` conversation class and they absolutely hated it. If you know how to make it work, I`d be happy for some tips.
11. Cut individual words out of a newspaper or old magazine. Arrange them into sentences with your child.
Also useful for writing ransom notes.
12. Give your child the important job of creating weekly shopping lists or menus for the family.
13. Get a box of colored chalk and have fun writing messages on the sidewalk with your child.
14. Have your child write out his favorite recipes on index cards to create a "personal favorites" recipe collection. Then make the dishes together.
15. Play a rhyming game together in which you give your child a simple word, like "splat." He goes through the alphabet and writes down all the words he can think of that rhyme with that word. This game can also be played verbally and is great for long car rides.
16. Make a copy of the first paragraph or two of your child's favorite story. Then cut out each sentence, mix them up, and have your child put the story back together.
17. Clip out a comic strip. White out the words, and let your child create new dialogue for the characters.
So, if you have no Paint on your pc, go old-school?
18. Have your child invent a new animal, draw a picture of it, and write about it. He can describe what it looks and sounds like, what it eats, where it lives, and so on.
19. Play Boggle, Scrabble, or Upwords together.
20. Have your student randomly select ten words from the dictionary or old spelling lists and shape a poem around those words.
Teach kids how to do English haikus?
21. Plan a trip. Look up books at the library and map out the route.
And disappoint your kids by not taking them on it.
I have a group of 3nens that are fixated on Kenya, going to Kenya, their trip to Kenya, the baseball team going to Kenya, so that might be kind of fun for them.