Math Language

I just found this great website that students, teachers and parents can use to access lots of "virtual" math manipulatives. Math is full of language concepts! Words like before, after, below, around, more than, less than...and don't forget those math word problems!

The website has items arranged by grade level (preK through 4). The "help" button at the bottom of the screen gives a good explanation of how to use the tools. There are a couple of ways that I can see this as a fun teaching/practice tool for language...

 Under the PreK to grade 1 "manipulatives" tab, click on Bears in a Boat. Click and drag the boat onto the work and have your child follow your directions to put bears into the boat. Use position words, "Put a purple bear in front of (next to, behind) a red bear;" or time concepts, "Put a red bear in the boat after/before you put a blue bear in." You could practice following directions with quantity concepts such as, "Make all but one of the bears in the boat yellow;" or "Make some of the bears in the boat green."

Under the manipulatives tab, choose calendar.  Help your child fill in the calendar for the month, clicking and dragging the numbers, days of the week and name of the month.  Talk about the day that is after Monday, or the week after Valentine's day.  Use words like before, after, next, last, first.  Write in special days or appointments with the text tool and then print the calendar for your fridge.  Try some real-life word problems such as, "We are going to the dentist on the last Friday of the month.  How many days until we go to the dentist?"

There are many more ways to use these tools...explore and have fun!

CLICK HERE for the website.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here is a Valentine's Day game for students who need to practice spoken following directions. Just click on the  PowerPoint to begin.

Social Studies Grade 6

Here is the PowerPoint we made for reviewing concepts that may be on this week's test:

Social Studies gr 6 Unit 1 ch2 quiz review

View more presentations or Upload your own.

Click Clack Moo

Some of my second grade friends are reading this story in class next week.  To listen to and watch this story read aloud click here.  Then discuss your child's answers to these questions:

What was the problem that the cows wanted to solve?
How did they attempt to solve their problem?
How do you know that this story is fictional (not a true story)?
Duck helped to solve the problem.  Do you think the farmer was happy about the solution?  Explain your answer.
Do you have a pet, or know someone who does?  What do you think that pet would say if it could type?
Can you tell the story in your own words?

Superflex

Superflex is a superhero that some of my students have been learning about.  If you have been learning about Superflex in your speech class, click here to take a quiz.

Words with Multiple Syllables

If your child needs to practice words with more than 3 syllables you can print these pages to practice at home.  After your child can say the words clearly, he/she can practice saying them in a short phrase like, "I see the ____;" and then in longer sentences.

Click HERE for the practice pages for multi-syllable words.

Connective Words Clean Up

Here is a game that I created to help my older students (grades 4-6) improve their use of connective words in speaking and writing.  The leaf cards have phrases/words that are used to connect thoughts in complex sentences.  Students have to "clean up" by sorting the cards into the bag they belong in according to the function they perform.  For example, the phrase "such as" would belong in the "illustrating" bag, because we use that phrase when we want to illustrate or give examples.  As the students become familiar with the phrases/words and their functions, we will practice formulating sentences with them.