Literacy Ideas for Home

Fun Literacy Ideas for Home K – 3

Do Some Outdoor Learning

Literacy Outdoors: A comprehensive collection of 50+ outdoor literacy ideas, activities and suggestions. They are open-ended and many work well with a range of ages and abilities. Most just rely on a few free and found resources. Check them out!

Virtual Fieldtrips

After watching any one of these live web cams, write in role pretending that you were actually there.  Sensory descriptions can be a nice way to add details to your writing.  Include details such as  what you saw, heard, smelled, tasted or, touched?  And don’t forget to include details like all your favourite parts.

Some Other Ideas:

Connecting to Pets: Wonder Writes

“An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.” Martin Buber, German Philosoper

Notice what other people might miss.  Choose an animal.  It might be yours or it might be one that lives nearby.  Watch it carefully until you know its ways. Can these careful observations turn into a story with a problem and solution?   How could you go about making this pet into a fully developed story character?

Here are three techniques to helps you write a most vivid pet portrait:

  1. Go through the photos you have. If you don’t have a pet at home find photos online of a pet. Note your pet’s typical, funny poses and activities.
  2. Do you talk to your pet? Every wonder what they’re thinking? Keep notes on your chats and what you think they might be telling you.
  3. Observe your pet in his or her favourite spot for ten minutes every day for 3 days during your home time. (view a video of a pet possibility if you don’t have one) Write down everything he/she does in that spot. At the end of that time you will have many observations and details to write about. I bet you will have many more wonders about it too!

Source: How to write about your pets ~ Chuck Sambuchino

Where are possible stories from your observations? Focus on one of your notes or pet wonders and develop the drama. How does the pet interact with the humans? What does the pet or the human want that they can’t have? How do the pet and the family change as the story unfolds?

Source: How to write about your pets ~ Chuck Sambuchino

Don’t have a pet?  Check out this site for lots of books you can read about pets and animals.

Unite US: Animal and People collection

https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/

Include details: Consider all the quirks and gestures you notice about your favourite pet or your family pet. What details can you add to your writing to bring those features to life?

Vivid vocabulary: “ Fresh words and phrases will make your story memorable… not the difference between “Coco slept all afternoon” and “For twenty minutes, Coco slept with her right paw covering her wet black nose. Every now and then she snorted or whimpered in her sleep.”

~ Chuck Sambuchino

Access websites to search strong verbs (sometimes called vivid verbs)

for your writing. Play with these words to bring motion and action to your chosen pet tale.

Week of April 27, 2020

Connecting to NatureWonder Writes 

Most of our outings are not available with the recommendation for social distancing (staying 2 metres from others) but nature is there for us.  When this global pandemic is overwhelming, go or look outside at our earth and sky…hear the birds that are singing and see the sun as it shines. Although we humans are having a rough go, our ecosystem hasn’t shifted due to this and it’s a great opportunity to reconnect.  So, take advantage of your yard, your neighborhood, the park, local beaches, hikes, etc.  You could also make it a learning or creative opportunity by studying nature, making collections, creating art with what’s growing around us.                              Anela Deisle

A Butterfly is Patient 

 

I wonder what other creatures in nature are patient? 

I wonder how I could describe other creatures I see/hear in my backyard? 

A cricket is….. 

An earthworm is…. 

Take on the role of scientist/observer and walk about with a wonder lens. 

Under One Rock: Bugs Slugs and other Ughs 

Explore the fascinating community of creatures that live under one rock. Viewing this book with its colourful, close-up illustrations may just prompt you to lift a rock – sketch what you observe. Share your wonders in a scientific journal: I notice…I wonder….It reminds me of…..   ! ? = 

Students log in to Sora with their computer user name and password.   

Here’s the link:  https://soraapp.com/library/comoxvalleyca 

Search: Under One Rock 

You dont have to own binoculars and know a bunch of fancy Latin names to watch birds! No matter where you live, theyre in your neighborhood just look up.   

I wonder what I have around the house to help me bird watch? 

When you are out on a backyard bird watch where will you record your wonders? How might you draw your ‘notices’? 

Look up in wonder and record your observations. 

Students log in to Sora with their computer user name and password.   

Here’s the link:  https://soraapp.com/library/comoxvalleyca 

Search: About Birds Cathryn Sill 

Three prompts for deeper nature observation: 

https://johnmuirlaws.com/deep-observation/ 

With your own photos, adopt a wonder-filled approach: 

What do you notice in this photo? 

What are you wondering? 

What does this remind you of? 

       ! ? =                                                                          Photo: Anela Deisler 

What Matters by Alison Hughes This beautiful book is available through Follett Destiny on sd71 website in ebook format. 

Wondering: How can one tin can affect so much? 

Noticing: What are the effects of paying attention to one small thing? 

A feeling of mattering is so very important. We matter to others and are there ways we can let others know they matter to us. I wonder how we might show our care for others today... 

 

Week of April 20, 2020  ~  Happy  Earth  Week!

Thanks to Lauren Geneau, we have this wonderful video explaining how to make a bee home!

Saving the Bees

And from Alison Walkley, here’s a suggested PBS video about blue orchard bees.

Do some more research on bees by checking out a selection of books on the Sora App.  Follow these how to use Sora directions:

SORA app English

Read or listen to The Earth Book by Todd Parr.  This week is Earth Week.  What can you do to be nice to the Earth?

Go outside and look carefully around you.  What do you see?

Maybe you see a daffodil. What can you do to help it?  Maybe there’s a bird in your lawn looking for a worm.  How can you help that bird?

Make a list of things you see and write ideas how you can help.  After all, it’s Earth week!

Thank you from the Earth!

How to Help the Earth by the Lorax

What ideas can you think of to help the Earth Make a list.

Use ideas for the book or think of some new ones yourself.

Choose 2 or 3 of your ideas and try them out this week.  How does it feel to help the Earth?

Draw some pictures to show how you’ve helped the Earth.

In honour of Earth Week, go outside, gather some bits of nature without hurting any plants and make some art!Check out the beautiful examples at this site:

https://artfulparent.com/nature-art-for-kids/

A Seed Moves by Robin Page

Draw pictures and add some labels to show some of the different ways s

Using Tumblebooks!

To login to Tumble books and find the books shown below, click on this link:

Log in to Tumblebooks

Think of other jobs people do.  Create a mini clothesline using string.  Draw and cut out images that show the clothes people wear and the equipment they use as they do their job. Hang them on your clothesline. Write labels to show what you’ve drawn.  Invite others to guess the job you’ve drawn?

e.g. veterinarian, teacher, nurse etc.

What other jobs can you think about and draw? Other family can also create them, and you can guess each other’s!

Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do

In this book, sloth finds a quiet, slow-moving friend. What do you like to do when you slow down?  Who do you like to be with when you slow down?

Draw and write about a favourite slow-down activity.  Remember to include lots of details in your drawing and in your writing.

Sloth at the Zoom

Get ready to be creative!  Write a great big, long list of animals.  Now, choose some of those animals and write what might happen if you try to read to it!

Example:

You can read to a kangaroo but be prepared to read while you’re hopping up and down!

How Do You Read a Rabbit?

Imagine driving a fire truck yourself!  Create a piece of writing in which you describe in detail all the fun you have. Make sure you include some fun details about the difficulties you run into as a new driver!

Draw a picture to go along with your writing.

The Fire Station

The giant did not understand proper health routines for coughing or sneezing.  Write a letter to the giant explaining how it’s supposed to be done!

Create a different soup recipe for the giant’s cold-curing soup.  What items would you put in it? Provide directions how to make your soup.

As an extra challenge, try to create a rhyming set of ingredients and directions!

Boy Soup

Create your own indoor tent using sheets and sofa cushions (ask permission first.!).  Inside the tent, curl up with some good books or listen to Tumble Books online!

While inside your tent think of all the things a camper might need.  On a piece of paper, write down each letter of the alphabet.  Try to think of something a camper might need to match each letter!  You can choose 4 letters to write the word, FREE beside it.  That means you don’t need to write anything down beside those letters.  Hint:  write free beside the letter X!

A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee

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