Reading Vocabulary Envelope Routine

Today your child will be bringing a manila envelope home with them that says, “Reading Vocabulary” on the outside.  We are going to try something new this year (so if you’ve had a first grader with me before, this is different!) Students are going to keep their little vocabulary packets in this envelope.  It will be your responsibility at home to practice these words each night, each morning, each week (however you see fit!) BUT please be sure to put this envelope back in the maroon folder EVERY night (with their mini-book) because we will be practicing these words at school, too!  You will know the current week’s words because they will be in a cute little pocket (see below).

                             


IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THIS READING VOCABULARY ENVELOPE BE IN YOUR CHILD’S MAROON FOLDER EVERY DAY!  Vocabulary is very important in your child’s development of reading strategies and will eventually lead to improved fluency (read like we talk) and comprehension (understanding what we read!)       

Tic-tac-toe

I have learned SO much through my travels on pinterest!  I LOVE gathering new ideas and trying new things and it shows in the skill building of my students, test scores, and benchmark reading levels . . .  WOW does it ever show! :)
Last year, I quickly tired of the spelling/vocabulary practice packets provided by Treasures reading.   How can I provide practice for my students but allow them to have valued choice in what they're doing?  Can I somehow incorporate this practice into Daily 5/Center rotation?  (I'm not a Daily 5 purist, more of a dabbler!)  Can I make it consistent enough that I don't have to spend a lot of time giving directions or preparing each week yet have enough variety to keep the students engaged?  With those questions in mind, I began frantically searching researching my options!  That's when I stumbled upon the "Tic-Tac-Toe" concept!  I began listing all of the cool spelling practice ideas that I was seeing and incorporated them into the template that I had made.  In order to ensure consistency yet variety, I started by just moving a few activities around the template - same activities, just in a different order.  I made a few templates then began adding different tasks to each template - some holiday-related, some topically on-target with what we are learning at certain times of the year, etc. In the end, I made 20 different templates for this "Word Work" Tic-tac-toe and I LOVE the way they turned out.  I pick one template each week and put a little sticky note with the date on it so I don't repeat any time soon.  The students are responsible for copying the words on their paper on Monday, when the new words are introduced.  Then, as they go through Daily 5 each day, they can choose to complete one of the activities.  They can only complete one activity a day.  So, if they record on Monday, then they have the rest of the week to complete the three activities they've chosen.  It usually only takes about 10-15 minutes to complete a task (some longer, some shorter).  Once they've completed an activity, they show it to me and I staple it to the back of the tic-tac-toe paper.  This ensures that I remember what they've done and they can keep better track of where they are in the process of completion!  My students LOVED this activity last year and it's available at my TpT store SUPER CHEAP!  Click on the picture below and check it out!