Students have been learning to read and/or write Power Words such as said, have, was, etc. These words  do not typically follow regular phonics patterns and require many repetitions of reading and writing. It is a daily activity we practice whole group and is also worked on independently. 

Reading Snapshot: 

I will be highlighting a different part of our literacy block in the newsletter so that you get a glimpse of what important activities your child is engaged in and how it is strengthening  reading and spelling skills.  

Elkonin Boxes: 

Each week we are using Elkonin Boxes as a tool to help students learn and store information. This activity helps with both reading (decoding) and spelling (encoding).  By engaging in both reading and spelling of words with a visual, such as Elkonin Boxes, students are better able to store the information in long term storage.   Here is more information and a formal definition from the Six Shifts website.

https://thesixshifts.com/2024/02/elkonin-sound-boxes/

Elkonin boxes, named after the psychologist D.B. Elkonin, are a visual tool designed to support phonemic awareness and strengthen children’s understanding of the alphabetic principle. This series of connected boxes—drawn with one cell for each sound (not each letter) in a word—provides a structured framework for students to locate, visualize, and manipulate the phonemes that make up a particular word.