Dig out your set of Scrabble letter tiles or buy a box or two of AlphaBits cereal! It's time to use letters, alliteration, and all of your favorite alphabet books to get acquainted with your new group of students!
Four favorite alphabet books that I plan to share with my second graders in the coming weeks include:
The Z was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg--Great for teaching action verbs!
Apha Oops by Alethea Kontis & Bob Kolar--Shares a wonderful message about getting along!
Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth & Stephen Gammell--Features awesome rhymes and alliteration!
Matthew's A.B.C. by Peter Catalanato--Teaches lovely lessons about character traits!
Short summaries for each of these wonderfully illustrated texts and 40 more
fabulous alphabet picture books can be found
{HERE} at Children's Book Guide.
Before I share any of these stories, I like to fill this old-fashioned "teacher trunk" with 26 items--one for each letter of the alphabet--and use it as a guessing game to help my students get to know me better. I try to make the items interesting, humorous, and relative to my likes and dislikes. For example I tell my class that I've packed it full of fun things that will help me lead them on our learning journey this year. I found this old-style suitcase at Hobby Lobby, but you could use a backpack or any large luggage bag you already have!
As I take out each item in alphabetical order I say.....
"When I unpacked my teacher trunk, I found a ______________________
that begins with ________________."
After I identify or name the object, students take turns guessing why it is important to me, what makes it special in my life, or what it tells them about me. This getting-acquainted activity is then done on a smaller scale each time we feature a new Star Student of the Week. You can see the resource pack I created that includes a student "Mystery Clue Bag" activity {HERE}.
After reading an assortment of different alphabet books to my students this week, I plan to provide my them with this choice of writing response pages so that they can create class books of their own. A fun way for students to choose which letter they are going to brainstorm, write, and illustrate about would be to draw a letter out of a bowl of AlphaBit cereal or a pile of Scrabble tiles!
Another good way to get them thinking about different things that begin with alphabet letter sounds (and to learn each other's names) is to form a sitting circle and pass a small ball around as each child completes this statement....
"My name is ____________________ and I like _____________________."
For example, I would say....."My name is Mrs. Reynolds and I like root beer!"
Click {HERE} to find the FREE booklet templates. Once I have samples of my group's work, I will post them over at Stories and Songs in Second !
Until then, keep calm, teach on, continue to share your story, and hold a song in your heart!
Warm Regards,
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