Sentence Sandwich

Just wanna let you know that our "formal" homeschooling lessons have come to a halt due to vacation and moving (staying in Florida...just different area/ house)! I have lots to plan, pack and get ready for...so my lessons have become very "informal" and on the go!  Ahhhh...one of the many joys of schooling at home!

Thought I would share this quick-to-make idea with you all...the ole "sentence sandwich". I came up with this because Jackson has really proven that he is a natural reader! We still have a lot of skills to learn, but he is excited about being able to read simple sight word sentences and is eager to learn more each day. 

This "I See...(family picture card)" was starting to get stail after a few days on our BiG pocket chart computer

...so this is how I introduced him to a new sight words while keeping word repetition for fluency and maintaining Jackson's reading confidence.

Using multiple sentence strips, I added 1 new sight word, but kept "I see" with in each phrase.  The phrases all overtap each other so that he can still add a name card on the black line at the end of the sentence.

And this is how I turned it into our "Sentence Sandwich" using the sentence strips and pieces of Velcro.  I did this just to make this pile of words easy to carry around (when we read in the car) and FUN!  Velcro makes a fun sound and putting the sandwich back together is like a puzzle to them (and mommy)

And here is what now hangs in the pocket chart/BIG pretend computer screen in Jackson's room.

"Sentence Sandwich" up at the top, family members picture cards at the bottom. 

I have taken some of the family picture/name cards out for this activity.  If you notice we sorted the names by beginning letter/sound.  Sometimes I cover up the picture with a sticky note, so that Jackson has to read only the name.  And he loves to pretend that he is the teacher and watch me make "reader mistakes"...like reading Nana's name when it's really Nic.  Lots of fun and laughter!  This simple skill will eventually lead us into a reading strategy "Look at the Pictures".

And for my Littest Learner...
Here are the color word cards that I made for Nixon.  Same type concept, just much more simplistic...

                                               



Happy Learning!  And thanks for those of you that have sent comments via facebook or blog!  You, along with my amazing children, keep me blogging!  I LOVE hearing from you and feel free to share your ideas with me also!