We are trying a few new things for language arts here for the new year. We didn’t get a lot out of our language arts workbooks, so we are shaking it up a little. We are keeping what works, just adding a few new items to the menu. We started All About Spelling a few weeks before winter break and we really like the program. My son is able to learn and remember the “rules” without stress, and the lessons have multiple parts that only require a few minutes each, so it’s easy to transition from one part of the lesson to the next before he gets bored or loses focus. Click here for more information about the program and to read the original post.

This week I am going to start a new reading review activity. We’ve done this a few different ways already, but my son gets frustrated with writing for long periods of time. I’m trying to break up the writing with drawing, which he enjoys. Also, by using pictures instead of words I’ll see if he is able to summarize the overall concept with imagery and has a thorough understanding of what he’s reading.

I don’t have any fancy graphic design programs so I just use word or power point to create my documents, but I’ll share my efforts with you in case you’d like to use it at home too.

Here you go: Reading Review Activity Page

In addition to a few homemade activities, I purchased two new sets from Lakeshore. These fun boxes are meant to be used as centers in the classroom and there is enough material for several students to work at the same time. However, with only one current student and a preschooler, that leaves us open to having multiple centers throughout the day or using two or three different activities in a row.

The Language Center comes with 4 different language skills flip books, 4 dry erase markers, and 12 write and wipe activity cards. With this box we’ll be focusing on learning parts of speech, dictionary usage, writing skills, building sentences, and so on.

The Reading Informational Text Center comes with 12 write and wipe activity cards, 8 different brochures, and 4 dry erase markers. The brochures touch on topics like the weather, food around the world, trees, and dolphins. With this box we’ll focus on learning how to identify the main idea and key details, as well as cause and effect, comparison, and so on.

I like the centers because while we are still reading and writing, the variety in the material and the tasks makes it more entertaining. And because some of the materials can be applied to other reading passages or texts,  some of it can be used beyond the set that it came with.

What do you do for reading review? Do you have fun activities that you incorporate into your day after they finish a book or a reading assignment?