secret message
Goal 45: Expand their phonological and print awareness
Materials: White board or easel paper, marker
Procedure: Using a Wheel of Fortune approach, print out dashes where the letters for words in a "secret message" would be (e.g., ___ ___ ____ ___ ___!). Have children guess a letter, and if it appears in the message, write it in. If the letter appears more than once in the message, print it in all the places that it appears. As letters are guessed, write them on the right hand side of the board so that children can see which letters have been guessed. This exercise is valuable because it is so engaging for children. They learn letter-sound associations and sight vocabulary as they see words produced from the letters.
To Simplify: Limit the number and complexity of the words. Put in the vowels and have children fill in only the consonants, which are easier for them.
To Extend: Extend the complexity of the message, using words that have letters less often seen like x and z. Do not put the guessed letters on the side of the board so that memory must be used more.
Materials: White board or easel paper, marker
Procedure: Using a Wheel of Fortune approach, print out dashes where the letters for words in a "secret message" would be (e.g., ___ ___ ____ ___ ___!). Have children guess a letter, and if it appears in the message, write it in. If the letter appears more than once in the message, print it in all the places that it appears. As letters are guessed, write them on the right hand side of the board so that children can see which letters have been guessed. This exercise is valuable because it is so engaging for children. They learn letter-sound associations and sight vocabulary as they see words produced from the letters.
To Simplify: Limit the number and complexity of the words. Put in the vowels and have children fill in only the consonants, which are easier for them.
To Extend: Extend the complexity of the message, using words that have letters less often seen like x and z. Do not put the guessed letters on the side of the board so that memory must be used more.
