Passing the Torch

Hello all!

Thanks to Michelle at The 3AM Teacher, I, along with 80 other wonderful educators, were able to participate in The Reading Olympics. The Reading Olympics is a program that focuses on teaching kids about word roots. 

Now my school is very strict on what we teach. Like all first grades have to teach the exact same thing the exact same way. And my kids aren't allowed  to do anything fun cut or paste or color. So I had to totally modify the curriculum to fit that mold aka really shorten it and only do one word suffix. But I was able to sneak in the lesson during phonics and although it was short, some of my kids were able to catch to on.

So here it is!!

Now, even though I had to really modify the program, I really liked how the program was set up. It included adorable puzzle pieces that the students could cut and glue together to make new words, demo cards, chants to help the students remember the roots, and a cute little book so students could write everything down and then have a snazzy reference book. Basically, it had everything you need.

Like I said, I only had about 15 minutes so I really had to squish. So no book, chants, or demo cards for me =/

Instead, I introduced the -ed ending bu jumping around the room. I asked my students what I was doing and they of course said being crazy jumping. Then I stopped. I asked them what I had just done. They said jumped. I wondered aloud how I would spell it.

I got the typical answer of jumpt and jumped. We talked about how even though it sounds like a t, it's really an ed and that ed means that it already happened. We then walked, skipped, jumped, and talked around the room, adding -ed to everything. 

Then I had made a "my school friendly" sheet for them to complete. They added -ed to words, read them to themselves and to a friend and then wrote two sentences using the -ed ending.

It was this kiddo's birthday, hence the beautiful birthday crown!

Writing sentences - "I climbed the monkey bars."

Overall, I wish I had been able to do the program how it is meant to be. Although some of my kids benefited from it, learning more Greek roots would have been great for them. A lot of them are ELLs so learning "tricks" about the English language would have probably really helped them get a better grasp of English. Oh well though - if your school is like mine, it is possible to tweak the program to make it fit your precise needs!!

But you can discover the program IN FULL ACTION in more K-6th grade classrooms as you Pass the Torch!! Get ideas, discover the progression of the program, and enter the Raffle for a chance to win ONE of the three prizes listed below!!

First Place Winner : Gold Medal

Prizes: 

Complete Reading Olympians Program
$50.00 Amazon Gift Card

50% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Second Place Winner: Silver Medal
Prizes: 

$25.00 Amazon Gift Card

40% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Third Place Winner: Bronze Medal

Prizes: 

30% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Pass the Torch!!!
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