Happy Sunday and welcome to all of my new followers from the Back To School Exclusive!
Hope on over today to hear some tips from Merinda and Randi, and of course to see if you won! {Click Here}
As you may know, I am currently spending my summer getting ready to make the transition from first grade to fourth grade. I still have a month of summer left, but I’m already working to make sure my classroom is together and my plan is set.
Like many people, I’m a big fan of The Daily 5, so I’ve been looking at each of the Daily 5 components, and trying to figure out what I want it to look like in fourth grade.
Most of them have actually been pretty easy, but then I got to word work.
I definitely wanted word work to look different in fourth grade. (Too see some of my word work ideas for 1st grade, {click here}.)
Now, the 2 Sisters say that word work should not be as much of an emphasis in upper grades because it’s just not as important as read to self, read to someone, and word on writing. My plan is to have kids make words and then look them up in the dictionary and thesaurus to add a more advanced component.
So, I did some research, and I found some awesome word work ideas for upper elementary.
I went to amazon and made these three purchases. 🙂 (Click on any picture to check it out in more detail)
First, let’s look at Scruble Cube.
This is a combination between scrabble and a rubix cube. I’m going to be honest. I didn’t even read the directions. I’m just going to let my kiddos mix it up, pick a side, make as many words as they can, and then look them up in the dictionary. This is actually a multiplayer game, so you could use it that way, but I plan to keep it simple. This game is only about $10 on amazon, and you can get free shipping if you spend twenty-five bucks.
Next up is an old favorite, Boggle! The best part of this Boggle game? Kids can’t spill the letters! To mix them up, you just twist, shake, and twist again to lock the letters in place! It also times them. The little dot in the O lights up and blinks so they know when time is up. I’m going to have them make as many words as they can, and when the time is up, they have to look up their favorite 3 words. You can purchase this for 10-15 bucks depending on when you buy. My suggestion is to wait for a deal.
Last is my favorite game: Scrabble Flash. I guarantee that this will be my kids favorite because it’s SO cool! It comes with a perfect little case to keep them in. Here’s how it works. You line up the digital scrabble pieces, hold down the first power button to turn them all on, when in says 1,2,3 and the two symbols, and you press the first button again for random letters to appear. Then, you make as many words as you can by touching the tiles together. Here’s the coolest part: If it’s a word, the screen flashes, if it’s not a word, nothing happens! When time is up, you’ll see the clocks like in the last picture. I couldn’t get a picture of it, but next the screens tell you how many words you made and how many possible words there were. Also, if they’re not being used for 3 minutes, they automatically turn off, so no wasted batteries! Scrabble Flash costs between 10-15 bucks depending on the deals you can find.
So far, that’s my plan for word work. I’m also going to have a few other choices, but I have a feeling these will be the most popular.
What do you use for word work in upper grades? Leave me a comment below.
Have a lovely Sunday!
