Literacy+Activities

=__Try these Literacy Activities on the IWB __=

Click here for a page of great literacy links!

__Morning - Roll Marking Activities__
 * Start the morning with a 'How do you Feel?' activity. Put up circles with options in each......happy, sick, tired, sad, excited,etc. As students arrive they move their icon or write their name in the appropriate circle. Hide a synonym for each emotion within the circle to be revealed during the morning discussion.[[image:IWB_Child_writing.jpg width="220" height="328" align="right"]]
 * Create a crossword about a class book, focus area, etc. As students arrive in the morning they can approach the board and answer clues to the crossword, they would tick off their icon/name at the same time .....discussion around their answers would follow. Can the class collaborate to complete the crossword? You can use many online crossword generators to make the crossword. Try [|here]
 * Have a look at the [|Good Morning Children] web site for more ideas and resources.

__Small or Whole Group Activities__ NB: Create templates as flipcharts for future use!
 * **Locating information.** Select a short piece of text from a shared/guided reading resource and display on the whiteboard. Read and discuss the text as a group. Ask students literal questions such as; Highlight the words in this text that tell us about.......? Change highlight colour and ask students inferential questions such as; What do you think may have prompted the main character to.......? Highlight the words in the text that led you to this conclusion. Continue for evaluative questions.
 * **Comprehension strategies using Multimedia.** Find a song video clip [example: Abba's //Money, Money, Money//]. Share the video clip on the IWB, display the lyrics [text] on the board and discuss the vocabulary, structure, syntax, semantics. The students can answer literal, inferential and evaluative questions around the song lyrics. You can find song lyrics online, try [|here]. What information/meaning do we get from the written text or lyrics? What information/meaning do we get from the visual text [video]? What information do we gain from the aural text [music]? How are these messages conveyed?
 * **Vocabulary building**. Tune in students to the key concepts included in the text prior to reading. Create a concept map on a word processing document [or appropriate software]. Key words are written on the concept map and students brainstorm related concepts, ideas, synonyms, antonyms, word splash, etc. Use a concept map as a review/reflection tool. Again have the key concepts from the text written in bubbles around the text title. Students can add their understandings of the text around the appropriate bubbles.[[image:Racism.png width="169" height="119" align="right" caption="Wordle" link="http://www.wordle.net"]]
 * **More vocabulary building.** Use [|Wordle] to generate “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. Use words from the shared text, use words that describe characters, text themes, responses to the text. Add emphasis to some words, discuss which words should have a greater emphasis in the wordle and why.
 * **Simple/Compound sentences**. Create a template with 2 columns. Students can locate and list simple and compound sentences from the shared text. What are simple/compound sentences? How are they used to promote meaning in the text? Why would the author have used simple/compound sentences?
 * **Characterisation.** Use graphics from the text on the IWB. Students can type/write/popcorn/brainstorm descriptions of the characters. Comparisons/links can be made. Save the response for future reference.
 * **Literacy games.** use the IWB software to create games for skill/knowledge practice and reinforcement. For example: use the spinner tool to create a synonym/ antonym game. Spin and call out a synonym/antonym for the word selected.