CVC Puzzles Short Vowel O

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  3 Types of readers in children Whether you are a parent or teacher, working with children and helping them learn to read is rewarding. I had the opportunity to teach 6 year olds this past year and I have observed that there are three types of students: strong readers, emerging readers and weak readers. Strong readers  have good phonemic awareness and are excellent decoders. (Please refer to my introduction to phonemic awareness and decoding words) Emerging readers  are on the way and are expanding their knowledge of phonics sounds and applying it to decode familiar and unfamiliar words. Weak readers  need frequent prompts for segmenting and blending the sounds together. In severe cases, they may even struggle to remember letters and consonant sounds. HOW DOES THE BRAIN PROCESS WORDS? ·           Through Phonological awareness (i.e learning the sounds of words) and orthography (spelling of words). Skilled readers were abl...
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An Inquiry Into Plants

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CENTRAL IDEA: "Plants sustain life and play an important role in our lives"

LINES OF INQUIRY:

Parts of a plant
What do plants need to grow
The importance of plants


TUNING IN:


We started this inquiry with the help of parents and urging them to do one or more of the following home activity with their child. This was to help children gain prior knowledge for the inquiry.



One boy brought in this book "Kitchen Scraps" by local author, Nur'afifah Binte Mohd Hussain. It helped set the direction for our inquiry.






We grew some growing kitchen scraps like carrot tops, onions and garlic.

Through this activity, children learned that plants are an important food source.




FINDING OUT:

It is important that children are agents of their learning. Instead of spoon-feeding them information, children are encouraged to bring in their findings on plants. Here are some of the items they brought in for Show & Tell.






SORTING OUT &GOING FURTHER:

Children (as well as adults) are hands-on learners. Thus, we decided to grow some plants. By doing so, children will learn what plants need (i.e water, air, sunlight). I bought some Basil seeds and they helped to plant them in soil.






TAKING ACTION:
We took care of the plants and observed their growth over the next few 5-6 weeks. The children kept a plant diary and recorded the plants' growth (i.e Basil and Onion)




Click here for Plant Diary Printable.


VIDEO- HOW TO FOLD A MINI BOOKLET




MAKING CONCLUSIONS
At the end of the inquiry, children will know that humans depend on plants for our survival.

Our other homeroom (i.e classroom) discussions included topics:


-Types of common trees (in Singapore)
-How are trees useful to us
-Edible plants
-Things made from plants
-How do plants help in climate change
-Our responsibility toward keeping a verdant environment













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