Hello Mrs Sykes

Students need a variety of practice to develop their context clues skills, build their vocabulary, and engage with words, but schools typically stop these experiences after 2nd grade. My upper elementary kiddos (and their teachers) love to Build a Mystery Word! 

Hello! I'm sharing a secret weapon I use to engage my students in their word work in third, fourth, and fifth grades. Each week I set out a Build a Mystery Word activity, which my kiddos love! This activity allows them to practice phonics, spelling, context clues, and critical thinking. Take a peek: To see it in more depth, please click the picture below to view in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Enjoy!

Want to boost the vocabulary of your entire class with only a few minutes a day? What if I told you with little prep work! Here's the solution: use the Mystery Word of the Week clues to spark daily discussions of words.

Y'all remember the game Say It ? I love, love, love this game. I wrote a post about it, including a video of how I use it with my reading groups. CLICK HERE to visit that post. www.sayitgame.com And here I am, writing about them again. Seriously, I'm not real  well-planned   on the ball consistent lately. Really, this game is that good, and I wanted to pass along this special blogger deal - $10 per game! Read on to see the details!

Just a quick post to share the letters my students use when we Build Words. The vowels and consonants print on separate sheets so you can copy them on colored paper, if you wish. I usually use colored paper for vowels, since it helps us make sure our words always contain a vowel. Enjoy! Click here to download for free from Google Drive! There are many ways to use these - I usually keep a few laminated sets at my small group table. They are handy to pull out and demonstrate a concept quickly with a small group. Another way I use them is as an accommodation for students with disabilities. I have had several students with reduced muscle tone, so I try to modify assignments that involve cutting for their benefit. My problem? They loved to Build a Mystery Word . My solution? They have their own set of letters in their pencil pouch, and when we Build a Mystery Word, they can participate without stressing over the cutting. I'm sure you can think of other uses for these cards! H...

Here's a quick roundup of 5 freebies and tutorials as you gear up for Back to School from my TPT store: 1.   A tutorial on  how to create your own Chair Pockets  from a person who rarely sews... 2. The Guided Reading Cheat Sheet: A handy reminder of what to do before/during/after reading: 3. The Mystery Word of the Week:   Print a free week here... This one isn't a freebie, but you can download 2 weeks of Mystery Words free from the preview on this product... 4.  The Brain Booster Box:   Grab the instructions and a free set of open-ended questions here. 5. Do your kiddos need to learn Greek and Latin Stems?  Here's my 5 Minutes a Day Strategy: Also, you may have heard about the upcoming BTS sale on TPT !   Shop my store now to add to your cart , and they will be 28% off (August 4 and 5) when you enter the code: BTS14  (Friendly reminder to use the code...  occasionally I forget!) Button credits: ...

Y'all know I love to geek out about words, right? O. My. Goodness.  I am so excited about this month's Bright Ideas Link Up! Here's my first tip: Don't reinvent the wheel.  As you study different words through your mini-lessons, keep the set of flashcards you had for the manipulatives, and keep them handy when you need to refer to a specific example. Occasionally, you need to take drastic action to help someone learn a few specific sight words.  They are tough, and we need to play around with these words.  That's what I did with my Kinder intervention group this week!  So much fun!!  :)  They were very proud to show them to their teacher, and especially to read these sight words to their teacher.  Also, the watercolors are the washable kind, so we're all good. I found used blank business cards, zip ties, and a few metal book rings from my "random" bin  desk.  They ended up looking fairly cute.  Feel free to use pap...

By popular request, the Academic Vocabulary Word Walls are together in a discounted bundle!  As a special thank you for followers who already bought one of the Academic Word Walls, this set is available for an additional discount - only $8 for the set through March 31!   Had an ice day last week, and began printing/laminating small copies of my new Academic Word Wall Bundle (grades 2-6) .  I printed them with 2 pages per page (one of the options you can choose when printing), to create smaller cards to use during word work activities with my 4th graders - decoding multi-syllabic words. ***Confession time:  I actually finished this bundle last week on a crazy ice day... and fully intended to post the Bundle last week... and then the weather became beautiful again, so I went outside instead.  :)  I'm sure y'all understand...   Want a freebie to try in your classroom?   Here's the link on Teachers Pay Teachers:

Wowza!  I'm exhausted.  Since we had so many snow days recently, we have make up days... on Saturdays!  (I know - it sounds really strange, but I'm a teacher in a year round school.  For more info on this odd schedule, check out this post .)  Since I wasn't sure what kind of attendance we would have at our first Saturday make up day, I needed to plan an engaging lesson that worked on a core concept.  I chose Vocabulary Development, since this is crucial to future scholastic success for my ELLs and struggling readers alike. I've always been vocal about the use of games for word work.  They promote critical thinking skills, an understanding of group dynamics, and vocabulary development.  Games can also promote competition, but I try to downplay that aspect.  I. Don't. Keep. Score.  When my goal is vocabulary development, fluency, comprehension, or an understanding of how words work, I think that the competitive aspect undermines my inten...

Today, a Work on Words topic that I am extremely passionate about... Small Groups! The question I have been asked the most over the years by other teachers is, "How do you find the time to differentiate Word Work for your students and still teach everything else?"  Short answer - I use the time I am already meeting with them in Guided Reading groups.

Welcome back!  :)  Here's the latest installation of the Work on Words Wednesday series.  Today we are focusing on an easy strategy you can use for 5 minutes per day to teach Greek and Latin stems. Looking for more Work on Words Wednesday posts?  Click here to see them all!      Understanding common Greek and Latin stems increases both vocabulary and comprehension, and is specifically cited in Common Core standards L.4.4b, L.5.4b, and L.6.4b.  This is a strategy I have used effectively both in the classroom and as a Literacy Specialist to ensure my students have a solid understanding of common Greek and Latin stems.  This strategy requires 5 minutes of whole group time daily, and can be tweaked to meet the needs of your classroom.  Consider using this strategy as a part of your daily meeting, an activity after you return from lunch, or even at the end of the day as students pack their backpacks. Please remember: you know your stud...

I teach with the door open... really.  {Just ask my teaching buddy, Casey !}  One question I get all the time - "How come you always get the class with the great vocabulary?"  Here's the secret  not so secret answer:  Use interesting words. Looking for more Work on Words Wednesday posts?  Click here to see them all! Simple, right?  In theory, it is quite simple.  In practice, it takes a bit of planning and forethought to use interesting words as you teach.  I had an amazing "Light-bulb Moment" 6 or 7 years ago when I had the pleasure of attending a seminar by Dr. Rick DuVall .  (If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend his seminars!)  One point he made was that you can't just walk in and start using a huge vocabulary with second graders - you ease them into it by adding in a few words or phrases at a time. For example, at the beginning of the year, you would say, "Please line up for the water fountain."  Later you ...

Y'all, I'm so excited to share a bit more about Working on Words with the group!   Last week, we took a closer look at Word Games , and how to use them in your small group instruction.  Today, we'll look at Cheap Manipulatives. Font:  KG Fonts , Digital Paper:  Sassy Designs First, let's address the fact that most teachers (myself included) are basically broke.  The schools don't have enough money to purchase all of the manipulatives our kiddos need to have true opportunities to manipulate letters/sounds and practice building words in a kinesthetic way. Next, let's just talk about our students.  Yeah, we know the state/county/insert-your-official's-name-here expects students to spend two or three days on a topic, master it, then move on... only to be tested on it in a standardized format months later.  These people are not educators - you are.  As an educator, you have the understanding of child development to know the importance of time, r...

It feels like almost everything I want to share with teachers, parents, and administrators is about the importance of Word Study.  There are many different ways to approach word study in the classroom.  During this new series of blog posts, I'm hoping to share many techniques I implemented and used successfully with students in the past.  I hope you'll tune in on Wednesdays... Font:  KG Fonts , Digital Paper:  Sassy Designs Word Games are an effective method to encourage students to "play" with words.  If you play word games often, you may be surprised at the level of discourse students use when discussing their words.  As you hit the thrift shops and yard sales preparing for your classroom, keep your eyes open for a few of these games.  I always do a bit of word work as we begin our Guided Reading group, and when I don't have a particular skill they need to work on that session, we'll play a word game for a few minutes.  Read on, and ...