Category Archives: Reading Enrichment

#11: That’s hard to pronounce!

Reading Enrichment, Uncategorized

A heteronyms are words that have the same spelling but different pronunciations and meanings.  For example, wind and wind can easily cause confusion since both word are spelled the same BUT can be pronounced differently and have different meaning. We’ll outline heteronyms and some other words that are hard to pronounce in this mini spark.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #11: That’s hard to pronounce!

2. Write this definition on your recording sheet. A heteronym occurs when two or more homographs – words which the same spelling – are pronounced differently. In a written text, this can be confusing.

3. Watch this video. On your recording page record at least 10 ideas you learned from this video.

 

4. Look at this list of words. Practice the different ways the word can be pronounced.  Ask your teacher to listen to you say the words in the correct format. Have your teacher put her signature on your recording sheet by step 4.

  • Bass – a fish, or a low-pitched instrument
  • Bow – a thing you fire arrows with, or when you bend over in a respectful greeting
  • Desert – to abandon, or a (usually sandy) area with little rain
  • Moped – when you were sad, or a low-powered alternative to a motorbike
  • Perfect – when you get really good at something, or when something is flawless
  • Polish – when you make something metal look great, or something from Poland
  • Wind – when you twist something, or when the air moves

5.  Number your recording sheet from 1-9.  Your challenge is to try to think of a word that will fit into both blanks. These are tricky but spend at least 5 minutes trying to work on these challenge.  GOAL-Try to solve at least 6!  After 5 minutes or when you have at least 6, scroll way to the end of this page to check your work. Put a star for those that were correct and add in correct answers for those that were blank.

    1. She will ———- if you try to bring that ugly ———-into her house.

     2. I saw a ——– in her eye when he threatened to ——– up the agreement.

     3. They were able to ———- the gates before the enemy got too ———-.

     4. The secretary will ——– the items until she has a complete ———-.

     5. A ———- occurred when the prisoners were ordered to line up in a ———-.

     6. It took less than a ———— to identify the ———— virus.

     7. His followers will ———- him if he forces them to live in the arid ——–.

     8. He ——– all that he can to protect the ———- from harm.

     9. The will written by the ———- was declared by a lawyer to be ———-.

6.  Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Check out mini spark #9 The Dove Dove which is about words and how they are used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWERS

1. Object

2. Tear

3. Close

4. Record

5. Row

6. Minute

7. Desert

8. Does

9. Invalid

Lesson idea from https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/aug/12/super-quiz-heteronyms/

#10: Silly Zoo Stories

Reading Enrichment

Use the ideas from this mini spark and the story starter guide to make your own silly animal themed story.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #10: Silly Zoo Stories

2.  Listen to the book, A Couch for Llama. What did you learn about this llama in the story. Write two sentences.

3. Listen to the book, Books Aren’t for Eating.  Write 3 examples of how Leopold is good at his job.

4. You are to write your own silly animal story. Open up or print this super silly story starters page to get some for ideas.  Look it over and decide which of the prompts you will use for this mini spark. Record 3 prompt ideas on your recording page.

5. Start thinking about your animal’s personality. Here are some question to answer on your recording page before you start your story.

  • What kind of personality does the animal have? Is it shy or outgoing, even-tempered or grumpy, be specific.
  • What does your animal like to do for fun?
  • Why does the animal choose to live where it lives?
  • What does the animal like to eat and what does the animal NOT like to eat at all???
  • Who are the animal’s best friends. Who is your animal afraid of seeing?

6. Choose one prompt and add it to your recording page.

7. Write your story on your recording page. Reminder: INCLUDE YOUR ANIMALS PERSONALITY AS YOU WRITE!

8.  Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

OPTIONAL: If you would like to write more stories using this guide, please do! Talk with your EY coordinator or teacher about making these into a badge.

Lesson adapted from https://craftingagreenworld.com/writing/funny-journal-prompts/.

#9: The dove dove.

Reading Enrichment, Uncategorized

 A homograph is a group of words that are spelled the same way, but have different meanings. They may or may not be pronounced the same way, although the difference in pronunciation is often just a shift in the accented syllable.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #9: Homographs

2. Here is a sentence that uses the homograph “dove.”  Write the two meanings of the word dove on your recording page.

The dove looked elegant as it dove underneath the tree branch to catch the bug.

Here is a sentence that uses the homograph “bank.”Write the two meanings of the word bank on your recording page.

After swimming at the river bank, we went to the bank to get some money to buy ice cream.

3. Read this article.  Write down a 4 of sets of words and the meanings that you think are hard for some kids to remeber.

3. Strengthen your brain by playing a matching game. You will be given two lists of word definitions. Find the pair that has the homograph in common. Here is a sample
Find the matching pairs and write them on your recording sheet. The answers are at the bottom of this mini spark. Check your work.
4. Go to this website. Choose the level that fits you. Record the level you choose on your recording sheet.
5. Play the game 3 times. Write your answers on your recording sheet.
Don’t click “hint” until you have guesses made.
Then click the word “hint”. That will give you the words and you will be able to check to see if your guesses are correct. Correct your work on your recording sheet.

6. On your recording sheet, build a 2 column form like the game you played in step 5. Use these 5 words. If needed, use a dictionary to help you with your definitions.

minute, coordinates, produce, entrance, down

7. Make an answer key to go along with your definitions.

8. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Check out mini spark which is about heteronyms, homographs that are pronounced differently.

 

 

Answer for step 3: 1 & B, 2 & D,  3 & A, 4 & E, 5 & C

 

#8: Haiku Poem

Reading Enrichment, Uncategorized

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry. It often centers around nature. Haiku poems don’t rhyme and they follow a pattern.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #8: Haiku Poem

2. Record this haiku poem on your recording page.

cloud-205bdge

3. Watch this video. Record 3 details from the video.

4. Record the pattern on your recording page:

The pattern for haiku is the following:
Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables

5. Count out the syllables in an example written by Basho Matsuo. Record the answers on your recording sheet for each line.

An old silent pond…               (How many syllables did you count?)

A frog jumps into the pond,           (How about this line?)

splash! Silence again.                  (Does this line follow the rule?)

6.  Follow these bulleted points to write your own weather Haiku Poem.

  • Example topic : weather
  • Example words : rain, clouds, soft breezes.
  • Choose the words that you like from this list and start working on arranging those into your poem with other filler words.
  • Count the syllables
  • Put them together using the pattern.

7. Choose a your topic or theme (nature, sports, family, school, friendship, etc.) and brainstorm a list of many words related to your topic.

8. Write 2 or 3 haiku style poems about the topic/theme you picked out.
Follow the 5-7-5 pattern

9. OPTIONAL Draw an illustration for one of the poems.

10. Send your work to the EY coordinator in your building.

 

Image : http://heightstechnology.edublogs.org/files/2010/10/cloud-205bdge.jpg

 

 

#7: Super Snail Detectives

Reading Enrichment, Uncategorized

Finding ideas and inspiration for writing a story can be tricky for both children and adults alike. This mini spark makes it easy to start writing since the idea has been chosen-Super Snail Detectives!

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #7: Super Snail Detectives

2. Watch this video about silly snail detectives. The narrator of this video offers a TON of suggestions on how to develop your own snail characters.

3.  After watching the video one time, go back and watch it again, pausing to record details on your recording page to answer the questions he asks.  This will help you develop your characters for your own Super Snail Detectives Story!  Aim for 10-15 pieces of information on your recording sheet for this step.

4. Using your notes as a guide, write the first chapter of your your own Super Snail Detectives Story.

5. Ask for edits to be make for your first chapter and make the suggested changes.

6. OPTIONAL: Create some illustrations to go along with your chapter.

7. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Do you want to keep working on your snail story? Talk with your teacher or EY coordinator about what steps you need to take to make this into a badge.

 

 

#6: Book Spine Poem

Reading Enrichment, Uncategorized

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #6: Book Spine Poem

2. Have you heard of “a book spine poem?” It’s a kind of poetry that you don’t really write from scratch – instead, you “find” it by arranging book titles to make a poem. This type of poem can be serious or funny, just like in regular poetry. Write the poems you see her on your recording page.

Screen Shot 2015-08-11 at 2.50.31 PMScreen Shot 2015-08-11 at 2.52.18 PM

3. Watch this video to see the process. Record 3-5 details from the video.

4. Okay, ready to make your own book spine poetry?

  • You need is a stack of at least 8  books with interesting titles from around the house, your classroom, or your school library.
  • Place a few books on top of each other.
  • Play around with the titles to create a short poem, words that create an image, feeling or scenes.
  • Write down the titles when you find a combination you like.
  • As you write down titles, you might notice some that seem to go together to tell a funny or interesting story. Switch them around to get a poem you like.
  • If you are doing a digital recording page, also take a picture of your work in progress

5. Keep working on your final project. Your finished spine poems should have at least 4 book titles included. Document your poem by taking a picture and adding it to your recording page or typing the titles in a poem format.

6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Lesson adapted from :http://www.brainpickings.org/tag/book-spine-poetry/ and http://www.pbs.org/parents/adventures-in-learning/2015/04/book-spine-poetry/

 

#4: A Hummingbird Story

Reading Enrichment

A flash of harmless lightning, a mist of rainbow dyes, the burnished sunbeams brightening from flower to flower he flies.  ~John Banister Tabb

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #4: A Hummingbird Story

2. Start by watching a video about hummingbirds. Record 5 facts on your recording page.

3. Show what you learned by choosing 3 of the prompts to answer on your recording sheet.

  • Describe what makes the sky islands one of the most diverse ecosystems in North America.
  • Explain the significance of hummingbirds during their migratory route.
  • What unique ability do hummingbirds have that sets them apart from other birds?
  • Discuss how the brain size of hummingbirds compares to that of humans.
  • Why do hummingbirds remember every flower patch and feeder they visit?
  • What are the best times to observe hummingbirds, and why are those times optimal?
  • How does the southeastern Arizona bird observatory contribute to the study of hummingbirds?
  • What adaptations do hummingbirds have that help them avoid predators?

4. Listen to this this story and write a 3 sentence summary on your recording page.

5. Listen to this story and write 2-3 sentence about the hummingbird.

6. Read this interview with the author of the Courage of the Little Hummingbird. Record 3 details from the interview on your recording page.

7. In the interview, she talks about retelling the story and answers this question: What advice do you have for authors interested in retelling old tales? Write about her response and what you learned.

8. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

#3: Pangrams

Reading Enrichment

This mini spark will have you writing in a creative way.  Have some fun with pangrams.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #3: Pangrams

2. A pangram is a series of words which contains all the letters of the alphabet.                   (pan = all and gramma = letter)                                                                                                          Example:  The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

3. Watch this video and record the sentences he creates on your recording sheet.

4. Try writing your own pangram.  Sure, you could look one up on the internet, but push yourself to think of an original one. On your recording sheet, start working on your pangram. When you are done, count the letters in your pangram, and write about the strategy you used.

5. Once you get the hang of it, write a shorter pangram that makes sense.  Use a dictionary if needed to find words that you can add to you pangram in order to incorporate some of the less common letters of the alphabet.

6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

#2: Literary Device Lesson: Portmanteau

Reading Enrichment

A portmanteau (pronounced port-MAN-toe) is a type of literary device.  It is a word made by blending at least two words. The new word combines both the sounds and meanings of the originals

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #2: Literary Device Lesson: Portmanteau

2. A portmanteau is when two words are combined to form a new word which refers to a single concept that retains the meanings of both the original words. Modern language is full of portmanteaus. In fact, the portmanteau is itself a portmanteau. It’s a combination of the French porter (to carry) and manteau (cloak). Record the two parts and meanings of portmanteau on your recording sheet.

3. Write these examples on your recording page.

 smog (smoke + fog) – hazy, polluted air

internet (interconnected + network) – a computer network of information

labradoodle (labrador + poodle) – a hybrid dog breed with parentage from a labrador retriever and a poodle

pluot (plum + apricot) – a hybrid stone fruit that combines the characteristics of a plum and an apricot

4. To form a portmanteau, usually the first segment of one word is attached to the final segment of another word. Some portmanteau words are blended in other ways, like combining the initial segments of both words. Look at the examples that you wrote on your recording sheet or find 3 of your own.  Describe how each of the words were created

Example: spork (spoon + fork) – an eating utensil that serves as both a spoon and a fork

Spork is formed by combing the beginning segment of spoon with the last segment of fork.

5. Try this portmanteau creator. Enter two words that are often found together and look to see the combos that are generated for you. Explore several combos and record your two starting words and the results.

5. Create your own portmanteau. Pick two words that are often used together to describe a single concept. For example lettuce and dressing or amazing and spectacular. See if there’s a way to combine them and create a single word that encompasses the meaning of both. Show all of your work on your recording sheet.

6. Portmanteaus are often mistaken for compound words. On your recording page explain how they are different from compound words. When you are done, scroll to the bottom of this post to see if you had the right idea.

7.  Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Lesson adapted from https://www.grammarly.com/blog/portmanteaus/

 

 

 

A compound word is created when two or more entire words are joined to create one word with a new meaning. For example:

  • Black + bird = blackbird.
  • Foot + ball = football.
  • High + light = highlight.

A portmanteau, on the other hand, occurs when elements of two or more words are blended to create one word with a combined meaning. For example:

  • Breakfast + lunch = brunch.
  • Information + commercial = infomercial.
  • Motor + pedal = moped.

To further illustrate the difference, note that if we were to form a portmanteau word out of black and bird, we would have blird. Likewise, to make a compound word out of breakfast and lunch, we would create the word breakfastlunch.

L. Arts Mini-Spark #1: How do geckos defy gravity?

Reading Enrichment

Screen Shot 2015-04-21 at 10.41.16 AM

For this week’s Reading enRichment, complete the following:

  • Read the following writing prompts before you watch the video.
    • What are spatula?  If the spatulae weren’t shaped like spatulas, would it be better for them to be shaped like spheres or cubes? Why?
    • Explain the process that makes the geckos feet “stick” to surfaces.
    • Talk about how the geckos sticky feet can help humans create new materials. How could this help humankind?
  • Watch this TED Talk:  https://youtu.be/YeSuQm7KfaE
  • Pause the video if you need to take notes.  You may need to watch the video more than once.
  • Choose one of the prompts listed above and leave a comment (at least 3-4 sentences).  When leaving a comment, use your first name, grade, and school (i.e. Tyler, 5, Sunset).  Do not publish your email.

NOTE:  There is a section in the video about electrons and charges.  You do not need to understand this 100%, just watch and listen to the narrator explain the process.

Take it a step further by learning more about our world using research and Geckos!

  • Watch this video: https://youtu.be/TlyvS1ckDZM
  • Expand on what you have learned by researching your own animal and responding to this prompt:
    • What is another animal that exhibits an incredible phenomenon, and how can it be used to make life better for humankind?
  • Record your responses on this form

And if you still can’t get enough…This “Prototype This” episode @ https://youtu.be/0yp9tsthL8s is about creating a Gecko Superhero Suit.  Respond to this post after watching the video with any new learnings, thoughts, and/or opinions.