Say it, Move it, Write it {A Multi-Sensory Early Literacy Intervention}

For the past few months, there's one activity I've kept in constant rotation with my first graders who are working on CVC words: Say it, Move it, Write it. This is a multi-sensory routine to build one or multiple beginning literacy skills. 

Materials Needed:

*Laminated Workmat (Click the picture below to get your free copy)

*3 Chips, Cubes, or Manipulatives per Child

*Vis-a-Vis or Dry Erase Marker (Vis-a-Vis works so much better)

*Eraser or Dry/Wet Paper Towels

Since this is a routine, I try to keep my language the same each time. When explaining/demonstrating the steps, I will put my words in bold and my students' responses in italics.

Steps:

1. Choose 1-3 words to work on during your small group time. If I plan to spend more time manipulating a word, we will only work on one or two words. 

2. Phoneme Segmentation Portion:

Say sat. Sat
Say sat. Sat
Say the sounds in sat. /s/ /a/ /t/
Say the sounds in sat. /s/ /a/ /t/
Move your chips & say the sounds in sat. As they move the chips: /s/ /a/ /t/
Write the word sat. Students will write the word sat in the bottom boxes.

3. Phoneme Manipulation Portion:

During this portion, you can have your students change one letter or sound, flip letters/sounds, etc. What you have them do will really depend on their level at that time. For example, my group is only able to switch one sound at a time but you may have a group that can flip the beginning and ending sounds successfully. 

Here is an example of how one part of the manipulation portion may look like in my room:

What word did you write? sat

Touch the chip that sounds like /t/. Students will then touch the third chip.

Change the /t/ to /m/. Students will erase the t & write m. 

What's our new word? Sam

Say the sounds in Sam. /S/ /a/ /m/

*We may change letters more than once, time and attention span permitting. 

To begin a totally new word, they erase the whole sheet and put the chips back in the circle. When you first begin this process, it will take a little bit longer because they won't know the routine. After a few times, they will know the routine and it will work like clockwork!

Note: This intervention can be/is tailored to hit a lot of areas: decoding, encoding, phonological awareness, & phonemic awareness. Make sure you put your own spin on it if my way isn't doesn't exactly fit the needs of your specific students.

IEP Input Form {FREEBIE}

One of my goals for this school year is to increase communication--with gen ed teachers, parents, administrators, etc. 

One way I'm doing this is by getting more structured feedback from gen ed teachers about a child when I'm preparing rough drafts of IEPs. Previously, I had gotten my information through emails or discussions, but I didn't have a specific form that I used to collect teacher input. 

To ensure that I had information in all of the areas I needed, I created my own form. I will hand these out to a child's gen ed teacher a few weeks before the IEP meeting, so they have plenty of time to fill it out and then I will use their information when writing the IEP. It will be very helpful in getting more detailed information about a child's behavior and performance in the general education classroom during this school year!

Click below to get a free copy of the form!