After making a poster and learning the different meanings of the words, I hung up a simple chart:
Throughout the month of March, whenever I'd catch myself using one of these words in a sentence (through natural conversations) I'd ask a student which word I used and they'd put a check in the appropriate column. Sometimes I would be the one who got to make the check if a student used a word. Takes 10 seconds to reinforce. Oh, so easy! This is our second chart and we've carried it over to April. Why not? Practice makes perfect! The first chart had so many checks that it was impossible to add another. Within a few days, lots of the kids were working hard to apply what they learned into their writing.
The kids don't wait for me, though... They took it upon themselves to add to the chart during snack, free time, arrival/dismissal, etc. Whenever they could! The only rule was that the kids had to justify their choices.
Then I made the wheel and we practiced whole group style. I'd say a sentence and they'd turn the wheel until they displayed the right answer. They used their hands to cover the wrong answers which would automatically display the correct one. Funny, every time they do this, I feel like it's one of those games on Survivor that test their memory of things tribemates have shared. Know the game I'm talking about? Using the wheels is FUN and allows me to instantly see who nailed it and who needs a bit one-on-one help.
Partner work was a blast and the kids LOVED it! Each partner got a wheel and two sheets (different sentences) that looked like this:
I made a packet for TPT if you want to check it out:
Have a great day!
