Tag Archives: Creative Language Skills

Pizza Fun Page

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How many words can you make from the words:

Stuffed Crust Pizza

Note: Add some fun twists and turns to your game with the info in this post.

Finish The Phrase

Pizza Word Scramble

Pizza Activities

Online Jigsaw Puzzle: Pizza Puzzle: How long will it take you to complete this puzzle.

Coloring Page: Pizza Coloring Page – Choose from a variety of pages to print and color.

Videos

Related Posts

All of the following topics can be found on FranW.com

Pizza Project

Dough Thrower

Halloween Themed Pizza

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St Patrick’s Day Word List

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If you made an A-Z list of St Patrick’s Day related words as suggested in the previous post, St. Patrick’s Day Fun Page, the words in the following list can be added to your list, if you haven’t already thought of the ones provided below, to do the activities suggested.

Discovery Educations has a free Puzzle Maker that can be used to make original puzzles.

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St Patrick’s Day Related Posts:

FranW.com: Ireland – Resources include: Links to Geographical, historical, and cultural information. Videos have been included as well.

FranW.com: Cabbage – Cabbage experiment suggestions, recipe for homemade coleslaw, links to cabbage information.

FranW.com: Fun Putty – How to make fun putty and fun things to do with it.

Irish & Celtic Folktales: Fairies – Sites about Irish & Celtic Folktales, with a focus on fairies.

St. Patrick’s Day Activities – Activities that can be found on FranW.com

Shamrocks – Learn about shamrocks.

St. Patrick’s Day Fun Page – Incorporate fun learning activities into your day.

Resources Off FranW.com

St Patrick’s Day Activities – The following sites will take you off FranW.com, unless noted.

DIY Activities And Simple Tips That Help Build Reading Skills

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Make your own books – This does not need to be a book of words, it can be a book of pictures or drawings or some other medium you can be creative with.

Make your own Read Along – If you have a book, and get the audio book version of it, use them together to create your own read along (check your library for both). Audio books can often be found in video form as well, turn on the Closed Caption option to follow along. Downloadable copies are available for ‘out of copyright’ books for free. If you open the file, you can use the voice reader on your computer to read it to you. Some devices may offer a text to voice option as well. Apps are available in some app stores.
If you find an out-of-copyright book you want to listen to, look for it in YouTube, or another video playing site, and follow the words as it is read. Make sure the print version is the same as the sound version of the story.

https://librivox.us/

https://www.gutenberg.org/

Allow for creative spelling when writing. Creative or Inventive spelling is when you do the best you can to write the letters you hear when you say a word. It can often leave out vowels (a e i o u) or us simple letters instead of letter blends such as K for CH, a Z for S, F for PH, etc. It can often be read back easily enough. For example: CRZY for Crazy, Fone for Phone, Wrk for Work, etc. The point is to allow the creative process to flow and not let the inability to spell a word interfere with the process. Spelling can be corrected later on.

Make lists – Lists are a great way to learn how to read and write. Pictures can be used at first, then creative/inventive spelling, someone can help with spelling, voice to text technology can be used. A dictionary can be used too. Physically writing words can help with word retention.

Watch a movie with the Closed Caption on. If you are watching a DVD or Video that offers Closed Caption, put it on and shut the sound off. Use a movie, tv show, or video you are familiar with to start. Read the bottom of the screen to the best of your ability. The only problem with this method is that not all Closed Captions are 100% accurate. Another option is to use Karaoke or Sing-Alongs

Read a book together – This is a tried and true way to learn how to read or to improve reading skills. Two copies of the same book can be used; digital, physical, printed, ect., one person can read, while the other follows along. This is a great way to use a story made by the person (learner) that has been written down by another person.

Sing A Song – Use a Sing Along video or Karaoke to learn how to read. Start with a song you are familiar with and like, then challenge yourself to learn a new one.

Read your favorite song – Get the lyrics to your favorite song, and without listening to the music, read the words. You may be surprised by what the words really are! Listen to a new song and try to read along with it. Make a game out of it and see how many words you get right/know before you hear the song. Print out the lyrics and circle all the words you know before you hear the song. Follow the words as you hear them sung. Try reading the words the second time without the music. Count how many more you know, and then play the music again, providing the method is being enjoyed.

If you know how to read, and want to improve your skills, think of the types of stories or genres you are interested in and go from there. Some ideas include: Mystery, True Crime, Romance, Horror, Gothic Literature, Poems, Dramas, History, Science Fiction, Non-Fiction, Biographical, Action, Thriller, Cookbooks, Business, Self-Help, Health, Comics, Home and Garden, Animals, Hobbies, Crafts, Humor, Religious, Fantasy, Travel, etc..
Choose from websites, blogs, books, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, and other publications.

There is nothing wrong with liking multiple topics. Start at a level you feel most comfortable with (yes, “children’s” books are fine) so you can get to know the vocabulary of the topic, then move up from there. Don’t let anyone limit you, or stop you from starting from where you need to begin. Use a dictionary, spell checker, or an internet dictionary or thesaurus to help you learn on your own. When you come across a word you don’t know, but don’t want to stop reading, underline the word if the publication is yours, or take a second to write the word down to look up later. A recording device can help with that. If you can not read the word, spell the letters out, and keep going. If you’re on the internet, almost every word can be typed in and pronounced for you. Use the tools available to you. Never limit yourself. Never think you can not do it. It can be frustrating to build upon your skill level, keep going, it is totally worth it. Every new topic, subject, genre will have a new vocabulary to learn. Be patient with yourself.

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Learning To Read and Improve Reading Skills Through Letter and Word Games

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Playing games, and using fun activities to learn, or hone reading skills, help make the learning process much more interesting and less of a chore. It can also lower the frustration level.

Play a spelling game – This can be written, verbal, with letter tiles, a video game, etc.. Choose a letter of the alphabet, say a word, take turns spelling it. Keep it fun, use similar word families such as rain, train, brain, drain, etc.

Play “Build A Word” – Start with one letter then add one more, then another to try and form a word. This is great for two players, one who can spell well can be helpful.

Play a rhyming game – Rhyming words helps to build a familiarity with words that sound similar. It can help with spelling and predictive reading. This is a great verbal game. Say a word such as bay, then encourage the other player to say a word that rhymes with it. Having an alphabet chart handy can be helpful for players.

Play secret code games – Some people love secret code games such as cryptograms. This often includes a number or symbol that translate into letters and then into words. Rainbow codes, Cryptograms, Code wheels, etc..

Play word puzzles – There are a wide variety of word puzzles books on the market today. You can find them FREE on line and in app stores too. The dollar stores are filled with crossword puzzles, word search, and criss-cross or fill-in puzzle books to choose from. There are some free puzzle makers on line you can use if you would like to use your own list of words.

Play a game of “Build A Sentence” – Start with two or three words such as, ‘The cat sat’. Next, add one word to the sentence. It can be a descriptive word such as, ‘The striped cat sat’. Then add another word. This can be done in a simple word program such as Notepad, as a text with a friend, where it is easier to copy, paste, and add a word here and there. A white board can be used, or a plain piece of paper if players don’t mind writing the same words over and over again. Another idea is to use word cards, word magnets, or word tiles. Use index cards and write words as needed. Keep them so they can be used for other games and activities.

Create your own game – When you know what you are trying to help someone to learn, come up with a game of your own. Play it together, then tweak it as you go. Keep it fun.

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Using Pictographs or/and Pictograms To Learn How To Read or Improve Reading Skills

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Before there were words, people communicated with pictures, drawings, and symbols. This can be a great place to begin the reading process or build upon it. Learning to read using pictures is a creative process that encourages the imagination, and cuts down on limitations. Pictures and symbols can represent a lot of interesting ideas and thoughts.

Allow creativity to flow.

Make up a story from a picture or picture book – Pictures, picture book, drawings, and books with a lot great illustrations are wonderful for inspiring stories. Once a story begins to develop, record it in some way: Have someone write while you speak, record it using an audio or video device, use a voice-to-text program. Draw it. Story dice can be used to inspiring stories as well.

Note: If a mistake is made while recording the story, have the story teller keep on going. The editing stage can take care of mistakes. Allow creativity to flow unhindered.

Use Pictographs (drawn pictures) to write notes back and forth to other people. Start with symbols such as I love you, I love Ice cream, Go 4 A Drive, Go 2 the Park. Picture dice can be fun to use to have a conversation with as well. After a while, exchange the symbols for words, one at a time. Native Americans and ancient cultures used pictographs and glyphs to record their history, tell stories, and communicate.

Rebus Puzzles – Rebus puzzles use pictures and words to solve hidden meanings. After you do some of the ones that are available online, you can make some of your own to give to someone else. http://www.fun-with-words.com/rebus_puzzles.html

Rebus Story – Rebus stories use pictures and/or word art as a substitute for a regular word. Instead of writing: The castle was surround by a wall. You can substitute the word castle for a picture of a castle, and the word wall for a wall. Small graphics can be used, dingbats, stamps, sticker, or pictures can be drawn.

Create your own comic – Draw a comic, it can be made from stick figures if you like, and write in thought or word bubbles to express an idea.

Related Posts

Out-Of-The-Box Ways To Learn How To Read…And Improve Reading Skills At Any Age

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Out-Of-The-Box Ways To Learn How To Read…And Improve Reading Skills At Any Age

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There are a lot of suggestions and programs available to help young children learn how to read, but I rarely see interesting ways to help older children and adults learn how to read or improve their reading skills. This post does not put an age limit or dumb down the learning process. Instead, it encourages ways to build upon what is known, and offers ways to begin a part of a process. Everyone has their own way of learning, and they should be able to start where they feel most comfortable, or with what interests them most.

Reading is a personal journey and should be encouraged rather than forced. Adding a level of fun or entertainment seems like the the most natural way to approach learning such an unnatural, yet needed, form of communication.

You will not see a lot of suggestions to read books in various ways or places. I feel reading books, or long publications, will come in time, when people feel they are ready to do so. I’m sure most people already know where to find books, such as in stores, libraries, book sales, websites with digital versions, etc. I have a post that offers some tips about where to find books that are free or inexpensive and I’ll link that at the end of the post.

Whether you’re helping a young person to build their reading skills or a grown up who would like to learn how to read, or improve their reading skills, the tips included within this post may prove helpful to you, and I hope you find this unusual list of suggested activities and tips useful in some way.

Do you need to begin by learning the ABC’s? No.

Pictographs or/and Pictograms

Before there were words, people communicated with pictures, drawings, and symbols. This can be a great place to begin the reading process or build upon it. Learning to read using pictures is a creative process that encourages the imagination, and cuts down on limitations. Pictures and symbols can represent a lot of interesting ideas and thoughts. Allow creativity to flow.

If you are interested in reading about these ideas, please visit the post : Using Pictographs or/and Pictograms To Learn How To Read or Improve Reading Skills.

ABC’s

Play word or letter games. If you are unfamiliar with the letters of the alphabet, there are informal ways to become familiar with them, other than the alphabet song or memorizing the letters by rote. Learning them through games, and need, helps to create a purpose. Not only can it be fun, it can be a wonderful way to prevent unnecessary frustration.

If you are interested in reading about these ideas, please visit the post : Out-Of-The-Box Ways To Learn The ABC’s

Games

Playing games, and using fun activities to learn, or hone reading skills, helps make the learning process much more interesting and less of a chore. It can also lower the frustration level.

If you are interested in reading about the ideas in this post, please visit the post: Learning To Read and Improve Reading Skills Through Letter and Word Games

DIY Activities And Simple Tips That Help Build Reading Skills

This post offers some more out-of-the-box ways to start building reading skills, and build upon the ones you already have. The ideas in this post are a mixture of old fashioned simplicity, encourage creative fun, and add a few elements of entertainment.

If you are interested in reading about these ideas, please visit the post : DIY Activities And Simple Tips That Help Build Reading Skills

Related Post

7 Ways Your Library Saves You Money

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Winter Word Fun

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How many words can you make from the word:

SNOWBOARDING

Note: Add some fun twists and turns to your game with the info in this post.

How many words can you think of that begin with or have the word ‘SNOW‘ in it?

Example: Snowboarding, snowstorm, snowplow, snowy etc..

Write about or draw your favorite part of winter.

Below, you will find videos and coloring pages of winter scenes and things, you can use them to inspire/spark your favorite memories. If you have never been in cold/snowy weather what do you think it would be like? If you have never been in warm weather during the winter, what do you think that would be like?

Winter Word Search

How quickly can you find the 10 words in this Winter word search?

Daily Jigsaw Puzzles:  Snow Covered Pines Puzzle

How long will it take you to solve this online puzzle?

Coloring Page

Get Coloring Pages: Winter Scene – Choose from a variety of pages to print.

How To Draw A Winter Scene

Winter Related Posts

All of the following topics can be found on FranW.com

3873c-snowman-svg-med

Holiday & Winter Origami

25 Fun Activities You Can Do Inside, When It’s COLD Outside!

Snowman Activities

Snowflake Activities and Resources

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

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Active Alphabet

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Act out the alphabet with a fun game that can be played verbally, with letter cards, or by making picture cards with letters on them.
To make cards, you will need…
Index cards, glue and: something to draw/write with, stickers, old magazines, or graphics.
What to do:
  • Draw pictures, write letters or put stickers on index cards.
  • Cut pictures from old magazines or use graphics and glue them onto index cards. 
  • Use commercial alphabet cards: Some alphabet cards have pictures that can be acted out, otherwise you can mix up the cards and use the letters. 
Make up your own list of words that can be acted out or use some of these examples:
A = Airplane, Angel, Ape, Archer, Anger, Act
B = Ball, Bounce, Ballerina, Book, Bicycle, Bird, Bow, Blow bubbles
C = Cat, Clap, Climb, Cold, Canoe (paddle down river), Curtsy, Crab
D = Dog, Dig, Dip, Dance, Dolphin
E = Elephant, Ear, Eat, Eyes (do something fun with your eyes)
F = Frog, Flower (pick a flower, smell it), Fish, Flexible, Funny face, Frown, Fall down
G = Grin, Gather, Gum, Gym (pretend to workout), Golf
H = Hop, Happy, High-Five, Horse, Hula hoop, Hand, Hug
I = Ice cream, Itch, Ice skate
J = Jog, Jump, Juggle, Jumping Jack
K = Kick, King, Kangaroo, Karate, Kiss
L = Laugh, Look, Lollipop, Lick, Lion, Lizard
M = Move, March, Moo, Melting ice cream (‘melt’ slowly to the ground), Monkey
N =  Nose, Neigh, Nod, Nothing (stand still), Ninja Turtle
O = Open, Oink, Owl (hoot), Oar (row boat) 
P = Pop (pop mouth or pop up), Pout, Pick, Punch balloon, Pretend  
Q = Quiet, Queen, Quick
R = Run, Ride a Horse, Race car driver
S = Sit, Stand, Stomp, Squirrel, Superhero, Scared, Surfer, Slow motion, Snake 
T = Talk, Tap, Twist, Touch, Turn, Tickle, Tiptoe, Turtle
U = Umbrella, Up, Under, Unicycle
V = Vacuum, Victory sign, Victorious (arms up in air), Vulture, Vampire Bat
W = Wiggle, Walk, Washing machine/Wash board, Wink, Whistle, Wave, Walrus
X = Make an X shape with your body, X-Men, Xylophone
Y = Yo-Yo, Yodel, Yell, Yummy (rub tummy)
Z = Zebra, Zipper, Zig-Zag
Tips & Suggestions…
  • Keep the game open-ended and playful.
  • When possible, encourage players to make sound effects while performing an action.
  • Young people are very creative! Ask them to think of ways to act out each picture/word and encourage them to come up with their own actions for each letter. If a player can not think of a word, help them out.
  • Play this game verbally by saying a letter and giving players a chance to act out their own words or a player can say a word and players can act it out in their own way.
  • Players can form letters of the alphabet with their body.
  • Play an animal version of the game. Animals can be a lot of fun to act out and can add a little challenge to the game!
  • Encourage silliness.
  • Challenge players to combine letter words whenever possible or come up with an attribute that an object does, real or not, that begins with the same letter, for example: a kicking kangaroo, marching monkey, laughing lizard, etc.
  • Put letter/picture cards in a container, have players take turns pulling out cards and acting them out in their own way.
  • Play this game outdoors as a chalk or charades-type game.
  • When the fun ends, so does the game.
Natural Benefits: Builds large motor skills, allows for creativity/imagination, builds letter recognition and letter-word comprehension skills, it’s a physical activity, the game is open-ended, all ages can play!
Personal Note: A few years ago I compiled a list that used an action word for every letter of the alphabet with a group of parents. The result came to be known as, “The Active Alphabet“. Parents reported that their kids, especially the ones full of energy, enjoyed the game and gained letter recognition skills more easily as a result of playing it with their children. Over the years we have played this game and have added our own ideas to it to make it more interesting and fun, I encourage families to do the same.

This post is part of the Building Writing Skills series on Fran’s World of Discovery. If you are interested in reading more from this series, please use the following links:
 
Building Writing Skills Naturally – Offers links to activity suggestions that have many built in benefits.

No More Tears! – Introduction page.
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What’s In A Name? – Game

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What’s in a name? Play this fun word game and find out!
 
Set-up: You’ll need enough bottle caps or index cards to spell out each players first name (full) and either letter stickers or a permanent marker. 
Place a letter sticker or write a letter under each cap, or write one letter on each card that spells out the player’s name, or a the name of someone or something important to them.
 
Play: Have players spell out their own name by putting the caps/cards in the correct order. Then play with the letters in order to form other words, real or not, and say the word or someone can say it for a non-reader. If the chosen name can not spell another word, or spells too few words, add a middle or last name to the game.
Occasionally, we will play a version of the game where each player chooses a consonant, a vowel and another consonant to form a word, real or not, and we sound it out to the best of our ability. If it is not a word, we exchange letters until a “real” word is formed. Letters can be shared in this version to form new words as well.
 
Benefits: Players will get to know how to spell their own name and names that are important to them, they will get to know the letters they play with, and gain an understanding of how letters form words and that each letter, and letter combination, has a sound, or a combination of sounds. They will get to know what a consonant and a vowel is if that version of the game is played.
 
Tips and Suggestions…
 
  • This is a game and it should be played in an informal, experimental way that is not stressful. 
  • Players can choose to write the words the letters spell on a piece of paper to keep track of what words have been made. I usually write all the words down on a piece of paper and hold on to it.
When players are ready, play the game Words within Words. This game offers a few ways to play that make the game more challenging.
 
 
This post is part of the Building Writing Skills series on Fran’s World of Discovery. If you are interested in reading more from this series, please use the following links:
 
Building Writing Skills Naturally – Offers links to activity suggestions that have many built in benefits. (Coming Soon!)

No More Tears! – Introduction page.
 
Connect With FranW.com!

Spark of the Day: Make an Easter Egg with a Surprise Inside

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Easter Eggs with a Hidden Surprise Inside by Fran W

To make the Easter egg with a surprise inside, you will need…

An oval, an outline of a chick, rabbit, or duck (available below), craft supplies including scissors, construction paper, a brad, glue, stickers, feathers and any other craft supplies you think you may need.

What to do…


What’s inside our Easter Eggs by Fran W

Cut an oval out of construction paper, and make a chick, rabbit, or duck out of basic shapes, or use the template provided below by printing it on cardstock paper, cutting it out, and using it as a pattern to trace around.

Cut the egg in half so that it resembles a crack.

 

Make a way for your egg to open so that it reveals what’s hidden inside it. 

Rear View of Egg

One way is to cut a piece of paper 1 inch long and 1/2 inch wide to connect the top and bottom of the egg together on the back. The one side will need to be glued or taped into place, and the other will act as the hinge so that it can open and close freely. Trim the paper so that it can’t to be seen from the front.  


Suggestions for decorating the front of your egg…

Let the front of your egg tell a story about what’s hidden inside!

Once you’ve chosen what animal you want to put inside your egg, think about where it may be hanging out and use construction paper, stickers, or draw a hint on the outside.

A duck may be hanging out in a pond, lake, marsh, river, etc.. 

A rabbit may be hiding in a garden, a field full of flowers, a burrow, a grassy meadow, the forest, etc..

A chick may be in a field, on a farm, in a basket.

You may decide to decorate the outside of your egg any way you want with your Easter animal hidden inside or design a scene with your animal on the outside of your egg.

Another option is to make a bunch of flowers and have them popping out of the egg with some butterflies and bees around it. 

Have fun being creative!

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Template for Medium Egg by Fran W

 

Santa’s Elves

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Christmas Shape Elf by Fran W.
Did you know…

Santa’s elves are magical beings that make toys and help around the North Pole!Activity: Make a Christmas shape elf

You will need:
Construction paper, scissors, glue and craft supplies such as pom-poms, glitter, buttons, jingle bells, googly eyes, markers, etc.
Optional item: Template from Fran’s World of Discovery, located on the bottom of this post.
Set up:
Choose any of the following methods to make your Christmas shape elf:
  • Cut shapes out of construction paper
  • Print, color, cut, and glue this Elf Paper Craft together or
  • Print the template available on the bottom of the page.
Here are the instructions for the construction paper shapes and optional template.
What to do:
Cut paper instructions:Cut body parts out of construction paper, glue the pieces together, and decorate with craft supplies. 

Template instructions:

Print the template, cut pieces out, and trace the shapes onto construction paper, then glue the pieces together and decorate any way you like with craft supplies.
As an added activity…..

  • Name the elf and decide how old he/she is.
  • Think about what his/her life is like at the North Pole: What does your elf do at the North Pole on a daily basis? How did your elf learn to do what he/she knows how to do? What does your elf do on his/her day off?
  • Create a story about your elf.
Draw, write, or record your information and/or story so that you can share it with others or refer to it again later.
Questions of the day:
Question #1:
What would you look like as an elf?
Question #2:
What would your elf name be?
 
Question #3:
Who are Santa’s elves, what do they do, and how do they learn to do what they do?
Learn more:
Learn about Santa’s elves, what they do, and how they learn what they know

Visit the Elf Clubhouse to read about elves and play games, or listen to stories at the Workshop
What would you look like as an elf? Add your photo and find out!
Type your name in the name generator to find out!
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Christmas Shape Elf by Fran W.
 
Templates for Elves
Right click on template, save to computer and print.