Shark Week
Day 1 - Shark Infested Spellings (Read the Words)
You will need:
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blue foam
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ice cube tray
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scissors
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milk carton
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Sharpie
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paper clips
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magnetic fishing rod/spoon
Cut some shark fins out of blue foam and wedge them into an ice cube tray. Fill the ice cube tray with water and put it in the freezer. Cut some fish shapes out of an empty milk carton and write a spelling on each fish using a permanent marker. Attach a paper clip to each fish.
Fill a tray with water. I used the lid from our Phonics Box. You could add some food colouring or paint to make the water blue. Put the words in the water and add some of the ice cube shark fins which will float around. Read a word to your child off their spelling list. Can they use the magnetic fishing rod to catch the fish with the correct word. If you don't have a fishing rod they could try to scoop it out with a spoon. If they catch the wrong fish they should throw it back. This will encourage your child to think about the letters in the word as they try to spot the word they need.
Day 2 - Shark Teeth (Look and Copy)
You will need:
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Paper/cardboard box
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Ice cube tray
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Magnetic letters
If you don't have magnetic letters you could cut white triangles and write a letters on each tooth.
Cut a shark out of paper or a cardboard box (Keep this for tomorrow). Draw some eyes and nostrils and place the ice cube tray upside down for the teeth. Place a word card with the spelling on the shark and put out the magnetic letters (or pieces of paper with letters) next to the shark.
Start by getting your child to rearrange the letters using the word card. If they are confident they could turn the word card over and try to put the magnetic letters in the correct order to spell the word. Turn the word card over and check if they are correct.
Giving them just the letters they need helps them to concentrate on the order of the letters.
Day 3 - Shark Teeth (Cover and Write)
Cut some shark teeth from white paper, stick them to the shark and cover them with parcel tape. This will enable you to write on the teeth with a dry wipe pen and rub it off again.
Put a word card on the shark. Get your child to look at it for 20 seconds, then turn it over and see if they can write the word without looking. Turn it over to check if they spelt it correctly.
Day 4 - Spell it
Read one of the words off the spelling list but don't show it to them. Ask them to write the word on the shark's teeth. Show them the word and check if they have spelt it correctly. Repeat with the rest of the words on the spelling list.
