Hameray Classroom Literacy Blog

Using Mrs. Wishy-Washy to Teach Compound Words—with FREE Download!

This is a guest post by blogger Laureen. If you like what you see here, you can check out her blog,   Teach with Laughter , for more of her writing.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s Laureen visiting again from   Teach With Laughter . Today I’m going to share with you an idea that I use with my students as a follow-up to reading Joy Cowley’s Mrs. Wishy-Washy books.

Like you,   when reading with my students I am constantly pointing out words, including compound words . You’ll find compound words in just about every book. For example, in   Mrs. Wishy-Washy and the Big Tub    you’ll find "sunshine," "afterward," and "everywhere," and in   Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Birthday     there’s even one in the title!

As a follow up   I created an engaging "I Spy" activity for students . Using a magnifying glass (who hasn’t met a child who loves them?) they will search for teeny-tiny words.

Students need to combine words to create compound words and record them.   For example they’ll find "cake" and "cup" to create "cupcake." I have included a student instruction sheet to keep students on task in a center, an "I Spy" picture page and a recording sheet.

Make sure that you have a magnifying glass handy and watch the learning and the smiles happen!Thanks for reading my post and enjoy your freebie!!

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Laureen is a grade one teacher in Canada. She has been teaching kindergarten and grade one for 22 years, has two children, and enjoys creating hands-on learning activities for her classroom.  You can read about more of her activities at her blog   Teach With Laughter .

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To learn more about the Joy Cowley Collection,   click here to visit our website , or click the series highlights image below to download an information sheet with key features .   To get today's free activity download (4 pages), click the compound unit image below!