Weekend Warriors: Tips & Tricks!

Welcome back to Weekend Warriors!
This weekend we have lots of tips and tricks for teaching, TPT, and blogging!

I have a little reading tip for you today.

Introducing ..... Brilliant Blending Buddies!!! :)  
I don't know if that's what they're really called.
But that's what I like to call them!

A few years ago, one of our PD days was with our assistant superintendent.
{who has the most amazing ideas ever!}
The Brilliant Blending Buddies are for readers who are struggling to 
sound out and blend sounds together.

Here's what they look like.
Aren't they so pretty!

They're so super easy to make!  
All you need are foam sheets {or felt} and pom poms.  
I got my foam sheets at Hobby Lobby.  
{I just cut them in half so the finished ones are about 2 inches X 6 inches.}  
Hot glue some pom poms on and you're good to go!

The Brilliant Blending Buddies are super easy to use too!  
Here's how they work!

Say a student is stuck on the word dog.  
They grab a Brilliant Blending Buddy and sound out each letter as they touch a pom pom.  
{I have ones with 3 and 4 pom poms.}

So they touch the first pom pom and say:

/D/

Then the second:

/O/

 And the last!

/G/

Then they go back to the beginning and slide their finger across the bottom and blend the sounds together. 

DOG

It's so simple and easy and IT WORKS! 

I use them in my reading groups.

 I have them available for the kids to use when reading on their own.  

A few even asked to take one home!  

I also have a set of Brilliant Blending Buddies with four pom poms.  

I used these ones for words with beginning or ending blends.  

The rule is, you have to wrap up the two beginning sounds 

{or the two ending sounds depending on the word}.  

So if you were sounding out stop, 

you would sound out /s/ /t/, then circle your finger around the two pom poms and blend them.  

Then you would sound out the o and p and blend the whole word.

You will be AMAZED at how well these little buddies work!!!

Stop by my  Warrior Friends' blogs to read their tips & tricks too! :)

A Burst of First	Bright Concepts 4 Teachers	Primarily Speaking	Sailing Into Second
Hippo Hooray for Second Grade	A Sunny Day In First Grade	Saddle Up Second Grade	First Grade Smiles
Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd	Crayons and Whimsy

InLinkz.com