Fountas & Pinnell Blog

While the spaces that we occupy may be different this school year, our students’ need for connection and trust remains the same.

Introduce the child to the song, “Animals on the Farm,” sung to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus.” (“The cow in the barn goes moo, moo, moo. Moo, moo, moo. Moo, moo, moo.

Play a call and response game with the child so they can pantomime different movements.

Create a rhyming matching game. Gather images that represent simple rhyming sets such as cat/hat, bee/tree, dog/log, etc. Invite the child to match the rhyming words.

Create a new text by having the child complete the sentences, “On a farm I can see _____.” “On a farm, I can hear _____.” They can also draw a picture to accompany each sentence.

Explore action songs and poems with the child. You can introduce them to the movements that go with songs such as “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”. Then ask them to add or change words, phrases, and related movements.

Gather art supplies and cotton balls to create an art project about sheep. Add faces and legs with crayons or markers. Encourage the child to draw a background and tell a sheep story!

Invite the child to pick a favorite book to act out. The child can write down the simplified plot points and then reenact the story in a short performance, or alternatively use sock puppets or stuffed animals to represent the characters.

Talk about the ways the child is similar and different to one of their friends and how these similarities and differences affect their friendships. Ask, “How do these differences make your friendship better?”

Talk with the child about the power of illustrations, with examples from some of their favorite books. Have the child illustrate a simple story with just drawings, no words.

Discuss with the child how it is important to let your friends know that you appreciate them. Have the child pick a friend, and create a greeting card to mail to that friend.

Starting early September, we will be releasing remote teaching and learning guides for users of FPC, BAS, and LLI.

Choose a poem about nature to share with the child. Read the poem aloud together and talk about the descriptive words. Have the child write the list of words and then draw a picture that matches the words.

We rounded up a list of the Fountas & Pinnell Literacy™ resources that are/will be available for remote learning into one location for easy reference.

Help the child find an appropriate penpal from another country, state, city, or neighborhood. Teach the child how to write a letter including details like how to address an envelope.

Corey Thornton was contacted by the producers of GMA3: What You Need to Know to share his story of inspiration, motivation and education. Watch the video!

Show the child an interesting picture they have not seen before. Have the child write a short story, using the picture as a starting point.

Provide the child with sculpture materials like play dough, modeling clay, or even rolled up tinfoil. Ask the child to sculpt each number from 1 to 10.