Fountas & Pinnell Blog

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Take a nature walk with the child to observe insects. Collect observations about size, color, and movements for various insects in a "Bug Book."

Use the internet to find nursery rhymes from other cultures and from your own culture. Discuss the similarities and differences between the nursery rhymes.

Build a mural of the alphabet! Have the child draw (or paint) a picture of something that starts with each letter. Once complete, hang the letters in the correct order.

We have rounded up some of the most frequently asked questions around remote learning into one location.

Talk about adding beauty to the world that is felt in one’s heart. Encourage your child to speak encouraging words or perform acts of kindness that cause people to smile. Keep track of them on a chart or poster.

Choose a book for a friend to read. Write an intro and why you think your friend will like it. Have your friend do the same for you! When done, talk with your friend about the books.

Choose a fiction book and have the child read the first 1/3 of the book. Pause there and have the child answer informational questions and questions that involve wonder.

Take a moment to talk about these unusual times with your child. Make some agreements about feelings, behavior, and expectations going forward. Circle back to them, to check in on how you're doing.

Pick a "letter of the day" and have the child write down words that come up during the day that start with that letter.

It’s easier than ever to add our beloved guided reading books to your classroom.

Tongue twisters are an entertaining way to play with letters, sounds, syllables, and meaning. Pick a few famous tongue twisters, and talk them through with your child.

Explore your library website for exciting digital materials like ebooks, audio books, digital magazines, and more. Look for online programming opportunities too.

Form a "virtual" book club. Guide the students to meet and discuss the book online. Encourage students to post comments and observations, or answer prompts.

Have a conversation with the child about the books they are reading. Invite them to keep a reader's notebook. Regularly assign writing or drawing activities for them to complete in their notebooks.

Have children brainstorm different foods for every color of the rainbow. Have the child write down the color name, the food name, and have them draw a picture of the food.

Play a variety of musical selections that clearly match or express different moods. Ask the children to sit and listen and talk about how the music makes them feel.

Fountas and Pinnell dive into the research on effective phonics instruction and align the research to the Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons.