The Way I Teach

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If you are anything like most teachers, you don't have hours to scour the internet to find supplemental diphthong ou and ow activities for your kids. You want resources that will help meet the needs of all your students and need to expose the same skill to ALL your students regardless of their academic ability. Plus, you want it to be engaging and fun to help your kids retain the skills you are teaching. I hear you! Your searching for supplemental material stops here.

Phonics-Instruction-for-Diphtongs-OU-and-OW

I have a diphthong OU and OW resource that will help you teach and your kids learn the skill that you can get HERE or at the bottom of this post. The FREE Word Search is at the bottom of this post (in case you're looking for it).

ou and ow Morning Work/Independent Sheets/Homework

Sorts/Search/Games

ou and ow Games for Homework/Class/ or Guided Reading Groups

ou and ow Focus Words with Images (EL support)

ou and ow Word Work (Phonemic Awareness/Sound Spelling/Decoding/Encoding Practice)

ou and ow Word Families (Fun List to Take Home)

. . . and I learned from 13 years of teaching phonics instruction I needed variations with the activities so all students could complete the activities confidently and independently. So almost all the independent practice sheets have 2 options. The resource isn't meant for ALL. THE. KIDS. to do ALL. THE. THINGS. So don't fall into the trap that just because it's there you're suppose to use it.

Differentiating Diphthong OU and OW

The independent sheet above I made especially for a little guy who was ambitextrous, although he had difficulty with penmanship regardless of the hand he wrote with. I use to draw lines on his paper as one of the strategies for him to sound out the word and write the letters for the sounds he heard. His letters were HUMonGouS and all over the place. This sheet helped me reinforce tall letters and small letters as well as beginning and ending sounds and sound spellings. This sheet helped give him the support he needed (plus his desk along with several other flanked mine). At any given time I could differentiate which independent sheets I gave to who yet they were all practicing the same skill.

Extension: I always had the more advanced kids add endings like er,ed,ing,ful,ly to the basewords.

Teaching Diphthong ou and ow as a Pattern

I'm curious, do you teach diphthong ou and ow as a pattern or attach a story to it? Most teachers will attach the band-aid and "ouch" story with it. I found connections always helped and pointing out that ou was usually in the middle of a word and ow at the end helped them with spelling which helps them with writing and in turn . . .writing helped them with reading. What a lovely circle that is!

On-Sets and Rime

For those students having difficulty with the sound spelling, you may want to work more with the word families especially for your ESL learners.

Word-Work

I always let the students choose to work together or independently but they were in groups when they did the sorts and games. They are practicing, so it's okay if they help each other. That's the point. They learn from each other and talk during this time. I used the sorts and games for word work but they're great in guided groups too.

1 game helps with sound spelling
1 game helps with word-meaning and decoding
ALL games help with phonemic awareness

If you would prefer the games in color, leave a comment below. I go back and forth between saving ink for teachers and "eye-catching" for kids. What do you think?

OU and OW Sound Spelling Assesment

I've even used these circle maps as a way to assess my kids awareness of the sound spelling. They seem easy at first glance but to get it right they need to know their stuff. To differentiate, have kids refer to the colored focus words included in the resource. To make it more challenging, have kids label the pictures.

Reading ou and ow Words in Context

There are activities included where students read the words in sentences but nothing takes the place of read alouds and pointing out the sound spellings in context. Most importantly, kids really need to practice the words in their reading. I always used our school resources or Raz-kids for students to practice reading the words in context in guided reading groups but this resource includes a student reader. Home reading and book boxes were student choices.

OU and OW Diphthong Word Search FREEBIE

If there is anything you want to know about how I use this resource or teach dipthongs ou and ow leave me a comment below and I'll get back to you. In the mean time, here is a fun ou and ow word search for your kids. Just click on the button, subscribe, and it will go to your inbox.

I was thinking, if you are here, you are looking for resources to help you teach and you probably don't want to buy or store a zillion resources. I think I might have something that will make your life easier and streamline things for you when teaching phonics. If you aren't about all the fluff and want something that works, you should really check out this post HERE. When I made that particular resource, I had one thing in mind. Helping teachers teach and save money. Let me know what you think!

Don't forget your FREE OU OW word search or you can purchase the entire unit below. You'll be sent a download link immediatly after purchase.

Kindergarten, Kindergarten . . . I always admired how kinder teachers kept their sanity, kept organized, and taught successfully. It is not an easy task and even after 11 years of teaching - I feel like a brand new teacher with this being my 1st year in Kinder. There are some things I love and some things that just drive me absolutely I-N-S-A-N-E!

When something doesn't work, I start tweaking it, adjusting, reflecting, then changing until I find what works:

I found that most of my well oiled 1st grade classroom management tricks weren't working at the beginning of the year and I was finding myself in chaos the first month of school. I was exhausted from trying to manage student behaviors. First, I shouldn't be managing their behavior because if you are managing their behavior that means they are NOT. I really needed something positive and I needed a reward system. I absolutely DID NOT want to do the whole treasure chest thing with tangible prizes because I have done that in the past and it cost me a small fortune and then there were times I ran out. I am just done with the whole treasure box thing.

Here is where I merged 2 ideas

Idea 1: I purchased and used the reward cards from Melony at Seustastic when I taught 1st grade but a lot of time my students would ask me to read what it said to them the 1st half of the year. Though they loved the certificates dearly, I did not have the time to read them to them. I needed larger pictures, less choices, and less words. You can check out her blog for a more comprehensive list of reward cards. I wanted less choices to start and bigger pictures.

Idea 2: The kinder teachers at my former school gave out a bear buck at the end of each day for students who had a good day and those students could pick out a prize from a prize drawer/chest when they had 10. I needed this so students would have an immediate consequence when "misbehaving." They owe me a class buck when they interrupt, restroom break, out of seat, etc. They get to choose a reward card when they get 10 class bucks.

Here is what I did

1. I made class bucks for my class and printed them on blue paper to match our school colors.

2. I incorporated the pillars of character to help connect the class bucks with the school wide Code of Conduct.

3. I made simple large picture reward cards based off the list the class came up with.

4. I showed the children the pictures. We talked about what each one was.

5. I started handing out a lot of class bucks on purpose especially to the kids who gave me issues with specific classroom procedures and expectations. I caught them the second I could and verbally praised what they were doing and gave them a class buck.

6. I needed to get those class bucks in those students hands who were having issues so I could take them back. I know that doesn't sound good but here is why. When my frequent flyers asked to go to the restrooms during lessons or right after recess - I told them they owed me a class buck. When a student blurted out - they owed me a class buck. When a student was talking in line, they owed me a class buck. Most behaviors stopped immediately or were curved to less times!
*You should know I already had implemented handing out stickers and a form of the clip chart (I am not a fan) but had to due to uniformity across kinder classes.

IT IS WORKING! IT IS W-O-R-K-I-N-G!

Now I shared this with my new colleagues and they were skeptical. They had lots of questions. So I am going to answer some of those questions here.

Question: It seems like a lot of keeping track.

Answer: I spend very little time using this system. The kids keep track. I just always have to make sure I have class bucks all the time and keep them with me wherever I go.

Question: Where do the kids keep them. I can see these class bucks everywhere.

Answer: I use the poly folders with prongs as homework folders. I had purchased inexpensive pencil pouches to put in these. The children place their class bucks in there.

Comment: I don't want to purchase pencil pouches.

Responses: Get clear baggies. Duct tape the edge. Hole punch then insert in folder.

(If your students have toolboxes they could put them in there)

Question: How do they put them away? Won't they always be up and down and walking around?

Answer: My student have seat pouches and they keep their poly folders in them. We went over the procedure for putting away class bucks when I first start handing them out.

Procedure: If I am teaching and you receive a class buck you hold on to it until we are done. When we go back to our tables you put them away then or you put them away on our way to an activity/center/rotation.

Question: I don't know. I can just see them fighting and arguing over finding one or losing one.

Answer: We went over the rules for this. I am not the keeper of your class bucks. It is your responsibility to put them away. If I find one laying around, I add it back to my pile. If you find one laying around you can not keep it because class bucks are earned and you did not earn that class buck. It is not yours you need to give it back.

Question: How do they turn them in?

Answer: You have to have a routine and procedure for this and stick to it. I told my kids when they have ten they can exchange them for a certificate card during morning circle time. My reasoning for this is it allows for all other kids to see the student count the class bucks and see them pick their certificate card so they are fully aware of their classmates priviledge. It helps build desire to earn class bucks.

If you think this may help you, click HERE or on the picture below 0 It is FREE!