Summer Movies: Phonics Phun + A Writing Prompt

Summer movies . . . are you ready?  Well, if you’re not, your kids probably are!!

I did a fun activity today – one of those ideas you get late at night that actually WORKS!!

Materials:  Here’s what you need:

• Photos representing trailers for 2 movies you think your student(s) would like

• Voting board + PostIts

• Letter writing prompt (below)

I picked Minions & Inside Out.  Here are screenshots that we used.

Vote by Letter:

We asked the students to vote by writing for the trailer that they wanted to watch first.  LOTS of excitement!  Students who typically aren’t excited about trying to figure out the sound/letter system were fired up!

Here are a few examples.  Most students used light tech alphabet displays to help them figure out the letters.  A few students were able to write their votes on the PostIts.  Each student then voted for their favorite movie trailer (Minion won).

-       One student chose M to represent Minion

-       One student wrote NSID to vote for Inside Out

-       One student chose MN to represent minion

As each student cast their vote (we wrote it on the PostIt for most students), we tried to figure it out, sounding it out.  Then we had each student place their PostIt under the correct photo.

We then watched both trailers (the winning one was viewed first!)

Letters to Parents:

Then we wrote the letters to parents as follows:

Movie Letter Short

1)   I modeled on the SmartBoard, using talk alouds (ex:  “Hmmmm, who do I want to go with me . . . I know, Robert!) and asking students to help me figure out some of the sounds.

2)   Then each student worked with a teacher, therapist, or aide to fill in the blanks on their letters home.  Students used their light or high tech communication systems to help with ideas as needed.  For example, Jess went to the ‘Describing’ page to pick COOL to tell what expected about the movie.

3)   Students could then find pictures or draw on their letters before putting them in backpacks to take home.

Changing This for Home Use:

If you want to do this activity at home, here are some ideas:

• Have siblings or friends participate in the voting part

• If you’re helping your child write the letter, have them write it to someone else (Dad, Grandma, older sibling, favorite aunt)

Enjoy!!