The other day I was going to have the kids practice alliteration. Naturally, the first one to the table with their paper got to pick the letter.
The letter was “L”. I then had them write down as many words beginning with “L” as they could think of.
So there they sat. I, having the attention span of a 2 year old – which is not an asset when trying to educate wild children who would probably feel perfectly at home in a barnyard. Where was I? Oh, the not wanting to sit there while they wrote their words part. So I went to begin loading the dishwasher. Next thing I know they are gone.
“Kids?” “Where are you?”
“We’re on a word hunt” Now, I don’t normally go around hiding words all over the house, so I don’t know where they got this bright idea anyway.
But one full dishwasher later they return with a page full of “L” words. Silly kids, they thought they were through.
They then had to make sentences with their words, cramming as many into one sentance as they could.
See this exercise was not just to teach the concept of alliteration, but also to gently nudge them into creative writing. I knew if I said make up some sentences and write them down, they would still be sitting there days later glassy eyed and smelly from not showering still trying to think of something good. But when armed with “L” words suddenly a whole world of possibilities would be opened up.
So a few “Lemon-lime Lexuses line Larry’s lane” and “Lazy Luke licks large lollipop’s” later we had killed two educational birds with one stone, clean dishes, and a new exercise called word hunting (which I still don’t fully get, I mean, if I’m not hiding words who is?)