How to Teach Core Words: HELP

 Teaching the Word HELP

Game

There are a lot of options out there to get students to ask for help.  Pretty much any game that has a lot of set up is a go-to for working on the word help.  Some of my favorites are Don't Break the Ice.  This game is pretty time consuming to set up and gets difficult at the end when there aren't many pieces left.  Kerplunk, again a lot of setting up and gets challenging to get the sticks through at the end.  Jenga, this game takes a long time to set up.  You can also have two students play and have them ask for help finding pieces to push through.  Cleaning up is another great time to request help for all of these games.  

Book

I have been loving these step into reading books this year because they incorporate my students' interests and therefore can be very engaging for my students.  For this word, I chose Rubble to the Rescue, because it gives a lot of exposure for the word help and also features my student's favorite Paw Patrol.

Song

I love that this song teaches the other side of the word help.  Instead of just teaching our students to ask for help; which is a super important skill.  I want to also teach them to be good helpers!  This song is a great example of that.  

This next one I only use for my older students.  It has subtitles, so watch it and make sure it would be a good fit for your students.  That being said, it is one of my favorites and honestly brings tears to my eyes.  Again, it is teaching our students that they can also be the ones offering help to others.

Writing

Here is the worksheet that I made to go along with my help lesson.  This helps students understand the word and gives them some writing practice with it.

 

Handout

And last but not least, here is the handout that I share with teachers, paras, parents, and basically anyone else who might find it helpful ; )

How to Teach Core Words: STOP

STOP

Here are my favorite activities for teaching the core word STOP.

Book
I like to start with books to increase exposure to the targeted word.  While I'm reading I point to the word on our core board.  My favorite book for this word is Stop, Train, Stop. 



Game
I love incorporating movement into my sessions since most of my young kids need it throughout their day.  My game for this word is STOP, GO which is really just an adaptation of red light, green light.  I make little stop and go signs and tape them to a popsicle stick.  The kids get to take turns holding the stick and saying stop or go while the other kids race to see who can get to the sign first.  This is a great game for teaching go as well.

              

Song
This song is another great way to get your students up and moving and hopefully burn off some energy!   It's called "The Stop Song".

The Stop Song


Writing
Here is a worksheet that I've made to go along with my stop activities and helps the students work on their writing too!

 

Handout

Lastly, here is a handout that I made to give to teachers and families to encourage them to target the word throughout the week as well.