The rainbow connection

Several of my students are learning their ABCs.  We do all kinds of activities to practice them.

We put together ABC puzzles (which I got from the dollar store here).

We sing songs (of course we sing songs), and we act out our ABCs.  I have never taught kindergarten or students with moderate to severe learning disabilities, so this has been a stretch for me.  A good stretch, but still a stretch.

A couple of months ago a friend of mine sent me an email with some ideas.  She used to teach dyslexic students before she retired.  She told me about the Rainbow Mat.  I made a simple one from some construction paper I found in the classroom and introduced it to my students.  They loved it.

Mina loves matching the magnetic letters to the letters on the mat.

I thought possibly other teachers might benefit from it as well.  It would be great for students with learning disabilities, preschool students, RTI small group instruction, etc.  So I have been working for a while on The ABC Rainbow Connection (yes, I love the Muppets...therefore the Rainbow Connection).  "And someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me."

The ABC Rainbow Connection

I love to use the rainbow mats with my ABC Mix and Match Word Wall Cards.

ABC Mix and Match Word Wall Cards

 Here are some examples of the pictures:

I show a picture, and students choose the letter of the alphabet that the picture starts with.

Teaching here has not been easy, but I have really learned a lot.  I am always thinking of new ideas and new activities to teach my students.  I am being stretched, that's for sure.  Just call me Stretch Armstrong!  Do you remember him?

By the way, I will be out of pocket for a bit, since I will be in Thailand for 2 weeks for my winter vacation.  I am SO excited!  I am taking my laptop, so I will try to upload a couple of pictures if I can.