Staunton Elementary School

MATH TIPS

READING TIPS

Pumpkin Math

You will need a pumpkin to do this activity.  

1.  Take a string and measure around the pumpkin.  Then measure.

2. Take a string or ruler and measure the height of the pumpkin.

3. Predict how many seeds are in the pumpkin.  

4. Actually count the seeds.  Put them in groups of five or ten for easier counting.  This will be good practice for skip counting.  

5. Add and subtract with the pumpkin seeds.

  In order for children to understand what they read, they must first be able to read the words on the page.  They must be aware of letters and the sounds they make.  This is decoding a word.  They must also have sight words in their memory to help with their reading. 

TOOLS TO HELP DECODE UNKNOWN WORDS

1.  LOOK AT THE PICTURE AND THINK

2. LOOK FOR PARTS OR CHUNKS THAT YOU MAY KNOW

3. S-T-R-E-T-C-H OUT THE SOUNDS

4. START TO SAY THE FIRST SOUND 

5. TRY DIFFERENT SOUNDS THAT THE LETTER OR CHUNKS CAN MAKE.  EXAMPLE-LONG/SHORT, HARD C OR SOFT C ETC.

6. LOOK LEFT TO RIGHT

7. SKIP OVER THE WORD, FINISH THE SENTENCE, AND RE-READ