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Articles: Education - Calendar Teaching
Tips
By Freda J. Glatt, MS
Stop! Don't throw away those old calendars! There is so
much you can do with a calendar to reinforce academic skills. Here
are a few suggestions:
1.
Writing - Use the pictures as story starters by having children
write an original story, poem, or song centered around
them.
2.
Art - Cut out the pictures and use them to make your own greeting
cards. Write original sayings to go inside.
3.
Classification - Have a selection of different kinds of pictures
available so your children can sort them according to general
similarities...all pets, all cars, all buildings, etc. Older
children can sort them into more specific categories such as sports
cars, SUV's, etc.
4.
Flash Cards - Make your own by putting a picture on one side and
writing the word on the other. For older children, write a sentence
including the word. Have children make their own flash cards! (NOTE:
Cut out the numbers to make math flash cards.)
5.
Left-to-Right Progression - As you teach young children the days of
the week, always point out that you are starting from the left and
going to the right.
6.
Days and Dates - Ask questions that review days, dates, and ordinal
numbers. For instance, which day of the week is the third? What is
the date of the fourth Wednesday? When does Autumn begin (day and
date)? Which holiday is on September 5?
7.
Math - Ask questions to review before and after. For instance, what
will the date be five days after Labor Day? What will that day be?
If National Farm Animals Awareness Week is September 18, what was
the date nine days earlier? Which day of the week was it? What would
the sum be if you add the dates of all Tuesdays in the month? For
older children, make it a 2-part problem and have them subtract
from, multiply, or divide the answer. Using the dates of the
calendar, what is the difference of the last Friday and the second
Friday? Are you multiplying, yet? Skip color all the boxes in
multiples of 8, for instance. You would then have boxes numbered 8,
16, and 24 filled in. Since you will have several days left over,
children can learn the term 'remainders' and get ready for
division!
8.
Reading - Alphabetize all the holidays and special days. How many
syllables are in each name? List the holidays, then the special
days. Which countries are represented? Do some research and find out
more about unfamiliar days.
I
hope these ideas have been useful and have ignited your own
creativity. And remember...Reading is FUNdamental!
Freda J. Glatt, MS, retired from teaching after a
34-year career in Early Childhood and Elementary
Education.
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