Hameray Classroom Literacy Blog

Classic Post: Using Mrs. Wishy-Washy to Teach Compound Words—with FREE Download!

This is a guest post by blogger Laureen that originally ran in March 2014. If you like what you see here, you can check out her blog, Teach with Laughter, for more of her writing.

It’s Laureen visiting again from Teach With Laughter. Today I’m going to share with you an idea that I use with my students as a follow-up to reading Joy Cowley’s Mrs. Wishy-Washy books.

Like you, when reading with my students I am constantly pointing out words, including compound words. You’ll find compound words in just about every book. For example, in Mrs. Wishy-Washy and the Big Tub you’ll find "sunshine," "afterward." and "everywhere," and in Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Birthday there’s even one in the title!

As a follow up I created an engaging "I Spy" activity for students. Using a magnifying glass (who hasn’t met a child who loves them?) they will search for teeny-tiny words.

>> CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JOY COWLEY COLLECTION <<

Students need to combine words to create compound words and record them. For example they’ll find "cake" and "cup" to create "cupcake." I have included a student instruction sheet to keep students on task in a center, an "I Spy" picture page and a recording sheet.

Make sure that you have a magnifying glass handy and watch the learning and the smiles happen!Thanks for reading my post and enjoy your freebie!!

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Laureen is a grade one teacher in Canada. She has been teaching kindergarten and grade one for 22 years, has two children, and enjoys creating hands-on learning activities for her classroom.  You can read about more of her activities at her blog Teach With Laughter.

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To learn more about the Joy Cowley Collection, click here to visit our website, or click the series highlights image below to download an information sheet with key features. To get today's free activity download (4 pages), click the compound unit image below!