18 Ways for Kids to Practice Spelling Words

18 Ways for Kids to Practice Spelling Words Each week your child is likely to come home with a spelling word list in which they will have a test at the end of the week. It’s their job to study and learn the words, but simply looking at them isn’t going to do the trick. They will need some tools to help them remember the words. Here are 18 creative and interactive ways to practice spelling words. Make a Spelling Word Origami Fortune Teller These are also known as Cootie Catchers. It’s easy enough to create spelling word Cootie Catchers and having your child spell the word out loud is very helpful for auditory learners. Make and Use a â€Å"Word Catcher These modified fly-swatters can be a lot of fun to use. Give your child a copy of their spelling words and you might be surprised to see how enthusiastic they are to start swatting the words in all the books, magazines, posters, and papers in the house. Magnetic Letters, Alphabet Blocks, or Scrabble Pieces Just as saying the words out loud can help an auditory learner, literally building the words can be helpful for more visual learners. Just keep in mind you might need more than one set of magnetic letters to spell all the words. Create Your Own Crossword Puzzle Luckily there are free online tools like Discovery Educations puzzlemaker program to help you make puzzles. All you have to do is type in the word list. Use Sensory Play Some kids learn better when all their senses are involved. Doing things like spraying shaving cream on the table and letting your child trace their words in it or having them write them with a stick in the dirt can help cement the words in their memory. Play Spelling Word Memory There are a couple of ways to do this. You can make two sets of flashcards with the spelling words- it’s a good idea to write each set in a different color- or you can make one set with the words and one with the definition. After that, it’s played just like any other Memory game. Trace the Words in Rainbow Colors This is a variation on the old â€Å"write your words ten times† homework. Your child can trace each word over and over to remember the order of the letters for each word. In the end, though, it’s a lot prettier than a simple word list. Let Your Child Text the Words to You This way to practice spelling words depends, of course, on whether your child has a cell phone and what the plan includes. With unlimited texting, though, it’s easy enough for you to receive the text, correct the spelling if necessary, and send back an emoticon. Use Sandpaper Letters to Make Spelling Word Rubbings Though it requires a little prep work, this is a fun way to practice the words. Once you have a set of sandpaper letter stencils, your child can arrange each word, place a piece of paper over it, and make a rubbing with pencil or crayons. Make Word Searches This, too, is an activity that is easy enough with online resources. SpellingCity.com is a fantastic site that allows you to make word searches and create other activities for your child. Play Hangman Hangman is a great go-to game when it comes to spelling words. If you have your child use a copy of their spelling list, it will be easier for them to narrow down which word you’re using. Remember, you can always use the definition as a clue! Make up a Spelling Word Song It may sound silly, but there’s a definite connection between music and literacy. If you and your child are creative, you can create your own silly tune. For the less musically-inclined, try setting the words to the tune of â€Å"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star† or another nursery rhyme song. Play the â€Å"Add-A-Letter† Game This game is a fun way to interact with your child. One of you starts writing the spelling word on the paper by writing one letter. The next one adds the next letter. Since many word lists include words that start with the same sounds, it may be challenging to know which word your game partner started writing. Write a Story Using Each Spelling Word Many teachers ask students to do this with their spelling words for homework, but you can add a twist by giving your child a topic to write or tell a story about. For example, challenge her to write a story about zombies using all their words. Highlight the Words in the Newspaper Give your child a highlighter and a pile of newspapers and time them to see how long it takes for them to find and highlight all the words on their list. Play a â€Å"What Letter Is Missing?† Game Slightly different than Hangman and similar to the Add-a-Letter game, this game is played by writing or typing the words, but leaving a blank space of two for key letters. Your child will have to put in the correct letters. This works particularly well to practice the vowel sounds. Act Them Out Essentially this is playing the game Charades with your child’s spelling words. You can do it a couple of ways- give your child a list of the words and have them guess which one you are acting out or put all the words in a bowl, have them choose one and ask them to act it out. Put Them in ABC Order While alphabetizing the list won’t necessarily help your child learn to spell each individual word, it will help them recognize the words and, for some children, just moving the strips (on which each word is written) around can help them keep the word in their visual memory.

The Scarlet Letter Study Guide

The Scarlet Letter Study Guide Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter, is a classic of early American literature. Written at a time when American cultural identity was starting to develop, the author portrays a believable representation of a Puritan colony during the nation’s earliest days. The book tells the story of Hester Prynne, a woman in 17th century Boston- then known just as the Massachusetts Bay Colony- who is forced to wear a scarlet â€Å"A† on her chest as punishment for having a baby out of wedlock. Through the story of Hester, Hawthorne explores the community as a whole and the norms and mores under which it operates. Fast Facts: The Scarlet Letter Title: The Scarlet LetterAuthor: Nathaniel HawthornePublisher: Ticknor, Reed FieldsYear Published: 1850Genre: Historical fictionType of Work: NovelOriginal Language: EnglishThemes: Shame and judgment, public vs. private, scientific and religious beliefsMain Characters: Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, PearlNotable Adaptations: The 2010 teen comedy film â€Å"Easy A,† starring Emma Stone was partially inspired by the novel.Fun Fact: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s last name originally didn’t contain the â€Å"w,† but he added it to distance himself slightly from his family’s past. Plot Summary In mid-17th century Boston, then known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a woman named Hester Prynne is made to stand on a scaffold in the town square and endure abuse for several hours as punishment for birthing a child out of wedlock. The townspeople heckle her and implore her to reveal the child’s father, but she refuses. While this occurs, a stranger arrives in the colony and watches from the back of the crowd. When Hester is brought to her cell, the stranger visits her, and it is revealed that the man is her presumed dead husband from England, Roger Chillingworth. Once  Hester is released from jail, she lives alone with her daughter, Pearl, and dedicates herself to needlepointing. She lives in isolation from the rest of the community, which has scorned her. As Pearl grows up, she develops into a rambunctious young child, so much so that members of the town say that she should be removed from her mother’s care. Upon hearing this, Pearl makes an impassioned plea to the governor, who rules in her favor after the popular town minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, speaks to support her. While Hester is living alone with Pearl, Dimmesdale, whose health has begun to deteriorate, has found a new roommate: Chillingworth- who, as a physician, was assigned to take care of the beloved minister. This poses a problem for Dimmesdale, who is desperate to hide his shame from the rest of the community. At one point, though, the doctor sees a dark mark on the priest’s chest. Later, Dimmesdale is out walking one night, and winds up at the scaffold, where he reflects that he cannot bring himself to admit his guilt. He runs into Hester and Pearl. They talk and Hester reveals that she will tell Chillingworth the identity of Pearl’s father. This sends Dimmesdale into an even deeper depression, and he ultimately reveals himself to be Pearl’s father in front of the town upon the scaffold, shortly after giving one of his most rousing sermons. He then dies in Hester’s arms. Hester moves back to England (though she ultimately returns) with Pearl, who receives a large inheritance from Chillingworth upon his death. Major Characters Hester Prynne. Hester is the protagonist and wearer of the eponymous totem. She is a very independently minded woman, as evidenced by her committing adultery and her behavior after the fact. She is also a morally upright person in general- as opposed to the rest of the townspeople who believe themselves to be but aren’t. She eventually works her way back, somewhat, into the town’s good graces through her deeds, and ultimately rejects both of her suitors in favor of blazing her own trail. Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is the town’s beloved minister, a public role he uses to shield his private involvement in an affair with Hester. Throughout the book he feels deep guilt and inner conflict over his behavior and public deceit- which ultimately kills him. Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth is Hester’s older husband from England, but he did not come over with her, and is presumed dead by Hester, making his arrival quite surprising. He is a physician by trade, and is therefore assigned by the town to take care of Dimmesdale when his health begins to worsen. Pearl. Pearl is Hester’s (and Dimmesdale’s) daughter, and, as such, is the living embodiment of Hester’s â€Å"guilt†- and of her love and goodness, too. Pearl is often referred to as devilish, and at one point the townspeople try to have her taken away from Hester as further punishment. She never learns her father’s identity, or the meaning of the â€Å"A.†Ã‚   Major Themes Shame and Judgment. From the very beginning, the colony judges Hester and makes her feel ashamed for her actions, even though she was just following her heart and didn’t really hurt anybody. Dimmesdale, too, feels shame for his role in the affair, but he isn’t judged for it, since it remains a secret to all but him and Hester. Public vs. Private. Hester’s role in the affair is very public, and she is, therefore, punished very cruelly for it. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, escapes punishment because his role is unknown. As a result, she must bear her burden outwardly, which is painful no doubt, but she can exorcise it, whereas Dimmesdale must keep it to himself, which ultimately kills him. Scientific and Religious Beliefs. Through the relationship between Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, Hawthorne explores the differing roles in Puritan society of science and religion. The story is set at a time just before the Scientific Revolution, so it is still a deeply religious community. This can be seen through Dimmesdale, who is quite popular and an established authority figure, as opposed to Chillingworth, who is an outsider and new to the colony.   Literary Style The novel is framed by an opening story, â€Å"The Custom-House,† in which the narrator, who bears many biographical similarities to Nathaniel Hawthorne, tells of his time working at the customs house in Salem. There he discovers a scarlet â€Å"A† and a manuscript that tells of the happenings in the colony a century earlier; this manuscript then forms the basis of the novel, which is written by the narrator of â€Å"The Custom-House.† The book creates a convincing representation of life in one of America’s earliest communities, and makes use of the lexicon of that time. About the Author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to an old Puritan family; one of his ancestors was the only judge involved in the Salem Witch Trials who never repented his actions. Hawthorne’s work, which focused mostly on life in New England, was part of the Romanticism movement, and usually contained dark themes and love affairs, and deeply moral and complex psychological portraits. He is considered a pioneer of American literature and one of the nation’s greatest novelists.

Hong Kong Cinema Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Hong Kong Cinema - Essay Example Many cinema critics attribute (Abbas, 1997; Li, 2001) this miracle to European influences and those of Hollywood, principally, comparing to China, which had been running the policy of mystification and cultural isolation between the 1950s and 1990s. Hong Kong is usually depicted as a capitalist city, which growth over Communist China and to great extent assimilates to Western postmodernism and realism. The theoretical framework for Hong Kong cinema analysis was provided by A.Abbas (1997), who draws and synthesizes the concept of dis-appearance. modern Hong Kong cinema is close-knit to the 1997 integration into China, as the Communist rule was always perceived as the power limiting cultural and contextual peculiarities and eliminating all national allegories and allusions. The sense of dis-appearance is very specific and refers to a purloined or secreted reality which is ignored because of the common tendency to standardization (Abbas, 1997). Furthermore the representation of dis-appearance employs dichotomies, especially one between dj vu (or a feeling of clich action or behavior) and deja disparu, or a feeling that points to the uniqueness of the situation, which has already happened and leads a viewer to hyperreality of interrelations between the facts and the events which have never happened. The concept of dis-apperance is particularly relevant to Diaspora members and those wh o observe Hong Kong with foreigner's eyes, so I would like to discuss the film 'City of Glass' (by M.Cheung) in terms of Hong Kong cinema trends. Deja disparu is masterly shown in the film, as the plot itself contains underlying redline of dis-appearance as the characters' state of mind. The movie narrates about the fates of two persons, whose parents die in car accident just before the integration of Hong Kong into China. The catastrophe unfolds a romantic story between Rafael and Vivian, "that was seeded in the flamboyant 1970s at the University of Hong Kong, yet disrupted by the fervent political movement and social unrest. Their participation in the movement resulted in their separation when Rafael was put in prison and expelled from the university, a separation that would be overcome only 20 years later when Hong Kong is on the verge of turning "Chinese" again" (Hao and Chen, 2000, p.37). In spite of the separation of their fates, Rafael's son, David, and Vivian's daughter, Suzie, meet and begin to discover their parents' past. The young people gradually realize that Hong Kong is not merely a city of glass, but a huge sto re of memories and anticipation as well as the time-space reverses (ibid), allowing everyone create a number of models and in conditional tense('if..then'). Psychological life of both Hong Kong residents and foreigners is described as deja disparu, or a re-consideration of past events, including the search for inimitable and unique aspects in fates and fortunes. The idea of dis-appearance runs freely through the movie and reaches its culmination at the very end, when the young couple decide to put their parents' bone ashes blasted up in Hong Kongas the event signifies the complete physical disappearance and the return to the country at the same time, or deja disparu, a renovation of the old story. The ending could be interpreted in other ways, but all of them to certain degree point to the concept of dis-appearance: for instance, Rafael and Vivian 'withdraw' just after Hong Kong's transition to China, or after Hong Kong ceases