Do The Digraph!

Okay.  I was recently re-introduced to a childhood favorite while skimming through Netflix trying to find a movie for my boys.  Do any of y’all remember this show???

Don’t judge.

I grew up with two younger brothers and one TV in our household.  I grew to love it.  But it wasn’t until a few days ago that I realized just how awful it was.  And now I can’t get the theme song out of my head.  This has absolutely NOTHING to do with my post, except to tell you that I’m singing “Do the Digraph” to the tune of the theme song, “Do the Mario”. 

Addicting people.  Awful and addicting. You can thank me for this nostalgic reminder later.

Moving on…

There are certain things I love to teach.  I mean, I love teaching in general, but there are certain, specific things I really love teaching.  One of those is consonant digraphs.  Random?  Sure.  But I love it. 

Let’s back it up just a bit.

My first year teaching was a real eye opener.  Trying to figure out how to teach my babies EVERYTHING they needed to know before moving onto first grade seemed like the most daunting task.  I had my nose in the TEKS {for y’all non-Texas folk, that’s the Texas version of the CCSS…our state objectives} and our district provided, scripted curriculum.  I was going to follow it all to a T because, well, isn’t that what a good teacher is supposed to do??  Well, that was all wonderful and perfect on paper, but I had a classroom full of 19 Title 1 5-year-olds who all came in with different talents…different abilities…different life experiences…different home lives…different circumstances…and well…I had to change my approach to teaching almost immediately. 

I remember spending COUNTLESS hours at school.  This was all pre-marriage/kids/family of course.  But I would spend HOURS upon HOURS upon HOURS at school.  During the week.  On the weekends.  At times it felt like I was just visiting my apartment because there certainly was no trace that I was a resident {aside from the closet full of clothes and the unkempt bed}.

I loved every single minute.  I never begrudged my chosen profession because I had to work outside of my contracted hours.  I WANTED to be there.  I wanted to challenge myself to find new and exciting ways to teach to EVERYONE.  And it was hard.  That first year was pretty much trial and error…and a lot of “ohmiword…that went AWFUL!!!!!!” conversations with my mom.

I remember being STRESSED like crazy when I *finally* figured out what guided reading really was all about.  How was I supposed to get 19 kids to read when half of them couldn’t even identify the letters in their names?!  I mean, this was my FIRST teaching gig.  I didn’t want to fail. I didn’t want to let my babies down.  I couldn’t. 

As the year progressed, I realized there was nothing in the curriculum or TEKS instructing me to teach consonant digraphs.  WHA?!  Really??!  I panicked.  Would I get in trouble for teaching them??  I mean, I HAD to.  I had actually taught my kids reading strategies and they were starting to read, but my high flyers kept getting stuck on the darn digraphs.  And I was all, “BUT IT’S NOT IN THE TEKS!!!!!”  I was so dang afraid I’d get in trouble teaching something that wasn’t technically in the curriculum!  HA!

SO that’s when I took my nose out of the curriculum and started getting creative.  If I was responsible for making these kids readers, I had to do whatever was necessary.  It was shortly after that revelation that I went to Vegas with my family.  I took a few days off work and hauled some of my teaching goodies to Nevada so that I could get some work done on my solo flight.  I mean, anything to take my mind off flying, right?!

That’s when my “Digraph Kids” were born.  I’m not sure if I blogged about them before…maybe back when I was teaching first grade…but the OG’s {ahem…originals} were born on a plane ride to Vegas. I made up stories for each of them.  I drew them to life.  I couldn’t wait to get home and share them with my kids!!!  And low and behold…they LOVED them.  And it wasn’t long before the digraphs were forever ingrained in their memories.  {{Tear}}

I still have them.  And I laugh every time I pull them out of my filing cabinet.  What a hot little mess.

Digraph Kids circa 2001. I’d like to think my art skills have since improved.  HA!

 

I still pull these out every year…just to remember where I started.  And they still make me smile.  I have since updated their look and my kids LOVE these guys.  And I’m still surprised how well they work when trying to teach my babies to remember the digraphs!!! 

This is the time of year in Kindergarten where we really hit digraphs hard.   I know it’s not in the TEKS.  But y’all.  They’re READY.  So I’m pretty much adding digraph games and activities everywhere.  And they are LOVING it.  Here’s just a few little peeks at what we’ve been doing this week in our literacy centers/dessert tubs.

Sound challenges…

 

and puzzles…

a racing game or two…

 

My kids like to say, “let’s vs. each other!!!!”  HA.

Don’t forget the dice games!

 

Build, Blend, Write, & Wipe is always a trusted favorite.

Keeping things interactive…

Talk about taking the “in yo’ face” approach to teaching.  WHATEVER WORKS, people!!!!

I’ll be back later this week or next to share some fun whole group digraph games with you.  Maybe even a little video.  In the meantime, if you’re on the hunt for some of these digraph games and activities, you can find them in my “Delighted About Digraphs” packet of digraph fun.

Here’s a little peek at what’s included….

Alright.

I’m currently hooked on Scandal.  Darn you, Netflix!  I need to get back to my “quality” tv programming.  Netflix may or may not be the demise of my productivity.  And I love it.

Have a great night!