Do you have a favorite app? Pic Collage is such a versatile app and we now are using it for Making Words. It saves me lots of time because I don’t have to search for letters each time I do a reading group. Once I help my students get the initial template saved in Pic Collage all we have to do is change the letters the next time we want to use it. Check out this post to see how this app helps us make words digitally.
Making Words During Reading Groups
During my Guided Reading Group time I do a guided making words with my students. I follow the book Making Words by Patricia Cunningham and Dorothy Hall.  http://amzn.to/2oCGoFL  If you go to the link you can check out the pages inside the book. We have been using word cards for Making Words but now we like the ease of doing it on Pic Collage. It saves lots of time getting word cards out and putting them away.
The book Making Words is packed with tons of lessons to make words. Maybe your students need a boost or more practice with certain vowel patterns or blends. Making words is great for this. Each lesson has letters at the top of the page that you give to your students. Â Students type and arrange the letters in the boxes on the background of their Pic Collage and then drag them to the bottom of their iPad to form the word with the teacher’s directions
 Sample of Making Words
An example of how this works is you would tell the students to type all the letters you need to make the big word that they will make at the end of the lesson. For example. If you have the word alligator. You would have your kids type a, a, i, o, g, l, l, r, t. The order is given to them with all vowels first in abc order, then all the consonants in abc order.
Then you give the students directions to make words. Use four letters and make the word tail. Change one letter and make the word rail. Â The book has lots of words and a progression of how it works.
Recording Sheets
After a word is made you can use the recording sheets and write the word you made onto your paper. Keep adding words until the lesson is over. (You can also use regular notebook paper for this too.) Â If students are having trouble making a word have them stretch it slowly with their finger under the letters to see if it matches with the sounds they are saying. Once all the words on the list are made students need to use all the letters to make a big word. They can not shout out the word they have to make it and then they can share it with the group. This is a challenging and brain growing activity. It really makes them think and try lot of combinations to figure out the big word.
Making Words is a very meaningful way to work on phonics skills in any guided reading lesson. My students learn so much from this. There is also a Making Big Words Book http://amzn.to/2op83vj to make it more challenging for the older or better students who still need practice.
Digital Templates
Here are the templates so you can do your own digital Pic Collage Making Words
Below is the video with step by step directions so that you can use your templates for making words on Pic Collage App.
This post contains affiliate links to the books on Amazon.
Hello! I’m Anita, the author of Goodwinnovate. I am currently a K-6 STEM/MAKERSPACE teacher. I have also taught 1st and 2nd grades, Title One reading and math in grades 1-3, and Reading Recovery. I love all things technology, and I love trying anything new. I look forward to sharing ideas with you. Click the button below to learn more about me.
m the word with the teacher’s directions
