DORBOOKS Teaching Tips and Ideas

Tip #1 - Treasure Hunt

Here's an idea that has been a big hit in our family: Have a Treasure Hunt! It's a real-time reading activity that is immensely enjoyable as well as great fun for the whole family. We always do it for birthdays, with a gift at the other end. And here's the kicker: Each and every clue must be read aloud by the budding young reader!

Since our two young grandchildren have different reading abilities, the following clues are written for obviously varying reading levels. The simpler clues are printed in much larger letters, and are the ones read by our littlest reader, who is just now beginning to read three-letter words and simple sentences. The other clues are read by our second-grader:

It is on a mop.
Hop! Hop! Hop!

It is in a tub.
Rub-a-dub-dub!

It is not on a bed.
It is un-der a bed!

Look in the place where it's nice and hot,
And you'll find something that you like a lot!

Now go to the place where Mommy sleeps,
Go ahead, look around, and take a peek!

Look in the place with a very small door,
When you see it, you will want some more!

Under a special outside tree
Is something to fill your heart with glee!

Under a stone there is a grave,
Go and look, but you must be brave!

(Note: Our recently deceased kitty is buried in the yard)

Now go to a place where it gets all wet...
You will love it, I just bet!

Now go to the room where Mommy sleeps
And under the desk, go and peek!

Now go to a room where it feels like rain,
And you will have a lot to gain!

It's out in the air where the sky is blue...
It's near the front door and is made for you!

Where do you scrub your teeth so white?
First be sure that you turn on the light!

To make your bed all tidy and neat,
You'll need to come here and get a clean sheet.

Playing outside will get my vote,
But first you'll need to get your coat.

I print these two to a page, cut them out, put them in a different order each time. Fold them. Keep the first clue out to begin the hunt, then hide the rest in their respective hiding places. (Make sure that one note always leads to the next one! Numbering them can help.) Mix or match any way you want, use as many or few as desired. Make up your own clues!

The pleasure our family derives from this activity is greater each time a birthday rolls around and we have our special Treasure Hunt -- the children simply shout with glee and dance with excitement! And it certainly motivates them to learn how to read better. Happy hunting!

Tip #2 - Bite-Sized Reading New!
Sometimes a whole page of sentences can be daunting to beginning readers. If this is the case for you, try this fun and easy reading tip:

Transfer the information into a different format consisting of bite-sized pieces. Use the computer to make little sentence strips, short lists of words, or two-word phrases taken from that page. Cut them out, fold each one, and put them into a *Reading Box* for your fledgling reader to pick out himself, open, and read one at a time. It's just what many students need! They enjoy being *in control,* fishing them out of the box, and reading them one by one, all by themselves. It's the same material, but in much smaller, easy-to-digest pieces.

© 2002-2003 Dolores G. Hiskes