Multidiscipline Activities  With The Letters Xx and Z

The letters X and Z are sometimes hard to think of words and activities for.  Here are some of the ones we thought of and tried.

Zeros and Zip Codes
math, social studies, copying, handwriting

   To learn about how important zeroes are in writing numbers we first watched the School House Rock show "My Hero Zero".  Then we learned and practiced together how many zeroes to use to write hundreds, thousands, and million.

    To learn about zip codes we explored a map if the U.S. and talked about places where people we know live and how to address  an envelope to send them a letter.   We wrote down these cities and zip codes on our paper.
 
 

Zap, Zip, Zoom, & Zing
vocabulary, language, reading, creative thinking

We brainstormed together to think of words that make a sound when you read and say them.  We also practiced saying the long word these kind of sound words are called, onomatopoeia.  After we had a long list we discovered 4 of our words started with Z.  We wrote these four words on a paper then drew pictures of things we though of that would make that sound.
Here are some of our ideas:

 

 

Zip Through A Book
listening, rhyming, skimming, literature, multiple word meanings, vocabulary, music


  We talked about how words can mean more than one thing. Like the word zip can mean a sound, to zip a zipper, or to do something fast.  We practiced the going fast meaning by listening to a Wee Sing rhyming song tape and trying zip through a book Ms. Street made for us to find the pictures to go with each song before it was over.

Zoo Animals
science, classification, vocabulary, cooperation

We talked about one of our favorite z places to go, the zoo and told about the animals we have seen there. With a partner and the help of a book of animal pictures we decided on which category paper to place each of the model animals.
 


X Marks The Spot
creative thinking, problem solving, organization
After discussing how sometimes  an X is used to mark something, like where treasure is buried on a map, our job was to make an maze out of straws or toothpicks.  We put a start sign at the beginning of the maze and an X sign at the spot you had to try to get to.  We tried to make it as tricky as we could.  When it was finished we asked one of our classmates to use one of the movers and try to get through our maze.
 


Introducing The Multiplication Sign X
introduction of multiplication concept, reading & writing equations, grouping, writing & counting numbers to 50


 


We found out that X is also a math sign like the + and - signs we already know about.  We used the Work Job boards and counters but instead of  adding more counter or taking counters away from the board we found out X means you have to put groups of counters on the boards.  Even though we don't need to practice these facts yet it was fun  and made us feel very smart to learn about the 2nd grade skill of multiplication.
 


 Cross Stitch Letter & Number Writing Practice
 life skills, reading readiness, problem solving, visual discrimination

 We learned an X is a kind of a stitch you can make with thread and yarn to sew decorations, pictures, and words on things made of material.  Ms. Street brought in some item she had cross stitched, showed us pictures of others, and showed us with and needle and thread how to do it.  We each got to try it on our own piece of material.   She also showed us how we could use graph paper and write Xs in the squares to look like cross stitching.  We tried to figure out which boxes to put Xs in to make letters and numbers on our paper.
 
 

Extra Fast
 reading, coordination, concentration, staying on task under time pressure, time management skills

We brainstormed and thought of lots of words that started with the X sound, but when we looked in the X section in the dictionary many of them weren't there.  That's when we learned that a lot of words that sound like they start with X really start with ex.    One of these ex words is extra. We used this new x sounding word to practice many study skills by using a sand timer to try to do some fun games and activities extra fast.

X Out b, d, p, q
visual discrimination, reading readiness

We already knew about using Xs to mark out things so  we used them with with a color code to X out the tricky to read lower case letters b, d, p, and q on a paper Ms. Street made for us.  If we Xed out the right letters the right colors three words appeared that were a secret message from Ms. Street to us to read.   Can you see the secret message on this paper?

 

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