Multisensory Monday: "I'm Going to a Picnic"

Even though picnic season seems so far away, we can still dream! In today's Multisensory Monday activity, students listen and identify a pattern in words, which will help them to respond correctly and receive an invite to the picnic!  This game does not apply to just one phonics skill or rule and can be used either as a phonological awareness activity or to strengthen and review phonics skills.

"I'm Going to a Picnic"

Begin by saying, "I’m going to a picnic and I’m bringing (blank).” Each student gets a turn to respond by saying, "Can I come to the picnic? I'll bring (blank)." If the student’s response fits the rule, you say, “Sure, you can come and bring (blank).”  If their response does not fit the rule, you say, “I’m sorry, we don’t need (blank)."

Example 1

The target beginning sound is /c/ (but keep this a secret). Students listen to what you are bringing to the picnic, try to find the pattern, and then see if what they bring will get them an invite to the picnic.

(Let every student have a chance before asking if anyone figured out what the rule was.)

Teacher: I’m going to a picnic and I’m bringing my cat, a cup, and cookies.

Student 1: Can I come to the picnic? I’ll bring pizza.

Teacher: I’m sorry. We don’t need pizza today!

Student 2: Can I come to the picnic? I’ll bring cake.

Teacher: Sure, you can come and bring cake. Sounds delicious!

Continue until students have caught on and generated a long list of words beginning with the target sound.

Example 2

The target sound is /j/ at the end of word, with the spelling -dge (keep it a secret!)

Teacher: I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing fudge and a mini-fridge.

Student 1: Can I come to the picnic? I’ll bring jam.

Teacher:  I’m sorry we already have too much jam.

Student 2: Can I come to the picnic? I’ll bring a hodgepodge of things.

Teacher: A hodgepodge sounds interesting! No grudge!

Continue until students have caught on and generated a long list of words beginning in the target sound.

Here is a quick list of some of the rules you can use for this game, arranged roughly in order of difficulty.

• Item must start with the same letter as the student’s name (ex. Mary can bring marshmallows, but Tony can’t. Tony can bring tacos though.)
• ... begin or end with a certain sound
• ... be a rhyming word
• ... have a certain number of syllables
• ... follow the double -ff, -ll, -ss, -zz spelling rule
• ... be a singular or plural noun
• ... be a certain color
• ... be a school supply, something you wear, something that grows from the ground, etc.
• ... be a homophone
• ... have an r-controlled vowel

We love that this game requires students to think about patterns and problem solve! It is a perfect game to fill those small minutes of time. Think of playing this while students are standing in line, when there are only a few minutes before lunch or the end of the day, as a way to refocus after recess, on the bus for a field trip, while waiting for an assembly to start, etc.

Written by Brainspring

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