Primary Graffiti: Contraction Surgery

Hi friends! Just popping in to share a few activities we are worked on this past week. Contraction surgery is a themed day to support our previous learning of contractions. My kids have enjoyed this idea for years, so I'm excited to finally have a product that meets the needs of how I teach the skill.

Here's a little background on building my theme. I purchased the lab coats several years ago on Amazon. The store is called Makerspace Lab. The coats came in a pack of 10 for $19.99. I've used the same coats for years even though they're disposable. As you can see, they've held up nicely. With that being said, they're disposable. I've lost a few snaps over the years.

The goggles were purchased with my lead money several years ago. They're made by Learning Resources but I purchased mine from EAI Education. They were cheaper, costing under $3 each. There are several reasons I prefer to use the goggles over mask. The goggle are easier for primary students to adjust since they're worn like glasses. The adjustment extends at the ear. Also, I can place them in my dishwasher to clean them after they're used.

The lab coats and goggles are over-the-top and not at all necessary. I can tell you from my personal experience, my students are much more excited when they hear we will be dressing as scientist today. They're aware this means an investigation.

If you're looking to complete the activity on a budget, ask your school nurse for a donation. We had masks and gloves on hand at school. The materials were donated to my students to use during our learning sequence.

The following preview pages perfectly describe our learning sequence. I started the lesson with a quick brainpopjr video on contractions. We paused the four minute video throughout to determine the contraction before Annie reveals to Moby how the sentences are manipulated. Following the video introduction, we began a whole group activity. I'd already glued the chart label, doctor and contraction pill bottle to a piece of chart paper. The kids assisted me in locating the pill parts scattered in the center of the rug. As they're located, we glued them to our chart, corresponding with the correct pill bottle.

Once we completed the whole group activity, students were given the "will" and "not" contraction foldable pages. I saved the mixed pages for the following day as a follow up to the concentration game. The foldables allowed independent practice while writing a contraction.

The next day, my students worked in groups playing a contraction matching game. The game provided practice with a variety of mixed contractions. My low level students worked to match the puzzle parts while my higher level students place the puzzle parts upside down and played concentration. Once the game was complete, my students were given the mixed practice foldable pages to complete.

The day of the investigation, my students were given a doctor hat {nurse, but I didn't tell them}. They glued the blackline to a sentence strip and wore in the operation room. Here's what the kid's desk looked like as the activity began.