CLUE BUDDIES IN THE CLASSROOM
Do you find yourself teaching a concept to elementary students that requires them to learn a chant, rhyme, or poem only to see them struggle to remember the skill you are teaching? Our time ends up being spent explaining implied information, metaphors, and analogies rather than teaching the actual concept or skill. This often results in a disconnect between the trick, or hook, and the learning.
As you know, a six-year old’s attention span is not very long, and as teachers, our time is limited. I wanted something that could quickly grab my students’ attention, hold it, help teach the skill or concept, and free up class time to practice and reinforce the learning.
I have developed a system of visual clues using colorful characters called Clue Buddy Crew! This system skips past all the extras and gets straight to the concept being taught. Each character’s name and appearance reinforces the concept on a card that each Clue Buddy is holding. For example, to teach the “ow” diphthong, we have Ow Cow, a cow holding a card with “ow” on it. Ow Cow’s name has two clues, and Ow Cow is a cow with her arm in a cast, bandages, and a tear in her eye. Ow Cow says, “Ow!”
Every Clue Buddy Crew resource has been crafted with first graders in mind. Learners at this stage can’t read directions or anchor charts. While students are learning to read, they should have information and resources easily accessible and immediately useful. We have Posters for introducing each Clue Buddy, character Cards for building words, and Reusable Word Sheets to practice reading and writing with the Buddies. The Clue Buddies empower my students!
On a day when my students meet a new Clue Buddy, it is an event in our classroom! We have a grand unveiling in class. I choose a helper to be a master of ceremonies donning a hat; another student pulls back a curtain; another student holds a spotlight (flashlight); the other students do a desk drumroll to welcome the new Buddy! Building anticipation for meeting the new Buddy creates a memorable learning experience.
Meet Sick Rick! When my students are introduced to Sick Rick they are immediately grossed out! It’s the snot! The kids want to know how he got sick, why he is sick, and what they can do to not get sick. This opens up good discussions about hygiene practices for washing our hands, sneezing, and coughing. The emotional reaction, empathy, and discussion about the character has done the work of a poem, rhyme, or chant. They now “know” Sick Rick, who he is, and what he is teaching them. All of Sick Rick’s Word Buddy resources are free to try out. Download here.
After students meet Sick Rick using the Word Buddy Poster, I then move on to word work using Sick Rick’s Word Buddy Card and the free Alphabet Word Building Cards. Download here. I build words and we, as a class, determine if they are nonsense words or real words, and we discuss the meaning of each word, so that students are reinforcing vocabulary without realizing they are learning. We simply talk about words!
After we work on word building, the students can use Sick Rick’s Reusable Word Sheets to practice reading and writing words that feature “ck.”
Once students have met a new Buddy, they get to have the Word Buddy Card added to their ring. My students do not lose their ring! It is so important to them because they have earned each Buddy. The collectible aspect of the Cards, the size, and having their own ring increases the desire for students to gain new Clue Buddies.
The Clue Buddy Crew resources go right along with what you’re already teaching in your classroom. There is no set story or script for the Buddies! Your students will enjoy coming up with their own stories and discovering the clues together in-class discussion.
With Clue Buddy Crew, we want students to know they have a Buddy to help them, and never feel alone when they are doing big things such as reading, writing, and math. The Clue Buddies are colorful, fun, often outlandish, unexpected, and memorable.
My students’ oral language and vocabulary flourishes because of the word building and vocabulary development that the Word Buddy discussions provide. Being a part of these discussions is very valuable to my ELL students. Clue Buddy Crew can be used in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade, with ELL students, and upper elementary classes with mixed ability levels.
Melissa Spence is a seventh-year first-grade teacher in central Arkansas. Her husband, Jeff, is the illustrator and graphic designer behind all of the Buddies. Before becoming a teacher, she was a marketing director for six years where she and her husband worked closely together. What started as Melissa wanting Jeff to help her with a cute poster for her classroom has evolved into a system of literacy and math visual clues for early learners. She and her husband have enjoyed the chance to work together, problem-solve, and collaborate on Clue Buddy Crew. Because Jeff is a designer and not an educator, he brings a fresh perspective and provide input on creating visual resources that are easy for teachers to use in their classrooms to better engage with their students.
