Ordering
Teach a variety of ordering activities, from ordering words to creating a sentence to ordering pictures of clocks from the beginning of a day to the end of the day. Also, use the chart to reinforce
"Ted was hungry for a turkey sandwich."
Then, write the following on cards, and mix up the words in the appropriate pocket.
Yellow section: First, he took out the turkey and bread.
Green: Next, he toasted the bread.
Blue: Then, he put turkey on the toast.
Purple: Finally, his sandwich was ready.
Encourage children to move the words around to create a coherent sentence and read the paragraph together as a class when completed.
Classifying
Help students classify objects with the Rainbow Pocket Chart. This is especially useful in science. For example, you can teach the differences among types of animals like birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
Start by writing animal types on cards, one type per card, and place each card in its own segment of the Rainbow Pocket Chart. Ask students, “What kind of skin outside do reptiles have?” “Do all reptiles have this skin?” “Name some examples of reptiles.” Work through each category in this manner and explain how animal types differ. Then, encourage children to find pictures in magazines of the different kinds of animals, cut them out, glue them to cards, and place them in the correct category. Students can list the characteristics of each animal on the backside of the card.
Extend this lesson into a social studies activity on the kind of climate each type of animal lives in and why.
Organizing
The Rainbow Pocket Chart is also useful as an organization tool. The pockets are durable to store manipulatives or hall passes. Also, use it to display classroom announcements, inform students of upcoming projects in each curriculum area, current events, field trips, and student names for jobs and tasks.
