About This Daily Classroom Special 
Each week Homework Hotline will suggest homework assignments aimed at grades K-1 and 2-3. Homework Hotline was written by Buzz Eyler, Director of Educational Technology at the Orcutt School District ( CA) and a former Teachers Network web mentor. 

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Environmental Print Activities

This week the homework will center on environmental print activities. The activities are appropriate for K-3, except as noted. Feel free to copy, cut, and paste the assignments into your own word processor for sending home (or print this page).

Day 1

Have the children go around their house tonight and write 10 words which they find that are not in a book, magazine or newspaper. For example, on the refrigerator they may see "Kenmore." Bring the list to school tomorrow. Use it for various reading activities (sorting by initial consonant, number of vowels, matching letters, etc.).

Day 2

Have the children, with parent help if you feel necessary for safety issues, look on the inside and outside of their cars or trucks and write 10 words they see. For example, written on the license plate will be the state's name, written on the tire the tire company's name, etc. Integrate these words into the activities listed above.

Day 3

Have the children interview a parent or other adult and ask them to list 10 words which are associated with their job. For example, a carpenter might list hammer, nails, wood, etc. Use these lists to see if the children can guess the occupation of the person.

Day 4

Have the children write or dictate a list of ten companies which they know about. When the list comes to school, categorize the words by business type, draw logos, and other related activities.