As a reading teacher we always need fun ideas to keep our students interested and involved in the lesson. Since I teach first grade, we do a lot of reviewing at the beginning of the year on the alphabet. We also work on short vowels and the sounds they make. One activity I always enjoyed and the students enjoyed was the short “a” chain. I cut strips of paper about 2 inches wide. I make sure that I have several colors to choose from as well. Then I have students think of short “a” words (of course we have reviewed  these ahead of time). They write down their short “a” word and then we staple the strip so that it is a circle/chain. We link all the chains together to form one long chain. Then we hang them from the ceiling as decoration. The students love the activity and the decoration it adds to the classroom. What a fun and easy way to review!