Many students struggle with Polar Planet. It stretches listening accuracy, working memory and selective attention skills to the max! It requires a student to correct hear and retain a sound, process each new option while holding the first sound, and then recognizing the match.
It’s fabulous brain exercise but it’s not easy!
Intervention Suggestions
Try sitting with your child to make sure the task of the exercise is clearly understood. If that is not the problem, use one or more of the suggested activities below to build the skills necessary to succeed in this exercise.
Match the Sounds
Materials: 1 set of 10 – 4×6 cards listing the individual syllables, five sound pairs: Gi and Ki, Chu and Shu, Si and Sti, Ge and Ke, Do and To.
Activity: The matching sets of sounds should be on opposite sides of the cards. (For example, Gi should be on the opposite side of Ki). Introduce one sound pair set of cards such as Gi/Ki. Have your child repeat the sounds to you. Then read out two sounds and have your child point to the corresponding sound. e.g., “Listen for Ki in the sound pair of Gi/Ki …..Ki…Gi…..Gi…..Gi….Ki” Do the same for the other sound pairs.
Initial Sounds
Materials: Word list – big, jig, dig, pig, bad, mad, fad, pad, bat, sat, pat, cat
Activity: Explain that this exercise asks students to identify the first sound in each word. Say the word ‘bat’. Ask your child to repeat the word with you and notice the first sound in the word. Then say the word ‘cat.’ Ask your child to say the word ‘cat’ and make the first sound in the word ‘c’. Then say the word ‘bat’ again and raise your hand while you say the word so your child understands to raise his hand when he hears a word that starts with ‘b’.
Use the words from this Polar Planet Word List to identify words that begin with ‘b’ sounds.
Alternative Activity: this activity can also be used to help students identify final sounds in words. Create a word list using words such as bib, bin, bid, big, dab, dash, dad, dan, cab, cub.
Again, Polar Planet is not an easy exercise but it helps build fundamental learning skills that can be transformational for your child.