Mirabelle's Treasure Hunt Adventure: 4-Day Language Arts Review

Day 1: The Secret Letter Map

Materials Needed:

• Mirabelle's painted treasure chest
• A piece of paper
• A crayon or marker
• Scissors
• A small object from around the house whose name starts with a letter Mirabelle knows well (e.g., a Ball, a Cup, a Doll)

Lesson Plan (15 minutes):

1. Introduction (2 minutes): Start by admiring Mirabelle's treasure chest. Say, "This looks like a chest for a great adventurer! But every adventurer needs a map to find treasure. Today, we are going to start a secret mission to fill this chest."
2. The Letter Map (8 minutes): On the piece of paper, draw a simple "map" with a dotted line path. Along the path, write 5-6 letters of the alphabet that Mirabelle is working on. Point to the first letter and ask, "To follow the map, you must be a Letter Detective! What is this letter, and what sound does it make?" Continue for each letter on the path. For an extra challenge, ask her to name something that starts with that sound.
3. Finding the First Clue (3 minutes): When she successfully navigates the letter map, tell her she has earned the first clue! Reveal the small object you hid (e.g., the ball). Say, "The first clue is this ball! The sound 'buh' was on our map! Let's write the word 'ball' on a small piece of paper."
4. Locking Up the Treasure (2 minutes): Have Mirabelle place the small piece of paper with the word "ball" inside her treasure chest. Close the lid and say, "Great job, Detective Mirabelle! Our first piece of treasure is safe. Tomorrow, we'll solve another puzzle."

Teacher's Tip: Keep this fun and light! If she struggles with a letter sound, make the sound for her and have her repeat it. The goal is positive reinforcement, not a test.

Day 2: Rhyming Riddles

Materials Needed:

• The treasure chest (with yesterday's clue inside)
• Paper and a crayon
• A small piece of aluminum foil or yellow paper/crayon

Lesson Plan (15 minutes):

1. Review (2 minutes): Ask Mirabelle, "What treasure did we lock in our chest yesterday?" Have her open it and pull out the paper that says "ball." Review the letter B and its sound.
2. The Riddle Challenge (8 minutes): Tell her, "Today's challenge is to solve rhyming riddles! Your first clue is 'ball'. Can you think of a word that rhymes with ball?" (e.g., tall, small, call, wall). After she names a few, present these simple riddles:
   • "I rhyme with cat, and you wear me on your head. What am I?" (hat)
   • "I rhyme with log, and I love to hop. Ribbit! What am I?" (frog)
   • "I rhyme with sun, and it's so much fun to do! What am I?" (run)
   Let her draw a quick picture of each answer after she solves the riddle.
3. Earning the Treasure (3 minutes): Praise her for being a great "Riddle Solver." Say, "You've earned a piece of pirate treasure!" Give her the piece of foil or yellow paper and help her crumple or cut it into a "gold coin."
4. Add to the Chest (2 minutes): Have Mirabelle place her new gold coin and one of her riddle drawings into the treasure chest. Close it up for tomorrow's adventure.

Teacher's Tip: For a kinesthetic learner, act out the riddles! Pretend to put on a hat or hop like a frog. This makes the connection between the word and its meaning much stronger.

Day 3: The Sentence Detective

Materials Needed:

• The treasure chest
• The unfinished workbook
• A pencil or crayon
• Another "gold coin" (made from foil or paper)

Lesson Plan (15 minutes):

1. Review (2 minutes): Open the treasure chest and look at the "ball" clue and the riddle drawing. Quickly review the rhyme.
2. The Detective Mission (8 minutes): Open the workbook to a page with simple sentences (e.g., "The cat sat." or "I see a dog."). Say, "Today, you are a Sentence Detective. A real sentence has two secret codes: a capital letter at the beginning and a punctuation mark, like a period, at the end. Your mission is to find them!"
3. Marking the Clues (3 minutes): Have Mirabelle look at 2-3 sentences. For each one, ask her to circle the "boss letter" (capital) at the beginning and the "stop sign" (period) at the end with her crayon. Celebrate each one she finds.
4. The Final Treasure (2 minutes): Tell her that her excellent detective work has earned her another gold coin! Have her place the coin in the treasure chest and explain that tomorrow, she will use all her clues to find the final, grand prize.

Teacher's Tip: To make this more hands-on, write a simple sentence on a strip of paper, cut the words apart, and have her put them back in the correct order. This helps her see how sentences are built.

Day 4: Unlocking the Grand Prize!

Materials Needed:

• The treasure chest filled with all the clues (the word "ball," a riddle drawing, two coins)
• Three small pieces of paper with picture clues drawn on them
• A small "grand prize" (e.g., a new book, a special sticker sheet, a favorite snack)

Lesson Plan (15 minutes):

1. The Final Mission (2 minutes): Announce, "Mirabelle the Adventurer, today is the day! It's time to use everything in your treasure chest to find the grand prize!" Before the lesson, hide the prize and place the picture clues. For example:
   • Clue 1 (taped to the bottom of the treasure chest): A drawing of a chair.
   • Clue 2 (taped under a chair): A drawing of a window.
   • Clue 3 (taped to the window): A drawing of her bed (where the prize is hidden).
2. Empty the Chest (5 minutes): Have her open the chest and lay out all her treasures. Remind her how she earned each one. "You found the letter sounds to get the 'ball,' you solved riddles for this drawing and coin, and you were a sentence detective for this coin! But wait... what's this?" Pretend to notice the first picture clue taped to the bottom of the chest.
3. Follow the Clues (5 minutes): Help her interpret the first clue ("It's a chair! Let's go look at a chair!"). Guide her from one clue to the next until she discovers the grand prize.
4. Celebration! (3 minutes): Celebrate her success! Tell her what a wonderful job she did all week with her letters, rhymes, and sentences. She has successfully completed the Treasure Hunt Adventure! Let her enjoy her prize.

Teacher's Tip: The grand prize doesn't need to be big or expensive. The real reward is the fun of the hunt and the feeling of accomplishment. Your excitement will be the most motivating part of the experience!