Image Map

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Stars Are Falling From the Sky





The teachers in my district loved this activity that I created last year. I thought you might like it too. I teach the kids how to do this in a systematic way with each sight word I introduce. It helps to make them independent learners since I have them going through the same process over and over again. First they trace the sight word (we call them star words), then they take colored pencils and "rainbow write inside the word", and finally they cut out the individual letters and glue them in the box  in the correct order. Now, here is what happens in my room. Students glue these in the wrong order (as hard as that might be to believe) and the children who are four glue them upside down or go from right to left. When I see this I know it is going to be a long year ! They have very limited understanding of print.  If you like this you can grab it here. I hope you like this little freebie. If you take it maybe you can tell me something you like to use to build  sight word knowledge!

65 comments:

Michele said...

I love this, thank you! I have a "Star Center" in my classroom where I put star word (sight words) activities. I like the idea of doing the same activity with each new word and creating that independence! I usually have the children "Mix and Fix" the new word with magnetic letters and then have them practice writing the word on a whiteboard.

Fran Kramer said...

You can put the letters in small mint boxes and have them order the letters. I love the mix and fix idea you smartie!
Fran

Elizabeth Polston said...

I laughed out loud when I got to your comment about the four year olds we have in kinder. I know it's hard for "other people" to understand that these babies just aren't ready for the "new" kinder yet. Can't wait for the entrance date to be rolled back, transitional kinder to be going and then the whole new set of issues that will bring to our CA schools. I do LOVE this idea for sight words! Thank you!

Elizabeth

Madamsara said...

This is such a GREAT idea! This would be a great asset to the sight word program we use in my class! Is there a possible way to get an editable version of this so that I may do this with all our sight words?
Please let me know if there is. Thanks you co much for sharing all your wonderful ideas! I love them!

-Sara

madamsara@gmail.com

Barbara said...

THis is great..Make it for all the star words and put it in the store.."If you make it we will come"...LOL.

Fran Kramer said...

I will put it in my store as soon as I can. The teachers in my district love it more than anything I have ever created. Weird, huh?

Kristina said...

I have a similar kind of activity for star words. My sheet has five large boxes on the sheet. The first box has the star word of the week in traceable lettering. Then I have a pencil next to the second box and the kids are to write the sight word with pencil. The third box has a crayon, fourth has a colored pencil and the fifth has a marker. So in the end the kids will write the word five times, five different ways.

Learning with Mrs. Parker said...

I have a book similar in style. My special need student loved the repetitiveness of this activity. This has been a great resource since we teach 100 words in k.
http://catalog.educationexpressonline.com/the_best_sight_word_book_ever-p-168959.html

Fran Kramer said...

I keep this super simple for the beginning of the year when they are not really ready to write these words independently. I am just trying to build their fine motor in a very controlled manner. We use white boards to practice writing the words and don't release this until a bit later in the year. I love hearing everyone's approach.

Freckleteacher said...

Thanks Fran! In my class we call sight words "Heart Words" for words you need to learn by heart. After reading a book that features the word, they write it 6 times to practice and then put a heart sticker by the one they think is their best. This page would be a great addition to the many activities we do with our words.
I would buy a sight word unit!

Sneaker Teacher said...

This is awesome, thanks for sharing!

KT

Sneaker Teacher said...

We use Heidi's Songs Sing and Spell Volumes 1 & 2 which cover most of our sight words. The kids LOVE those songs and it really helps them when they are writing. I always encourage them by singing the song and leaving out the letters or humming to the tune and they can remember the letters to write from the song. It's awesome, but I love the idea of adding something like this to the weekly sight word routine!
Thanks.

KT

The Peterson Family said...

I love this - especially for the beginning of the year. We use the scholastic sight words worksheets, but they have a lot of writing involved which is hard at the beginning of the year.
I find that practicing oral spelling as a class is more helpful for actually remembering the words - one of those things that I wouldn't think would be that helpful, but we make it a game and the kids like to impress me. At our school we do "say, spell, say" using flashcards - so for the word 'the':
teacher: What word?
kids: the
teacher: Spell it.
kids: t-h-e
teacher: What word?
kids: the

Hope that makes sense. At the beginning of the year I say "the word is the" when I hold up the flashcard and then phase that part out as it isn't needed anymore.

After all that....Thanks for sharing! I will definitively look for all the words up on TpT.

Erin Eberhart said...

You're the bomb, hands down! Love it, thanks for sharing.
Erin
http://eberhartsexplorers.blogspot.com/

Mary said...

This is fantastic... thank you! I was also sooo happy to see that you stopped by my blog yesterday (since I have been visiting you A LOT).

Mary
Adventures in Kindergarten

Sara said...

Awesome idea! If you do post the template on TPT, I will be one of the first to buy it!

Lynn said...

I love this!!! Thanks for sharing. We love to make sight words with playdough, jewels, dot markers, and anything else we can get our hands on.

Margaret Byrne said...

This is such a great idea. After I introduce a word, it goes on the word wall, of course, but then a laminated star with the word on it goes on the ceiling. After we get quite a few up there, they have a word hunt and find either specific words, or just get me five or ten. Just a little extension!

megandw said...

Love it! I can see why the teachers at your school did too!
I would definitely purchase a unit with customizable sheet!

In my classroom, we do lots of sight word chants and the kiddos love them. I have even seen them be done at recess! Awwww

Mrs. Lofgren said...

What a great way to reinforce print concepts and sight words! I love it!!! Thank you for sharing! :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this. I love this idea. Thanks for sharing. I will be watching TPT.

Nikki said...

This is great!!!! Makes so much sense to use. Can't wait to try it with my kiddos! We use the DVD Dolch Dogs to reinforce our sight words. You can use it as a book or a song, and my kids absolutely love it!

Mrs. B's Beehive said...

I agree with Barbara, I would love to buy a packet with all of your star words from your TPT store. I think this is a great reinforcement tool after each star word is introduced!

Kelly said...

Love it! Similar to the one Donna Whyte did but without copying double sided---a huge bonus! We call them popcorn words because they pop up all over the place in our reading and writing!

I like to make up songs.
t-h-e the
t-h-e the
that spells the
that spells the
there is "the door"
there is "the floor"
the the the

They are never the same. Its just off the top of my head and half of the time I can't remember the one I did when I taught the word. That's what great kindergartners are for!!!

Pam said...

Love this! We do rainbow writing using high frequency at work on writing during Daily 5. I was wondering if you could emil me the template in microsoft word so I could use the same format for our district words?

kinderfort said...

I would also like a whole packet of these for the sight words! Good repetition in different ways. Let us know if you put it on TpT.

Emily said...

Thanks for sharing!!
I use a dice/graphing game for reinforcing sight words. I write six words on a wooden dice, the kids roll it, find the word on the graphing worksheet and then write the word. They love this game!!

I would also love for you to put the other words on TPT!!

Julie said...

Cute. I have color words one similar to this in one of my packets. Love it!

Julie T said...

Could you post the template on TPT rather than the pdf files for specific words? Then we could change the words to fit our needs and still give you the credit? :)

Shannon said...

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing! Please put a complete sight word set in you TPT store. I would love to purchase it!

Unknown said...

OMG! I tried to "whip" these up for myself last night, (we are finally changing to a new reading series with a different progression of words, Yeah). Two hours later . . .I finished one page and it does not look half as good as yours. PLEASE could you put a version we can "make" our own words on TpT? Maybe even a space to write the word on lines. Thanks so much for the inspiration. You really helped me with Thinking Maps.
thanks familyaga@hotmail.com

Stacey Kaiser said...

Thank you! I used the Heidisongs (which has something similar but I like the cut and paste part of yours) I like for them to practice those scissor skills! =)

Carey said...

Would it be possible for you to create a generic format as well for us to purchase (that we can type our own sight words into)? We do not all have the same required sight words. I work at a Charter School and our kids are required to know 100 words by the end of K. Therefore, we have developed our own sight word list (based on different list from K & 1). Thanks so much! I love this activity!!

Laura said...

Thank you for sharing! My kids love to write their words different ways.... stamps, chalk, expo markers, magnets, crayons, pencils, play dough, in shaving cream, etc...

Conchy said...

Absolutely love this! It will be great to use with my sped kids, as I have inclusion.

Thanks so much! Now, where do I get the rest of my sight words?

Conchy

Conchy.Marcano@gmail.com

Sheri Cline said...

Fran...I love the simplicity of this for the beginning of the year. We also do 100 words and I would buy yours if they matched. Perhaps you can sell the font you used for the part where the kids color in the sight word. I'd definitely buy the font!

NanaK said...

This is a fantastic worksheet. Thank you so much for sharing.

JennE said...

I would also totally buy the template. This would eb easiest since I have a kinder/1st combo. LOVE this.

Pamela said...

I loooove this idea. Thanks! Oh, and I love following your blog!

mrscelis@blogspot.com

Wintaka said...

You are the best! "The" worksheet for star words is terrific; simple and yet very educational. We use the term "heart words" but I think we can easily have both stars and hearts. I would love a set for our Treasures sight words and HFWs.
Your generosity is very much appreciated and you are a blessing for those of us that are not creative and on a limited budget.

Pam said...

What font do you use for the color the word? Are these in the word work packet for other star words?

Chrissy said...

Fran, thanks for sharing! I love the multi-faceted approach to the concept!

ReadWriteSing

Dedi said...

Hi Fran,

I love you Pete the Cat packet.. can't wait to use it in a couple of weeks. Can you tell me the name and where you got the font you used on the THE page for the coloring page? That font would be perfect for a bulletin board I am doing! I know you have had trouble with people taking your ideas and selling them so I understand if you don't want to share! I promise it is for my personal use! I don't sell anything....just buy everyone elses wonderful ideas :) Thanks!
Dedi
kel3coleman@yahoo.com

MMc said...

Hi Fran,
I love this activity! I am always looking to reinforce my Star Words a different way! Do you have these in the TPT store? I would love to change it to my other Star Words for the week. Please let me know where it is located in the store.
Thanks!
MMc

Denise said...

Hi Fran, I talk about you all the time and refer to you as my new best friend! I love all your ideas. I just bought the sight words packet on TPT. I noticed that the sight word worksheets like this were not in it. Are they included in any of your TPT packets? Thanks!

Fran Kramer said...

OMG it is in the second packet! I hope you like the one you bought. I am happy to be your BFF!

Denise said...

Thanks! I do like the one I bought! I will buy the other one too! I love all of your things!!!

Rekehl Johnson said...

I'm so excited about this worksheet. I am so buying this from you!!

Tawnya said...

Thanks so much for these. I used the freebie one in my class and loved it. Then I couldn't find where I had grabbed it from. :) I knew it was from you and I was searching your blog and just wasn't finding it. I finally found it today and will be heading over to TpT to get the whole packet. Thanks! I blogged about it for you too.

http://kinderlandfun.blogspot.com/2011/09/help-my-brain.html

Tawnya

germanyet said...

Hi Fran,
Where can I find star words like the one posted here (the). Are they on teacherspay teachers? I just love it and would like to have others! Thanks,

Fran Kramer said...

Yes they are in my sight word packets.

abby said...

Could you put a link to where to buy your sight word packet? I am having trouble finding it.
Thanks!

Fran Kramer said...

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sight-Words-To-Rock-Your-Room-Too

I hope this helps you Abby!

mrslefebre said...

I love this activity and the dotted line font. Where did you find it? I have been looking for something like that for 2 years. I hope you can share.

Thanks!

Fran Kramer said...

I sell them on Tpt in my sight work packet #2. I hope that helps.

Amanda Brake said...

I love this activity! It's perfect for my preschoolers who are ready for sight words. Do you have this same activity for all of the sight words in your TPT store? I'd love to do this with each word we cover. Thanks again for such great things!!

Mendy said...

This is a terrific activity ~ do you have the set for sale anywhere? I think my special needs students will really benefit from the repetition of the activities.
Thank you,
Mendy
mkschanck@baschools.org

Fran Kramer said...

Yes. Go to Tpt and you will find it in my store. The packet is called sight words to rock your room too. I also have another packet that is full of manipulatives that would be idea for your students. I hope that helps you.

Belledancr - becky said...

do you have all the sight words in this style format for sale in your store on teacher's notebook?
becky
belledancr@juno.com

Anonymous said...

Thank you Fran for the fantastic idea. I want to visit TPT to see what you have.

Thuy

Shauna said...

Thanks so much for this wonderful site word freebie. Love it and I can't wait to use it with my children.
Shauna
myshaenoel.blogspot.com

Kendra said...

LOVE this sight word freebie. Have you considered making a set and selling it? As cheap as I am, I would buy it -- it is great and the kids LOVED it! Thanks!

Unknown said...

Hi, Fran. I love this activity. I'm a bilingual kindergarten teacher and I was looking for some activities to use during my ELL time to help teach the English sight words. Thank you!

Jane said...

Hi! I love spending time on your blog! So many great ideas! I was wondering if you have a list of the sight words included in your Sight Words to Rock the Room Too package so I know what words would be in it.

Unknown said...

Love this... just want I needed! Thank you!!