Literacy Gems: Make Learning Fun

Can you believe it? I actually created another packet that I really love. How many of you have been making letter gems to use in your classroom? They are all over the internet. I decided to make a packet that used these gorgeous gems to make word work throughout the year more fun for the kids. As an extra bonus I threw in a few math activities just because... Do you want to check this out? Take a peek at this.

In this packet I show you how to make the gems with photographs to help support my directions. They are easy to make and hopefully you won't go crazy and make endless amounts... just sayin'.

I also give you advice about organizing these treasures (maybe I was a pirate in a previous life) so they will be easy to manage.

This packet also included cards (many, many cards) that provide students with word work practice that is more fun and more engaging than what I typically provide. Who knew it could be so much fun? Lots of skills are covered, from letter identification to cvce words. Sight words are included and building sentences is included too.

Many teachers have told me they like having related response sheets and I recommend using this for assessment purposes or homework. Good idea, right? Use them anyway you want. They too me a long time to create but I plan on using this packet throughout the year. I might have to make more sets of gems which are quick and easy to do my way. * This packet has word and vowel gems in case you need them. You can't have too many!

I am going to let my students use these gems and cards with a partner. I really believe that students grow faster academically when we allow them to use a collaborative model. These cards lend themselves to this and would make partner work so much more engaging. So if this "floats your boat" click on the picture below and it will take you right to the TpT mall so you can shop. Yup the sale is on until the end of today so what are you waiting for?

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Happy Teaching friends!

Be Aware and Please Take Loving Care of Our Earth

Earth Day is one of my favorite themes to use in the spring. It is celebrated on April 22nd but I love to do activities related to this for several weeks. Friends of the Earth is a Common Core packet that has been carefully designed to meet the needs of your primary learners. It will help to raise student awareness of the importance of recycling and taking care of the earth.

I have included both literacy and math stations that will build the academic language of your students and promote student engagement. Writing activities are also included and scaffolds have been provided to ensure student success. It also addresses the needs of your English language learners.Many of the printables serve as a record of student understandings and can be used for assessment and homework. Check it out and see if it looks worthwhile to you. When I was a Common Core coach the kinder and first grade teachers used this and got beautiful results.

Students even make a simple necklace using straws to add some bling! If you would like to purchase this packet it is available in my TpT store. Be sure to pick up the headband freebie too! Help our children learn to care for the earth and each other. What do you do to celebrate Earth Day?

Egg-actly What We Need Now That Assessments Are Over!

Have you seen plastic eggs just about everywhere you look and wondered what you can do with them in the classroom. I posted about this last year but I thought it was worth repeating because my kinderkids loved them so much. What is it about things that are "mini" in size? These activities reflect the skills I am pounding on right now! Yes, they are CCSS aligned. What are you working on that I missed? Leave me some suggestions!

I am bringing these in on Monday as a surprise for my students and I hope they love them as much as I do. I made response sheets for the activities and I will have students work with a partner.

Where can you buy the eggs? I got them last year in Dollar Tree and Walmart and I have more than enough to make these and about 2 million more (hoarder issues). The smart thing to do is buy them after Easter so that they cost pennies! These are in my tpt store if you click on each picture.  I have an additional set entitled Scrambled Eggs that you can find here. I hope they make your day EGGCITING!

Who's Ready to Shop Until They Drop: My Recommendations

Are you gearing up for the sale TpT is having? What is on your wish list? I am going to have to get a grip and get myself under control for this gigantic extravaganza!

You can save a whooping 20% in my store but even better is when you enter in the TpT promo code and save even more! It all adds up when you are loading up with items for those cold winter months. So snuggy up in your jammies and here are some of my favorite items:

Here are the best of my emergent readers that are the core of my guided reading program. My students love these and look forward to each new one. They are well priced and with them I have made individual cards to build in your pocket chart for large group instruction.

If you do not have an elf in your classroom now is the time to buy this and use these packets. My kids have had such a blast with these activities and the their favorite activity was the jingle bracelet they got to make for counting by 2's. Did you know the elf is Pete the Cat's best friend? Yup it's a fact (or a story I made up) that added some fun to the elf drama.

I do a huge unit on the Gingerbread Man at this time of the year. I love reading a variety of stories and this is the perfect time to compare and contrast 2 pieces of text and meet an important CCSS standard. Right? I have a great emergent reader with a retelling bracelet so that you hit a few more standards. I also focus on story elements as part of this unit. I cannot wait to use this again. 

I have never been able to find emergent readers for Hanukkah with accurate information so I decided to create my own. These are two different readers that provide a teacher and student version. Both readers are interactive (one uses velcro) and engaging for young students. One focuses on math concepts and the other on vocabulary and beginning sounds. I used this K-1 and the children really enjoyed them.

This is a huge winter packet with emergent readers, dominoes, retelling activities and math concepts. It is filled with games and pocket chart work to keep your students busy during those cold months. They get their own version of  The Jacket I Wear In the Snow and The Mitten.

This is an emergent reader for MLK's birthday that is Common Core aligned and perfect for young children. I used it in many different kindergarten classrooms and the children got so much out of it. It is about setting goals for yourself so that you can be a scholar. Ready to rock it out. Click here to go to my store.

Busy and Almost Dizzy

Have you been crazy, busy this week? I have so much going on in my classroom. We are heading towards report cards and conferences and I really struggle with comments that don't sting but need to be addressed. I think I have learned over the years how to take the "bite" out of anything but still getting my point across. Even so, it takes me hours to do this. We were off for Thanksgiving but gave out our conference slips just before leaving. Yikes... no one will even remember there is a conference so I came up with this: This is just a "friendly" reminder so I don't sit around waiting. Will it work? I will let you know.

I tried to use other hw that some of the very best bloggers gave me. So much of it was amazing quality and finally it gave me the confidence to create my own. Why? We work at a very different pace because our kids are ELL's. We need to build their academic language along with the Common Core. I also use Open Court with a very specific phonemic awareness framework. I don't give a ton of hw either. I want the kids to get a break and spend time with their family.

So here are some of the things I created for this unit and they are all aligned carefully to the Common Core.

I always post the Big Idea and Essential Questions because you want to refer to these and make your students aware of them. Ask them, "Did we answer this question?" "What do we know now?" "Has this changed our thinking?" 

This is a great visual to keep near your calendar. It can be done quickly and easily by the "meteorologist of the day." Clothespins are used to mark the type of weather and the temperature. The graphics really help support your student's understandings.

Here are 2 little books I made to reinforce the sight words we are working on right now. Our students confuse he and she frequently and I am hoping this will help them practice this language. I love trimming books with washi tape just to jazz them up a little. This is a version of paper dolls for weather! Okay don't judge.

I needed to add some math activities to this and I love using these weather frames for practicing counting and writing numbers.I also made umbrella cards with raindrops to 50. We need to practice these for sure!

I like to have my students practice working in collaborative groups and this is an activity for that purpose. I will make a recording sheet for them to use and share with the class. Our students need lots of opportunities to present in front of the class.

That's it for today. I have to finish this weather packet but I got a lot of activities made over this break in spite of having a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family and shopping more than I should have.

Help! They Need to Learn Those Sight Words!

Am I the only person who feels like I am in a race to the finish line? Some of my kindergarten friends still do not know those sight words and are not all that interested in learning them. Out of fear I have been racking my brains for "brilliant and motivating ideas" to get them to interact with these words. I think I "fell" into something big... dot markers! Kinders love pounding on these to mark an answer so I am taking advantage of this with a new packet created just so students can review all the sight words for the year, in context with a related picture they draw together (imprinting). 50 words with 50 sentences to build and practice for fluency.

Easy. I love easy.

What is unique about this? Students work using a collaborative model to complete two pages together. Pair your students strategically so that they can help each other. It allows for oral language practice and the need to communicate and plan out their course of action! Our students need to learn to work together and build on each other's ideas. Yup, it starts in kindergarten so we need an easy way to implement that. 

My kindergarten teachers love this product and the primary special education teacher. However, the first grade intervention teachers saw it as another great tool to keep their students interested in interacting with these words. Who knew? 

These words are contextualized and must be put in order in a sentence with a related picture. At the end students can present their work (performance task) to others in their group. Finally, I have included a refection which is perfect for young children and easy for them to do. It gives you important feedback about the activity and how they interacted with their partner. 

So you model this, guide students through this, and finally allow them to work independently with a partner . Now you can get your assessments completed for report cards. 

Two students said to me yesterday, "When can we play that game again teacher?" That says it all.

Click on a picture to get to my TpT store to grab this one right here.

What sight word activities do your kids love?

Even Kinder Kids Can Make A Difference

This time of year makes me crazy with all the testing, Open House hoopla, conferences, and report cards. Are you on my page? In my district that discourage us from doing any holiday celebrations because many of our students do not observe them. So what works for the month of April that provides valuable content and will be meaningful to students... Earth Day! Our kids love learning about caring for the earth and how to do it. This is a theme that can easily be aligned to the Common Core since the Big Idea is the need to care for our planet to ensure that we continue to enjoy our natural resources. Non fiction books are readily available and I bought new ones this year that I love! What kid is not interested in recycling and collecting trash...right? If you have never used this theme I hope you will try it this year. There are so many wonderful books to read to your students that are both fiction and non fiction. Check them out on Amazon.

This is a great packet for kindergarten teachers. It has both math and literacy activities that are interactive and engaging for young children. There are many opportunities for children to practice new academic language and to do "opinion writing" that is appropriate for their age. Your students can make a necklace, wear it home, and explain their new learning. If you are interested in this packet click here to go to my TpT store. There is even a free headband which is another teaching tool to use with your students. Raise awareness about our earth and the need to care for it.

What do you do for Earth Day?

Final Froggy Freebie: Catch It While You Can!

This flash freebie is over. I hope you had as much fun as I did. Your comments and emails were wonderful to read and I tried to respond to everyone. It was a blast to read your enthusiastic and super creative ideas. Teachers are amazing and I thank you for participating in this little activity with me and making it so successful. I promise to do more of these. If you missed any of these downloads I will try to put them in my store for a minimal amount of money. This was so much fun!

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