I'm always on the lookout for a great sub tub idea... Last week my sub did a vocabulary 4 square sheet with the class to review the weekly spelling words. The students worked with a partner to define a spelling word, draw a picture, and use it in a sentence. Since we've been learning about nouns, verbs, and adjectives, they were all ready to try to classify their spelling word.
After working for a few minutes, the sub called the students back to the carpet and they all got a chance to share their work. They were surprised that some words had more than one meaning. Several of the boys defined the word "blend" as camouflage and several girls defined the word in terms of cooking. :)
I am definitely going to to keep these sheets in my sub binder. The sub said it was a great activity that kept the students engaged and was easy to facilitate.
Mr. Groundhog will be searching for his shadow on February 2nd; let your students search for synonyms with this cute groundhog word work FREEBIE!
My kids have been working hard on several winter themed word work centers. Their favorite was a penguin antonym match activity. Why??? Because I copied the recording sheet for students to turn in. Even if I make a center with a recording sheet, I usually ask students to record their answers in their journals. It saves paper, trees, and TIME on my part. Students show me their word work journals when they come for small group lessons and I don't have to keep up with so many pieces of paper! Who knew that the kids would be so motivated by a recording sheet and a couple of clipboards? I knew I had to get cracking and make something that was as excting as penguin antonyms!
I made a groundhog themed word work center for the kids to use next week, and YES, I will copy the recording sheet for them to use! My students crack me up! If they finish the the synonym search they can spend a few minutes on the adorable Groundhog ABC Order center I snagged on Classroom Freebies last week!
Do you ever have times when you don't have the work work station stocked? Do your kids ever finish word work, and all of the "extra" activities for early finishers? I do! I picked up a pack of word work task cards that are READY TO GO and can be used at any time. I plan on using them as a filler between my themed work work stations. Sometimes, especially on a Friday afternoon, I just can't laminate or plan another word work activity!
I am so glad my son's teacher made these fabulous Word Work Task Cards and Choice Board! They are perfect for my word work tub and will be fantastic for my early finishers! I can't wait until she posts her Daily 5 writing choice boards! Check them out and don't forget to grab my groundhog freebie. :) Have a great week!
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday! I've been a busy lady lately, but I have a freebie for you today. I put a set of Autumn Noun Sorts on TpT that includes sorts for singular/plural, common/proper, countable/mass, abstract/concrete, and person/place/thing. The pack includes mini posters, sorting headers, word cards, blank word cards, and recording sheets for all 5 sets!
After introducing each type of noun in a mini lesson, I used the cards as a morning meeting sorting greeting. Then I put the set in a center for kids to complete the sorting task and recording sheet independently. Even thought I teach first grade, my kids were able to complete the tasks because the first noun sort we did as a class was the person/place/thing sort that uses all the noun cards from the four other sorts. Students were already familiar with the words when it was time to work independently.
Here's a freebie noun sort for possessive nouns! It goes with the noun sort pack and includes word cards, sorting headers, recording sheet, and mini poster. I used this with my kids in the Daily 5 Word Work station. It works for 1st (after whole class practice or mini lesson) and 2nd grades and would be a good review or grammar mini lesson for 3rd grade.
Download my noun sort freebie here and pick up the additional five noun sorts on TpT! Have a great weekend!
Its' been nine weeks since I've started blogging and posting products to TpT. As I reflect on the past two months I have so much to be thankful for. The blog has had 5000 hits and my TpT freebies have thousands of downloads. My hope in starting this endeavor was that students and teachers would be blessed from the products I share. When I look at the numbers I can see the possible impact and it makes me so happy! The students in my classroom love my themed games and creative centers. I am so thankful for being able to digitally share with many other teachers and students!
Each week I share my verse for the week. I need a tangible reminder of my source of inspiration for the week. I hope that the verses have provided support, encouragement, and inspiration for other teachers as well. This week I've put together all 9 of the verses I shared so far into one document. Feel free to download the 9 verses, cut them out, and store them in your ID badge pocket. Distribute to your teacher friends as needed!
I wanted to share a quick and easy Thanksgiving sight word game with you today. It's called Gobble! and the kids really enjoy it. For Halloween we called it Boo!...the name changes the whole game for the students. I am always surprised that they can't get enough of this easy "kaboom" style game. It's a great reinforcement for sight word practice and a super independent word work center for ABC order skills. I've included all the cards and recording sheets for a game or center. Teacher and student directions are included as well as a set of blank cards for adding your own spelling words or vocabulary words to the game. Download Gobble here!
Thanksgiving is right around the corner so keep your students engaged in learning up to the very last day! Have fun!
I was so excited to put my first Literacy pack on TpT the other day! I made a Halloween themed pack of activities for literacy centers and work stations. I usually have my students work as partners on a skill before working independently so I designed the materials to be used as a game first and then as a more independent center. I included student direction sheets for both the game and the center version that list common core standards in kid-friendly language. I also included a teacher guide sheet that has common core standards listed for each game/center. I think the center would be most appropriate for first grade students. Second grade kids or ESL students that may need a bit of remediation or independent practice with sight words, decoding, nonsense words, or inflectional endings would do well with this literacy pack.
I decided to make a FREEBIE to go along with the literacy pack. It can be used by first or second graders. It is a
simple noun/verb sort that includes picture cards, sorting headers, and a
student recording sheet. My students enjoy this center and I hope your
students will too! Download the Halloween Noun and Verb Sort today.
My class began our CAFE group and Daily 5 Center rotations today. It went very well! I can't wait until things speed up as kids become more familiar with the rotation schedule and the behaviors and tasks for each center or group. One thing that I really liked about today's rotation was my new Daily Word Ladders wipe off station. Before my spelling small group chooses a spelling material to work with, they completed a word ladder with a parent volunteer. To save on paper and copies, I designed a wipe off sheet for them to use. It worked out fabulously!
I purchased the Daily Word Ladders book a few years back and LOVE using it with my ESL students to build vocabulary. Because the program identifies first, middle, and final sounds in words, it builds foundational literacy skills while increasing language. In addition, it is a great task for parent volunteers to work on with students. It has a consistent format that kids can easily master while still buidling their skill level.
Feel free to download my wipe off ladder to use with your students. I printed seven copies on cardstock and laminated them with my personal laminator. The kids used skinny expo markers and it worked perfectly! Enjoy!
