Christmas Post #1!

Christmas is just around the corner!
My students enjoy making all kinds of Christmas related projects. Here are just some of them:
Painting Rudolph
Children first drew Rudolph using pencils. They went over with sharpies before painting Rudolph.

Christmas Trees

Another fun project was making Christmas trees out of painted paper plates. Children first painted the paper plates. After we let them dry, we cut each plate into three pieces. 

For decorations, children used colorful sequins. For snow, they used cotton balls. For the snow on the ground, they ripped white construction paper.

 Gingerbread Houses
We used graham crackers, lots of frosting and candy to make some very yummy and cute gingerbread houses!
I gave each child his/her own plate of frosting and candy knowing that they will be licking their little fingers! So, fun and sanitary, all at the same time! :-)

 Here are some of my Christmas products: from practicing and mastering nonsense words, to LOTS of comprehensive, differentiated and engaging Math and Literacy - ELA activities.
Help your students improve their reading, writing, vocabulary, comprehension skills!
SCROLL ALL THE WAY DOWN FOR A CLOSER LOOK!!!

Christmas Literacy and Math Activities Galore. CCS Aligned.

This product (105 pages) is aligned with Common Core Standards and offers many differentiated and interactive learning activities.
★Mathematical Concepts Covered★
Subtraction, addition (including dice and dominoes addition pages), number words to 20, counting and writing numbers to 100, base ten numbers, missing numbers, before/after numbers, ten frame numbers to 20, tally marks, telling time to the hour and half hour, “fewer” and “more”, fewer than/equal to/greater than, one-to-one correspondence. 
★Literacy Concepts Covered★
Number words, ABC order, beginning letter sounds, ending letter sounds, proper conventions of writing, writing, reading, Christmas related vocabulary, punctuation, graphic organizers, 5 Senses graphic organizer, compare and contrast using Venn Diagrams, end marks, CVC words, sorting by number of syllables, sight words, correctly reading a Christmas emergent reader and finishing sentences.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Literacy-and-Math-Activities-Galore-CCS-Aligned-1370496

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Literacy-and-Math-Activities-Galore-CCS-Aligned-1370496

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Literacy-and-Math-Activities-Galore-CCS-Aligned-1370496

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Literacy-and-Math-Activities-Galore-CCS-Aligned-1370496

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Literacy-and-Math-Activities-Galore-CCS-Aligned-1370496

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Literacy-and-Math-Activities-Galore-CCS-Aligned-1370496

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Literacy-and-Math-Activities-Galore-CCS-Aligned-1370496

Nonsense Words Activities – Christmas & Winter (supports AIMSweb and DIBELS)

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nonsense-Words-Activities-Christmas-Winter-supports-AIMSweb-and-DIBELS-1494976

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nonsense-Words-Activities-Christmas-Winter-supports-AIMSweb-and-DIBELS-1494976

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nonsense-Words-Activities-Christmas-Winter-supports-AIMSweb-and-DIBELS-1494976

Christmas - Writing and Patterning Fun. CCS Aligned

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Writing-and-Patterning-Fun-CCS-Aligned-935532

Christmas Writing and Patterning Fun! CCS Aligned
This product is a great addition to your Christmas stations / workshop. It can be used as Morning Work or part of the Literacy/ Math centers.
Students work on: improving vocabulary, reading fluency, use their schemata when describing Christmas related pictures, patterning, improving reading and writing skills. Differentiated approach based on your students’ skill level.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Writing-and-Patterning-Fun-CCS-Aligned-935532

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Writing-and-Patterning-Fun-CCS-Aligned-935532

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Writing-and-Patterning-Fun-CCS-Aligned-935532

Christmas. Math & ELA Task Cards...and More! CCS Aligned

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Math-ELA-Task-Cardsand-More-CCS-Aligned-956852

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Math-ELA-Task-Cardsand-More-CCS-Aligned-956852

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Math-ELA-Task-Cardsand-More-CCS-Aligned-956852

Word Work - Post #5 of many :)

It is so important to have children work on building words, decoding words, segmenting and blending words in many, many different ways!
Here is another fun way to build words!
Students had sight words cards and used links to build the words.
To further differentiate you can have children work in pairs, build one word at a time, take turns using the words in complete sentences.
If you provide paper & pencils or white boards and dry erase markers, children can record each word they build.
Come back for more ideas and check out my previous posts on "Word Work"!!
Have a wonderful week! :)

Word Work - Post #4 of many :)

Writing is so important but it can be boring if it is done just on paper.
Here are some ideas on writing:
Use shaving cream, pudding, sand and write with fingers, Qtips, paint brushes, etc. This is not meant to replace paper and pencil but to add some excitement to learning! I am not doing this every day, but I add fun "things" and learning opportunities whenever  I can.
Kids love it when you mix it up a little!

For practicing CVC words I use lots of things (see previous posts). When using the white boards, kids would sometimes write really big letters. As they learned and practiced more, I wanted them to have the opportunity to write on lined paper. Well, I laminated lined paper (on construction paper) and had the kids use CVC picture cards and dry erase markers.

This was just a twist on paper and pencil and a step up from white boards since they had a guideline for letter size.

The more ideas we use and the more interesting we make learning, the more kids will pay attention and stay focused on task.
Visit again soon. I have LOTS more ideas to share with you!
 It is exciting to check the stats and see how many of you read my blog and all the different places around the world you are from. Isn't technology amazing?
Thank you so much for visiting my blog!
Have a wonderful week! :-)

Word Work - Post #3 of many :)

Here are more ideas on different activities that can help your children decode, read and write words and/or improve reading fluency by quickly reading sight words.

I printed all the sight words we study in Kindergarten and made these “fried eggs”. Kids use spatulas to “serve” the eggs. They must read the word out loud and then they get to keep it.

There are two different ways to play this/use this, based on your students’ skill level.

If you place the eggs “yolk up”, kids get a chance to decide what words they want to “serve”. This is a good choice for kids who are still working on learning the words but who also need to feel successful and confident in their skill level. They might choose easier words first and that is OK. It is critical that all kids feel successful!

It makes it easier for them to approach a learning task or activity if they feel confident!

If you place the eggs “yolk down”, kids can’t really choose easier words and have to try to read whatever word they get. Once all the words were “served", kids write their own words.

Another center that I use is simply a pocket chart with lots of different picture cards. (I change the pictures periodically)

Here is how I use it:

I provide sticky notes and have pairs work on it. Depending on what specific skills I want the kids to work on, I ask that they label the pictures, label the initial letter, label the ending letter, clap the syllables and/or use the words in complete sentences (after they wrote them on sticky notes).

Another idea is to have them talk about the picture, start with a word and create a sentence.

OR

 Start with a simple sentence and create a complex one.  I call it “painting pictures in the listener’s brain” by using descriptive words. For example:

 “cat” - “I see a cat.” - “ I see a gray and white cat.” - “I see a gray and white cat lying in the grass.”

"Word Work" is so much fun and can be done so many ways. It is especially important for our kinesthetic learners to actually be involved in making words, not just using paper and pencil type of activities.

Here is another idea:

Earlier in the year, I gave the kids a large piece of construction paper, pasta letters (alphabet noodles) and foam alphabet stickers. They had to write the sight word and build it. Many also wrote sentences using the sight words.

MAJOR PET PEEVE

Here is a pet peeve of mine! Baby talk or simplistic talk in lower grade levels, especially in Kindergarten. My kids know, understand and use various difficult terms such as: “descriptive”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “perimeter”, “columns”, “rows”,  etc, etc (not just new vocabulary terms dictated by the curricula used, but real life terms!). Kids are little sponges who absorb everything taught. They love words and are fascinated by new and difficult words. The KEY is to ALWAYS help them make connections and REALLY understand the words. We define them, use them ALL THE TIME, give examples, use our own experiences to give examples, etc.  Of course, I keep it appropriate and relevant to them. Once they understand the words, they LOVE using them by themselves again and again! It is soooo cute to watch/listen to them. Don't be afraid to use "big words"! 

This is how we help them enrich their vocabulary!

Thanks for letting me vent :-)

Check back soon for LOTS more ideas and pictures!

Enjoy the rest of the week! :-)

I recently posted the second product all focused on all the sight words on Dolch's Primer Word List. It works great with my first product which covers all sight words on Dolch's Pre-Primer Word List. Click on the title to go directly to the product page!

Sight Words Activities. CCS Aligned. Packet # 2

Check it out:

In case you didn't see the first one, here it is:

Sight Words Activities - CCS Aligned - Homework AND/OR Classroom Activities

Word Work - Post #2 of many :)

We learn CVC words through many hands-on activities. We start early in the year after we've learned all the letter names and we are focusing on letter sounds.

What do we use?

We use LOTS of different ideas and materials: from white boards and dry erase markers, to picture cards, letter tiles, magnetic letters, activities on the Promethean, CVC picture and/or words cards.

Here is one idea for creating new words while switching the beginning letter/letter sound. I use a regular white board during Calendar or use the Promethean and write the word ending. I ask the students to say it.

For example: “Say “ake”!” I then say: “Put a “b” in front. What is the word now?”

Students: “BAKE”

“Put a “sh” in front. What is the word now?”

Students: “SHAKE!”, etc, etc.

This is a great way to quickly make many new words. We re-read them all, segment and blend them. I sometimes ask students to use a specific word in a complete sentence and/or to define a word. For example, we added "z" in front of "est" thus making the word ZEST. We talked about what it means!

Kids love using hands-on materials such as magnetic letters. I have sets of picture cards that they use to build CVC words.

Another great tool to use is my (click on the title to go directly to the product page):
 “CVC Words - Real and Nonsense Words"

This has  CVC real and nonsense words on month related backgrounds such as apples for September, pumpkins and leaves for October, etc.

Here is the page for October:

Here is the page for March:

Here is the page for April:

It also has the same CVC words with pictures. 

Here is another page:

This set had 162 cards total (with real words used twice on different backgrounds and with relevant clipart) and is the perfect tool to add to your teaching strategies for Phonics and Phonemic Awareness. This CVC words set may be used as part of whole class instruction, Reading Center, Writing Center, Partner Work, Guided Writing, Literacy Workshop, Parent Helper Study, etc. Kids can match words, trace words, segment, blend CVC words, use them in sentences, learn beginning, middle and ending sounds, and so much more.

LOTS more ideas to be posted soon!!
Hope you visit again :-)

Word Work - Post #1 of many :)

In Kindergarten, we work on decoding words, segmenting, blending, reading, writing, counting syllables, etc.
We focus on both real and nonsense words. We start with easy CVC words and move on to more difficult words including blends, digraphs, silent e, and sight words.
Nonsense words are sometimes difficult to read because children tend to make sense of them and make them "real words". The more exposure the children have, the better they will understand these words. We always talk about how nonsense words don't make sense but we can still read and write them.
This is one activity I created to further help my students segment and blend nonsense words.

 I created this page with beginning and ending consonants and with a blank for the middle vowel. Students roll a vowel die and write the letter as the middle letter in the word. Students use a dry erase marker and write the whole word. Most of the time, they end up with nonsense words. They also sound out/segment and blend each word.
I laminated these for durability and continued usage over the years.

To add to this activity, I sometimes give kids a piece of paper to sort out real and nonsense words that they ended up with. My advanced readers and writers and/or early finishers may also use the real words (if any) in complete sentences. 

LOTS more ideas to be posted soon!!
Hope you visit again :-)