Mystery Box: Students decorate a shoe box and then fill it with items that show interests they have. (or just 1 item) They share with the class or in small groups about themselves. This box is then taken home and is where they store their sight words, reading books, alphabet cards, numbers ect.
Write lists of various common features or interests. Practice writing, counting, and identifying names.
Create graphs to show common interests. Practice counting, Math Talk, and opinion.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Partner Stories
Assign the students into partners.
I have done this 2 ways:
1. I partner up a higher writer with an average or lower student. The higher writer is assigned the job or being the author while the other student is assigned to being the illustrator. Together they make a book!
2. Students pick their own partners. They create 2 books together. For 1 book 1 person is the author while the other is the illustrator, then they swap jobs for their 2nd book. The writer gets to keep the book they wrote!
I have done this 2 ways:
1. I partner up a higher writer with an average or lower student. The higher writer is assigned the job or being the author while the other student is assigned to being the illustrator. Together they make a book!
2. Students pick their own partners. They create 2 books together. For 1 book 1 person is the author while the other is the illustrator, then they swap jobs for their 2nd book. The writer gets to keep the book they wrote!
Sight Word Ideas
Some games and activities to use with sight words.
Sight Word Pointers: (an idea shared by another teacher in my district)
Students get their own sight word stick that they get to take home and practice reading with it.
Example: Sight word stick says "the" and they point to items and read "the table," "the book," "the mom."
Sight Word Kaboom/Tic Tac Toe Class Games:
I have these in my units already organized in the order I have my sight words. Great filler or reward games. These are top games choices when we have extra time or have an older student coming in for a few minutes.
Sight Word Journal: Read more about this under journal. I like how I connect my sight words with their journals. I also think the introduction of journals is pretty helpful for the kids who fight writing or think they can't write.
Sight Word Alphabox Detectives: Students fill sight words in the letter boxes. (or any other words they know how to read.) I give my students the alphabox and a handful of books. They get to use magnifying glasses to find the words.
Sight Word Hunts: The copies for this quick and fun center are in my units. Print the sight word you're learning and post all over the room. Students grab clipboards, fun glasses, and their page and pencil and start their search for the sight word. STUDENTS LOVE THIS! It is super easy of a center and the kids don't get tired of it.
Sight Word Writing Worksheet: I don't believe in a lot of worksheets for kids. I think they are boring and too much paper. However, I do think kids need practice writing their sight words and HeidiSongs has some gread worksheets to help practice. I believe in her books each sight word has up to 6 pages for that word, but I only choose 2 pages as to not overload my students.
Sight Word Card Games: You can find or make LOTS of other card games with sight words such as matching. There are so many other ones that I use that I have gotten from TPT that are just so creative that go with the holidays. There are too many holiday varieties, that I won't be listing them all.
Sight Word Slap It: My kids love this game. Write a bunch of words on the white board. Pick 2 people to come up and "slap it" - the word you say. The students get to hold a fly swatter and the first one to slap the correct word gives their team a point. This is the same as my table slap it except with fly swatters.
Sight Word Bird Hunt (I posted these parrots all over the school and a parent volunteer took them on a bird hunt around the school. The students wrote down the sight words as they found them!)
Sight Word Pointers: (an idea shared by another teacher in my district)
Students get their own sight word stick that they get to take home and practice reading with it.
Example: Sight word stick says "the" and they point to items and read "the table," "the book," "the mom."
Sight Word Kaboom/Tic Tac Toe Class Games:
I have these in my units already organized in the order I have my sight words. Great filler or reward games. These are top games choices when we have extra time or have an older student coming in for a few minutes.
Sight Word Journal: Read more about this under journal. I like how I connect my sight words with their journals. I also think the introduction of journals is pretty helpful for the kids who fight writing or think they can't write.
Sight Word Alphabox Detectives: Students fill sight words in the letter boxes. (or any other words they know how to read.) I give my students the alphabox and a handful of books. They get to use magnifying glasses to find the words.
Sight Word Hunts: The copies for this quick and fun center are in my units. Print the sight word you're learning and post all over the room. Students grab clipboards, fun glasses, and their page and pencil and start their search for the sight word. STUDENTS LOVE THIS! It is super easy of a center and the kids don't get tired of it.
Sight Word Writing Worksheet: I don't believe in a lot of worksheets for kids. I think they are boring and too much paper. However, I do think kids need practice writing their sight words and HeidiSongs has some gread worksheets to help practice. I believe in her books each sight word has up to 6 pages for that word, but I only choose 2 pages as to not overload my students.
Sight Word Card Games: You can find or make LOTS of other card games with sight words such as matching. There are so many other ones that I use that I have gotten from TPT that are just so creative that go with the holidays. There are too many holiday varieties, that I won't be listing them all.
Sight Word Slap It: My kids love this game. Write a bunch of words on the white board. Pick 2 people to come up and "slap it" - the word you say. The students get to hold a fly swatter and the first one to slap the correct word gives their team a point. This is the same as my table slap it except with fly swatters.
Sight Word Bird Hunt (I posted these parrots all over the school and a parent volunteer took them on a bird hunt around the school. The students wrote down the sight words as they found them!)
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Insects and Life Cycles
After teaching about plants, I teach a little about insects.
Ladybugs: Ladybugs are the protectors of leaves, so this is a great insect to start with!
Life Cycle and Count the Spots Worksheets
Buy Ladybugs from Earth's Birthday Project (ladybug exploration with magnifying glasses)
Also explore with felt ladybugs to figure out what they can already tell from ladybugs
Ladybug cupcakes (Kids get to decorate their own cupcake like a ladybug!)
Ladybug Spots Equation
Ladybug Story "How do ladybugs get their spots?"
Books: Grouchy Ladybug, Ladybugs (Pebble Books), Ladybugs Red, Fiery, and Bright
Teach: Fiction vs Non Fiction
Venn Diagram Comparison about 2 of those books
Grouchy Ladybug: Talk about times of the day and each student writes a page about what they do
at their assigned time of the day to compile into a book.
Caterpillars
1. Read "A Very Hungry Caterpillar"
2. Make an accordion caterpillar book
I made the book to practice base 20 math, but I'm sure
their are PLENTY of other ways to use this book.
3. Word caterpillar (Students add words to their caterpillar to show all the words they know!
(Sight Words, color words, number words)
Caterpillar Patterns:
Students were given basic caterpillars and were to create a pattern using the dot paints. Some pages had specific patterns on them already (AB or ABC ect) while some were left blank. The day we did blank caterpillars the students were told to do at least 1 AABB and ABC pattern to ensure they had a guide. Something simple and fun.
Butterflies
Buy caterpillars that will metamorphosis right in front of your class in 2-3 weeks!
Caterpillars turn into butterflies, so I go through their life cycle next.
Butterfly Book + Butterfly Wing Creation
Waterfall butterfly life cycle book. (I place this book inside their large butterfly book.)
Materials needed:
large construction paper (any color)
copies of a butterfly cut in half
glue, scissors
coloring materials
variety of colored paper (optional)
Fold the construction paper where the 2 sides reach in to touch the middle. Glue each side of the butterfly on each flap. Decorate each butterfly wing with markers, crayons, paint, or tissue paper. Glue the waterfall page into the fold, so when you pull the butterfly wings apart, you find the butterfly life cycle.
Bees:
Watch Reading Rainbow - BEES (3:45- 4:50)
Watch Magic School Bus - Bees (I own the DVD)
Bees Knowledge Chart Poster
Bee paragraph (3 sentences: Bees have..., Bees are..., Bees can...
(DO AS WHOLE GROUP since it is their first time using an organizer.)
Paper craft bee or paint a bee with information on the back.
Ladybugs: Ladybugs are the protectors of leaves, so this is a great insect to start with!
Life Cycle and Count the Spots Worksheets
Buy Ladybugs from Earth's Birthday Project (ladybug exploration with magnifying glasses)
Also explore with felt ladybugs to figure out what they can already tell from ladybugs
Ladybug cupcakes (Kids get to decorate their own cupcake like a ladybug!)
Ladybug Spots Equation
Ladybug Story "How do ladybugs get their spots?"
Books: Grouchy Ladybug, Ladybugs (Pebble Books), Ladybugs Red, Fiery, and Bright
Teach: Fiction vs Non Fiction
Venn Diagram Comparison about 2 of those books
Grouchy Ladybug: Talk about times of the day and each student writes a page about what they do
at their assigned time of the day to compile into a book.
Caterpillars
1. Read "A Very Hungry Caterpillar"
2. Make an accordion caterpillar book
I made the book to practice base 20 math, but I'm sure
their are PLENTY of other ways to use this book.
3. Word caterpillar (Students add words to their caterpillar to show all the words they know!
(Sight Words, color words, number words)
Caterpillar Patterns: Butterflies
Buy caterpillars that will metamorphosis right in front of your class in 2-3 weeks!
Caterpillars turn into butterflies, so I go through their life cycle next.
Butterfly Book + Butterfly Wing Creation
Waterfall butterfly life cycle book. (I place this book inside their large butterfly book.)
Materials needed:
large construction paper (any color)
copies of a butterfly cut in half
glue, scissors
coloring materials
variety of colored paper (optional)
Fold the construction paper where the 2 sides reach in to touch the middle. Glue each side of the butterfly on each flap. Decorate each butterfly wing with markers, crayons, paint, or tissue paper. Glue the waterfall page into the fold, so when you pull the butterfly wings apart, you find the butterfly life cycle.
Bees:
Watch Reading Rainbow - BEES (3:45- 4:50)
Watch Magic School Bus - Bees (I own the DVD)
Bees Knowledge Chart Poster
Bee paragraph (3 sentences: Bees have..., Bees are..., Bees can...
(DO AS WHOLE GROUP since it is their first time using an organizer.)
Paper craft bee or paint a bee with information on the back.
Plants
Plants? Plants. Plants!
I bought the Pebble books to use throughout my unit, but it is not necessary.
As you keep reading below. If you are interested in this unit here is the link. Plants? Plants. Plants!
The link can also be found at the bottom.
What we know about plants: shared writing
Art project: I designed this art project to add to the parts of a plant as we learn about it. I liked the 3d aspect of it.
I teach 1 new part of the flower every day, so I don't overwhelm too much in 1 day.
1. Teach roots
2. Teach stem
3. Teach leaves (and veins)
4. Teach flower
5. Teach seeds
Every day the students add their plant information on with their addition to their art project.
These make for adorable classroom and hallway decor.
Flower Plant Book: Fill in the blanks to recap what they learned.
Flower Art Project and Expanded Sentences Activity:
This is where I teach that flowers have petals. (more vocabulary)
Trees and Art Project! I do this art project just to teach that trees have branches. We also talk about how sometimes we can see tree roots while sometimes we can't. I show them lots of pictures (via powerpoint) of various types of trees. Kids love to see different trees! This is a good time to also talk about how trees help us. (My class did posters for Earth Day telling how trees were helpful - a contest schoolwide/state too.)
Yum! Plants We Eat! I can't find pictures from these activities, so I am guessing I forgot to take some. We did a lot of activities with this part. They are in my unit.
Growing Plants and Plant Journal: Students plant lima beans and watched them grow! They record the growth in their journals.
We also talking about building/growing patterns where a pattern grows by one every day. (Part of the math curriculum we needed to teach) I told and showed the students about a stem growing every day... then they did their own art project with it.
PLANT UNIT ON TPT
I bought the Pebble books to use throughout my unit, but it is not necessary.
As you keep reading below. If you are interested in this unit here is the link. Plants? Plants. Plants!
The link can also be found at the bottom.
What we know about plants: shared writing
Art project: I designed this art project to add to the parts of a plant as we learn about it. I liked the 3d aspect of it.
I teach 1 new part of the flower every day, so I don't overwhelm too much in 1 day.
1. Teach roots
2. Teach stem
3. Teach leaves (and veins)
4. Teach flower
5. Teach seeds
Every day the students add their plant information on with their addition to their art project.
These make for adorable classroom and hallway decor.
Flower Plant Book: Fill in the blanks to recap what they learned.
Flower Art Project and Expanded Sentences Activity:
This is where I teach that flowers have petals. (more vocabulary)
Trees and Art Project! I do this art project just to teach that trees have branches. We also talk about how sometimes we can see tree roots while sometimes we can't. I show them lots of pictures (via powerpoint) of various types of trees. Kids love to see different trees! This is a good time to also talk about how trees help us. (My class did posters for Earth Day telling how trees were helpful - a contest schoolwide/state too.)
Yum! Plants We Eat! I can't find pictures from these activities, so I am guessing I forgot to take some. We did a lot of activities with this part. They are in my unit.
Growing Plants and Plant Journal: Students plant lima beans and watched them grow! They record the growth in their journals.We also talking about building/growing patterns where a pattern grows by one every day. (Part of the math curriculum we needed to teach) I told and showed the students about a stem growing every day... then they did their own art project with it.
PLANT UNIT ON TPT
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