Wrapping Up Read Across America (Ideas and FREEBIES to Celebrate Reading)

Be careful what you wish for . . .

Over the past couple of months I have been wishing for a snow day.  I live in an area that gets very little snow.  When it does come, we get out and take full advantage of it.  Plus a surprise day off from school is always welcome.

Snow-wise, this year was shaping up to be a total dud.  Then, about three weeks ago, everything changed.  We had ice and snow and then snow again.  Leaving us with more snow fun than anyone wanted.  Long story short, we haven't been in school for a full week since Valentine's Day.

Planning for these interruptions is a bit of a challenge, especially when special events are on the calendar.  

Our school celebrated Read Across America over the past week.  While everything I (and our school) planned for Read Across America didn't happen.  We still fit in some fun Seuss inspired learning activities to mark the week.

We started by reading The Cat in the Hat and making these writing craftivities to display in the classroom.  Students wrote about what would happen if the Cat in the Hat visited their homes.  I love how they turned out.

We also "played" a round of Seussical Scoot.  I placed word cards around the room; some on the walls, some on my shelves, and some on the desks.  Students read the words and determined if they had a long vowel sound or not.  Then they wrote the words on their recording sheets.
My kids love scoot and write the room activities.  They think they are playing a game.  I'm all for this format for many reasons.  It's a great way to get the wiggles out.

Of course we had a chance to read a some Dr. Seuss books.  We made this quick and simple graph on our white board of our favorite Dr. Seuss books.

Friday was Green Day.  We read Green Eggs and Ham.  We used this book as a jumping off point for a differentiated number order activity.
I put together four sets of green plastic eggs that had numbers inside.  Students worked in small groups to write the next three numbers, either counting by ones or counting by tens.  As a bonus, they colored the eggs on their recording sheets green if the number inside was even.
They kids really had a great time doing this activity.  It's definitely one I'll use again.

We had a green eggs and ham snack.  I saw this treat on pinterest.  I thought it looked simple enough to pull together on a weeknight and would store easily if we had yet another snow day.
To make them, I used pretzels, white chocolate chips, and M & M's.  I placed the pretzels on a cookie sheet with two chips on top of each one.  I melted the chips in the oven and them took them out.  While the chocolate was still hot, I placed an M & M on top.
I used mint M & M's.  The entire bag was green, which was perfect.

I found the perfect shirt to wear for Green Day at Teacher T-Shirts.  I ordered a couple of different ones for this year's Read Across America festivities.  But, because of the snow, this is the only one I got to wear.
The site has several cute shirt options.  They not only have RAA shirts, they also have grade level specific tees, 100th Day tees, St. Patrick's Day teacher tees, and more.

All and all, I feel like the interrupted week didn't dampen our celebration of Read Across America.  RAA is a great way to welcome March.  

If you would like a FREE copy of my green eggs math activity (you do not have to have a class set of plastic green eggs to make it work) or a FREE copy of my vowel discrimination scoot, click on the pictures below.

       

Well, that's it for now.  Thanks so much for stopping by.
Best.

Just a Pinch of Grinch

Just unloading some pics from this week and wow, these past five days have been busy.  Christmas programs, parties, crafts, assessments, the flu, presents, special books, class visitors, and lots of repeating myself.  The week before winter break is crazy, but of course lots of fun.

Some of our time was devoted to the mean one, Mr. Grinch.  Most of my students know the Grinch, so they were super excited when I had "Grinchy Activities" up on our class agenda.  We started the day with a read aloud of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Then we moved straight to our craft.

Our Grinches were inspired by a Glyph Girls' project I pinned a few years ago.  I love how they turned out.  The kids loved making them and were totally cracked up when they realized their Grinches would not be wearing any pants.
We did these first because I wanted to pop them up around the room to Grinch-it up a bit before our other activities.

After finishing our Grinches, we moved on to a little literacy scoot game I put together.  I placed a Grinch word card at every desk, face down.  Students had to read the word on the card and determine if it has a long vowel sound or a short vowel sound.  Then they wrote their answers on a recording sheet.  When I gave the signal, everyone scooted to the next seat.
Since we just wrapped up the basic vowel, consonant, silent e pattern for all long vowel sounds, this activity was a perfect informal assessment.

We broke up the morning with a yummy pinspired snack one of my dear moms sent in.  The kids were really happy to get a treat.  (Maybe next year I'll let them put their Grinch treats together on their own.)

For math we got moving again with a write the room fact review.  I put addition and subtraction facts around the room.  (Some of my kids need lots more practice solving addition and subtraction facts when they are mixed.)  Just like in scoot, students started at one card, solved the problem, recorded their answers, and then moved when I signaled.
Since it was the week before winter break and my kids were a little more lively than usual, I built in another element of movement besides moving from card to card.  I printed a set of "Max cards" to help get out some of the wiggles.
The Max cards have various exercises on them.  "Do 4 squats."  "Do a plank and count to 12."  "Do 10 jumping jacks."  (You get the picture.)  After about for or five equations I would announce that it was time for a Max card and then I'd read the exercise.
The kids loved, loved, loved the Max cards.  It was something just a little different in our routine and it worked great.

Another activity with Grinch was an entry into our Elf journal, Diary of an Elf.  The kids wrote about what they thought was going on between the Grinch and our class elf.  They wrapped up their entries by telling what they thought might happen that evening, when it was time for our elf to return to the North Pole.  I got some very interesting responses.

We ended our Grinchy learning by watching the classic cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  After spending much of the day learning with Grinch, my sweet students were extra interested in watching the story unfold on screen.
Our time with Grinch was just what we needed this week, a high level of engagement with a beloved character and plenty of chances to move around.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your well deserved break.

Dominoes for Days (Freebies and Ideas)

I love things that you can use in lots of different ways.  It is so fabulous when you can buy something and put it to use in a few different activities.  Dominoes are one such item.  They can be used for so many classroom activities.  With a little creativity, dominoes can be a fun part of many math and literacy activities.
For math, they are a perfect way to work with math facts.  We use them for addition facts, subtraction facts, related facts, and fact families.
Before we started all of this domino math fact work we read, Domino Addition by Lynette Long.  This simple text helps students see patterns in the dominoes and how to generate addition equations using dominoes.

After reading Domino Addition, we played Domino Scoot (Addition).  I placed a domino at each student desk.  The students used their recording sheets to illustrate each domino and write two related addition facts to go along with that domino.  After about a minute, I signal them to scoot to the next desk.

We used the same setup to play Domino Scoot for subtraction facts.  After a little more practice, we will use this activity once again for fact families.  

Since the recording sheets are so open ended, I can use this exact activity again later for review or for reteaching purposes.  

At the bottom of this post you can find a link to my Domino Scoot recording sheets.  

Besides fact practice, we've also used dominoes for odd and even sorting.  This activity is super simple, with very little prep required.  Students just write odd or even on a note can and then sort the dominoes into the correct category.

You could use this same strategy with other skills as well, like less than 5/greater than 5 or doubles/not doubles.  Just think of different ways students can sort the dominoes.

Another low prep use for dominoes is to use them for word work.  They are very easy to arrange and use to make words.  My students like to use them to practice their spelling words.

Other domino literacy activities I've used require a little more work on the front end, but are fun and a great way to practice a variety of skills.  For example, we work on short and long vowel discrimination by playing domino match ups.  

I make dominoes with a picture on one end and the corresponding vowel sound on the end of another domino.  Students match the correct vowel sound with each picture.  When they complete the matching, there is an optional recording sheet.

I like to use these match ups as a partner activity with the whole group.  Which means, I print half as many dominoes as students so that all the partner sets can play at the same time.

I prep these by printing the dominoes on card stock, laminating, and cutting them.  However, for a quicker prep, you could print them and have students cut out their own sets.

Domino match ups can also be use for small groups, as centers, or as homework.

My young learners have also practiced contractions with domino match ups.  I printed dominoes that have two words on one side and the corresponding contraction on the end of another domino.  Students match the correct words with the correct contraction.  When they complete the contraction matching, there is an optional recording sheet.

If you would like a free copy of the Contraction Domino Match Up or the Long & Short O Domino Match Up, see the bottom of the post.

You can click on the pictures below for free domino activities for your classroom.

I hope you enjoy these activities or at least get some ideas to address your own student needs.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Best.

Long Vowels: Simple Ways to Get Started

For the first several weeks of school we spend loads of time working with short vowels.  We read with them, spell with them, sort with them, create rhymes with them, trade them out to create different words . . . you name it, we do it.  But, all of this work is (or at least should be) review.  

Today was our first day of many that we really focused on long vowel sounds.  Over the next few months, we'll spend lots of time learning about letter patterns that make the long vowel sounds.

My very favorite tool for teaching students about reading words with long vowel sounds is the saying, "Two vowels in a word, the first vowel says it's name, the second vowel plays the quiet game."  (There are other similar saying that get the point across as well.  This variation just sticks with me the best).

I say this to my young learners over and over and over.  Eventually they know it by heart.

I made these anchor charts to use as headers on the board as we brainstorm words that follow the two vowels pattern.  I (or the students) write words on the board and then we mark the vowel that says its name and cross out the one that's playing the quiet game.  Over the next few days, I'll repeat this activity using different words that follow the same pattern.

If you would like a free set of these anchor charts, click on the picture below.  There are eleven different charts with different long vowel combinations.  The clip art is from Graphics from the Pond and the fonts are by Kimberly Geswein.

Another simple way to practice this (or any other) spelling pattern is an anchor activity I like to call fold and draw.  Students fold their paper to create boxes.  In each box, they will write a word using the spelling pattern and then illustrate it.  Students can fold their papers twice to have four boxes or they can fold it three times to create six boxes.  

Like the anchor chart activity above, students can repeat this activity again by spelling different words and drawing different illustrations.

One more way we are practicing long vowels is with my recently bundled Words at Work Mega Pack {Word Work for Long Vowels}.  I designed these activities to be consistent as we progress to each vowel.  I want students to focus more on the skill than trying to figure what they are supposed to do to complete the task.

This packet works perfectly for independent assignments in class, as a word work practice, or as homework.  All of the activities are low prep, just print and go.  If you want more details more details, click on the picture below.

  

There are so many ways to tackle long vowels.  I love finding effective, simple, and easy to implement ways to practice this important skill.  I hope some of these ideas will be helpful to you.

Have a great week.