Compare and Contrast - Freebie!

Hi, Everyone!

Some of my first graders had a difficult time with the skill of comparing and contrasting. Sometimes I would be sure that a child knew the ways that two items were alike or different, but he would have a lot of trouble putting it into words. Since the skill is fundamental to progress in literacy, science, social studies, and math, and it's woven through the Common Core standards from kindergarten through fifth grade, I was very determined to give all of my students a strong foundation in both understanding and applying it. I mean, wouldn't any teacher be? But sometimes some very specific teaching is called for, and it's tough to get together the resources you need.

That's why I'm so excited to tell you about a new resource that I just completed! It's a series of 45 pictures that use graphic organizers, class discussion, and partner talk to practice comparing and contrasting. These would be great to use on your SMARTboard, so you can complete them together as a class. You might want to do one a day, or maybe it would work better for you to block out more time once a week and do several. There are also three pages to print and have your students complete independently as an assessment.

Where's the freebie? ... Well, here it is! Click on the picture below to download your free set of 6 slides from the set. I hope you'll find them useful and fun for your class!

Have a great week in school!



Happy Teaching!



Empowering Young Authors with How-to-Draw Lessons

Hi, Everyone!


We encourage our new readers to use the pictures as they read. We show them how to search for the layers of meaning in a picture book that can only be reached through the illustrations. We teach our students to "read" wordless books. We value illustrations so much that we even chastise parents who "quiz" our little guys by covering the pictures to "see if they can really read".

How about writing? Have you ever thought about how we can use the connection between pictures and writing to help new writers?

I got thinking about this again recently because I've been putting together a Pinterest board called "How to Draw It". { over 90 pins as of 4/1/15. Lots of cool tutorials! }You can link to it here.

When a child can draw a recognizable character, the first thing that happens is that his confidence gets a huge boost. Suddenly he can put pencil to paper and make something real. He's not just drawing, he's conveying meaning. Even a young learner who says he can't write can still draw.
The first character is the germ of a story. The second character, or item, or anything else added to the picture, is what gets the action going!

If you regularly devote time during your early writing mini-lessons to drawing, you'll see a huge change in your students' desire to write. They will have more ideas for writing, and the stories will improve in length and complexity.

Are you thinking, "I can't draw. How can I teach it?" You know that your kids will love whatever you draw (even if they might giggle a bit at your attempts!). But if you need a little confidence boost, too, here are some resources to help you along.

Some of my favorite books for teaching children basic drawing as a precursor to writing are those in the "Kids Can Draw" series by Philippe Legendre, published by Walter Foster. In this series, all of the drawings are based on geometric shapes. Starting with something that everyone can do takes away the "I can't" attitude and encourages kids to give it a try. Each of the many books in this series has 4-step instructions for 8-10 pictures, and a suggestion for combining them into a scene. I like using these mini-lessons with a document camera.

Here are the "Kids Can Draw" that I've used and can personally recommend.


                                                              



Most of us are familiar with the Ed Emberley fingerprint drawing books. They're a fun and interesting way to use lines and dots to create little characters for student stories. Another favorite Emberley book is  Make a World. You can actually make trains and bridges and buildings and ships and people quite simply with his directions.

Online, Drawingnow.com has loads of drawing tutorials. There are animals, people, landscapes, etc., some quite advanced. You might want to start here for some of the simpler tutorials on animals. The tutorials are quite cool, because they are just one step at a time and you actually see the lines being drawn. These would be awesome on the SMARTboard.


I hope you'll give this a try and let me know how it goes.
Do you have a favorite resource for drawing?

Happy Teaching!

Sums of 10 Thanksgiving Game Freebie

Hello, Teaching Friends!

Hope you're enjoying a lovely fall afternoon! Our home is full of the lovely aroma of apple pies baking. My husband is really enjoying it, because, trust me, this doesn't happen often... unless I have some apple essential oils diffusing!

Before you know it, many of our homes will soon be filled with another luscious aroma - roasting turkeys! So, how's that for a not-so-subtle segue into telling you about the freebie I have for you today!?!

If you're working on sums of 10, you're probably using lots of hands-on activities with tens frames. Once your little guys are ready to move on to something with a bit more challenge, here's a Thanksgiving game that takes them a step higher. 

Your students will solve 32 addition math models and then sort them by their sums: equal to 10/ not equal to 10. You might want to provide tens frames and/or manipulatives for those students who need them while playing the game.

Click here or on the picture to get your free game.

This game is part of a set of nine Turkey in the Pot solve-and-sort games.  There are Turkey in the Pot games for ...

* addition facts
* subtraction facts
* recognizing multiples of five
* odd and even numbers
* comparing numbers
* Base 10 representations of numbers

Like the sample freebie above, all are Common Core aligned. Click on the collage below to see more at TPT.

Click here to see another free Thanksgiving game for practicing sums of ten!

Happy Teaching!

Sight Words Game - Fall Freebie!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

I'm sure your classrooms are buzzing with all the excitement of fall  October, oh, let's be honest -Halloween. The kiddos sure do love this holiday, don't they? I'm not sure whether it's the fun of playing dress-up or the anticipation of all that candy!

Let's channel that excitement into some literacy learning today with this set of fall-themed literacy games. The games focus on early sight words and rhyming. The sight words featured are and, big, can, for, go, is, like, look, the, to, we, and you. The set includes word cards for each of the words and two partner games for reinforcing the words. There's also a "word hunt" game that will have your little learners looking for the words but also using speaking and listening skills to describe autumn pictures. The hunt game has 6 cards, so it will be perfect for small groups. Speech and language teachers will find this game useful, too. Rounding out the set is "Bat in a Hat", a rhyming game with captioned picture cards.

As usual with my resources, you'll find lots of pumpkins and fall fun here, but no scary images.

Here's a sample from the game pack for you to enjoy with your students! Click here or on the picture to get your free copy.

Happy Teaching!







    

Bats at the Library, A Fun Book for October

Hi, Book Lovers!

Does your class love Stellaluna? Of course! What's not to love about such a treasure of a book? What a loving lesson on friendship and valuing the uniqueness in others and yourself. I also like it because it's perfect for October without being either scary or Halloween-focused.

Now, maybe you're looking for a new book about bats, also non-scary. Well, here's one I think you and your class will really enjoy! Bats at the Library, by Brian Lies, is one of those books that's great fun on many levels.

 I am an Amazon Affliate, and could receive small compensation for your purchase. I'd be just as happy if you enjoyed this great book by checking it out at your local library! ;)


The text is rhyming, which in some books is kind of forced, but not here. Lies does a really nice job of keeping the text lyrical and natural as he describes the adventures of a colony of bats that gets into the library through a window left open one night.

The real fun comes in the illustrations. First of all, they are just plain gorgeous.They're also printed on paper that is that lovely satiny texture that I just love to run my hand over. (By the way, reviewers say the Kindle version just doesn't do it justice. Stick with the book.)

These are playful bats who are out for a good time, whether it's playing in the fountain (check out the swimmies on the baby bats!), playing with the copy machine (kids will giggle!), or enjoying a book chat. I love the way that Lies has made this library a place that's impossible not to love!

You and your students will find lots of famous characters from children's literature pictured throughout the book. Look for Little Red Riding Bat and the police officer from Make Way for Ducklings, among many others. I'm thinking that this would be a great book to bring out again for Children's Book Week, or any other celebration of libraries and books.

You'll want to share the "About the Author" photo on the back flap with your kiddos- it's upside down!. This author is a man who "gets" kid humor!

Here's a little freebie that you might like to use as a response to the reading. Your students will write about the antics of the bats when they arrive at the library in your own school! Back their completed writing with a black mat for display, or laminate and assemble as a cute class book!

Click here or on the image to download.

Bats at the Library is definitely on my list of favorite bat books. You might just feel the same!


Have you read this book? I'd love to hear your opinion, so please leave a comment!

Happy Teaching!

Motivate Reluctant Writers with This Character and Setting Freebie!

Hello, Teaching Friends!

We've all had them in our classes - students who day after day say that they have nothing to write about. You know how the conversation goes...

You say, "How about writing about that book we just read?". She says, "I don't remember."

You say, "You could write about recess. What did you do on the playground today?" She says, "Nothing."

So you say, "You were telling me that you're going to get a new pet soon, right?"... and of course she says...

You know what she says. We've all been there.

I really like the idea of expecting students to come up with their own writing topics right from the beginning. It builds their independence, forces them to think, builds their confidence (they really can come up with their own ideas, you know), and it eliminates a lot of time wasted on conversations like the one above!

All of that being said, there are good reasons to offer your students a topic once in a while. Content area writing, teaching a genre or writing trait, even just preparing for the dreaded state tests. Kids really do need to learn how to respond to a writing prompt.

Here's a freebie to put in your writing center to help that little writer who's hit a little writer's block.
It's a set of captioned character and setting cards. By taking one or more of each kind of card, your writer have the beginning of a story to write. Maybe it will be about an astronaut in the grocery store, or a clown on the playground. Maybe it will just be enough to get that pencil on the paper and set the story flowing.

Click here to download!

These cards are part of a larger set of 120 cards that are available at my TeachersPay Teachers store.

Just think of how many ways your little guys will be able to combine them into new and interesting ideas for writing!

These cards are great for a mini-lesson using your document camera. Pick two cards to put up on the screen and do your modeled or shared writing with the whole class right there. 

Or try this: have a student choose 2 cards sight unseen, put them up on the screen for the whole class to see, and have partners do some brainstorming before writing. 

Speech and language teachers have also told me that these cards are useful for language development, vocabulary, and conversation.

Click on the cover below to get a closer look.

Happy Teaching!





Hands-On Sorting Activities for Letters and Sounds

Bring your students to a higher level of thinking in your letter sound work with hands-on sound sorting activities! The idea I'd like to share today is not original, but I hope this post might give you a few hints to make it a bit easier for you to create your own.  

This Sound Sort Box project starts with a divided plastic box with a lid. I found mine in the scrapbooking department at Michaels (think 40% coupon, people!), but I've also seen them in needlework departments. My box has 20 sections,  so when I labeled them with alphabet stickers,  I doubled up on c/d, i/j, o/p, u/v, and y/z. It's not a problem to do that, since the items you'll be putting in the sections are all small.

Now it's time to start collecting lots of little items that begin with each of the letters. The most fun for your little guys (and the most memorable for learning) is the realia. Scout around your classroom and home for some really cool hands-on stuff, like shells, coins, rocks, band-aids, ribbon, yarn, buttons, pasta and candles. The light blue thing at the far right in the picture below is a piece of velcro - v is one of those tricky-to-find letters! 

In case you're wondering, the gum package is empty, but the object of much happy sniffing by the little ones! :)I worked diligently at convincing the kiddos that the mini-marshmallows in the plastic bag were old and icky, so nobody even thought about eating them (well, I'm sure some of them thought about it...)

Looks kind of like a page in an I Spy book, doesn't it?

After you've wracked your brain and still have some empty letter boxes, head back to Michaels, this time to the wood department. Now it's time for the "20% off your whole purchase" coupon, since each of these little trinkets is really inexpensive, but lots of them can mount up. If you're not a craft person, you'll be happy to know that these are pre-painted. I'm crazy, but not that crazy.

Your alphabet box should be really filling up by now!  The goal is to get at least 2 or 3 items per letter.

Mini-erasers from Target or Oriental Trading are a good possibility, too.

If you're totally stuck, you can always print up some clipart or cut apart an alphabet chart, but only when you have no alternative, because paper is just not as much fun as STUFF!

So, how can your students use the Sound Box?  Oh-so-many ways!!

* Focus on one letter at a time. Take out all of the objects for that letter and say the names aloud, almost like reading an alphabet chart: "B, button. B, butterfly. B, book."

* Empty the letters out of about 5 or 6 sections. Mix up the items and put them back into the correct sections. (Warning: If your little guys empty out all of the sections, they'll probably still be putting objects back in while the rest of the class is headed for lunch.)

* Work with a partner. Take turns switching items in 2 sections while the partner is hiding eyes. Then the partner tries to "fix up the mix-up"! Then switch roles.

* Use the items in the box to complete a unique alphabet book or alphabet chart. It's a snap to make an alphabet book. Stack 14 blank pages on top of each other, hold sideways, and fold in half. Staple together on the fold, and that's that! Illustrate the pages with items from the box. 

Have your students use the ideas in the box to create their own alphabet chart, using the items in the box for ideas to draw on their own chart.  Click here to print a free blank alphabet chart like the one in the picture at the top of this post. 

How else would you use the Sound Sorting Box with your class?

Happy Teaching!

Batty Batty Bingo! A Free Halloween Game for You!

Hi, Everyone!

Ah, October.
Colorful leaves falling from the trees.
The aroma of hot apple cider.
The sound of little voices calling,

"Batty Batty Bingo! Batty Batty Bingo!"

Excuse me?

Well, yes, in my classroom, at least, where we enjoyed nothing more than a rousing game of this review bingo right before lunch, or at the end of the day, ... or whenever we felt it was time to squeeze in a little extra fun with our learning! I can still see Colby, one of my students the first year we played this game, with his arm waving frantically back and forth, grinning from ear to ear, and yelling, "Batty Batty Bingo!" with all his might!

This is a bingo game with extra benefits, since each student who plays will be writing the letters or words on his or her own board, thereby getting the added reinforcement of writing and reading the word! Fun for the whole class, but especially good for RTI or small leveled groups.

Here's the set of 5 games at TPT: letters, letters in sequence, letter sounds, sight words, and sight words in context. Click on the cover below to see it.

 

 

Here below is your freebie at Google Docs. It's a letter bingo game from the Batty Batty set. Your littles will love it! :)

Click and enjoy!

 

 



Happy Teaching!

 

     

I'll Take My Halloween Without Gruesome, Thanks!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Okay. Without being a total Scrooge about it, I'd like to say I'm not a big fan of Halloween. Or maybe I should say, I'm not a big fan of what Halloween has become, especially in school. I'm all for little guys having fun dressing up, ringing doorbells, and even "OD-ing" a bit on candy (especially when Halloween falls on a Friday!). I can even tolerate a cute little ghostie, as long as it's very obviously a cartoon.

What I don't like is the creepy stuff.  I think you know what I mean - masks with blood dripping from them,  spider web-draped shop displays, etc.  I like to be able to walk through  a store without seeing ghoulish figures and hearing moans and screams. The devils with glowing red eyes are nasty.  And even though some of the sayings may be clever, where's the fun in tombstones on front lawns?


That being said, I absolutely love every shape and size of pumpkin!! I love sweater days, apple picking, hayrides in farmers' fields, and a walk in crunchy colorful leaves. The aroma of an apple pie baking is unbeatable! I've taught and learned from lots of fall science units like bats and spiders, and read and reread many autumn classics like Stellaluna and Pumpkin,Pumpkin.


But I just don't care for the scary stuff, and the fact that in some schools, so many little ones are routinely exposed to the creepiness. Isn't there enough real scariness in their world right now? Can't we just keep this holiday full of happy fun??

Here's a resource for your K-5 classroom if you love fall but not Halloween. It's a set of review cards for any subject. There are 16 October themes, but not one spooky thing at all.

You can program them to fit your own needs, like these...

I like to stick them up around the inside of the classroom door, or around the frame of it. Then take the card in each set that has no white box and tape it to the end of a pointer or yardstick. Whenever the class lines up to leave the room, the line leader gets to point to a few cards and the class responds. Quick and easy review! The preview download has lots and lots of ideas for programming and using the cards at all levels.

Click here to see it at my TPT store.

If you've hung in there through my whole Halloween rant, you certainly deserve a free sample from this product!! Click here to get yours from Google Docs.

I'd love to hear how you feel about Halloween celebrations. :) 

Happy Teaching!