Make Quick-and-Easy Games... with Placemats!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

I love weekly summer linkies! They're a great way to discover new-to-you blogs as well as new ideas. Plus, as a blogger, they help me to blog more regularly (Thank you for THAT! Help wanted!)

In my opinion, one of the best weekly linkies around is Monday Made It at Fourth Grade Frolics. I've been following it ... and occasionally joining in... for a few years, and love it as a source of all kinds of fun and creative ideas, for the classroom, but also home, garden, and creative crafting in general!

So, I'm delighted to be joining up with Tara and lots of other bloggers this week to share this practically-instant game that you can adapt to lots of skills and levels.

Start with a plastic placemat. There are some really cute ones in themes your little learners will love, like Frozen and Cars, or something more generic like this one. You can even find these at the dollar store.

I'm a big fan of projects that I already have most of the supplies for. I'll bet you already have these, too!

Now it's time to stick the labels on and write!  Or, if you want something more permanent, just write directly on the mat. The bump game in the picture is a first grade favorite:  roll two dice, add ten to the sum, then cover the space. But there are soooo many ways you could change this to suit your students' level and needs:

* Roll one die. Add one ( or two, or ten, or...), cover.
* Roll one die. Cover the number that comes before it.
* Roll three dice, add, cover.
* Roll two dice, subtract the lesser from the greater, cover the difference.
* Roll three dice, add the two greater numbers, subtract the third number, cover.
* Roll two dice, add, add twenty ( or 30, or 50, or...) to the sum, cover.

For literacy,

* Use alphabet cards instead of dice. Match each uppercase to its lowercase partner.
* With alphabet cards again, cover the letter that comes before (or after) the one on your card.
* For fluency, prepare a list of six phrases or short sentences filled with your current sight words and    vocabulary. Roll one die, read the phrase smoothly, cover the number on the board.


Placemats are also great for making a quick path game. Just put the dot labels around the edges. A different color dot means move ahead/back a space.


You can build up a stock of these for lots of skills. Or you can just have a few and change out the labels/skills as needed, which is very handy for tutors and homeschoolers!


Thanks for stopping by! Head on over to 4th Grade Frolics for lots of Made It Monday links!

Happy Teaching!

Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites - Try Games Instead!

Hi, Teaching Friends!


It's time for Chapter Four of the Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites  book study, and the topic is one of my favorite teaching strategies!

I love to use games for teaching, and this quote from the chapter nails the reason why:

"When students are engrossed in game playing, the stress is lessened and memory for content is increased!"

And taking that a step further, when students are engrossed in game playing, the teacher's stress is also lessened. You can circulate, observe, comment occasionally, and be confident that your "sneaky teaching" is working. You know, "sneaky teaching" ... your students are learning but having such a good time that they don't even realize it!


One of my favorite ways to use games is to have students create their own games, especially as a review.

"When students develop a game's content as well as play the game, the amount of time they are exposed to and involved with the content is doubled." (Allen, 2008)


Early on in my teaching experience, I once or twice tried just giving my first graders an 18"X24" paper, a topic, and had them go at it.  I quickly learned that most of them need more structure than that. One thing I tried that worked pretty well was supplying my students with sticky dots and precut skills cards. That also cut down on the (sometimes ridiculously long) amount of time it took to make the games. After all, we needed to have time left to play the games, too!

When it was time to play, we had a rotation. It was a bit complicated ... I think of those diagrams for tennis, I'm pretty sure it is, where everyone gets to play everyone else... but worth it, because there's huge benefit both in skill/fact mastery and self-confidence when you get to teach your classmates to play the game you designed.


If you're thinking about having your students create their own games, I do happen to have this freebie in my store that might save you some time. It's a set of blank board games, along with some suggestions for ways that you or in this case your students can program them for practice at your own grade level. If it's something you might like to give a try, you can download it here.

I've really been enjoying reading everyone's posts about this book, and would also like to thank you for your comments here. It's so nice to have a conversation! This week's host is Katie King, The Queen of the First Grade Jungle. Click here to see what everyone else is talking about!



Happy Teaching!

Easy Peasy Center Game

Hello, Teaching Friends!

I just had to share this little gem I happened across at Kohl's today. It's a holiday placemat that's simply begging to be made into a board game. How about putting a pair of dice and a set of flashcards with it (sight words? math facts? whatever!) - you're ready to roll, so to speak! 

I saved the very best parts for last: it's plastic, so no laminating needed, and it's on clearance for $1.24!

Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Teaching!

CVC Freebie for Winter

CVC words are one of the main gateways to reading success. This CVC freebie game is a fun way to practice short vowel words!

Young readers will get lots of practice blending sounds as they read simple CVC words when they play this game. The ability to blend quickly and smoothly, combined with a strong sight word base and lots of practice with early reading strategies, will get them well on their way.  Then it's on to enjoying the excitement of independently reading more and more of those wonderful early level books!

Here's Snowy Day Four-in-a-Row. The format is probably already familiar to most of your students, so it will be easy to add to your literacy centers. And as for the prep, this is just a one page printable, so you'll find that this game is a quick one to put into play!

Click here to download your free copy!

If you're looking for CVC practice to use at any time of year, here are two resources you may like!

    

Happy Teaching!

Synonym Scoot!

Hello, Teaching Friends!

Just a quick post to let you know that I've added another game to the ELA Scoot set - it's Synonym Scoot!

This game is only available for now as a part of this larger bundle. It's one of seven Scoot games in the set - long vowel spelling patterns, cvc words, alphabetical order, digraphs, compound words, and rhyming, too! (If you're one of those smart shoppers who bought this pack way back when it only had four games and you're getting all of the new additions free -  woo-hooooo!)

 

 

For those of you who just want to give one of these games a try, I just posted CVC Scoot as a separate item. For 31 picture cards, your kiddos will get a recording sheet that has the first letter of each word, and finish writing each word as they enjoy moving around the room. See it here!

Happy Teaching!

Free Board Games... and Time for YOU to Get Creative!

Do you like making games? Are you always thinking of new and fun ways to present content to your students? Here's a freebie to help you out! It's a game board game that you can personalize to use with any skill you choose.

Long before there was a Teachers Pay Teachers or even an online teacher community, you could often find me on the floor of our family room, surrounded by sheets of poster board and piles of markers. I never was quite content with using the curriculum straight from the book, or with resources I could buy. Besides, I loved making games and activities for my students... and I still do!

Aren't those little pups from A Sketchy Guy  the cutest?!?
To help give you some ideas for getting started, I also included these two completed games!

Click on any of the images to download the whole Puppy Love set from Google Drive.

Have a great time with these! If you're interested in more blank game boards like this one, I have sets for three grade levels in my TpT store, along with ideas for using them with your own curriculum.

                   

Click to see sets for kindergarten and first grade, second grade and third grade, and fourth and fifth grade.

Happy Creating... and Happy Teaching!

Fraction Game Freebie!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Isn't it crazy how our kiddos are taught to share for five years or more, but when we introduce fractions as a "fair share" of a group, some of them look at us like it's a totally new concept to them?
They seem to have a good basis for starting to learn about fractions from seeing pizzas and birthday cakes be cut and shared ...and of course visually measuring each piece down to the millimeter to be sure that it's been cut fairly!


A favorite way to introduce fractions as "fair share" is by reading Pat Hutchins' The Doorbell Rang.
I'd usually read it aloud one day, and then the next day have a math/lit lesson. We'd reread or retell the story as we sat in a circle on the floor, acting out the sharing using pennies as the cookies. One year, I had the perfect number of students for this story - yes, twelve, don't shoot me! It was a literacy intervention class. So that year, we used real cookies to act out the story. Then, after the lesson, we crumbled the overly-handled ones, threw them out for the birds to enjoy, and ate some fresh ones to celebrate our success with fractions.



When you move on to abstract representations of fractions, here's a free set of cards and a game board for you to use with a small group or in a center. There are cards like these for ten different fractions.



Click on any of the pictures to download it!

 

 

Happy Teaching!





Notes from the Road

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Hope you are all well today! My husband and I are enjoying a great vacation. We're now in Chicago, and wow! Now I understand what everyone has been raving about! What an amazing city!!


Just wanted to remind you that today is the last day of the Back to School sale at TPT. I'll bet you didn't really need that reminder, did you?


I've picked up some terrific clip art for new projects, and how fun it was to buy them at 20% off + the additional BTS13 discount. Take a peek into the stores of Krista Wallden, Graphics from the Pond, and Little Red's Schoolhouse! Such talent!!


I couldn't get to sleep last night - apparently, the lure of the TPT sale overpowered the fact that the ol' pedometer reported that we walked more than nine miles yesterday! So, I spent a bit of time scribbling ideas for more ELA Scoot games in my little notebook, and should have a few ready to add within the next week or two. If you buy the set today at just over $2.50, you'll be able to continue to download it at no additional charge as new games are added! Here's a sample from one of the games, a CVC scramble.

Thanks for stopping by, and...
Happy Teaching!

Inside Scoop on a Deal on Scoot!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Some title, eh? Say it three times fast...

Far be it from me to interfere with your shopping time today :), but I want to give you a chance to get in on a super deal. Last night I posted this set of two Scoot games for CVC words.

 

 

Each game has 31 cards, a student recording sheet, and an answer key. There are also "Take a Break" cards for you to use if you choose to add some variety or if you have more than 31 students (oh, I sincerely hope that's not the case!!).

The set sells for $3.50, which means that with the BTS sale at Teachers Pay Teachers, it's now down to $2.80, and if you use that magic code at checkout (BTS13), you'll pay just over $2.50. Deal!!


But here's where the real deal comes in! This is just the beginning of this set. I have plans (already scribbled in little notebooks, actually) to expand this resource with more ELA Scoot games: digraphs, sight words, etc. At least another 4 or 5 games will be added, which will make your cost per game about $.40!


If you buy it now for $2.50, you'll be able to download the updates at no charge! So when the content (and quite likely the price, too) of this set goes up, you can just sit back with a smug grin and wear your "Smart Shopper" badge!

Have a great day, Smart Shoppers! And have fun as you browse!

Happy Teaching!

Phonics Bump Game Set for Your SOR Teaching!

Happy Weekend, Teaching Friends!

Are you and your students fans of Bump games? Here's a set that's a good fit for your phonics, word work, or SOR teachng!

 

The Bump games in this set are for...
CVC words
Long a spelling patterns
Long vowel/ silent e words (mixed)
Compound words
Words that end with -er
Words that end with -le
Digraphs


... all skills for first grade Common Core Reading Foundational Skills. These games a great way to have some beginning-of-second grade review. If you're a first grade teacher, you'll find yourself popping these games into your centers all year!

Each game includes a game board, cube, and student response page.

 

 

If you'd like to try a free sample, click here to get an r-controlled vowels bump game!

 

 

Ready to see more? Click here, or on any of the pictures.

 

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 of five activities includes ... 

🎃  Word cards for each of the words

🎃  Two partner games to practice the words

🎃  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!

🎃  "Bat in a Hat", a rhyming game with captioned (labeled) picture cards.

🎃  Two word building activities, each provided in both a student printable and a mini-poster for display in a literacy center.

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 complete game pack for you to enjoy with your students! Click here or on the picture to get your free copy.

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!

 

     

Free Four in a Row Game for Opposites

Hi, Teaching Friends!
First, I'd like to thank you for the many kind and encouraging comments you left here, on TPT, and on Pinterest regarding yesterday's post on Sharon Dudley. If you missed the post about this inspiring educator, click here.
A few weeks ago, I shared a free Summer Vocabulary Four-in-a-Row game with you. Since it proved to be quite a popular post, I though I'd make a new variation. So, here is a four-in-a-row game for antonyms. The game is designed for end of first grade through early third, and would also be good for small group remediation or ESL. Click on the picture to collect it at google docs.

Happy Teaching!

A Day at the Beach - Generic Game Board Freebie!

Hi, Everybody!

It's a toasty day here in NJ, with predictions of the temperatures going higher for each of the next few days. It got my mind thinking about the beach. I was also thinking about you folks who are teaching summer school, or will be heading back to school while the beach weather is still here. How very hard it is to keep your little ones focused on learning when they really just want to feel the sand in their toes... and so do you!

So, putting those thoughts together, here's a little beach-themed generic game board for you.
You can use it with any skill that your little guys could use some extra practice on, from addition facts, to coins, to sight words,... Simply print the board and spinner and use your own flashcards. Click on the picture to download "A Day at the Beach" from Google Docs.

Happy Teaching!