Working on Those Tricky Sight Words? Try This!

Can you believe how many early sight words start with either t- or w-??

It's got to be overwhelming to our little literacy learners, especially the strugglers. There are just so many of those words that I sometimes think that section of the word wall is just a blur for some of them.

You've got to have a big arsenal of options, because we all know that what works for one child might not work for another.

I hope that using this easy prep Easter basket puzzle in a literacy center might help some of them out! Just print and cut, and your students will be ready to practice 17 t- and w- sight words!

Click here or on the picture to download your copy.

Looking for more sight word activities for your classroom? Try this game set!

 

Happy Teaching!

 

 



Planning for Winter Projects... and a Freebie!

Hi, Teaching Friends on Vacation! (Woohoo!)

I hope you've begun to relax and enjoy your vacation! Well, I hope at least you've had the time to get your shopping done! (and wrapping, and baking, and decorating, oh my!) It's all wonderful fun and worth every bit of the work, but, boy, it's all a mighty big project, isn't it? :)

Here's a little freebie to add to your post-vacation stash of literacy center ideas. It's a set of 19 sight word phrases for building fluent phrasing and expression and for automaticity with sight words. The set also includes a student recording sheet and a "Beat the Clock" activity which my students loved!

Click on the picture to get it free at my TPT store! {{Updated 12/15!!}}

The sight word phrase cards are part of "Wonderful Winter Literacy", a set of more than 15 literacy center activities at my TPT store. Please click on the cover picture to see it! 

Here's a peek at some of the other resources in this set.

Well, my friends, that's definitely it until after Christmas! Check back next week for another post... and quite possibly another freebie!

My best wishes to all of you and your families for a Christmas blessed with the knowledge of the true meaning of the day.

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."





Sincerely,





"Blog-iversary" Sight Word FREEBIE!

Hi, Teaching Friends!


November has been a craaaazy month around here!  In addition to 3 birthdays and an anniversary in our immediate family, there was Thanksgiving, the storm that left us without power for a week, a freakish snowstorm in the midst of the outage, extra hours spent working on hurricane victim relief projects (a blessing, not a burden, believe me - but exhausting nonetheless!), time spent getting projects completed before the TN and TPT sales... and why am I wondering where November went??? 

So, as the last days of the month are slipping away, I just realized that this little blog just celebrated its first "Blog-iversary"!  Thank you, thank you to so many of you who have become followers and encouragers. You inspire me to ponder, to question, to write, and to create. I am having fun with this, my friends! Please leave a comment to let me know which freebies have been your favorites, so I'll have some ideas about what you'd like next.


So, what better way to celebrate than to create a new winter resource as a thank you gift  for you!
Here's a set of 3 sight word puzzles for your literacy centers: early sight words, early prepositions, and tricky t- and w- sight words. {Can anyone tell me please why t and w are hogging up a whole bunch of space on the Word Wall while other letters like j and r are sitting there all lonesome with plenty of space to share? Our poor little strugglers must surely be groaning on the inside whenever they need to write a t or w word!} All you need to do is print the puzzles on cardstock, cut apart on the lines, and stick them into a sandwich bag!  Enjoy!

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!







    

Free Autumn Sight Word Phrases

           Once upon a time in the primary grades, comprehension skills were "taught" only after foundational reading skills like decoding and sight words had been mastered. Now research has shown us that comprehension instruction needs to begin even before a child reads - with listening comprehension, as children listen to stories and even in conversations! What seems so obvious now would have been a wild and crazy thought. Once upon a time.

Now we also know that the reading skill/strategy of fluency plays a critical role in comprehension. Now we nip that word-by-word reading in the bud - hooray!! Fluent reading, in terms of appropriate rate, phrasing, and expression, have a direct effect on comprehension.

Here's a set of 19 free autumn sight word phrase cards that you can put in a literacy center for independent or partner practice. The theme is fall, so your students will also be increasing their familiarity with basic fall seasonal words like apple, pumpkin, rake, and leaves. Click here to download your copy!

Hover on the picture & click the Pinterest button to save this to use later!

*******

You'll also like this set of fall riddles, a fun way to build autumn vocabulary and to model comprehension skills like identifying key details, inferring, and drawing conclusions! Includes riddle/picture/word matching cards for 24 autumn words, a board game, a writing activity, and more! Click here or on the cover to see this set.

Happy Teaching!



Sight Word Sign-ins - Free Templates!

Hello, Teaching Friends!

Most new readers need to read sight words many times to master them. Our challenge as teachers is to keep the practice frequent, diverse, and interesting. Here's one easy way to do just that with your mid-year kindergarteners through early first graders.

Click here to download your set. 

On this set of sign-in sheets, students respond to simple yes/no statements by signing their name. The statements are packed with sight words like have, to, like, can, etc. ... more repetitions=faster mastery! There's a blank template for your own ideas. 

One easy way to extend this activity (and to increase the number of sight words used) is to change the statements to questions. For example, a few weeks after using "I like pizza", try using "Do you like to eat pizza with your family?" or "Do you like to eat pizza at school?".



Happy Teaching!

Sight Words Driving You Buggy? Freebie!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Is the thought of finding even one more way of teaching sight words driving you buggy? Well, here's a little freebie for you to use with those especially buggy words that start with t- and w-. I mean, really, how many times can they mix up went and want??? If your well of ideas is running a little dry, try using these 18 cards to...

Play a game of Your Pile, My Pile

Print 2 sets to play memory

Tape around the frame of your classroom door for quick 
 practice when the class is lining up

Hide around your classroom for a Read the Room activity

               
                                
 Your kids will love these adorable graphics from Maree Truelove!

 

                

Click on the cover to get your set now!

Happy Teaching!