ordinal number activities

1-2-3 Come Do Some Kite-Themed Activities With Me

One of our themes for spring is kites; so I've been busy designing an assortment of kite activities to help teach a variety of standards.

Today's blog features 4 of them, along with the featured FREEBIE.

3D shapes, 3D shape activities, 3D shape posters, 3D shape photographs, kite activities, emergent readers for spring, pattern block activities, pattern block centers, synonym activities, ordinal number activitiesPractice 3D shapes with the "Shapin' Up With 3D Kites" packet.  The  emergent reader reinforces 3D shapes as well as colors.

The packet includes:

3D shapes, 3D shape activities, 3D shape posters, 3D shape photographs, kite activities, emergent readers for spring, pattern block activities, pattern block centers, synonym activities, ordinal number activities* A 2-on-a-page emergent reader booklet.

* Students read the simple sentences, trace and write the shape and color words, then color the pictures appropriately.

* A set of colorful, 3D shape pocket chart cards, with matching black and white ones, so that students can color, cut, and add the cover, to make an Itty Bitty Booklet.

* I've also included a graphing extension, a “design your own kite” worksheet, plus  40 lovely photographs of real 3D-shaped kites, many of which also feature 2D shapes.

Print, laminate and trim. (There are 4 pictures per page.)  Children choose one or two and write the shapes and colors that they see on their “I Spy!” recording sheet.

3D shapes, 3D shape activities, 3D shape posters, 3D shape photographs, kite activities, emergent readers for spring, pattern block activities, pattern block centers, synonym activities, ordinal number activitiesFor writing practice, have students write a sentence or two about the kite picture. To use as an independent center, have students sort the photographs by shape. The pictures also make a lovely spring bulletin board.

* Since I included color words in the emergent reader, I also included a set of colorful pocket chart cards, as well as a set in black and white, so students can add the cover and make a “Flipping Over Colors!”  Itty Bitty Booklet. (“grey” & “colours” spelling options are also included). 

3D shapes, 3D shape activities, 3D shape posters, 3D shape photographs, kite activities, emergent readers for spring, pattern block activities, pattern block centers, synonym activities, ordinal number activitiesNext up is an ordinal number "craftivity". It's a quick, easy and fun way for students to review ordinal numbers, ordinal number words + sequencing.

Encourage children to color the stripes on their kite in a pattern, or in rainbow-color order.

I've included ordinal number kite cards to play a Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" game, as well as a set of mini, sequencing cards, which could double as a bookmark for students' math journals. 
There's also a whole-group assessment worksheet, with 2 size options.     

3D shapes, 3D shape activities, 3D shape posters, 3D shape photographs, kite activities, emergent readers for spring, pattern block activities, pattern block centers, synonym activities, ordinal number activitiesDo your students enjoy playing with pattern blocks? Spring things up with these 2, kite-themed pattern block games.

I've included a full-color pattern, as well as a black & white version, so that little ones look for a shape, rather than a color.

There's also a set of pocket chart cards that show and name the pattern block shapes.

Use them to introduce the lesson, then put the cards in a center, for a "trace, draw, and place the pattern piece" activity.

Students can play "Spin to Win" with the spinner, or practice numbers as well, by rolling a dice, then referring to the poster to see what pattern block they should place on their mat.  Students can play independently or with a partner

3D shapes, 3D shape activities, 3D shape posters, 3D shape photographs, kite activities, emergent readers for spring, pattern block activities, pattern block centers, synonym activities, ordinal number activitiesFinally, practice synonyms with the "Soaring With Synonyms!" packet.  So that you can also do this packet with younger kiddos, I've included a blank kite pattern.
They could list rhyming words, sight words, color words etc. PK students can simply do the craft.

3D shapes, 3D shape activities, 3D shape posters, 3D shape photographs, kite activities, emergent readers for spring, pattern block activities, pattern block centers, synonym activities, ordinal number activitiesThe back of the kite can also be used for a writing prompt, or spring poem. Completed projects look awesome suspended from the ceiling in our hallway.

Studying synonyms and antonyms not only increases vocabulary, but enhances students’ writing; making it more interesting and vivid, as it gives children a better word base to choose from, so their writing is not redundant and boring, filled with over-used words like “said”, “pretty”, “went” etc.

Besides the synonym/antonym kite craftivity, the packet also includes:

3D shapes, 3D shape activities, 3D shape posters, 3D shape photographs, kite activities, emergent readers for spring, pattern block activities, pattern block centers, synonym activities, ordinal number activities48 kite word cards to play Memory Match & "I Have; Who Has?” games, plus a blank set of kite cards to program with whatever...

Black line mini kite worksheet for more synonym/antonym practice, plus a full-color, completed worksheet to use as a sample, along with synonym and antonym “definition” anchor charts plus . . .

An alphabetical, word-list poster of 70 words students can choose from to complete their kite, with background information about synonym/antonym word work, as well as a list of 290 synonym/antonym pairs. 

3D shapes, 3D shape activities, alphabet games, alphabet cards, alphabet activities, 3D shape posters, 3D shape photographs, kite activities, emergent readers for spring, pattern block activities, pattern block centers, synonym activities, ordinal number activitiesThe FREEBIE today also features kites.  It's a set of alphabet cards.

I've included separate upper and lowercase letter cards, as well as ones displaying both letters. 

There's also a tip list of things you can do with the cards, including playing games like Memory Match, "I Have; Who Has?" and "Kaboom!" 

3D shapes, 3D shape activities, alphabet games, alphabet cards, alphabet activities, 3D shape posters, 3D shape photographs, kite activities, emergent readers for spring, pattern block activities, pattern block centers, synonym activities, ordinal number activitiesWell that's it for today. The wind is howling outside and making my office window rattle, the perfect background to work on my wind activities!

Wishing you a fun-filled, easy peasy breezy day. 

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." - Jimmy Dean

1-2-3 Come Do Some Fall-Themed Math Activities With Me

Oh my goodness this packet took a lot of time to put together! I hope you find it super-helpful and time saving, as it's chock full of quick, easy and fun math activities, that cover a variety of Common Core standards.

K math activities for fall, 1st grade math activities for fall, graphing activities, print & go math worksheets for K, print & go math worksheets for 1st, place value activities, place value crafts, math crafts, math games, They are very versatile, so you can differentiate, making the lesson easier or more difficult, to fit your needs and grade level. (PK-1st).

Use them throughout the month for early finishers, extra help for strugglers, brain breaks, centers, review, table top lessons, assessments, homework, ESL help, or "just for fun” plug-ins when you have a few spare minutes. Tuck a few in your sub folder too.

K math activities for fall, 1st grade math activities for fall, graphing activities, print & go math worksheets for K, print & go math worksheets for 1st, place value activities, place value crafts, math crafts, math games, Pick and choose what's appropriate and put together a Happy Thanksgiving packet to send home over break.

There are worksheets, several craftivities, puzzles, as well as dice, spinner & paper-pencil games, for the following:

* Counting
* Sequencing
* Ordinal numbers
* Telling digital & analog time to the hour & half hour
K math activities for fall, 1st grade math activities for fall, graphing activities, print & go math worksheets for K, print & go math worksheets for 1st, place value activities, place value crafts, math crafts, math games, * Counting to 100 and 120
* 100 chart activities and games
* Skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's
K math activities for fall, 1st grade math activities for fall, graphing activities, print & go math worksheets for K, print & go math worksheets for 1st, place value activities, place value crafts, math crafts, math games, * Sorting odd and even numbers
* "What's Missing?" worksheets
* "I Spy a Number" worksheet-games, for numbers 0-10 and 10-20, with a blank worksheet to program with higher numbers.
Perfect for whole-group assessing.
* Fact families
* Number words
K math activities for fall, 1st grade math activities for fall, graphing activities, print & go math worksheets for K, print & go math worksheets for 1st, place value activities, place value crafts, math crafts, math games, * Strategy
* Coin counting
* 2D Shapes
* 10 frame activities
* Place Value
K math activities for fall, 1st grade math activities for fall, graphing activities, print & go math worksheets for K, print & go math worksheets for 1st, place value activities, place value crafts, math crafts, math games, * Groups/sets
* Fill in the missing ad ends
* Addition worksheets and games
K math activities for fall, 1st grade math activities for fall, graphing activities, print & go math worksheets for K, print & go math worksheets for 1st, place value activities, place value crafts, math crafts, math games, * Subtraction worksheets and games
* Tally marks
* Greater than, less than, and equal to
* +1 more worksheets
* +10 more worksheets
* "Dots and Boxes" game
* Graphing
* Listening & Following Directions

K math activities for fall, 1st grade math activities for fall, graphing activities, print & go math worksheets for K, print & go math worksheets for 1st, place value activities, place value crafts, math crafts, math games, Wow! That's just about a little bit of most everything!

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look see at this whopping 177-page, November Math Packet for PK-1st.

K math activities for fall, 1st grade math activities for fall, graphing activities, print & go math worksheets for K, print & go math worksheets for 1st, place value activities, place value crafts, math crafts, math games, The featured FREEBIE today, also has a Thanksgiving theme. 

It's an educational placemat that you can use for your Thanksgiving feast, or if you don't do one at school, use it on that last crazy day before break.

K math activities for fall, 1st grade math activities for fall, graphing activities, print & go math worksheets for K, print & go math worksheets for 1st, place value activities, place value crafts, math crafts, math games, Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

I'm anxious to get some smaller Thanksgiving packets completed, before I run out of November! Wishing you a relaxing day.

"If months were marked by colors, November in New England, would be colored gray." - Madeleine M. Kunin

1-2-3 Come Do Some Mitten Activities With Me

Do you read The Mitten by Jan Brett?  It's one of my favorite winter stories and perfect for all sorts of sequencing activities

activities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, venn diagrams, comparing the hat with the mitten, graphic organizers, Venn diagrams, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenactivities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenWith the aid of the materials provided for teachers on Jan's site, I designed 5 activity packets that cover all sorts of standards.  I hope you enjoy them.  They are today's featured FREEBIES and have been very popular downloads.

activities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, venn diagrams, comparing the hat with the mitten, graphic organizers, Venn diagrams, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenactivities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenHelp students retell the Ukrainian folktale, by making this cute mitten slider. This is a simple way to review sequencing too.  Graphics copyright janbrett.com

activities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenThe Language Arts Mitten packet also provides sequencing practice. 

My kiddos loved making the mitten paper plate pocket to keep their things in.

This 24-page packet is chock full of activities that cover a variety of standards and includes:

  • Move Over Please, So I Won't Freeze an emergent reader booklet, which reinforces lots of Common Core, especially ordinal numbers and verbs.
  • A mitten paper plate pocket "craftivity" students make to keep all of their mitten-related work in.
  • A set of ordinal number pocket cards
  • A Mitten Matching card game, where students match the animal character to the animal's name, or the ordinal number position it had in the story, or all three: i.e. the word mole, picture of the mole, ordinal number card 1st-first
  • Ordinal number character assessment strip with answer key.
  • 2 graphing activities
  • 2 mitten writing prompts
  • Several mitten worksheets, including one that covers rhyming words + more verb-work. (Great for Daily 5 activities.) and ...
  • A certificate of praise bookmark that can be used to play another game.

activities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenactivities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenAnother Mitten Literacy Packet, includes more ordinal number-sequencing practice that will help your kiddos retell the story, including a "beginning-middle-end" graphic organizer.

There's also a worksheet  where students label the parts of a book, plus pocket chart cards for character, setting and event.  I've also included 8 bookmarks to prompt retelling the story.

activities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenAnother interesting way to review the story and practice end punctuation and capitalization at the same time, is with The Mitten Pocket Chart Punctuation packet.

You can do this as a whole group activity with laminated cards (give students a dry erase marker for them to make corrections) or give each child a card to fix, by rewriting it on a sheet of scratch paper, then sharing their corrections with the class. 

activities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, venn diagrams, comparing the hat with the mitten, graphic organizers, Venn diagrams, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenactivities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenFinally, Venn diagrams are a quick, easy and fun way to introduce students to the concept of comparison-contrast writing

They're great practice if you've already done so, and especially perfect for visual learners.  

There are 3 in the Mitten Venn Diagram packet to choose from. 

Do one as a whole-group activity to explain things, (compare mittens and gloves) and then give students a choice of the other two. (Compare two characters in The Mitten, or compare the story The Mitten with Jan Brett's other story The Hat.)

To see a short (3 minute) YouTube video featuring Jan Brett click on the link.  Another fun video (11 minutes) features Jan showing children how to draw a hedgehog.

activities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, venn diagrams, comparing the hat with the mitten, graphic organizers, Venn diagrams, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenactivities to go with Jan bretts books, the mitten activities, end punctuation activities, ordinal number activities, capitalization activities, pocket chart cards for the mitten, mitten crafts, graphic organizers, the mitten book, activities to go with the mitten, sequencing a story, common core mittens, end punctuation practice, Venn diagrams, venn diagram comparing the mitten, story cards for the mittenThanks for visiting.  I hope you found some extension activities to do with your mitten theme. As for me, it's time to help my grandson pick up Toys R Us that seems to have deposited itself all over my office.  Wishing you a day filled with contentment.

Cute quote: "If kisses were snowflakes, I'd send you a blizzard!" -Unknown

 

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Math Core With Me

Yesterday, I published a huge 70-page Common Core Thanksgiving Math packet.  It met with rave reviews and became one of my top downloads this month.  If you want to read that article, simply scroll down to yesterday's blog post. 

Thanksgiving commopn core math packetAs with most of my ideas, I have a zillion going on at the same time.  When a packet starts to get pretty big, I try to sort through items that can be used as a separate file, such as a particular craftivity, game or assessment. 

Such was the case with today's posting.  Initially, these activities were going to be part of the Common Core Thanksgiving Math packet, but didn't quite fit that worksheet and game format, so I pulled them to make the following separate activities that I hope you'll enjoy.

mayflower math game, pilgrim activities, november math games, math games, Pilgrim activities, Mayflower activities, turkey activities, fact family activities, turkey crafts, whole group assessing, alphabet activities, november sliders, skip counting by 2s 3s 5s 10s, counting backwards activities, assessing listening and following directions, thanksgiving crafts, Mayflower Mayhem is a quick, easy and fun counting game.  The mayhem comes in, because in order to win the game, you need to use critical thinking skills and a bit of strategy, as there are several "routes" your Mayflower can take.  Some of them include shortcuts, so there's that to consider as well. 

Children pick a partner and take turns rolling the dice.  A roll of 1, 2, 3, or 4 moves your ship forward, where as a roll of 5, has you going backwards one space. A roll of 6, puts your sails in "irons" and your turn is skipped.

There's more fun to be had, if you land on the same square as your opponent; one of the perils of going in the same direction as your partner chose.

This simple and quiet game, is perfect for that crazy last day before Thanksgiving break.   Click on the link to view/download the Mayflower Mayhem Math game.

mayflower math game, pilgrim activities, november math games, math games, Pilgrim activities, Mayflower activities, turkey activities, fact family activities, turkey crafts, whole group assessing, alphabet activities, november sliders, skip counting by 2s 3s 5s 10s, counting backwards activities, assessing listening and following directions, thanksgiving crafts, Fact Family Feather Fun, is a cute turkey craftivity that your students will enjoy making, while they practice fact families, writing them on the turkey's feathers. 

I added a "real" feather to the top of the turkey's head for that finishing touch. 

mayflower math game, pilgrim activities, november math games, math games, Pilgrim activities, Mayflower activities, turkey activities, fact family activities, turkey crafts, whole group assessing, alphabet activities, november sliders, skip counting by 2s 3s 5s 10s, counting backwards activities, assessing listening and following directions, thanksgiving crafts, Turkey Talk, is a quick, easy and fun way, to whole-group assess: listening and following directions, numbers, number words, ordinal numbers and colors.

Because the teacher reads the directions, you can omit various steps for younger students, who may be at different levels.

Completed worksheets are really quite cute.   Click on the link to view/download the Turkey Talk Whole Group Assessment Tool.

mayflower math game, pilgrim activities, november math games, math games, Pilgrim activities, Mayflower activities, turkey activities, fact family activities, turkey crafts, whole group assessing, alphabet activities, november sliders, skip counting by 2s 3s 5s 10s, counting backwards activities, assessing listening and following directions, thanksgiving crafts, Finally, I had a request for some Thanksgiving sliders.  Cindy, from Virginia, has used a few of my other seasonal ones, with her young kinders, and wanted to know if I had any with a Pilgrim or turkey.  (Didn't - - but do now.)

Sliders, are also a quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess a variety of standards

I call them "sliders" because children slide the paper strip up or down, to locate an answer in the "window" of their manipulative.

mayflower math game, pilgrim activities, november math games, math games, Pilgrim activities, Mayflower activities, turkey activities, fact family activities, turkey crafts, whole group assessing, alphabet activities, november sliders, skip counting by 2s 3s 5s 10s, counting backwards activities, assessing listening and following directions, thanksgiving crafts, I've included a boy and girl Pilgrim, a boy and girl Native American, as well as a turkey slider pattern in the packet. 

I made black line ones so your kiddos can color them, but also included ones in color, so teachers can easily make samples to share. 

There are slider strips for upper & lowercase letters, counting to 30, counting backwards from 10 to 0 and 20 to 0; skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's, plus one for shapes.

mayflower math game, pilgrim activities, november math games, math games, Pilgrim activities, Mayflower activities, turkey activities, fact family activities, turkey crafts, whole group assessing, alphabet activities, november sliders, skip counting by 2s 3s 5s 10s, counting backwards activities, assessing listening and following directions, thanksgiving crafts, The packet also includes a 10 frames spinner game.  These completed projects, make a nice bookmark.

Click on the link to view/download the Thanksgiving Sliders & 10 Frames Game packet.

mayflower math game, pilgrim activities, november math games, math games, Pilgrim activities, Mayflower activities, turkey activities, fact family activities, turkey crafts, whole group assessing, alphabet activities, november sliders, skip counting by 2s 3s 5s 10s, counting backwards activities, assessing listening and following directions, thanksgiving crafts, That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  Winter has hit Michigan earlier this year and everything is blanketed in the sparkly white stuff this morning. 

About 8 inches, so it's time to trudge outside to try and unbury my car.  Wishing you a snuggly, warm-fuzzy kind of day.

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. ~W.T. Purkiser

1-2-3 Come Do Some Leaf Activities With Me

There are so many themes that I incorporated into my October lessons, that it was sometimes difficult to get to them all.  I think one of my favorites though, was leaves.

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesProbably, because of all the fond childhood memories I have of raking up big piles of colorful leaves and then playing in them for hours.

A leaf theme is an easy way to toss in a little bit of science, and build vocabulary with words like chlorophyll and photosynthesis. Leaves also work well with math and language arts too.

Here are a few of my favorite leaf-themed activities:

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesTo help practice all sorts of math skills, (addition, subtraction, odd & even, greater than and less than) click on the link for the Leaf Counting Games.

Students can play the math games and do the center activities independently or with a partner. 

There are also leaf cards with number words on them, to help reinforce reading skills.  I've included a 3-page tip-list of ideas.

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesThe 10 frames leaf packet is also a fun way to practice a variety of math skills.

Are you working on ordinal numbers?

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesThe Ordinal number packet not only has a leaf worksheet (2 on a page for easy printing), but other fall themes as well.

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesLikewise, the Fall Graphing packet has similar themes, including one for leaves

Besides graphing, you can also reinforce the various 2D shapes.

I always tried to include some sort of hands-on "craftivity" with any theme that I taught. 

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesWith that in mind,  I designed the leaf dangler.  It's the newest addition to my leaf collection of activities,  and includes a little rhyme: "Red, orange, yellow and brown, autumn leaves flutter down."

Older students can complete the "Leaves are, can, have" writing prompt on the back of their leaves

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesI've included a worksheet for this as well.  Do it as a whole group, or have children fill in their own.  There's a completed sample to share as well. 

Do some of your kiddos still need practice identifying the letters of the alphabet

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesThese leaf-themed alphabet cards will help.  I've included separate upper and lowercase letter cards as well, which are perfect for all sorts of ABC games.  A tip-list of what to do with the cards is also included.

Finally, since the weather is so beautiful during the fall here in Michigan, I liked to take my Y5's for a mini nature walk. 

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesThis was just a walk around the block of our school to look for things on a nature list that we brainstormed before departure. 

I gave each child a paper bag to collect "nature stuff" in, then we'd go back, wash up and design a paper plate "leaf pal". 

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesAs you can see by the photographs, they turned out absolutely awesome. 

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, the leaf man by ehlert, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesClick on the link for the leaf man craft. After everyone was done, we'd read the Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. 

Also in this packet is a quick and easy chlorophyll leaf craft.  Simply run off the leaf template on a variety of colors of fall construction paper. 

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesStudents trim, fold in half and glue only one side to their matching green leaf, so that the other side flips up to reveal the green leaf underneath. 

This was an easy way to show that leaves were green when they were filled with chlorophyll, but changed to their natural color once it was gone. 

By the end of the activity my little ones could tell you about chlorophyll, as well as photosynthesis.  (Their parents were duly impressed.)

leaf activities, leaf crafts, common core leaves, fall writing prompts, fall crafts for kids, ordinal number activities, leaf alphabet cards, fall alphabet games, fall writing prompts, fall centers, leaf graphing, shape activities, alphabet games, leaf science, fall math games, fall math activities, graphing activities, 2D shape activitiesWell that's it for today.  I hope you found something you could use to help your students fall into some learning fun. :-)

Time to go get dinner started.  We're having stuffed red peppers.  Yum!

"Everyone must row with the oars he has." -English Proverb

1-2-3 Come Sing A Fire Safety Song With Me

 fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activitiesAlmost 15 years ago, my 1st graders enjoyed singing my version of The Wheels On The Bus Go 'Round and 'Round,  as I'd add all sorts of extra goofy things to the traditional favorite. 

When October rolled around, and we were studying fire safety, I thought it would be fun to substitute a fire truck for the bus.  My kiddos loved it. 

Well it's years later and I decided to build a Common Core packet around this silly little song.  While doing research, I even found a few people who had the same idea. ("Great minds think alike and all that..." )

Any woo, what started out to be just a few things, morphed into a whopping 69-page packet, and believe me, my brain is a bit fried. 

fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activities0-1I had a few requests for some fire safety themed alphabet and number cards, so I threw them into the mix, and one thing led to another...

Take a peek, pick the items that suit your fancy, and let the fun begin. 

The Packet Includes:

  • The song that started it all: Wheels On The Truck Go 'Round And 'Round
  • Poster of the song.
  • fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activities9 pocket chart cards to go with the song
  • Labeled fire truck poster
  • Fine motor Popsicle stick fire truck activity
  • if a fire truck could talk writing prompt, fire safety writing prompts, fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activitiesWriting prompt graphic organizer page:  "If a fire truck could talk it might say . . ."
  • fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activitiesA wheels on the fire truck upper and lowercase matching game, with answer key. 

Students place the uppercase letter circle on the first wheel and then match the lowercase letter circle to the back wheel.

  • Upper and lowercase letter cards, with a 4-page tip list of what to do with them.
  • A Kaboom game to make playing a variety of the other games like Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" even more fun.
  • Number cards from 0-120, with a 2-page tip list of what to do with them. (I tried to keep the ABC and number cards small, to conserve ink and paper.)
  • fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activities11 number cards with numbers and their matching number words. (0-10).
  • Ordinal number cards (1-10).
  • Odd and Even Sorting Mat +
  • 20 worksheets, which include the following:
  1. Can-Are-Have
  2. Label the truck
  3. KWLfire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activities
  4. Match the pictures to the words
  5. Unscramble the words.
  6. Graphing shapes.
  7. Trace and write the words in alphabetical order.fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activities
  8. Re telling a story: Beginning-Middle-End
  9. Describing fire trucks (Adjective activity).
  10. How Many Words Can You Make? (Use the letters in fire truck.) I've included my list of 56 that I came up with. Great for vocabulary building.
  11. Two cutting skill sheets.  One difficult with zig zag lines, the other simple with straight lines.
  12. Two dot-to-dot worksheets.  One with all the letters of the alphabet, the other with numbers 1-30.
  13. Two trace the numbers to to the fire. (Skip counting by 5's, the other #s 1-20).
  14. Two trace the letters to the hydrant. (Uppercase and lowercase).
  15. Match the number to the number word and finally,
  16. Fire Trucks On A Roll a dice game to practice numbers, counting and addition. Whew!

  fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activitiesClick on the link to view/download the Common Core Wheels On The Truck Packet.

 fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activitiesWhile looking for fire truck ideas, I came across a super-simple fire truck Make a Vehicle game over at Enchanted Learning

I always liked to give my Y5's some computer time, and this would make a quick, easy and fun independent activity to practice keyboarding skills etc.

 fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activitiesI also found an excellent video on YouTube featuring real fire trucks.  It's only 2:44 minutes long.  My grandson was revited, but then he's only 2 and everything is pretty exciting.

 fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activitiesIf you're teaching numbers 1-10, Monster Fire Trucks is also a rather short video (4:18) that's kind of cute.  Certainly attention grabbing.

fire safety activities, fire truck activities, fire truck books, fire safety alphabet cards, fire safety number cards, fire safety songs, fire safety games, shape activities, skip counting by 5's activities, number word activities, ordinal number activities, label the fire truck, fire safety KWL, cutting practice, graphing activitiesWell that's it for today. (Where has it gone?) I hope your kiddos enjoy learning, as their own wheels start turning.  I'm off for a romp outside to unclutter my mind.  Wishing you a fabulous fall!

"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places." -Author Unknown

1-2-3 Come Read The Mitten and Do Mitten Craftivities With Me!

jan brett activities, activities to go with The Mitten, activities to go with The Hat, venn diagram templates, venn diagram for The Mitten, mitten activities, mitten crafts, ordinal number activities, mitten writing prompts, rhyming actvitities, daily 5 for winter, verb activities, January writing promptsI LOVE the story The Mitten by Jan Brett.  It was also a favorite of my Y5's.  Her illustrations are nothing short of spectacular. 

jan brett activities, activities to go with The Mitten, activities to go with The Hat, venn diagram templates, venn diagram for The Mitten, mitten activities, mitten crafts, ordinal number activities, mitten writing prompts, rhyming actvitities, daily 5 for winter, verb activities, January writing promptsTo see her at work in her studio, click on this YouTube video link.  It's only 3 minutes long and very interesting.  Jan Brett video

A huge thank you to Jan for all of the great ideas on her site: janbrett.com  If you haven't browsed through her site, it's a must see. 

She has all sorts of information about her books, along with lots of activities and graphics to go with them.  jan brett activities, activities to go with The Mitten, activities to go with The Hat, venn diagram templates, venn diagram for The Mitten, mitten activities, mitten crafts, ordinal number activities, mitten writing prompts, rhyming actvitities, daily 5 for winter, verb activities, January writing prompts

Since The Mitten is such a popular story with teachers, I decided to design some things to go along with it. 

The Mitten Activity packet is chock full of all sorts of fun "stuff"  and includes:

  • jan brett activities, activities to go with The Mitten, activities to go with The Hat, venn diagram templates, venn diagram for The Mitten, mitten activities, mitten crafts, ordinal number activities, mitten writing prompts, rhyming actvitities, daily 5 for winter, verb activities, January writing promptsMove Over Please, So I Won't Freeze easy reader booklet, which reinforces lots of Common Core, especially ordinal numbers and verbs. 

Students underline the verbs, circle the capital letters, add end punctuation, trace and write the animal character's name, his ordinal position and an action word (verb) associated with him, then cut & glue the matching animal picture in the box.

jan brett activities, activities to go with The Mitten, activities to go with The Hat, venn diagram templates, venn diagram for The Mitten, mitten activities, mitten crafts, ordinal number activities, mitten writing prompts, rhyming actvitities, daily 5 for winter, verb activities, January writing promptsAlso included is a mitten paper plate pocket "craftivity" students make, to keep all of their mitten-related work in.

  • jan brett activities, activities to go with The Mitten, activities to go with The Hat, venn diagram templates, venn diagram for The Mitten, mitten activities, mitten crafts, ordinal number activities, mitten writing prompts, rhyming actvitities, daily 5 for winter, verb activities, ordinal number activities,January writing prompts+ a set of ordinal number pocket cards

and a Mitten Matching card game, where students match the animal character to the animal's name, or the ordinal number position it had in the story, or all three:

i.e. the word bear, picture of the bear, ordinal number-card 7th-seventh

 There's an jan brett activities, activities to go with The Mitten, activities to go with The Hat, venn diagram templates, venn diagram for The Mitten, mitten activities, mitten crafts, ordinal number activities, mitten writing prompts, rhyming actvitities, daily 5 for winter, verb activities, ordinal number activities,January writing promptsOrdinal number character assessment strip with answer key.

  • + 2 graphing activities
  • 2 mitten writing prompts
  • jan brett activities, activities to go with The Mitten, activities to go with The Hat, venn diagram templates, venn diagram for The Mitten, mitten activities, mitten crafts, ordinal number activities, mitten writing prompts, rhyming actvitities, daily 5 for winter, verb activities, ordinal number activities, January writing promptsand several mitten worksheets, including one that covers rhyming words + more verb-work. (Great for Daily 5 activities.) and finally,
  • A certificate of praise bookmark that can be used to play another game.

Click on the link to view/download the Activities To Go With Jan Brett's The Mitten packet.

jan brett activities, activities to go with The Mitten, activities to go with The Hat, venn diagram templates, venn diagram for The Mitten, mitten activities, mitten crafts, ordinal number activities, mitten writing prompts, rhyming actvitities, daily 5 for winter, verb activities, ordinal number activities,January writing promptsI also designed 3 mitten Venn diagrams, perfect for helping your students practice the concept of comparison and contrast. 

jan brett activities, activities to go with The Mitten, activities to go with The Hat, venn diagram templates, venn diagram for The Mitten, mitten activities, mitten crafts, ordinal number activities, mitten writing prompts, rhyming actvitities, daily 5 for winter, verb activities, ordinal number activities,January writing promptsChildren can compare a mitten to a glove, or The Mitten story to Jan Brett's companion story The Hat; an equally adorable tale, featuring even more animal characters. 

There's also a Venn diagram to compare 2 animal characters.  Click on the link to view/download The Mitten Venn Diagrams.

xThank you for visiting today.  I design and blog daily, so I hope you can slide on over tomorrow to grab the newest FREEBIES.   Feel free to PIN anything from my site. 

"Winter is not a season, it is an occupation." Sinclair Lewis

Everything's Coming Up PUMPKINS!

I LOVE fall.  It was one of my favorite times of the year with my Y5’s.

We studied so much science in the month of October: leaves and how they changed color, because they lost their chlorophyll; pumpkins: their life cycle and if they sank or floated, when submerged in water; and spiders spinning their lovely webs.

Dreaming up all sorts of hands-on craftivities to teach these concepts, as well as incorporating a multitude of report card standards and subjects, was always a challenge that I enjoyed.

At the end of the month, when we graphed our favorites, pumpkins rolled into the top spot year after year. Nationwide teachers across the US, spend a lot of time in the pumpkin patch reading, writing and diddling with numbers, so I wanted to offer up a nice variety of activities.

common core lessons for kindergarten, common core lessons for 1st grade, pumpkin life cycle, pumpkin creafts, pumpkin art, pumpkin activities, ordinal number activities, science activities, fall craft activities, fall science activities, shape activities, october bulletin board ideas, october bulletin boards, leaves, spiders, pumpkins, common core lessons for kindergarten, common core lessons for 1st grade, pumpkin life cycle, pumpkin creafts, pumpkin art, pumpkin activities, ordinal number activities, science activities, fall craft activities, fall science activities, shape activities, october bulletin board ideas, october bulletin boards, leaves, spiders, pumpkins, Pumpkin Art and Activities was my first pumpkin packet. It’s 23 pages and includes 6 pumpkin projects, that help reinforce report card skills and standards.

In 5 Little Pumpkins, I revamp an old-fashioned favorite and turn the rhyme into a Pumpkin Paper Plate Puppet Theater.

It’s a fun way to review ordinal numbers, counting, and rhyme.

I like using recycled “stuff” to make a “craftivity.”  Using newspapers for art paper provides a cool effect, when students use orange highlighters to color over the newsprint.

Newsprint Pumpkins are a unique way to review shapes and letters as well as name recognition and spelling. Have students circle all of the letter P’s that they can find for even more practice.

common core lessons for kindergarten, common core lessons for 1st grade, pumpkin life cycle, pumpkin creafts, pumpkin art, pumpkin activities, ordinal number activities, science activities, fall craft activities, fall science activities, shape activities, october bulletin board ideas, october bulletin boards, leaves, spiders, pumpkins, Making a 3-D Pumpkin Patch Mobile is a wonderful culmination to your life cycle of a pumpkin, science studies.

Click on the link to view/download Pumpkin Art and Activities

For even more fall fun, your little "punkins" can practice all sorts of skills and report cards standards in the 42 - page Pumpkin Art and Activities II packet.

Sing the ABC song,  practice counting and  verbal acuity, by identifying shapes, letters and numbers, with the pumpkin slider (pictured), just one of many pumpkin-themed activities in this part two packet.

common core lessons for kindergarten, common core lessons for 1st grade, pumpkin life cycle, pumpkin creafts, pumpkin art, pumpkin activities, ordinal number activities, science activities, fall craft activities, fall science activities, shape activities, october bulletin board ideas, october bulletin boards, leaves, spiders, pumpkins, Click on the link to view/download Pumpkin Art and Activities II.

common core lessons for kindergarten, common core lessons for 1st grade, pumpkin life cycle, pumpkin creafts, pumpkin art, pumpkin activities, ordinal number activities, science activities, fall craft activities, fall science activities, shape activities, october bulletin board ideas, october bulletin boards, leaves, spiders, pumpkins, Thanks for visiting today.  Do you have a pumpkin idea you could share with us? I’d enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com or leave a comment here.

common core lessons for kindergarten, common core lessons for 1st grade, pumpkin life cycle, pumpkin creafts, pumpkin art, pumpkin activities, ordinal number activities, science activities, fall craft activities, fall science activities, shape activities, october bulletin board ideas, october bulletin boards, leaves, spiders, pumpkins, Feel free to PIN anything you feel others might find helpful.

“Education is hanging around ‘til you’ve caught on.” –Robert Frost

Be First In Line and Get Ahead!

ordinal number cards, ordinal number lessons, ordinal number activities, ordinal number ideas, ordinal number cards, ordinal number lessons, ordinal number activities, ordinal number ideas, Are you looking for a quick and easy way to review or teach ordinal numbers in a fun way?

Simply run off, laminate and cut apart these cute ordinal number kid cards.  The clip art is by Laura Strickland.

Your students will be shining stars when they realize the child in line with the star, is the matching ordinal numbered child.

Pass the cards out and have 10 students sequence themselves, by appropriately lining up in the correct order, holding the right card. 

Continue to play until everyone has had a turn.

Make a mini bulletin board out of the cards, insert them in a pocket chart, or post them on the wall and use them as an anchor chart, near your calendar center, so they can be reviewed each day.

Click on the link to view/download Ordinal Number Cards

ordinal number cards, ordinal number lessons, ordinal number activities, ordinal number ideas, Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

Scroll down for the promised "Jitters" Common Core packet! 

There are 2 articles today, because I have simply run out of time for back-to-school stuff!  Happy FIRST day for all of you who start tomorrow1

"Act enthusiastic and you become enthusiastic!” –Dale Carnegie

An Ordinal Number Line

ordinal number line, teaching ordinal numbers, ordinal number lessons, ordinal number activities, ordinal number games, ordinal number flashcards, ordinal number certificate,I Spy Game:

As promised, here is another fun and easy idea for teaching ordinal numbers! Simply run off the template on construction paper.

Laminate the strips and cut them out on a paper cutter.  Have students write their name on the back and use as a bookmark or pointer when not using for ordinal number instruction.

Play "I Spy An Ordinal Number!" using the strips.  Children can simply use their finger and point to the number or you can pass out an M&M, Skittle or Smartie piece of candy and have them use it as a manipulative.

Call on a quiet child and have them choose an ordinal number for the students to place their candy on.   This is a wonderful way to whole group assess.

Because children are looking at the number, as well as the number word,  they are continuously seeing those pairs together and via repetition through this fun game, they will soon be reading ordinal number words!

After all of the numbers have been called, students can eat their manipulative as a yummy reward for their endeavors.

Click on the link to view/print the ordinal number line.   

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Print off the flashcards and have your students continue to identify the words with their number counter parts, or make a duplicate set and turn them into a Memory Match game, or run off copies for your students to trace and cut out, assembling the cards into an Itty Bitty booklet!

After you have done a few of these things, your students are sure to understand ordinal numbers.  Reward them with a certificate of praise.

teaching ordinal numbers, ordinal number activities, ordinal number lessons, ordinal number ideas, ordinal number certificate, ordinal number flashcards, ordinal number games, ordinal numbers number line, Click on the links to view/print a set of traceable ordinal number flashcards and an ordinal number certificate of praise.

Extra Teachable Moment Tips:

Whenever I explain and model things to my students I always use ordinal numbers.  i.e., First we are going to do this. Second we are going to do this etc. 

When I put  tabletop lessons on the board in the morning, I  label them 1st 2nd and 3rd etc.

Give each of your students 6 different colors of unifix cubes.  Using ordinal numbers as directional clues, have your students place the various colored cubes on each other making a tower.  i.e., "First pick up a green cube. Second place it on the bottom of a white cube.  Third put a blue cube on top of the green cube etc." This activity not only helps review ordinal numbers, but reinforces listening and following spatial directions as well.

Do you have a teaching tip you'd like to share?  I'd enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com