1-2-3 Get To The "Common Core" With Me!
Trying to fit Common Core into your already too-much-to-cover day, is often difficult, so I try to design activities that cover several standards, that can be set up as independent centers, games and hands-on craftivities, that make learning interesting and fun, but not a lot of work for the teacher. Many can be used to whole-group assess various things, which is a real time saver. I use popular themes, like apples, so they fit nicely into a particular month's activities.
September is flying by and I want to finish up with apple requests, so I've packed lots of FREEBIES in this blog article. I hope you and your kiddo's really enjoy them!
Reinforcing colors, color words + a bit of rhyming, can be accomplished by making a Twist and Read Apple. I do this as a whole-group, so I can work on listening and following directions, which is one of our Y5 report card standards. You can make 2 separate booklets, or have children glue them back-to-back to make a "flip-over" apple booklet as well. Click on the link above to view/download it.
You can continue to practice, review or assess colors to color word recognition, with this Apple Color Matching Game.
Your kiddo's will also enjoy making Willie, in the Wormy Apple "craftivity," which helps with counting and number recognition, + skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's, as children pull their worm through the slit. This apple manipulative is great for "I Spy" (a number) to see who's "got it" and who still needs help. Click on the link to view/download it.
Cover shapes, including the crazy hexagon, with this Apple Shape Matching Game. You can also use this as an assessment tool. I've labeled the shapes, to reinforce shape-to-shape word recognition. Click on the link to view/download it.
Being able to recognize a pattern, is one of our Y5 report card standards, as well as Common Core for PreK. Since quite a few kiddo's come to kindergarten, without preschool experience, I think it's extremely important to make time to learn about patterns, as it truly helps improve understanding, with lots of other Common Core math. Click on the link to view/download the Apple Patterning game.
Counting Apples, is a terrific fine motor skill, that reinforces 1-to-1 correspondence, as children pinch pony-beads and place the appropriate number of "apples", on their numbered apple mat. I've included colored mats with apples 1-5 & 6-10, as well as a set in black and white, in case you want to run off on construction paper to conserve ink.
As you can see by the photographs, I incorporate the 3 colors of apples, to reinforce the idea that apples aren't just red, which many little ones think.
Finally, it's often difficult to make time for science. Whenever I could, I'd tried to dream up a hands-on, independent center, my students would enjoy, that covered some basic science facts, about whatever seasonal theme we were studying. Reading several non-fiction apple books was a great introduction to this. Click on the link to view/download a bibliography of my favorite apple stories.
The Life Cycle of an Apple - dangler, is relatively simple, yet looks awesome when completed, and terrific hanging from the ceiling in the hallway. Younger students can make these FLAT, while older students can really add pizzazz by making them 3D. Click on the link to view/download it.
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I blog every day, so I hope you can pop by tomorrow, for the last of my new apple freebies.
"Remember; we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand-in-hand." -Emily Kimbrough
