1-2-3 Come Do Some 2D Shape Activities With Me
Since the “Silly Shaped Lorax” and “Slick Shapely Chick” activities were such a huge hit, I decided to make “Funny Frogs”.
These cuties are a quick, easy and super-fun “print & go” craftivity, that will help review 2D shapes.
The packet includes playing cards with frog and lily pad graphics, which are shaped in the various 2D shapes: circle, oval, square, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, pentagon, octagon, rhombus, trapezoid, heart, star & crescent.
I’ve also included cards with speckled lime green shapes, plus matching word cards, as well as shape cards with a fly on them.
Use the cards for one-to-one correspondence with little ones, or Memory Match & “I Have; Who Has?” games with older students.
As a math center activity, students can also use the cards to “feed” the appropriate-shaped frog head, by finding all of the matching cards, then placing them inside the frog's open "mouth".
I’ve also included a short “giggle” tale about Ferdinand the frog, and Princess Penelope who was turned into a fly!
I had so much fun writing it! Read it as an interesting way to introduce the shape craft, then have older students "flip up the mouth" and write their own "fractured fairy tale" on the frog's "tongue".
There’s a set of discussion questions for the story, as well as a "test for comprehension" worksheet.
There are also 2D "tongue" patterns which feature a fly and the name of the shape.
Older students can also write their shape’s attributes here.
For further reinforcement, I’ve included a few worksheets, plus a certificate of praise bookmark.
After sharing their frog, scatter completed projects on a blue (pond) background bulletin board.
You could also make some brown cattails to use for your border.
I’ve included 2 posters for the center of your display.
Since these silly shaped frogs have a big mouth, a cute story to read after making this craftivity, is “The Wide Mouth Frog” by Keith Faulkner. It’s one of my kiddos’ favorites.
Mother’s Day is just around the corner, so today's FREEBIE is a writing prompt craftivity entitled: A Rainbow of Love dangler.
Students write something on each colorful strip, of why their "mom colors their world with love."
Well that’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by.
Wishing you a happy and blessed day.
“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” -Sydney J. Harris
1-2-3 Come Do Some Frog Activities With Me
Since the butterfly life cycle craftivities were such a hit, I decided to make some for the frog's life cycle as well.
I do our butterfly theme in April with my Y5s, then follow it up with frogs in May. Studying two life cycles really helps reinforce those science concepts and vocabulary.
To make this quick and easy for you, plus super-fun for your kiddos, I designed six, simple "print & go" craft activities with lots of options.
First up is the frog's life cycle featured on a paper plate. I've included a simple 4-section cycle for little ones, where you count the big frog as the start, as well as a 6-piece cycle for older students.
There are full color patterns, so you can easily make an example to share to help explain things, as well as black & white templates so children can color their own.
There are templates that are labeled, as well as blank ones so students can practice the science vocabulary by writing it in.
Punch a hole at the top; tie a yarn loop and suspend from the ceiling.
Next up are the "Turn to Learn" Life Cycle of A Frog "Science Story Wheels". I went a bit crazy buying “Life Cycle Of A Frog” clip art, so there are 5 different life cycle wheels.
This will provide a nice variety from cutesy to realistic, so that you can diversify your center.
As a whole-group activity, you can give students a choice of which one they’d like to color, cut and make.
To test comprehension and use the science vocabulary, have children write out the life cycle on the “Here’s What Happened” worksheet. I’ve included a detailed, completed sample, so that you can share whatever information is appropriate for your kiddos.
Since a cycle is like a circle, I thought it would be appropriate to design the life cycle of a frog on 5 different, circular-puzzle patterns, as a super-fun way to teach and practice this science standard.
The puzzles come in black & white, plus color to use for an independent center, or whole group “What comes next?” activity, where you pass the pieces out to your students to help explain, then review the frog’s life cycle.
Students can keep theirs as a puzzle, pick a partner and play “Speed” against them, to see who can be the first to put their puzzle together in the correct order, or you can use it as a comprehension worksheet, and have children glue the pieces together on the matching puzzle base.
To add variety, as well as have the ability to diversify, I’ve included 4, 5 and 6—piece puzzles. Some have realistic graphics of the frog’s life cycle, while others are semi-realistic, as well as cutesy.
So you can also test comprehension, reinforce the life cycle’s order, as well as practice writing and the science vocabulary, I’ve also included a sequencing “What Comes Next?” writing-prompt worksheet.
My kiddos absolutely love wearing a crown, so with that motivation in mind, I designed life cycle science crowns.The packet includes 5 different life cycle of a frog crowns to choose from.
As with the other packets, patterns come in full color as well as black and white.
Choose one, or run off the assortment on white construction paper, then give your students a choice.
I use green bulletin board border as the base. Kiddos glue their crown to the strip and I wrap it around their head, snip and staple.
My students also enjoy making "flip the flap" booklets, so I whipped together another life cycle of a frog option.
PK kiddos simply color and glue the long life cycle piece, which shows 5-sections under the flaps.
So you can assess comprehension, give older students the "mixed up pattern", where they cut out each individual rectangle, then glue the 5 stages in the appropriate order.
Older students can also label or write "what's happening" in each section. Take a teachable moment to reinforce the ordinal number words on the front.
Another flip the flap activity is a cute, frog face flip up booklet.
Simply run the head and body patterns off on light green construction paper.
Choose either the realistic graphics, or the cutesy ones, or give your students a choice.
They color, cut, fold on the dashed line putting the pages in correct order, then glue them to the base of the frog and add the head afterwards.
I’ve included picture pages without text, should you want your students to label and write out a description of their own, as well as completely blank “tongue pages” if you also want them to draw their own graphics.
Today's FREEBIE also features a frog-theme, and is a set of 10 frame cards. I hope you find them useful.
Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.
I got spoiled with a few days of lovely 70 degree weather, now it's back in the 40s. Yuk.
Mother Nature is having a spring identity crisis again, at least here in Michigan. Wishing you a zippidy-doo-dah day!
"We could all take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism." - Unknown
1-2-3 Come Feed The Very Hungry Caterpillar With Me!
Because Eric Carle’s story, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” lends itself to “feeding” a caterpillar, I designed “Mr. Munch” as a quick, easy and super-fun way to review not just the story, but all sorts of standards!
“My caterpillar’s hungry. His name is Mr. Munch. He likes to eat all sorts of things, especially for lunch”. Is the poster poem I start the lesson with.
After reading the story, I pass out the life cycle of a butterfly cards, as well as the food cards to my students.
My Y5s absolutely love sequencing and retelling the story “feeding” Mr. Munch, as they drop the cards into his “mouth” in the appropriate order.
Simply attach the caterpillar pattern to the top of a Kleenex box, or large, ZipLock Baggie.
There are 2 caterpillar head options, with 3 size choices.
I included a small, 4-on-a-page size, so students can make their own very hungry caterpillar, which they attach to a ZipLock Baggie.
This is an inexpensive and fun way for them to practice reading words to a classmate or reading buddy.
Each time they play, run off a different set of word cards on a different color paper.
In the end they’ll have a Baggie full of words that they can read, and a nifty activity to take home for more practice during the summer.
They can also pull X amount of cards from their caterpillar’s “belly” to do the various “word-apillar” worksheets with.
In addition to “feeding” the caterpillar, you can use the cards in a ton of other ways; as the versatility of the cards makes them adaptable for games, centers, and assessing.
I’ve included a tip list of ideas, including my students’ favorite “Kaboom” game, plus 15 worksheets”, which are perfect for Daily 5, table top lessons, a sub folder, early finishers, or homework.
Besides the cards that directly relate to the story (life cycle & food) I’ve also included:
* A set of days of the week cards
* 2D shape cards, with matching shape words, with 13 options.
* Time to the hour and half hour analog clock cards, with a blank set to program with additional times.
* Number word cards from 0-22
* Number cards from 0-140, with a blank set of caterpillar cards to program with more numbers, as well as an odd & even sorting mat.
* Math symbol cards(+ — = < > ), so children can make equations
* A set of ordinal number food cards
* Alphabet cards showing both upper & lowercase letters, as well as separate cards for each.
* Mini word cards for ALL of the Dolch word lists. Each set has its own graphic so they are easy to sort.
* 570 mini, long & short vowel word cards (60 on 1 page) with a sorting mat and sorting cup game.
* Word family cards for 22 word families, with blanks to program more. Plus…
* Butterfly color cards, with matching color words
*“The Caterpillar Creeps” game, plus ...
* Each set of cards comes with a matching “Itty Bitty” booklet.
It took almost a month of work to complete The Very Hungry Caterpillar packet!
However, I felt it was time well spent, as the versatility makes this something you can do throughout the year, hauling out your hungry caterpillar anytime you want to reinforce and practice all sorts of things.
Since Mother's Day is just around the corner, today's FREEBIE is a quick, easy & fun Mother's Day "keepsake" craftivity made with a child's fingerprints.
Here's the poem that's part of the card:
"I've left some little fingerprints on just about every wall. On furniture, doors and windows, I've really marked them all. Here are some that won't rub off, to remember when I was small. Because I'll love you forever, even when I'm big and tall."
Well that's it for today. I have an entire pile of weather activities I want to get done, so it's lucky the current weather is chilly and not providing a temptation to be outside playing in my garden.
Wishing you a stress-free day filled with everything you enjoy the most.
"A Mother's heart is the child's classroom." -Henry Ward Beecher
1-2-3 Come Do Some Earth Day Activities With Me!
Earth Day is April 22nd, so I'm posting 6 quick, easy and fun activities you can do to help celebrate our earth, and practice a variety of standards as well.
First up is a super-cute, newsprint craftivity. To help recycle, students trace the cat or dog template on an interesting looking section of the newspaper, or page in a magazine, that's free of pictures.
They cut out their animal, mount it on a sheet of construction paper and add facial features.
I've included "headers" for each one, as well as dog/cat tags with a recycle symbol on them, which can be tied on a piece of ribbon or yarn to make a collar, and add a bit of 3D pizzazz.
Older students can complete the writing prompt: Why "It's a dog gone good idea to reduce, reuse and recycle" or why doing those things makes "'purr-fect' sense" on the back of their paper.
Completed projects make an adorable Earth Day bulletin board. I've included six, "reduce, reuse & recycle" photo posters to introduce the lesson, then use in your display.
Another recycle art craftivity I call "Shape Up!" You can do it anytime, but it's especially appropriate for Earth Day, as students can see first hand how they can reuse old magazines, and recycle them into a piece of art.
I've included patterns for a circle, oval, square, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, pentagon, octagon, trapezoid, rhombus, heart, star and crescent.
Run off whatever 2D shapes you're working on, then give your students a choice. They choose however many strips they need to fill in that shape, glue them on, then flip their paper over and trim.
Completed projects turn out absolutely awesome and make a great bulletin board.
Display as is, or mount on a variety of bright colors of construction paper. Use the "Shape Up!" poster for the center of your display.
I've also included a pattern for "prize ribbons" in all of the shapes listed above.
Have students pick the one that matches their collage, then write their name, the shape name and a title of their shapely piece on the "ribbon tag". Hang these along side children's "masterpieces".
The "Give a Hoot. Don't Pollute!" is also an interesting way to review 2D shapes, and has several options.
I use this as a whole group, "listening & following directions" activity, where students listen to the spatial directions, then glue that particular shape on their owl.
For some 3D pizzazz, cut the beaks on a fold so they flip up, and fold the wings in half. (See photo).
The other version is the shapely owl on a worksheet. Simply run off on tan construction paper for children to color and trim. After everyone is done, discuss what pollution is and why we should give a hoot about it.
Older students can write their thoughts out on the owl worksheet (2 options) then glue it to the back. Punch a hole at the top, tie a yarn loop, and suspend from the ceiling.
I’ve also included an “I give a hoot! I don’t pollute” bookmark in color, plus black & white.
Another writing prompt craftivity is "Be A Litter Leader, Not A Litterbug"
Children color the litterbug, staple a Dixie cup to the base, then wad up some scrap paper and fill it.
The packet also includes a writing prompt for older students. Use the "Be a litter leader not a litterbug" poster to introduce the lesson, then for the center of your bulletin board display.
I have my kiddos raise their hand and promise, as well as sign the contract. They enjoy helping me clean up litter from our playground, and receive a bookmark (color or B&W) plus a "slap bracelet" afterwards.
Without fail, someone starts singing the enclosed poster song, then everyone chimes in.
Another Earth Day writing prompt option is to make a class book. My students love contributing a page to our class-made books.
After I explain what it means to reduce, reuse and recycle, we discuss ways that even young children can make a difference. My students are always amazed at the many simple things they can do to help out.
I list them on the board, so they can refer to our ideas as they complete their own page. There are 2 cover options, plus 5 "inside" pages to choose from, or run them all off and give students a choice.
When we read our booklet aloud, the child who wrote that page comes up and shares theirs.
Finally, "Time To Recycle" is a quick, easy & fun game that practices telling time to the hour, while reviewing things we can recycle.
Children pick a partner and take turns rolling 1st one dice for numbers 1-6, then 2 dice, adding them together for numbers 7-12.
They glue the matching numbered square, depicting a recycled item on their clock. The first one to complete their clock is the winner. There are several options for this activity as well.
Today's FREEBIE is another fun game you can play on Earth Day. It's a color matching game that I call "Keep Our Earth Bright & Beautiful"
Little ones can match earth to earth, while older students can practice their color words and match a colorful earth to its color word.
Well that's it for today. I hope you and your kiddos have a super-de-dooper Earth Day.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” - Dr. Seuss (The Lorax)
1-2-3 Come Do Some More Butterfly & Caterpillar Activities With Me
Is April flying by for you too? Here are a few more super-fun butterfly & caterpillar activities that practice a variety of standards.
Since the apple & pumpkin-shaped number puzzles were such a huge hit in fall, I decided to make some butterfly-shaped ones for a springtime center.
The puzzles help reinforce sequencing numbers, counting from 1-10, 11-20, as well as counting backwards from 10-1, plus skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, and 10s.
For something new, I've also included a set of alphabet letter puzzles as well. (Aa-Jj, Kk-Tt, Qq-Zz)
Choose which puzzles are appropriate for your students. Print on a variety of colors of construction paper or card stock. Trim and keep in their own Ziplock Baggie in your math & alphabet centers. These are also fun for your students to make one of their own.
Have them trace & write the numbers/letters then trim. They can pick a partner and play "Speed Sequence" with them, to see who will be the first to complete their butterfly.
Besides these "shape" puzzles, another packet includes 50 regular number puzzles for The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Some are vertical, others horizontal. They come in color plus black and white and are a super-fun way to review Eric Carle's story, as well as practice the life cycle of a butterfly.
Another math center activity featuring The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a 10 frames game, which reinforces numbers 1-10, number words, groups/sets, and addition.
Children pick a partner and take turns rolling one dice to fill in 10 frames 1-6; then use two dice, and add them together, to fill in 10 frames 7-10.
Before starting the game, children number the body segments. To reinforce number words, have them write the number above the 10 frame and the number word underneath.
If a child rolls an 11 or 12 they get to draw facial features on their caterpillar's head. The first one who completes their caterpillar is the winner.
Each month I do a glyph with my students, so I designed a butterfly one for April.
Glyphs are a quick, easy and fun way to get to know your students better, at the same time practice listening and following directions.
Because each glyph is different, they make a terrific bulletin board display. No matter what grade I taught, my kiddos absolutely LOVED making glyphs.
In April I'm also trying to get my students to improve their writing by using adjectives, which help make sentences "come alive" because they are more descriptive.
Caterpillars and butterflies are a perfect vehicle for that, thus the reason behind the "print & go" Butterfly Caterpillar Adjective Worksheets, great for Daily 5 word work, or your writing block.
I’ve included 28 photographs of real caterpillars, along with an assortment of 32 butterfly photos. There are 4 on a page. Choose your favorites, print, laminate & trim, then have students take a look and pass them around.
Afterwards, discuss what an adjective is, and brainstorm a list of words that describe caterpillars and butterflies. Students then write as many words as they want on each of the worksheets.
Remind students to color the pictures, then include those words on their worksheet as well. I've also included a "trace, cut & glue" option for younger students.
For more word work practice, after students complete their worksheets, have them write some sentences on the 8 choices of “stationery” provided, using the adjectives that they thought of.
Finally, to practice colors and color words, I designed a 3D Caterpillar Paper Chain Craft.
I’ve included word strips for all of the colors pictured, plus optional spellings for gray & grey.
Completed projects look fabulous suspended from the ceiling, or used as a border along a hallway wall.
Since a lot of teachers study rainbows in March, I decided to add a snake head pattern as well, making this a fun activity for St. Patrick's Day too.
Today's FREEBIE is entitled "Butterfly UT Word Play" and features 3 different worksheets with a butterfly theme, perfect for Daily 5 word work activities.
Students fill in the UT to make words; + trace, write and alphabetize words that rhyme with butter as well as fly.
It's an "oldie but goodie" that I designed years ago before all of the design programs I use now.
3 different worksheets with a butterfly theme.
Students fill in the UT to make words; + trace, write and alphabetize words that rhyme with butter as well as fly.
Includes a mini certificate of praise.
- See more at: http://teachwithme.com/downloads/item/3042-978#sthash.yIR0lIO4.dpufWell that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.
I've got so many "idea piles" on my desk for Mother's Day, I best get to sifting and sorting to see what fun things I can come up with for May.
Wishing you a productive and fun-filled day.
"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." -Rabindranath Tagore
