Daily 5 activities
ABC-123 KnOWLedge is Power!
As promised, here is the other set of Alphabet-owl themed cards. The clip art is again by Laura Strickland and includes a separate set of upper and lowercase letters so that you can play Memory Match Concentration games as well as “I Have; Who Has?”
You can also use these cards as an assessment tool for Common Core RF.K1d and L.1.1a
Besides having students arrange the cards in alphabetical order and making an Itty Bitty KnOWLedge Booklet, or matching upper to lowercase letters, have children make up CVC words for "word work" during Daily 5 time.
For games and other ideas of how to use the cards, check out my idea tip sheet that's included in the packet.
Click on the link to view/download the Owl-Themed Upper and Lowercase Alphabet Cards
Since the owl-themed things have been so popular, I wanted to make counting cards to match the alphabet cards too.
The cards go up to 120 since that's now the standard for 1st grade.
I have a cover for Counting to 100 and a cover for Counting to 120 if you'd like students to sequence and then collate the owls into a mini booklet of KnOWLedge.
Have students sort the cards into odd and even piles.
Give two children an owl. Ask the class: "Whoooooooo has the numbered owl that is greater than?" Pass out two more owls and choose two more children and ask: "Whooooo has the numbered owl that is less than?" Play until everyone has had a turn.
If you have an owl theme in your room, put one up each day as you count up to 100 Day!
Click on the link to view/download the Owl-Themed Counting Cards
Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find helpful.
If there are other owl-themed things you’d like me to incorporate into “something”, just shoot me an e-mail diane@teachwithme.com or post a comment here.
“The mind is an iceberg-it floats with only one-seventh of its bulk above water.” –Sigmund Freud
1-2-3 Come Do Some Give A Mouse A Cookie Activities With Me
Since the Common Core Kissing Hand packet was such a huge hit, I decided to make a few more popular back-to-school book packets for you! Today’s freebie revolves around the fun book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.
Like The Kissing Hand, it nails the Common Core State Standards: RI.K5,RI.K6,RI.K9,RI.K10,RL.K2, RL.K3,RL.K6, L.K1d, RI.1.9, RL.1.2, RL.1.3
The packet includes:
- A beginning-middle-end story map that will help students retell If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
- A "favorite part" retelling "writing prompt" bookmark
- A compare and contrast Venn diagram with If You Give A Pig A Pancake book
- Character, Setting and Event cards. (Laminate, put magnets on the back and put them up on your white board. Write down students' answers under the cards.)
- Question Words activity sheet, reinforcing the who, what, why, when, where, how words.
- Cover of book to label book parts + review author and illustrator
- Mouse "craftivity" writing prompt
The mouse "craftivity" makes a cute back to school 3-D bulletin board and is great for a September writing prompt or Daily 5 activity.
Click on the link to view/download If You Give A Mouse A Cookie Common Core Packet I hope you enjoy this packet as much as The Kissing Hand one.
This is truly a quick, easy and fun way to cover a lot of common core state standards, so if there are other books that you’d like me to make packets for, just shoot me an e-mail. diane@teachwithme.com or post a comment below. Tomorrow I'll be posting the If You Take A Mouse To School packet.
If you'd like to make another sweet little "craftivity" for the If You Take A Mouse Books, click on the link for the pattern and directions to make his cute blue jean bibs. I've made mini sequencing cards that students can tuck into the mouse's bib cup.
Thanks for visiting today. I'm off to open up all of my windows and enjoy the wonderful summer breeze while I craft away. "If you put Diane in front of a computer, she's sure to design away..."
“I have tried to write the best I can; sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.” –Ernest Hemingway
The Very Hungry Student is a fun way for students to write down what they have learned each month.
Because it records their accomplishments, it’s a terrific way to build self-esteem.
Because students write in it each month, you will see improvement in their handwriting, as well as their writing abilities, so the booklet is a good addition to a portfolio, if you have them, or tuck into a student folder, to take out and share with parents during conferences.
Practice reading the simple rhyming sentences, after students complete their page, so that at the end of the year, children are able to read their booklet when they take it home to share with their families!
I have a cute caterpillar with a face for one cover, but you can make this even more special, by having students glue their photo over his face for a “student caterpillar” instead.
Because this is a quick and easy writing assignment, that students can do independently, it makes a nice Daily 5 activity too.
If you don't do Daily 5, keep the booklets for your writing center.
They make a great writing prompt for the first day of school, as there is a page specifically for that.
Because there is a page for each month, you could start out September and each month, with The Very Hungry Student's page as your writing prompt for the month.
For an activity that helps students with verbal acuity, gather children in a circle and have them share that day’s page by reading it to their classmates.
At the end of the year, you can discuss what everyone’s favorite thing was that they learned, or their favorite month of activities. If they overlap, graph them.
A little bit of science is covered, as the very hungry caterpillar is "bursting with knowledge" and turns into a butterfly, flying into the next grade.
In June, (s)he is once again a fat little caterpillar, promising to slim down over the summer, so they are ready to fatten up and gobble down more knowledge, in their new grade!
Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Student booklet.
Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find helpful.
I hope you can pop in tomorrow for another back-to-school idea!
"Stop trying to fit in, when you were born to stand out!" - Dr. Seuss
Fluttering By With Another Butterfly Activity
If you’re looking for something to assess your students’ ability to show spatial directions that will give you a “hard” copy, I’ve got just the thing.
My Butterfly and the 3D Shapes, is an easy reader, that will not only help you with spatial directions, but review those tough 3 dimensional shapes in a fun way too.
Students trace the word and shape and then cut out butterflies and glue them to the appropriate position on the page.
Click on the link to view/download My Butterfly and the 3D Shapes booklet.
This makes a nice Daily 5 activity too.
When everyone has completed their booklet, read it together as a whole group to reinforce concepts of print.
You have my permission to PIN anything you think other teachers may find helpful. Enjoy and be sure and flit on over tomorrow for more fun tips.
"Education can not be conferred. Whether in school or out, learning is a do-it-yourself proposition." -Wheeler McMillen
Do you need some quick and easy ideas with a butterfly theme that reinforce standards, but your students will also enjoy?
You’ve come to the right place.
If you’re assessing right now and looking for something to prove your students can listen and follow directions, a GLYPH is a super easy and fun way to do that as a whole group.
The end results also make a terrific decoration for a bulletin board or hallway. Students can either guess who did which glyph, and practice all sorts of skills, or they can share them with the class and practice their verbal acuity.
Click on the link to view/download the butterfly glyph.
123 Count Butterflies With Me is one of many “count with me” easy readers, that reinforce a variety of math skills.
Students enjoy using a bingo dot marker to stamp sets in a specific pattern. They also cut and glue groups of butterflies to the matching numbered boxes.
When everyone is done, read the booklet as a whole group to reinforce concepts of print and recognition of number words.
Because students can work on these booklets independently, they are perfect for Daily 5.
Children not only enjoy making them, they feel empowered; teachers are then free to assess or work one-on-one.
Click on the link to view/download 123 Count Butterflies With Me.
Click on this link to view the collection of 22 123 Count With Me Books.
I’m always looking for ways to fit in a mini lesson on compound words and rhyming as this can get a bit tedious if you constantly “skill-drill & then kill” it.
I’ve found that tossing in a fun-themed skill sheet, whenever it’s appropriate, is much more palpable and interesting for most students.
Butterfly Word Play does just that. It breaks down the compound word butterfly and has students think of rhyming words for both butter and fly.
Students trace, write and alphabetize the words on a skill sheet. This is a quick plug in for a tabletop lesson, as is adding UT to consonants and making up words for the prefix of butterfly.
Click on the link to view/download Butterfly Word Play.
Finally, I think it’s a lot more fun for students to complete a writing prompt if they know their page is going to be part of a class book.
Writing about being a caterpillar or a butterfly is a wonderfully imaginative thing for a child. Illustrating how they would look as one results in adorable pictures.
I’ve also included a graphing extension to hit yet another standard and learn a bit more about your students.
Click on the link to view/download Butterfly and Caterpillar Class Books.
Happy fluttering through your spring lessons; I hope these helped! Feel free to PIN anything you think might help someone else and thanks for flittin' on over.
I hope you can fly in tomorrow for some new tricks.
Hurry! Let's Make A Sentence!
A fun thing you can do with Dolch words is to print off my labels and press the stickers on large colored Popsicle sticks.
Simply download my template, put a sheet of large Avery (30 on a page) labels in your printer. (In my HP you put the sheet face down, in my Epson printer it's face up. Make sure you do a test, so you don't waste labels.) and then click print.
I wanted to use the big labels so that students could easily read them and I could use this cool font by Kevin and Amanda called “Tonight’s The Night”. Click on the link to check out their free fonts.
You’ll need to trim the labels down a bit so they fit, but I think it’s worth the effort because they show up nicely. Press hard so that they will stay put.
Keep the sticks in a cute mug or basket that you can pass around. Students choose a stick and read their word. If they can, they stay in the game. If they can’t, the stick goes back in, and they’re out of the game.
Challenge students to find other children with words that they can team up with to make a phrase or sentence. See who can make the longest phrase or sentence, using the most words, before the timer goes off.
Students can go to this mug/basket and create sentences and phrases when they are done with other work, or use it as a writing center or Daily 5 activity, and have students choose sticks to make phrases/sentences and then write them on a sheet of paper using correct capitalization and punctuation.
Click on the link to view/download Dolch Word Labels There are 2 sheets for each Dolch Word List (Pre-Primer through 3rd Grade). Enjoy!
If you're looking for more Dolch Word activities, click on the link to zip on over to that section of my site. The Dolch activities, especially the Dolch word Bingo games, are some of my most popular downloads! You can also scroll down to take a look at that blog article.
Do you have a Dolch Word or Daily 5 activity you can share or another way you used the word sticks? I’d enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com or feel free to leave a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas. Thanks in advance for your time.
That's it for today. I'm off with my hubby to take a relaxing drive and enjoy all of the beautiful fall colors. Thanks for visiting. I hope you can stop by again for another fun teaching idea and FREEBIE. I try and design new things every day, so do stop by often.
"The wastebasket is a writer's best friend." -Isaac Bashevis Singer
Spin A Story Wheels
Looking for a way to spice up your Writing Center or add something different to your Daily 5?
Include a Spin A Story Wheel and help motivate your students to WANT to write!
Students spin the wheel 3-4 times and write sentences or a 1-paragraph story and include the picture ideas in them.
Challenge students who are writing sentences to try and write one sentence incorporating ALL 4 picture prompts!
Click on the various links for the Spring-Summer Spin A Story Wheels.
March Story Wheel, April/May Story Wheel, Summer Story Wheel
For your convenience, if you’d like the entire collection, I’ve bundled them up in one download as well.
Write on and happy spinning!
Be sure and pop back tomorrow for more teacing tips!
123 Count With Me booklets are based on a ten frame. They are easy readers that cover a variety of math standards, at the same time incorporating reading and helping students practice fine motor skills, as they cut and glue the appropriate group/set to the matching numbered box.
Use these little booklets for Daily 5, a math center, independent activity when students have completed their regular work, easy plug in’s for substitutes, and great school-home connections.
For March I’ve designed 123 Count Shamrocks With Me, as well as 123 Count Kites With Me.
Make these booklets part of your monthly activities and empower your students. Once you have explained and modeled how to do the first booklet, your students get down to business, and can work independently on their booklets from then on.
This frees the teacher up to work 1-on-1 with other children.
Each booklet comes with more standard-based activities: a graphing extension, a +1 more skill sheet, traceable word and number cards and a certificate of praise.
Children enjoy using stickers, X’s, or a bingo dauber to fill in the appropriate boxes of the ten frame.
These also make great table top worksheets. Do one page a day and collect. When students have done all 10 pages staple their booklet together and read aloud as a whole group to reinforce concepts of print.
Your students will enjoy making, collecting and sharing all of the 123 Count With Me booklets with their families.
Click on the link to view/down load 123 Count Shamrocks With Me and 123 Count Kites With Me.
If you’d like to look at the rest of the 123 Count With Me collection, click on the link and scroll down.
There are some for each of the past months. I will be designing more for April and May when the collection will be complete.
If you don't see a counting booklet that fits your needs, or have a suggestion for a new one, feel free to contact me. diane@teachwithme.com I design new things every day especially based upon viewers requests.
Be sure and pop in tomorrow for more teaching tips.
Do you have one you'd like to share? I'd enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com or feel free to leave a comment here, especially if you use an idea. Thanks in advance for your time.
Other Resources
Please help keep my site online and FREE.
If you've enjoyed the teaching materials and would like to donate even a dollar to help me with the cost of running TWM, I'd be grateful. Thank you!
