1-2-3 Come Do Some Sequencing & Retelling a Story Activities With Me

Do you read "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover" by Lucille Colandro?

My students absolutely love this collection of stories, and they are perfect for practicing the “sequencing and retelling a story” standards.

With that in mind, I designed these quick, easy & fun storytelling slider craftivities that will help your students retell the "Granny Clover" story in the proper order.

This simple craft is a great addition to your St. Patrick’s Day activities too.

There are 5 “cover” options available. Pick your favorite or give children a choice.

All of them are easy-peasy to cut, as they are in a box shape; however, you can also choose to cut around the patterns as well.

Check out the photo to the left to see which style you like best.

I’ve also provided two smaller patterns with a shorter slider for little ones.

You decide what’s best for your students’ abilities. I personally like the cut out covers, which I do for all of my teacher samples.

As always, both color, as well as black & white patterns are included.

Children color, cut & glue their slider strips together, then insert it into the “slits” of their cover.

Since it only takes me about 8 minutes, to pre-cut the slits for my students, I do this prep with an X-acto knife, which saves me classroom time, by doing this step for my kiddos.

As they pull on the end of their “slider” the various pictures go through the “window”, so that children can take turns retelling the story to a partner.

I introduce the lesson by reading "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover" , then share my sample with the children.

We retell the tale together, using the picture prompts on the slider.

My students now know what’s expected of them, and are very excited to transition to making a “Granny Clover” slider of their own. 

When they complete the craftivity, they pick a partner & take turns retelling the tale.

For an easy & interesting way to assess comprehension, I’ve also included a “Let’s sequence the story” worksheet, where students color and trim the picture tiles then glue them in the correct order on their worksheet.

Use the teacher’s colorful copy as a whole group activity, sequencing the story as you read it, then again as a review afterwards. Grab that teachable moment to practice ordinal numbers as well.

For writing practice, there’s also a “Here’s What Happened…” writing prompt worksheet, as another way to check comprehension, plus practice sequential writing.

Use the colorful template to do this as a whole group activity with younger kiddos, discussing beginning, middle & end. 

If you aren't familiar with the book, you can click on the LINK & check out a reading of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover" on YouTube.  It's less than 3 minutes long. 

I like to show a quick video at the end of our day, which reinforces the lesson.

I also encourage my students to share their slider & storytelling skills with their family when they get home.

Since St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, today's FREEBIE is a shamrock-themed set of 10 frames, which includes some quick, easy & fun math activities.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

The sun is endeavoring to peek out from behind the clouds, so I think I'll venture out with my pup Chloe, to breathe in some nice fresh air. 

Wishing you a wonderful week, and a happy-go-lucky St. Paddy's Day.

"May the dreams you hold dearest be those which come true, and the kindness you spread, keep returning to you."

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

If you're looking for some fun FREE activities to practice CVC words, you've landed in the right place.

I just completed a St. Patrick's Day-Themed CVC Word packet, that's filled with a variety of choices your little leprechauns are sure to enjoy.

We all realize that the more ways you can emerse your students in reading words, the more fluent they will become, but thinking up something "different" to keep things interesting, is time consuming. I've done the work, so you don't have to; so let the stress-free "leprechaun learning" begin.  

Run the consonant shamrock tiles off on green construction paper and the vowel ones off on a lighter shade of green; laminate and trim.  Toss each set into a Ziplock Baggie.

To set up an independent center, students choose 2 consonant cards and then a vowel card to make up as many CVC words as they can think of in 1 to 5 minutes of time.  

For writing practice, and to get credit for doing the center, have students write down their CVC word creations. For dictionary work, have them look up the words that they created to see if they are real or nonsense. 

They can put an R for real or an N for nonsense after the word.  If they are not familiar with this new word, they can also write down a definition as well.

Besides arranging these cards in an independent center, play a game as a whole-group review. Toss the shamrock cards into a container and have children sit in a circle.  They each choose 2 cards from the consonant container and 1 from the vowel container.  They put a real CVC word together, show and share it with the class and then use it in a sentence.

Younger children can sort the letters into vowels and consonants after they have arranged them in alphabetical order.

The packet also includes 100-mini CVC word tiles.  To limit things, only L, M, P and S   CVC words are included in this packet, because I wanted to narrow the activities specifically for March.  L is for leprechaun, M is for March, P is for Patrick, and S is for shamrock or Saint.  

Print, laminate and trim the tiles.  Students can choose 5-10 and arrange them in alphabetical order.  If they have a word they don’t know they need to look it up.
I’ve also provided a “Super Shamrock Sentences” worksheet, where children choose 3-5 word cards and then use them to make up sentences.

Make an extra set for an independent short and long vowel sorting activity.  I’ve included sorting mats for this.

For more CVC word practice, I've included a spinner and dice game.

Children can play independently, or with a partner.  Using a pencil and paperclip, they spin on an L,M,P or S consonant to begin their word.

Their second spin is for a vowel for the middle letter. They write these letters on their worksheet, then think of an ending consonant to make a CVC word.

The dice game is played in a similar way.  For more practice, I've also included 5 bookmarks, where students can record the various CVC words.

There are also traceable CVC word cards and covers, so that students can make 4 Itty Bitty booklets. 

I've included 4 larger sets in color to use in a pocket chart, as flashcards, or to play games with.

For more ideas and games for these mini CVC words, or the traceable large and small CVC word cards, check out the “What Else Can I Do With The Word Cards?” tip list, that's also in the packet.

For a quick, easy and colorful CVC bulletin board, run off the Celtic shamrock.

Students color, trim and glue to a sheet of construction paper. (For a varied board, offer just enough rainbow colors for them to choose from.)

Children write an "S is for shamrock" CVC word in each space on their shamrock.

Caption possibilities: Lucky to be Learning; A Rainbow Of Wonderful Word Work; Come See Our Colorful CVC Collection of Words; 1-2-3 Come Create CVC Words With Me!

Another cute bulletin board "craftivity" is the leprechaun head coloring page.  Students write all of their "L is for leprechaun" CVC words on the hat and beard, and then color it. 

There's a completed sample to help explain things, and then use as an anchor chart.

Another thing you can do to practice the CVC words, is to play "Crunch-Nibble-Muunch! Feed the Leprechaun Some Lunch!"

Simply print the leprechaun's head on white card strock, trim and cut a hole where the mouth is, so that students can "feed" him the mini CVC word cards or the shamrock letter cards.  

Glue to the top of a Boutique Kleenex box. I've included some sweet signage to decorate your box with.

Pass out the cards to your students and then call for a word or letter.  The child holding it, shows it to the class, reads it, then feeds it to the leprechaun.

If you want your students to make their own hungry leprechaun, use the 4-on-a-page  template and run it off for them to color. 

A quick, easy & inexpensive way to make a "container" for your students to "feed",  is to seal long envelopes shut, then cut them in half. 

Children color and then glue their leprechaun to the back of their envelope covering up the folded section. They write their name on the front.

Run off whatever sets of CVC mini word cards you want them to practice.  They trim & stack in a pile. Children choose a partner and take turns feeding their leprechaun whatever words they can read, define, &/or use in a sentence. 

Words they have difficulty with, go in another pile to work on later.  This is a super-fun Daily 5 word work activity for your kiddos. 

The packet also includes several worksheets, with anchor chart answer keys, plus a certificate of praise.  Click on the link for the St. Paddy's Day-Themed CVC Word Packet.

To see all of my CVC FREEBIES, click on the link.  I have over 40 games, worksheets, and craftivities.

The CVC Bingo game packet is a very popular download. 

There are 9 sets of 20 DIFFERENT bingo cards, so there's plenty for each child in your class, with two-on-a-page for quick printing. 

If you'd like the bingo game to go along with the St. Paddy's Day-themed CVC packet, print off sets 4, 5, 6, and 7, which cover the L, M, P, & S  CVC words. 

For more traceable CVC word cards to "feed" the leprechaun, download the 338 CVC Word Packet, then pick and choose the CVC cards that are appropriate for your kiddos.

I also have an entire board of Word Work activities on Pinterest, filled with more ideas, and educational FREEBIES.  

Well that's it for now.  Thanks for visiting.  Today actually feels like spring is in the air, as temperatures should reach into the high 50's today.  Woo Hoo! 

Here in Michigan, which is still snow-covered, that's a heat wave!  Wishing you a warm and wonderful weekend.

"The joyful heart sees and reads the world with a sense of freedom and graciousness." -John O'Donohue

 1-2-3 Come Make a Leprechaun Venn Friend With Me!

Making a Venn diagram is an easy and fun way for students to practice the concept of comparison and contrast.

It's also an interesting and quick way that you can learn more about your students and make an adorable March bulletin board at the same time.

Students partner up and discuss their similarities and differences and then make their Venn Friend Diagram.

To help them think of similarities and differences, I've included a list of questions students can ask their partner.

To make these March Venn Friends extra special and add that finishing touch, have students color their leprechaun and add a photograph of their face.

Click on the link to view/download the Leprechaun Venn Friends packet.  For more St. Patrick's Day FREEBIES, click on the link to pop on over to that section of my blog.  I also have an entire St. Patrick's Day board on Pinterest, with more ideas and free educational activities.

Thanks for visiting. My "To Do" list is longer than the time I have left to get it all done, so I'll happily be putzing with a few more St. Paddy's Day ideas, before I start work on kite activities.  Wishing you a carefree day.

"My two favorite colors of the rainbow are gold and leprechaun.”  -Jarod Kintz from It Occurred to Me

 1-2-3 Come Play Some St. Patrick's Day Games With Me

Are you looking for a few, quick, easy and fun activities for St. Patrick's Day that cover some standards?

Word finds are an interesting way to build vocabulary at the same time reinforcing letters and spelling. 

Even though there are a lot of word search generators out there, they mostly have uppercase letters. 

Further difficulties arise,  because the puzzles share letters, show the words going backwards, as well as diagonally and vertically, so I make up my own to keep them relatively easy (showing the words in forward-horizontal fashion using lowercase letters) .

This way my kiddos don't get frustrated. If you want to do these easy ones with older elementary students, simply give them 1-minute to find as many as they can. 

"Speed" games, help prepare children for timed tests in a non-stressful way.   Besides using them as a game, they are a nice plug-in for your Daily 5 word work activities too.  Click on the link to view/download the 2 St. Patrick's Day word searches.

Another way to work on words, is by giving students a seasonal themed-word and challenging them to create other words, using only the letters that appear in that word. 

With that in mind, I created How Many Words Can You Find in Leprechaun, and another one for the word shamrock. 

Surprisingly, I made 97 words from the letters in shamrock, and found 161 words using the letters in leprechaun. 

The packet includes recording sheets, as well as my answer keys.  Click on the link to view/download the How Many Can You Find St. Patrick's Day activity. 

If you want to work on math skills, all of the  number puzzles make a nice independent center activity that helps reinforce sequencing, counting forwards & backwards, as well as skip counting by 10s to 100. 

I designed 16 specifically for St. Patricks Day, which includes some in color, as well as 5 in black and white, so that students can color their own. Click on the link to view/download the St. Paddy's Day Puzzle Packet.

Finally, I like to continue my monthly themes in all of my subjects, so I designed St. Patrick's Day-themed 10 frames.

You can use them for addition and subtraction as well as games, as I've included number words for matching, plus shamrock, leprechaun and hat tiles, to run off and use as manipulatives. 

There are also math symbol cards, so children can make up equations, including greater than and less than.  Click on the link to view/download the Shamrock 10 Frames packet. 

Well that's it for today.  I hope you found something useful.  The sun is shining and I feel like doing an Irish jig.  We've certainly had our fill of yucky cold weather here in Michigan. 

I think Mother Nature forgot to "spring forward". Wishing you a magical day filled with lots of sunshine.

"I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you're prepared for it." -Denzel Washington

14 pages. Common Core State Standard: 1.MD.3

Use these as flashcards, pocket cards or for a March bulletin board.  Make extra sets so that students can play Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" games.  Cut them up to make puzzles and to play even more games.

21 pages.

16 St. Paddy's Day puzzles will help your students practice counting and sequencing numbers 1-10, counting backwards from 10 to 1, as well as skip counting by 10's to 100.  Includes 5 black and white puzzles so children can color their own.