1-2-3 Come Study Antonyms and Synonyms With Me!

Since vocabulary building is such a huge part of learning to read and write, I try to think of interesting ways to do that.  Puzzles and games always grab students' attention, so I thought I'd design some with an apple theme for September, and because of the many requests for antonym and synonym activities, I decided to incorporate those. 

Run off on red, yellow and green construction paper; laminate and trim the 66 antonym apples to make puzzles.  Use them for games too, such as Memory Match or toss them in a basket and have students choose several to play "I Have; Who Has?"   The apples provide 132 words to help build student vocabularies.  A blank apple template is also included.

Be sure and check out my list of 290 antonyms + a cover so students can make their own antonym word booklets.

I've also included 80 synonym leaves with 2 blank leaf templates.  Run off on green construction paper, laminate and trim.  Encourage students to write in synonyms of their own.

These activities are wonderful for Daily 5 Word Work.  Click on the link to view/download The Antonym Apples packet

I also whipped together a little activity to help build apple-themed vocabulary specifically.  Students cut off the apple word list bookmark on the left of the page, and then write the apple words in alphabetical order on the right. Click on the link to view/download the Apple Word activities.

Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN anything from my site.  I truly appreciate your sharing. To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top of the page; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button on the menu bar.  If you'd like to take a look at all of the terrific educational items I spend way too much time pinning, click on the big heart to the right.

"America's future, walks through the doors of our schools each day." -Mary Jean Le Tendre

1-2-3 Have A Buschel Of Fun Doing Apple Activities With Me!

This 32-page packet covers quite a few Common Core State Standards, that involve math and language arts.

The packet includes:

• A bushel basket sorting activity for odd & even numbers, as well as vowels & consonants.
• Numbered apples from 1-120
• Apple math symbols so students can make addition or subtraction equations + show greater and less than.
• Red, green & yellow apple tiles to use as counting & sorting manipulatives or to make patterns.
• An upper and lowercase apple alphabet anchor chart.
• 6 "What's Missing?" upper and lowercase letter worksheets with matching letter tiles.
• 2 assessments for upper and lowercase letters, with a "note home" to inform parents of the results.
• Pre-writing trace the lines activity.
• Trace and write the letters and numbers worksheets.
• Trace and write apple word vocabulary worksheet.
• "I Spy" upper and lowercase letters.  Students become ABCDe-tectives, find and then circle the letters and then add up how many they found.
• "Connect the Letters" to make an apple worksheet, as well as "Connect the Numbers" (by 1's, 5's and 10's.)

Click on the link to view/download the Apple Activities Packet.

Thanks for visiting.  As always, feel free to PIN anything from my site.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the GREEN title at the top; it will turn BLACK, now click on the "Pin It" button on the menu bar.  If you'd like to take a look at all of the awesomel-educational items that I pin, simply click on the big heart to your right.

"The world is but the canvas to our imagination." -Henry David Thoreau

1-2-3 Come Sequence The Life Cycle Of An Apple With Me!

I liked to do several life cycle "craftivities" for our apple unit.  After several hands-on activities, the sequence eventually got into everyones head.  Cutting and glueing are wonderful fine motor skills that need plenty of practice, so I made several ways for you to use the life cycle of an apple printables.

For a quick and easy table top activity, run off the “Sequencing the Life Cycle of an Apple” worksheet.  Make sure you print a color copy for your demonstration model.  Students cut off the bottom and then cut and glue the individual pictures to the matching ordinal number position at the top of the paper. Before hand, point out to students, that the pictures are numbered.

When everyone has completed their project, use the “teacher cards” on your word wall or pocket chart, to reinforce and review the life cycle (science) as well as the new vocabulary. This is a great time to cover ordinal numbers as well.

If you’d like to involve math, have students choose a partner and take turns rolling a die.  Whatever number they roll, is the piece that they cut and glue.  If they roll a six, they lose their turn.  The first child who completes their apple life cycle, or the one who has the most squares glued on when the timer rings, is the winner.  All children should complete their paper.

To involve a bit more cutting, plus listening and following directions skills, pre-cut red, yellow and light green construction paper into 11 by 4 inch strips.  Give students a color choice.  They cut “slits” on their ordinal number template; the “doors” will then flip up.  So that children don’t snip off their “fllip-up’s” remind them to STOP cutting when they run out of a line to follow.

Students rub a line of glue along the top of their ordinal number rectangle (this is the title portion) and glue it to their piece of construction paper.

Children press on the folds to crease them, so that they easily flip up.  Students glue the appropriate picture under each flap.  When everyone is done, to make sure that students have the correct order, review the life cycle.

Click on the link to view/download The Life Cycle of an Apple activities.

Thanks for visiting.  As always, feel free to PIN anything from my site. To ensure that "pinners" are able to return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black; now click on the "Pin it" button located on the top menu.  If you'd enjoy seeing all of the ourstanding educational items I pin, simply click on the big heart to your right.

"All of the things we achieve are things we have first of all imagined." -David Malouf

1-2-3 Come Count Apples With Me

Bingo daubers were always part of our daily centers.  My students LOVED dotting patterns, answers, and pictures with them.  With that in mind, I designed the Apples On My Tree Counting Booklet.

Students trace and write the number word and then find it in the sequence and circle it.  They also slash that many tally marks and dot that many apples on the tree with a bingo dauber.  I have red, yellow and lime green colors available, to review that science fact.

The last page ends with 10 apples and also asks children to daub an apple on the final tree, for each year that they are old. When everyone has completed their booklet, read it as a whole group to reinforce concepts of print.

Click on the link to view/download the Apples On My Tree Counting Booklet.  If you're looking for more apple activities, click on the link to zip on over to that section of my site.  Scroll down and choose whatever items you want by clicking on the download buttons.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything from my site.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black; now click on the "Pin it" button, also located at the top.  If you'd like to take a look at all of the creative things (mostly educational) that I spend way too much time pinning, simply click on the big heart to the right. I have a separate board of just apple activities.

"Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement, often nips it in the bud.  Any of us will put out more and better ideas if our efforts are appreciated." -Alex E. Osborn

1-2-3 Come Count and Flip Stripes With Me!

This Seuss flip hat is a bit more complicated than the money “cent-stional” one that I designed earlier, but it is still a pretty easy project that nails a lot of Standards in a fun way. Common Core State Standards: K.CC.4a, K.CC.4b, K.CC.4c, K.OA.1,K.OA.5, K.CC.6, 1.MD.3

How To Make A Hat:Run off the templates. I’ve made a teacher answer key with the time-consuming parts done, to expedite making a sample to show your students.  Because of the cutting. gluing, and assembling, this is a terrific fine motor skill activity.

You can have students either color every other stripe on the front cover flip portion of the hat, in an ABAB pattern, or you can run off the cover template on red construction paper.

Cut the stripes so that one child gets the odd numbers to glue to his white cover, and another child gets the even numbers.

By gluing the stripe to the matching number, you are reinforcing sequencing, one-to-one correspondence, as well as odd or even numbers, plus skip counting by 2’s for the even numbers.

Before assembling, have students fill in the inside of the hat.  If you have them use a yellow and green highlighter, you can revisit the science fact that apples come in red, yellow and green.  You can also have them color their apples in an ABC color pattern when they get to that portion of the hat.

I used apples for the group/set of things, because it’s a school theme, easily recognizable by students, and is a terrific transition activity, if you read Seuss’s 10 Apples Up On Top to your kiddos.

There is plenty of room to have your students write the numbers in as well.  I did this AFTER the tally marks, so that the first column of numbers stays separate from the writing of the numbers, so that the first number does not look like an 11, the next a 22 and so on.

Children draw hands on the clock to the hour.   Remind them that the hour hand is shorter than the minute hand.

Making A Hat: Students cut and glue the correct matching dice to the appropriate column.

I purposely used part of the fact family of 5.  Counting the dots on the dice and adding them together to = their number, will reinforce yet another Standard.

Students trim their front and back covers, and cut out their hat.  I found that it was easier, to fold the edge of the front and back covers and then glue them to the front and back parts of the hat, before cutting the stripes.

This way everything wasn’t flapping all over the place, with the risk of getting torn or completely ripped off.  This will also help prevent children from cutting their strips entirely off, if they don’t stop at the dashed line.

My Y5’s often did that because they were simply on a roll and kept cutting.  Once students complete their hats, there are all sorts of things you can do with them.

How Can I Use The Hats?  They are great for whole group assessing. Call out a number and have students flip to it.

Have them flip all of their even or odd numbers over. As they flip the even numbers, have them count by 2’s. Call out a number and have them flip over all of the numbers that are greater or less than that number.

Call out a time and have them flip to that. Do quick story problems by saying: “Flip to 2:00 o’clock. If 3 hours go by, flip to what time it will be.”  Call out 2 numbers, have them flip them and then add or subtract them.

Students can choose a partner and take turns rolling first one dice ‘til they have flipped numbers 1-6 and then add the 2^nd dice to roll and flip numbers 7-10.  The first one to flip over all of their flaps, or the one who has the most flipped stripes, by the time the timer rings, is the winner.

If you happen to think of more ways to use this number hat, I’d enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com, or post a comment here if you like.   Click on the link to view/download the I've Got Your Number Dr. Seuss Hat.

Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

“The most precious jewels your arms will ever have around your neck, will be the arms of a child.” -Unknown