1-2-3 Come Do Some Spider ABC Activities With Me

Although I really don’t care for spiders, it’s one of my students’ favorite themed-units.

I keep things non-creepy with nursery rhymes, fun stories and interesting crafts. Spiders are also a fun fall theme, if you don't do Halloween; or if you do, these spider activities are a fun educational activity for Halloween week or party day.

Each month I switch up my center and table top activities, with whatever theme we have for that week. Just a few simple tweaks and everyday practice becomes exciting and fresh. 

With that in mind, I designed these spider-themed activities to help my students practice upper & lowercase letters.

Each year my Y5s are super-excited to “get their turn” to visit these "new" October centers, and play the games; which make letter practice a lot of fun for them.

The Packet Includes:

*  Large and small patterns to make “Clippy the spider” an alphabet clothespin game. Use for a center, assessment, whole group craftivity, game for struggling students, or fun homework assignment.


This is an inexpensive game to make, as The Dollar Store sells packs of "hinged" clothespins. Students clip the lowercase letter clothespin, to the matching uppercase letter on the spider. 


Younger kiddos can simply practice one-to-one correspondence and match UC to UC or LC to LC letters. 


I've included a smaller pattern, as a super-fun way to practice as a whole group, which is also a quick and easy way to whole group assess. My Y5s love making their own spider and even name them!

Children get just one clothespin. Teacher calls out a letter, students find it and clip their clothespin, then hold up their spider.  You can see at a glance who is having difficulty. 
 You can use pipe cleaners or paper strips to make the spider's legs.  The packet also includes...

*  Spiderweb letter cards (separate upper & lowercase sets) to play a variety of games with: “What’s the Mystery Letter?”, “Kaboom”, “Memory Match”, “I Have; Who Has?” and “Flip It!”

 I’ve included a 4-page “tip list” filled with ideas of how to use the ABC cards + directions for the games that I know your students will really enjoy. 

There are also a variety of worksheets...

* 5 “trace & write” worksheets are a simple way to practice both upper and lowercase letters

*  “I spy!” is another whole group game that practices upper or lowercase letters, which I use as a quick, easy and super-fun way to whole group assess too. One student game sheet, can be used 5 times! 

*  The 3 “Spin to Win” worksheet games are especially fun for students. For your convenience I've also included an ...

* Assessment worksheet, where students match the lowercase letter to the matching uppercase letter, plus 2 individual assessment forms, one for uppercase and another for lowercase letters. You can assess 4 times with one recording sheet.

* The “Spider Slider” craft is one of my students' favorites. It's another fun way to practice and whole group assess upper or lowercase letters, as there is a "slider" strip for each.

To practice patterning, have students choose 2 or 3 different color crayons or markers, then trace the letters in an AB-AB or ABC-ABC color pattern.

You can do "double duty" by using the "Clippy" spider pattern as a slider too. 

Simply glue the upper or lowercase letter circle to the back, then cut slits in the spider's body on the front and insert the uppercase slider! 

When students are done "sliding" they can use a paperclip and fold up the strip, then clip away for the other game.

Finally...
* There's a “spiderific” certificate of praise (4 on a page) bookmark, which students can color.

Today's featured FREEBIE also has a cute little spider theme. "Shapin' Up With Spiders" will help your students practice 2D shapes.

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

It's October and temps hit 79 in Michigan today! (What?) I just turned the heat on yesterday when it was 47 outside.  No complaints though...

Time to go take my poodle pup Chloe for a romp.  Wishing you a blessed day.

"Education is the kindling of a flame; not the filling of a vessel." - Socrates

1-2-3 Come Do Some "Very Busy Spider" Activities With Me

 Do you read Eric Carle's "The Very Busy Spider" ? It's one of my students' favorite spider stories, and perfect for sequencing! 

With these things in mind,  I designed 3 "craftivities" that will help practice the "sequencing & retelling a story" standards: There's a slider, wheel and flip booklet.

Any of the projects make for a wonderful transition activity, after you're done reading the story.   Fun for your kiddos and easy-peasy for you too, as all three are simply “Print & Go”. 

First up is the "caught in a web of learning" spider web flip booklet.

To introduce the lesson, I show my students the 2 photo-posters featuring real orb spider webs, since the cover of the booklet is also an orb web.

There are a variety of options for you to choose from:

There are 5 blank webs so you can add a plastic spider, or make one with a fluffy pom pom, or fingerprint.

There are also 6 webs featuring a non-scary spider, for students to color. I added wiggle eyes for extra pizzazz.

Pick your favorite, or give students a choice. 

Children color, cut & collate their pages, then add the cover.

There are also page options for you to choose from, which feature pages with & without traceable words to reinforce more standards.

I personally like the "trace the word" pages best. Even tho' my Y5s can't read, they are practicing letters, while my first graders get the added benefit of word recognition.

There's also enough room if you want your students to write the word as well.

As always, the graphics come in full color patterns so that you can quickly & easily make an example to share, as well as black & white templates, for students.

I purposely did not number the pages, so you can assess comprehension & students' ability to sequence correctly.

When everyone is done, practice retelling “The Very Busy Spider” by calling on a child, who explains what is happening in that graphic.

You could also ask, “Is this the setting of the story?” “Is this the beginning-middle-or end of the story?” etc.

Afterwards, for more reinforcement, have students pick a partner and take turns sharing their booklet with each other. 

When you're done with your "retelling the story" activities, you can jazz up the spider web covers if you like. 

Using Elmer's glue, have students "trace" the web lines, then sprinkle with glitter. Printing the cover on black construction paper really makes the silver glitter pop.

Since you're putzing with glue, you can also add a plastic or pom pom spider at this time as well.

To check comprehension, & reinforce the “sequencing a story” standards further, I’ve also included a “Here’s What Happened…” writing prompt worksheet.

Use the colorful template to do this as a whole group activity with younger students. This activity, with different graphics is also in the busy spider slider & wheel options. 

Next up is the slider. 

There are 2 outside slider options to choose from, which children color & trim.

Students color the story elements on the “slider strip” then cut and glue it together. (Both options use the same “slider strip”).

As they pull on the end of the “slider” the various pictures go through the “window”, so that children can take turns retelling the story to a partner or reading buddy, then take their slider home to share with their family, once again practicing these standards.

I introduce the lesson by reading "The Very Busy Spider", then share my completed "slider craftivity” with my students.

After I read the story, we retell the tale together, using the picture prompts.

Have children guess which story element they think comes next before you pull the picture through the “window”.

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

Storytelling sliders are also an easy & interesting way to assess comprehension.

Besides the "Here's What Happened..." worksheet explained previously, the "spider slider" and "wheel" options also include 2, “Let's sequence the story” worksheets, where students color and trim the picture “windows” then glue them in the correct order on the blank worksheet.

I've also included a larger, colorful one to use during and/or after you've read the story.

My students absolutely love this "game".  As you can see by the photographs, the graphics for the slider and the ones for the wheel are different.

I purchased more clip art from two different artists, to add variety to your lessons, as teachers have told me that they've purchased both, using one as an independent center and the other for a whole group activity.

Finally, the storytelling wheel is yet another quick, easy & fun way for students to practice the “retelling & sequencing” a story standards.

Since there are quite a few characters and parts to this tale, I designed a “beginning of the story” wheel, with 6 sections; plus another 6-part wheel, to tell the end of the story.

This way, the 12 graphics are a nice size for coloring.

When everyone is done, practice retelling by using the manipulative. Everyone starts by turning their wheel so that the busy spider on the fence appears in the “pie-slice window”, then call on a child to begin the story,

Continue to turn the wheel, calling on different students to tell you that portion of the story, explaining the “picture prompt”.  

After you've explained the picture with the pig, take the first wheel out by unfastening the brass brad, then insert the "end of the story" wheel to complete retelling "The Very Busy Spider." 

Today's FREEBIE also features "The Very Busy Spider". 

It's a sweet doorknob dangler, which you can hang on your classroom door, or have students make the BW one for their bedroom.

There are two options, so that you can have a front & back side.

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

It's pouring rain. Perfect for working on some not-so-spooky spider stuff.

"Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet." - Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Spider Math With Me

Since we study spiders in October, I thought it would be fun to design a craftivity, that would not only help reinforce the science fact that spiders are not insects, but arachnids because they have 8 legs, but also practice several of the math standards that we’re also working on.

Thus “Midnight”, the “8 is Great!” math spider was born, where children show you various ways to represent the number 8

Since a spider has two body segments (cephalothorax & abdomen) which look like the number 8, I created a number template. (Remember to grab that “teachable moment” to build vocabulary with these science terms.)

Students fold the pattern in half, cut on the bold lines, then open to reveal the spider’s number 8 body, which they glue 8 legs to.
Because the number is cut on a fold it’s easy-peasy even for PK children!

The craft is versatile, as you can differentiate the “leg labels” (math skills) you want to practice.

Younger kiddos can simply make the spider, while kinder and 1st graders can practice tally marks, addition, subtraction, as well as greater & less than.

There's also a blank template, so older students can subtract larger numbers or show 8 with multiplication & division.

Are you learning time to the hour? You also have the option to include a clock face where students draw hands to show 8 O’Clock.

Since my students are also learning about fractions (whole, half, and quarters) I included a fraction pie too. 

Use the pie pattern that’s cut into fourths then have students turn it into eighths by making an X in the center, or simply use the 8-piece pie pattern.

There's also a fraction poster that shows the various fractions, which will help you explain what you want your students to do.

Legs can lay flat, or they can be folded to add some 3D pop.
Add a bit more pizzazz by suspending the spiders from the web pattern.

Completed projects make a terrific bulletin board or dangle them from the ceiling as a hallway-wall border.

I’ve included two “8 is Great!” posters to use for the center of your display, as well as a “Show Me Eight!” worksheet. 

Today's featured FREEBIE is "Peek-a-Eeek!"  a 2D, spider-themed shape booklet.

You can make just a copy for yourself and use it to review the basic 2D flat shapes with your students, or run off copies of the shapes and have students cut and glue them into a booklet of their own. 

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

I'm reading a pumpkin story for "orange day" at my grandson's preschool today, so time to add the finishing touches to my "splash of orange" outfit. (Orange nail polish and all!)

Wishing you a fun-filled day.

"We lose ourselves in books.  We find ourselves there too." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Spider Activities With Me

With all of the spooky goings on in October, I thought it would be a fitting time to study spiders; using that as a theme to practice a variety of standards. 

With that in mind, I designed a "Speaking Of Spiders" packet, which provides a nice assortment of non-fiction spider activities and includes writing prompts, a mini-report, worksheets, a graph, plus a “flip the flap” craftivity.

I’ve included several pages of non-creepy spider facts.

Choose which ones are the most appropriate for your age group, then share them with your students.

Afterwards test their comprehension by asking them to complete a few fill-in-the-blank statements, or make up some “true or false” questions to answer orally, by simply referring to these fact pages.

Students also use this information to complete a variety of worksheets, some of which relate to knowing the difference between a fact and opinion. 

I’ve included black and white templates for students, as well as full color patterns, so that you can do some of these activities as a whole group, especially with younger children. 

The spiders "Can-Are-Have" flip the flap craftivity, is also an interesting way to check comprehension.

I've also included a one-page, graphic organizer that acts like a mini spider report.

There's a KWL worksheet to introduce and end your spider lesson with, which can be done individually or as a whole group.

I've also included a fun writing prompt about tarantulas as pets, with a real photograph to grab attention, plus a spider webbed paper to write on. 

Many of the completed worksheets make a nice spider-themed bulletin board.

I also use a spider to practice 2D shapes. My Y5s have really enjoyed making "Inky" the 2D shape "spider slider". (He's very busy eating them.) 

I’ve included templates if you want to pre-cut the circles, as well as patterns you can run off to have students trim their own.

There are also eye patterns with and without pupils, so students can add wiggle eyes with glue dots for that extra bit of 3D pizzazz, or they can draw their own.

To reinforce the fact that a spider is an arachnid and not an insect, we count the 8 legs and I remind students that insects have 6.

Accordion-folding the "legs" is not only fun for your students, but a great fine motor activity that will help strengthen their finger and hand muscles. I think it also adds that “finishing touch”

Choose the 2D shapes you want to review and print those sliders off. Children color, cut & glue the strips together.

The 2D shape options are the basic 5: circle, oval, triangle, square & rectangle, as well as options for a hexagon, pentagon, octagon, star, heart, trapezoid and rhombus.

There are sliders with the blank shapes, as well as patterns with a fly on each shape. My students like to pretend that the spider is slurping up the flies as we identify the various shapes.

The spider sliders also provide a quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess.

Finally, my students practice math skills, with this quick, easy and fun spiderweb game. 

PK children pick a partner, then take turns rolling ONE dice. Whatever number they roll, is how many web "sections" they color in. 

Older students practice their addition skills, by rolling a pair of dice, writing and solving the equation on the worksheet, then coloring that many sections of their web. 

For an additional math extension, students "guess-timate" how many sections are in the web, then record their answer along with how they figured that out on the worksheet provided.

Completed projects make a nice bulletin board, as each web is colorfully different.

I've included a "We're Caught in the Web Of Learning!" poster for the center of your display. 

Today's featured FREEBIE is a "Spin a Spider" 2D Shape Game.  Students take turns spinning.  Whatever shape they land on, they color or bingo dot the matching shaped spider on their web. 

 I've included a "match the spider shape to the shape word worksheet", which they can also complete using the spinner.  

A set of shapely spiders and their shape words are included in this packet, which you can use to make an Itty Bitty "trace & write" Spider Shape Booklet.

That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. Time to put on my "Nana hat" as my grandchildren are coming over this afternoon.

Wishing you a love-filled and snuggly day. 

"Grandchildren fill a place in your heart that you didn't even know was empty." -Unknown

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

Do you read Eric Carle's "The Very Busy Spider"?  It's one of my students' favorite spider stories.

I introduce the story, and grab my students' attention with this quick, easy and fun scissor activity. As my kiddos are gathered on the carpet waiting for me to start reading, I begin cutting out a spider.

Since it’s folded, you can’t easily tell what I’m cutting. Invariably a student will ask “What are you doing?” To which I reply “I’m very busy cutting. Can you guess what I’m making?”

When I’m done, I slowly open the paper to reveal the very busy spider. After reading the story, I pick a name stick and give the spider to a child who was “very busy" listening.

After you’ve made your own, you can decide if this is an appropriate, whole group activity for your students. I've included a shaded pattern so it's easy to recognize what areas to cut out.  There's also a full-bodied "color me" spider for little ones.

You can also use this as a "topper" for a writing prompt. Remember to grab that teachable moment to discuss symmetry.

Completed projects look awesome glued to a square of brightly colored construction paper, then scattered on a bulletin board. 

I’ve included several “We’ve Been Very Busy” posters for the center of your display.

For a splash of 3D pizzazz, add some of those “pull apart” spider webs to each corner.  

After reading the story, we retell the tale together using the picture prompts on my "spider slider".  I have them guess which character they think comes next before I pull the picture through the “window”.

My students now know what’s expected of them, and are very excited to transition to making a "spider slider" of their own.

So that you can quickly and easily make an example, I’ve included a full-color slider pattern, as well as the black & white version for your students. 

There are two slider options.

A completed orb spider web, as well as a corner spider web with the very busy spider dangling as he weaves.

Children color the story characters on the “slider strip” then cut and glue it together.

As they pull on the end of the “slider” the various pictures go through the “web window”, so that children can take turns retelling the story to a partner or reading buddy, then take their spider slider home to share with their family, once again practicing these standards.

To assess comprehension, I’ve included a “sequence the story” worksheet, where students color and trim the picture “windows” then glue them in the correct order on the blank worksheet.

There's also a “Here’s What Happened…” writing prompt worksheet, as another way to check comprehension plus practice sequential writing, hopefully using a variety of ordinal numbers or other transitions. 

Another quick, easy and fun way to review the story, is with my 23, “Very Busy Spider” fix the sentence cards, which will also check comprehension and practice capitalization and end punctuation.

Read the cards together as a whole group to practice a lot of Dolch sight words.

Choose a student to come up and using a dry erase marker, circle letters that should be capitalized and then add end punctuation. (period, question mark & exclamation point).

For more practice, as an individual activity, have students choose X number of mini cards and rewrite the sentences correctly on the worksheet provided. 

I continue the "Very Busy Spider" theme for our Daily 5 writing block, where my kiddos contribute a page for our class-made book "The Very Busy Students and Their Spiders".

There’s a "trace & write" template for younger kiddos, as well as a pattern page for older students to fill in the blanks:
“My spider was very busy ___________. As for me, most of the time I’m busy _____________.”

Children complete the prompt and illustrate their page. You collect, collate and add the cover.

I’ve included a completed sample to help clarify what you want your students to do.

When you share the story with the class, each student can come up and read their page.

The parents really enjoy reading our class-made books during parent-teacher conferences. 

Today's featured FREEBIE is a glittering spider web craft.

I mixed Elmer's glue with white paint. A black construction paper circle is placed in a metal cake pan and a dollop of the paint-glue is put in the middle and a marble is placed on top. Students manuever the pan to "spin" a web. 

When they are happy with the results, they sprinkle opalescent or silver glitter on their creation, and can pick a plastic fly or spider to squish in the center.

I found some cute spider web stationery, so each child glued that on for a splash of color.  So you can do the same, I've included a colorful web with the poem on it. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. It continues to be windy mixed with a misty rain; perfect weather to tackle my too long "to do" list. 

Wishing you a stress-free and productive day.

"When life gives you rainy days, wear cute boots and jump in the puddles." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Spider Craftivities With Me

My Y5's LOVED the story The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.   I especially liked it for sequencing practice.  The Very Busy Spider is also an easy story to review beginning, middle and end concepts.

To introduce the story, and grab your students' attention, do the Spider Cuts  scissor activity.  While your little ones watch, inform them that you are "busy" and ask them what they think you are making.

I got the spider idea over at Green Baby Guide.  She didn't have a pattern, so I thought I'd make one.    Add some wiggle eyes for pizzazz.  Click on the link to view/download Spider Cuts.

The Very Busy Spider is super to sequence! My little ones always enjoyed sequencing stories,  because I'd pass out picture cards or manipulatives to them. 

Prior to passing out "stuff" to quiet children, I'd explain that if they played with it and didn't listen to the story, they would get the card or item taken away; this really kept them from fooling around with any story props that I handed out.

When I came to a picture in the story that was on a card, I'd pause, the child with the matching card would come up and place it in the pocket chart or on the white board. 

So that everyone could have a turn with the cards, as well as provide another opportunity to review the story, I'd pass the cards out again, and we'd try to put them in order without the help of the book.  You can make extra sets so that children can transition and play Memory Mathching games.

Click on the link to view/download The Very Busy Spider Sequencing cards.  Included in this packet is a mini sequencing sheet that students can do as a center, or run off copies for all of your students to cut, glue and sequence. 

I enjoy looking for interesting videos on YouTube that match an activity.  There's almost always a professional reader out there who's made a nice Power Point of a story. 

There were quite a few for The Very Busy Spider.  One that I think was rather well-done, is read by an English gal.  The moving graphics of the spider and buzzing fly are sweet.  Click on the link to check it out. 

As another fun way to review the story, have your kiddo's watch it and do the mini sequencing activity at the same time.  Afterwards, as a transition activity, students can choose a partner and play the Spin To Win Busy Spider game. This is also included in the packet.

As part of our review, I'd use pocket cards that said: characters, setting, and events on them. 

After reading the story, we'd discuss each one as it pertained to the book.  I've included a set for The Very Busy Spider.

Understanding the concept of beginning-middle-and end of stories enables a child to better retell it.  Knowing this organization, will also improve writing.

Because of this, I always followed up story telling, by asking children what happened in the beginning, the middle and at the end of the story.  After you review this orally, have your students write their thoughts on The Very Busy Spider (beginning-middle-end) graphic organizer.  All of these items are in  The Very Busy Spider Story Packet. Click on the link to view/download it.

To nail even more Common Core State Standards-- print, laminate and trim The Very Busy Spider Grammar Cards.  Put them in a pocket chart or on your whiteboard and read the sentences together as a whole group. 

For added fun make a spider pointer or web wand, with the spider & web patterns; glue them to a Popsicle stick and have children use them to point to the words as you read the pocket cards. 

Using a red dry erase marker, have a child come up and circle any letters that should be capitalized.  Another student  can add the end punctuation.

Review parts of speech by having children circle nouns, underline verbs and put a square around adjectives. 

You can also practice vowel identification.  Have a student come up and circle the vowels with a green marker.  I have set up the content of the cards, so they also provide a nice discussion and review of the story.

Click on the link to view/download The Very Busy Spider Grammar Cards.

To put their grammar skills into practice, have students write a page for your class book: The Very Busy Students and Their Spiders. Click on the link to view/print a copy.

Finally, it's always fun to throw in an art activity if you have time.  I set the "glittering web" craftivity up as a center, where 3 children come up and do the project with me. While they are working, I have each one tell me a spider fact that they learned, or ask them what their favorite part of the story was.

This photo does not do the artwork justice, as it's truly lovely; it doesn't capture the sparkling and glittery effects. 

Since you might not be able to find a colorful little stationery web that my kiddo's attached to their webs, you can either skip this step, or print off the Very Busy Spider one that I made.  I've included my little poem on it.

To make a busy spider glitter web, pre-cut black circles to fit inside a metal cake pan.  Each child holds one.  I squirt a dollop of white paint that has been mixed with Elmer's glue, in the middle of the circle; children place a large marble on top of the "paint-puddle."

The object of this project is to make an orb spider web by having the marble roll back and forth + up and down through the paint.  As it does so, it "spins" a web.  When students are pleased with their web, and while the paint is still wet, children sprinkle opalescent or silver glitter on their creation. 

I squirt a blob of Elmer's glue wherever they want me to, and they plop a black plastic spider or fly on it.  They write their name on the little spider web Halloween tag and glue it to a corner.  

These look smashing on a bulletin board, wall, or hung back-to-back from the ceiling.  Your caption can be: "Our students and spiders have been very busy!"  Click on the link to view/print the Glittering Web craft.

Thanks for visiting today.  Sorry this article got a bit long.  I have so much to share, so I hope you can pop back tomorrow for more FREEBIES.  Feel free to PIN away.  

"Most people see what is, and never see what can be." -Albert Einstein

1-2-3 Come Do Some Spider-ific Activities With Me!

I guess a lot of people must be doing a spider theme this month, as spider activities have been my #1 download this past week.  It's certainly a nice alternative if your school doesn't celebrate Halloween.

I have some quicky spider activities for you today. The Spider Web Roll & Color game will help students review math skills in a fun way.  Younger students choose a partner and take turns rolling a dice.  Whatever number they roll, they color in a section of their web.  I made the spider webs small, so coloring won't be so time consuming.

Older students roll 2 dice and add them together.  I've also included a web worksheet where children write down their equations.  There's also a prediction sheet.  Students take a guess of how many individual sections there are on the web, and then figure out the correct answer.  Click on the link to view/download the Spider Web game. 

Since the October Pumpkin and Fire Safety Bibliographies have been popular, I decided to make one for my all-time favorite Spider books too. Click on the link to view/print the Spider Bibliography. 

Finally, the Speaking of Spiders packet is chock full of writing activities and includes a venn diagram for comparing spiders and bats. 

Since many of my Y5's think that a spider is an insect, I also made a Venn diagram where students compare spiders with insects. Venn diagrams are a terrific way to practice comparison & contrast.

There's a Spiders can... worksheet, as well as a spider KWL and several fact versus opinion activities. 

Involve some science and have students label their spider.  I've included a fact sheet that will help explain the parts of a spider. 

Also included is a mini spider report - graphic organizer, as well as a spider acrostic poem page + 2 adjective and verb practice pages.

Click on the link to view/download the Speaking of Spiders packet.

I know a lot of my visitors collect the themed 10 frames to switch things up each month. 

If that's you, click on the link for the spider-themed 10 frames packet.  

If you also do the 1-2-3 Count With Me easy reader booklets, based on a 10 frame, click on the link for the 1-2-3 Count Spiders With Me  FREEBIE. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  I hope you can drop by tomorrow to grab some more FREEBIES.   I'm off to help my daughter with a children's sale.  Wishing you a fun-filled fall day too. 

"Good things are attracted to a good heart." -Kobi Yamada

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Spider Stuff With Me!

The spider shape activities are popular downloads, so I decided to do a few more spider-themed things.  All of these lessons will help your kiddo's practice upper and lowercase letters.  (To see the spider shape activities, scroll down for that blog article.)

Since the apple and pumpin clothespin "craftivities" were also very popular, I thought it would be fun to design a spider one too.  I named him Alphie.  Use my patterns to make templates; and then trace, cut and glue your spider together.  I added wiggle eyes and black pipe cleaner legs for that extra pizzazz. 

So that students can self-check, I've included a spider ABC chart.  For more letter practice, I designed a match the uppercase letter to the lowercase letter worksheet as well.

Alphie makes a wonderful independent center, or something for early-finishers to do.   You may want to make a few extra spiders to send home with children who are struggling.  I've included a note home, + a reminder note incase a family "forgets" to send Alphie back.  Click on the link to view/download the spider alphabet matching game.

I had a request for some spider alphabet cards.  If you collect ABC cards so you can change them each month, I have lots of themes available, and am always open to any requests visitors have for others. (diane@teachwithme.com). 

I've also included a BLANK color, as well as a black and white set of cards, for you to program with whatever + a 3-page tip sheet of ideas for games and other activities that you can do with the cards.   Click on the link to view/download the spider alphabet cards.

Because assessing can be overwhelming for little ones, I like to dream up fun ways I can do that.  Assessing is time consuming too, so I did a lot of whole-group assessment to weed out the strugglers.  

Playing "I Spy" is a fun game that enables you to see at a glance who is having difficulty.  I designed a spider upper and lowercase letter bookmark that's perfect for an "I Spy" game. 

Run off the spider bookmarks and give each child a spider ring or piece of candy corn to use as a manipulative.  Whenever I'm using candy as a marker, I always allow students to eat one at the beginning of the activity. 

It saves a lot of time reminding students that they cannot eat the candy 'til the game is done, and helps them enjoy the game and stay focussed better. 

The teacher starts by calling out a letter, children move their marker to that letter and raise their hand to signal that they have "spied" it.  The teacher then calls on a child to choose the next letter.  Play continues 'til all of the letters are called.  If you don't want to reuse the bookmarks each year, students can also circle the letters and then take their bookmarks home.  

If you are doing an individual assessment, circle the letters the student does not know, write a note on the back asking parents to work on those letters and send it home with the child.  There are also 6 alphabet worksheets for even more practice.  Click on the link to view/download the spider alphabet activities.

Finally, if you're looking for a bit more, you may enjoy an older Spider packet that has a few alphabet activities in it, as well as lots of math fun.  My kiddos especially enjoyed working with the paper flies and spider web sorting mats. 

If you want to see all of the other spider freebies I offer, click on the link.

Thanks for visiting today.  I hope you found something you can use for your spider studies.  I'm off to check the basement after a ton of rain.  Hopefully there are no disasterous puddles down there, or spiders for that matter. :-)

"Children don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Spider Stuff With Me!

Even though I am absolutely creeped out by spiders, I LOVED teaching our spider unit to my Y5's.  These spiders were cute and not creepy. The reason I hate real ones, is a huge pine spider dropped from the ceiling onto my shoulder, when I was lying on a cot at our cottage.  I was only 5, but I still remember it. Yikes!

Anything I design with shapes seems to be downloaded quite often, so I decided to whip together some 2D flat shape activities, featuring some sweet spiders. 

These lessons are quite versatile.  Use them for independent math centers, table top lessons, a Daily 5 option, review, game, or even a whole-group assessment!

Inky is a quick and easy "craftivity."  Students trace, cut and glue their spider slider together.  Add some wiggle eyes for extra pizzazz and have students trace and color the shapes.  Cut slits and insert the shape slider. 

Teacher calls out a shape and children slide their strip up and down 'til they locate Inky's "tongue."  If you want to whole-group assess, have students show you their answer. 

Click on the link to view/download the spider slider shape craftivity.

Peek-A-Eek is another "craftivity" that you can simply make for yourself and share as a read-aloud to review the basic 2D-flat shapes.  

I used a file folder to make my easy-reader sturdier. 

If you want your kiddo's to have their own, simply trim some folders and have them glue the cover (circle web page) to the front, and the hexagon web page to the inside. 

Make a fluffy spider, by gluing a black pom pom to the center of the hexagon shape.  This is the last page.  

Trim and assemble the rest of the pages.  Cut the "web window" shapes out so that the spider will peek through all of the pages.  Click on the link to view/download Peek-A-Eek the spider shape booklet.

Spin A Spider is also quick and easy.  Your little ones will enjoy taking turns spinning.  Whatever shape they spin, they color or bingo dot the matching  spider on their web. 

I've included spider cards with the shapes as well as the shape words on them.  Laminate and trim into puzzles. 

Besides putting together a puzzle, use the cards for a Memory Match, or "I Have; Who Has?" game.  There's also a "Match the spider shape to the shape word" activity.  Students can use the spinner to fill in this worksheet as well.   Click on the link to view/download the Spin A Spider game packet.

Finally, I made a Spider Shape game, that matches the other themed ones that have been so popular. 

Run off the shape tiles on a variety of colors of construction paper; laminate and trim.  Students place the tile onto the matching spider card. Click on the above link to view/download. 

Thanks for visiting today.  I design and try to blog daily, so I hope you can pop  by tomorrow to grab a few more FREEBIES. If there's something you need, drop me an e-mail with your request and I'll see what I can do: diane@teachwithme.com

  "To LOVE what you do and feel that it matters-what could be more fun?" -Katherine Graham.  (I am so blessed to be doing what I so enjoy! I hope my endeavors make your life a little easier and teaching even more fun. )

1-2-3 Come Study Shapes and Graphs With Me

Because I incorporated shapes into a themed picture, you are able to cover several standards, while students practice their graphing skills.  Besides the 4 seasonal graphs, there are answer keys included, so you have a sample to show students. Point to the various shapes on the sample, and have children identify them.

Use the discussion questions, to help kiddo's further understand data collection and analysis.  I tried to think of a variety of themed-shapes for fall, so there's an apple graph, a pumpkin graph, a leaf graph and a spider graph.

I design quite a bit from teacher requests, so if there's a theme you study in the fall, that you'd like a graph for, simply shoot me an e-mail and I'll see what I can whip together. diane@teachwithme.com

Click on the link to view/download the Shapely Fall Graphs packet.

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"The task of the modern educator, is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts." -C. S. Lewis