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

Studying a bit about turkeys is not only super-interesting, but it helps me get in some science and non-fiction practice as well.

Turkeys are a perfect November theme, without being totally tied to Thanksgiving, which is not celebrated by everyone in our very diverse classrooms of today.

With these things in mind, I designed “Turkey Talk”. It’s chock full of a variety of activities that include:

* A colorful KWL chart which can be done as a whole group, while the BW version can be done individually.

* 4 realistic and lovely clip art posters featuring a male, female and baby turkey along with a nest of eggs.
* I’ve also included a set of “Match Game” picture and word cards.

* A “color me” Turkey Talk emergent reader, that’s packed with Dolch sight words, as well as a “trace & write” version for younger kiddos.

* A “Let’s Talk Turkey” vocabulary building poster, with a matching...
* “Define These Words” worksheet.
* A “Turkey Time” word search as a fun way to practice these new words.
* A labeled turkey head, photo-poster, with an accompanying definition one, plus
* 2, “Label the Turkey” worksheets.

* 20+ interesting turkey facts. Pick your favorites, share with your students, then use this background information to check their comprehension.

* A follow up “Some interesting facts I learned about turkeys” writing prompt worksheet.

* 10 photo-posters of wild and domestic turkeys.

* 2 Venn diagrams, which come in color to do as a whole group, as well as BW to be done individually or with a partner.

* 3 photo-posters of a peacock for a comparison-contrast activity.

* A “Turkeys Are Can Have” worksheet in color and BW
* A “Would you like to have a turkey as a pet?” writing prompt worksheet.
* A “Describe a Turkey” worksheet for adjective and descriptive writing practice.

* 2 life cycle of a turkey crafts. One's a slider the other a "Turn & Learn Wheel" Plus several matching worksheets & a game.

All come in BW as well as color, so that you can quickly & easily make samples to share; and finally,

* 2 “We learned about turkeys today! Ask me what I know.” color-me bookmarks. 

Renee over in Virginia, asked me if I had any Thanksgiving-themed  "Fix The Sentence" cards, as her students have enjoyed a few of my other seasonal "pocket chart punctuation" packets. 

Just finished them, so I thought I'd include them in this blog post as well.   

These 28, Thanksgiving-themed sentence cards, are a quick, easy and fun way to practice capitalization and end punctuation, while reinforcing some factual information about the first Thanksgiving.

Choose your cards, then read them together as a whole group to practice lots of Dolch sight words.

Pick 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).

You can do this on a whiteboard, with a pocket chart, or pass a card out to each child to correct.

For more practice, as an individual activity, have students choose X number of mini cards and rewrite the sentences correctly on one of the 7 worksheet options.

Afterwards, students can swap their paper with a partner to correct.

I've included 2 sizes of mini "fix the sentence" cards for this, which makes a nice Daily 5 word work activity too.

There are 28 mini cards on one sheet of paper. Simply print, laminate and trim several copies, for a class set. 

The featured FREEBIE today is a collection of fall-themed, 2D shape matching games.  Students place the colored shape tile on to the matching shape on the leaf, spider, bat, owl, or turkey card.  

I've included a blank template for each theme, so you can program with more shapes or whatever. Hope your kiddos enjoy them as much as mine.

Well that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by. Time to hit the road and do some grocery shopping for turkey day.

Lots to do when our crowd of 20+ gathers.  Feeling very blessed.  Wishing you a warm-fuzzy kind of day.

"When I was growing up, and other people I knew were getting into trouble, I was somewhere in a deer stand or going to bed early, so I could be up before dawn to hunt turkeys. My love of the outdoors kept me solid.  - Donald Trump, Jr.

1-2-3 Come Do A Few More Fire Safety Activities With Me

I think one of the most important things that I teach my Y5s is fire safety; however, with all of our discussions about not playing with matches, houses burning down, and people getting hurt, I discovered that my students were coming away with the idea that fire was bad.

Simply ask for a thumbs up or down whether your kiddos think fire is good or bad; and I think you’ll find like I did, that most, if not all of your students will give you a thumbs down, emphatically believing that fire is bad!

Since fire is truly beneficial and a necessary part of everyday life, I feel there’s a need to explain this to young children.

It’s important that they learn to respect fire without fearing it. Children need to understand the difference between good fires and bad fires, as well as fire’s beneficial and harmful effects.

With these things in mind, I created this “Good Fire-Bad Fire” packet. These quick, easy & fun activities will help children develop a healthy understanding of fire, so they are able to identify fire as a necessary part of their lives and an essential tool.

The packet includes:

* A simple way to help students realize that fire can be good is to show them pictures, so I've included 65 real photographs of fires which can be categorized by children as good or bad.
Choose a dozen or so and use them for . . .

* flashcards, where students give you a thumbs up or down,
* discussion
* an independent center where children sort the photographs into the 2 “good/bad fire” file folders

*a puzzle center (Cut the photographs in half or in quarters).
* writing prompts (There are 4 graphic organizers, plus 6 “complete the prompt” worksheets for this)
* a bulletin board displaying the pictures under the “good fire/bad fire” header cards.

* I’ve also included a “Flip the Flame” craftivity, where students color, cut and glue the “happy” good flame and the “angry” bad flame back-to-back on a Popsicle stick.

You show a photograph asking “Is this a good or bad fire?” Children flip their flame and hold up their answer.

After sharing and discussing the photographs, children will be able to see that each type of fire has common denominators: good fires are planned, desired, beneficial and supervised by an adult; bad fires are not.

* Two, writing prompt craftivities are a fun way for students to show this understanding, and allow you to check comprehension. 

The first one is a 3D flame "dangler" in two colors. (One with characteristics of good fires, the other bad.) 

The other craftivity is a side-by-side comparison.

Completed projects make a terrific bulletin board or hallway wall display too. 

Younger kiddos can show this knowledge with several worksheet options.

I've included full color patterns, so you can easily make a sample to share, or use for further explanation.

The good fire-bad fire sorting worksheet (see photograph) could also be made into an independent center.

Simply laminate and trim the pieces.  To make this self-correcting, put a G or B on the back of each picture.

* The packet also includes a graphing activity, several other worksheets, posters and a bookmark. 

Besides being able to differentiate between good and bad fires, I wanted another way to review all of the fire safety rules my students were learning. 

As with many of my activities, I like to "kill two birds with one stone",  so I designed these "Fire Safety Fix the Sentence" cards. 

These 36, fire safety-themed sentence cards, are a quick, easy and fun way to review a variety of fire safety related facts, while practicing 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. 

One of the most important fire safety rules that I teach my students, is about dialing 9-1-1 in an emergency. So today's FREEBIE features a 9-1-1 song to the tune of "This Old Man".

There are 3 poster options for you to choose from.  I hope your kiddos enjoy it as much as mine.

Well that's it for today. I'm still in a daze that September is over and we are now in October!

My grama Lydia always said "The older you get the faster time flies." Now that I'm in my "sexy sixties" I find that to be especially true! 

Wishing you a day filled with sunshine and laughter for a happily-ever-after.

"Time is free, but it's priceless; you can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it, and once you've lost it, you can never get it back." -Harvey Mackay

1-2-3 Come Do Some Valentine Actvities With Me

Here’s a quick, easy and fun little heart craftivity that can be used in a variety of ways!  
Run the pattern off on an assortment of colors, then for a bucket-filling, writing prompt activity, write children’s names on slips of paper and have your kiddos choose one.

This will be the person they write a “secret” heart message to. Remind them to include a compliment as well.

I’ve also included a “Whooo loves you?” owl valentine template that students can make for their family.

The folded heart pattern can also be used to practice upper and lowercase letters.  

Great for Daily 5 word work and practicing contractions too.  I’ve included an alphabetical list of 69 contractions for you to choose from. The same thing works for compound words. 

Assign each student 1-2. They write the words on the outside of the heart, with the contraction/compound word inside. After they’ve shared their hearts, collect for an instant center activity.

The pattern also works as a creative way to practice math facts. 
Students can solve the equation on the inside, or exchange their hearts with 3 other students and have them solve the problem.

Another super-fun activity is a Valentine Venn Friend. Venn diagrams are a visual way to practice comparison-contrast writing and an interesting way for students to get to know each other better.

I've included a list of 40 questions that they can choose from to discuss with their partner. 
Each student does their own "different" portion of the "heart", and then together, using the middle “same” section, they take turns recording the similarities that they have with their Venn Friend.

Completed projects make an awesome February bulletin board.  I’ve included 4, “Venn Friends” poster options for your display.

Another simple literacy activity, is a set of 30, valentine-themed, "Fix the sentence" cards, which are an interesting way to review capitalization and end punctuation at the same time practicing a lot of Dolch sight words too.

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). 

I've also included a set of mini cards.  Children choose X number of cards, then write the corrected sentences on a sheet of paper.      

Finally, mix math and literacy with a Valentine Number Puzzle.   Some are horizontal, others vertical. 

They help practice sequencing numbers from 1-10, counting backwards from 10-1, plus skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, & 10s.   

Use the colorful ones as an independent math center, or to play a "Speed" game against a partner.  Use the black & white ones as a whole-group activity.  

I've also included 17, writing prompt valentine puzzles as well.   Children pick a classmate's name out of a container and write a "secret" message to them on the puzzle, then color & trim.  

On party day, kiddos put their puzzles together.   

For an inexpensive gift for your kiddos, I designed 6 mini puzzles (4-on-a-page), along with 3 "header" options to attach to a Snack Baggie. 

Add a heart-shaped lollipop for that finishing touch.  I bought a bag of 20 at The Dollar Store.

Today's FREEBIE is a set of valentine bookmarks, which could also go in your little treat bag.

Well that's it for today. I hope you found something to make February extra special for your kiddos. 

The sun is shining brightly and making the snow especially sparkly.  Wishing you a love-filled day. 

"All you need is love.  But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." - Charles M. Shultz

1-2-3 Come Do Some Groundhog Day Activities With Me!

I take advantage of all of the February holidays to practice a variety of skills with an interesting theme.  One of our favorites is Groundhog Day. I'll be featuring 3 of these groundhog-themed activities on the blog today.

"Punxsutaney Punctuation With Phil", features 18, groundhog-themed, sentence cards, which are a quick, easy and fun way to review some groundhog information, as well as rules for appropriate grammar. (Capitalization & end punctuation.)

Read the cards together as a whole group to practice a lot of 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).

You can do this on a whiteboard, with a pocket chart or pass one card out to each child, to correct.

After everyone has shared their card, have students choose 3-6 cards and rewrite the sentences correctly.

I've provided 2 sizes of mini "fix the sentence" cards for this, which makes a nice Daily 5 word work activity too. 

Next up is the jumbo, Groundhog Number Fun Packet.  

It's a whopping 109 pages, and chock full of a huge variety of activities with a groundhog theme; many are “Print & Go” or require just a bit of prep.

Pick and choose what’s appropriate for your kiddos (PK-1st) and use the activities for table top lessons, morning work, a sub folder, homework, early finishers, and assessing..

The packet includes an assortment of games like “Kaboom!”, “Stack the Hats”, “ I Spy”, “Memory Match”, “I Have; Who Has?” “What’s Missing?” “Race Your Groundhog to 100”, and “Puzzles On A Roll”, along with a 3-page tip list of what to do with the two sets of number cards.

There are also some center activities as well: “Clothespin Clip”, “Sorting With Odd Todd & Even Steven”, plus a 6 piece puzzle that can also be played as a dice game.

Besides that puzzle, I’ve also included 21 of my popular number “strip” puzzles.

They come in vertical as well as horizontal, and help practice sequencing numbers from 1-10, counting backwards from 10-1, plus skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, & 10s.

I’ve also included an emergent reader plus 2 different “flip” booklets. One includes 10 frames, and the other has options for counting to 10 or 20.

There are 3 “slider” craftivity options too. Sliders are an interesting way to practice numbers & counting, as well as a quick, easy & fun way to whole group assess.

I’ve included slider “strips” for counting from 1-10, 1-30, counting backwards from 10-1 and 20-1, plus skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5,s & 10s.

There are also a variety of worksheets that practice numbers and counting to 10, 50, 100, & 120, as well as graphing 2D shapes, tally marks, plus greater & less than, and simple addition.  And finally a certificate of praise.

If you're studying blends and digraphs with your kiddos, there's no better day than Groundhog Day for some great GR word work.

I've given the packet a groundhog theme, as the "Woodchuck Word Work packet", provides a wonderful variety of activities for Groundhog Day, including some tongue twisting fun, perfect for Daily 5 or your language arts block.

However, you can use it anytime, not just for Groundhog Day, as the compound word activities, as well as the GR consonant blend activities are very comprehensive.

The packet includes:

* Compound word activities: Games, word cards, worksheets, plus a "sunny" emergent reader flip booklet featuring 65 Dolch sight words, as well as 18 compound words, with "sun" as the root word.

The emergent reader, comes with 22 matching puzzle cards with colorful sunglasses on them, perfect for an independent center activity.

* There are also 42 (sets of 3), groundhog compound word cards to use as puzzles and for playing a variety of games with.
I've also included an alphabetical list of over 1,000 compound words that you can refer to, plus a cover to make an "I Spy 100 Compound Words For 100 Day" booklet.

* The packet also practices the GR consonant blend with a variety of activities for that.
* There's an alphabetical list of 92 GR consonant blend words, plus ...
* 92 GR consonant blend mini word cards, along with a "Feed the Greedy Groundhog's Grumbling Tummy" craftivity.

*There's also a set of alphabet cards, and a variety of worksheets, a graphic organizer which practices adjectives, plus some bookmarks, a word search, tongue twisters, as well as a "How many words can you make?" using the letters in groundhog game.  

As you can see I've packed in a huge variety of word work activities.

The featured FREEBIE today is "Fickle Phil".  It's a quick, easy and fun groundhog craftivity, made out of a brown paper lunch bag.

On one side Phil is ready for spring, on the other side, he saw his shadow and is ready for 6 more weeks of winter. 

Well that's it for today.  I'm feeling the chill of a winter cold coming on, so it's time to make some honey tea and snuggle in, shadow or not.

Wishing you a delightful day.

"The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it." ~Patrick Young

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

Since the story Elf on a Shelf continues to be very popular, I wanted to make a few new elf-themed activities.

I think you'll really enjoy how many skills & standards you can cover with this cute Little Elf emergent reader packet!

The book incorporates 34 Dolch sight words, rhyme, end punctuation (period, question mark & exclamation point), descriptive writing, use of adjectives, plus the five senses.

To spice things up with a little math, I’ve also included 5 graphing extensions as well as...

An interesting and super-fun rhyming activity that matches the 5 pairs of words that rhyme in the story. I’ve included answer keys.

This can be done independently on the worksheet provided, or students can work in teams.

As another option, do a different set of words orally, by having students stand up.

You start the game by saying the word go. (I chose this word for the oral competition, because I found 135 words that rhyme with it.)

The first student gives a word; you write it on the board so there are no repeats.
If a child can’t think of a word, they’re out.

Play continues ’til there are no words left, or whoever is left can’t think of another word.

There's a teacher's edition in full color, as well as black line masters, with 2, as well as 4 pages, on a one-page template.

To further reinforce the 5 senses, I've also included boy & girl elves to color and label.

There's also a mini "cut & glue" similar version. It's an Itty Bitty booklet where children read, add end punctuation, circle the capital letters, underline the adjectives, trace & write the 5 senses words; then color, cut and glue the matching picture. 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop, where the 40-page, Little Elf packet is a dollar off for a limited time.

The featured FREEBIE today is the Santa's List packet.  Students write why they think that they should be on Santa's "nice" list. 

After students share their page, collect, collate, add the cover and make into a class book.

Includes a Santa's List poster to use as a good-behavior motivator, as well as a template for students to write a note to their Elf on a Shelf or to Santa.  These make fun Daily 5 writing activities.

Well that's it for today. My brain is on overdrive, brimming with all sorts of things I want to design.

I LOVE December and all of the themes.  My little ones make it even more magical. Wishing you a fun-filled day.

“Christmas gift suggestions: to your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.”  - Oren Arnold

1-2-3 Come Do Some Common Core Activities With The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Me

Happy TBT (Throw Back Thursday.) Today I'm featuring a popular download to go along with your butterfly studies.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats 100 Things! is an emergent reader packet, that makes for a wonderful extension activity after reading Eric Carle's book. 

I enjoy covering at least 3-5 Common Core State Standards when I design a lesson.  This one covers quite a few CCSS: RF.K1a, RF.K.1c, RF.K.3a, RL.K.10, RF.K.4, L.K.2a, L.K.2b,L.K.5a, K.OA.1a, K.MD.3 K.CC.1a, K.CC.5, 1.NBT.2c, 1.NBT.5, 1.MD.3

Since the original Very Hungry Caterpillar goes through the days of the week, I decided to have this starving caterpillar eat through the hours in a day, so that I could cover telling time, while also covering end punctuation, skip counting by 10s, addition and the life cycle of a butterfly.

The packet includes

• The Hungry Caterpillar Eats 100 Things emergent reader, 2 caterpillar craftivities, a food sorting idea, + 64 circle pictures of food.

Children choose 10 to make a cute "very full" caterpillar.  Completed project make a cute bulletin board, as each one is different.

Students trace and write numbers & number words, as well as the time.  They draw the appropriate hands on the clock as well.

Children circle the capital letters and add end punctuation to the simple sentences.  I've used as many sight and Dolch words that I could fit in, that still sounded appropriate.

Students cut and glue the groups of 10 pieces of food to their matching numbered boxes, as they count by 10's to 100.  When everyone has completed their booklet, read it together as a whole group to reinforce concepts of print.

Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats 100 Things.

Thanks for visiting.  It's another rainy and chilly day; perfect for snuggling by the fire with a good book.  Wishing you a cozy-stress free day.

"Let the rain kiss you.  Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid ddrops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." -Langston Hughes

1-2-3 Come Do Some Fun Wind-Themed Activities With Me

Incorporating a variety of genre is one of our standards.  It's difficult to cover separate units for all that's required, so I offer a variety of genres within each of my monthly-themed units.

I love poetry, particularly poems that rhyme, but finding age-level appropriate ones that match a theme, is not an easy task.

Since March is a very windy month here in the Midwest, I have a brief, wind-themed mini unit, that I toss in on the tail end of our kite unit. (No pun intended!)

With that in mind, I designed the Wind Tricks poetry packet to go along with my other wind-themed activities.  I hope you find it helpful.

I came across this poem years ago, and even with the help of massive search engines, I still have not discovered the author. 

I chose this poem because it's short, simple, incorporates rhyme and more than half the words that are in the poem, also appear on the Dolch word lists.

The packet includes:

An anchor-chart Wind Tricks poster-poem. Hang it up and read it to your class, then read as a whole group.

Six large (full-color) pocket chart cards, featuring each stanza.  Use these for a whole group activity as well.

Using dry erase markers, call on children to correct beginning capitalization and add end punctuation.

I've also included a small set of matching pocket chart cards which fit on one page.

So that students can read and correct their own poem, I made a black and white "emergent reader" set of cards, which they can color, trim and collate into a booklet. 

The packet also has 2 sizes of 34-mini word cards, using the words from the poem. (18 are Dolch Words.)

One of the ways you can use them is with the Mr. Windy envelope.

Pass the mini word cards out to students and then have them "feed" the Mr. Windy "Blow some words my way" envelope or use them to play the Windy Words game.

The Windy Words game is a bit goofy, but I'll try just about anything to get my kiddos excited about reading and writing.

No matter what grade I taught, from PK through college, my students always enjoyed my silly, but educational games.

Children make their own "Windy" by poking a straw through Mr. Windy's mouth.  I used a red strip of paper and taped it to the table.

Adjust the game to suit the age of your students. Toss the word cards on the table, or leave them in a pile.

Who can blow the most words across the line? Can they read all of the words that they blew over the line? Have them choose 3-5 words and use them to make up sentences.

As a math extension, have each student count and then record on the “Tally Ho” sheet, how many words they blew across the line.

Use tally marks then add up a grand total of how many words the entire class blew over the line. (Recording data, using tally marks, as well as skip counting by 5s are all practiced.)

There are other uses for the cards too. Put them in alphabetical order; sort them by long and short vowels; or sort them by parts of speech.

If you have the time, and don't mind a messy, but awesome craftivity, reuse the Windy Word straws to make a "Windblown" Hair-Raising Portrait.

I found this adorable picture on Pinterest, with a broken link, but it's exactly what I had in mind.  For easy clean up, lay newspaper on your worktable and use a cardboard box as a "security wall" to catch splatters.

Students can draw their own face on a sheet of white construction paper, or run off my template. Children add facial features and color their "head".

To make a "bad hair day doo" arrange a rainbow of colored plops of paint around the top of the head. (I use watered-down acrylics, because they are inexpensive, washable, and fast drying.) 

Children use their straw to gently blow the paint in an upward direction to make "strands" of "hair".

Set aside to dry and later have children mount their creation on the top of the writing prompt: "I'm having a bad hair day when..." or something to do with wind or the Wind Tricks poem.  They could also write the poem on the back or whatever words you want them to work on. 

Anna, over at the Imagination Tree did some cool abstract straw blown paintings with her girls.  For more "straw art" click on the link for a very pinteresting board I discovered while doing research.

Since this is a rhyming poem, I also included some Rhyme Time activities for the words in the poem that rhyme with day, street, and dance, which include anchor-chart posters, featuring the alphabetical lists of the words that I thought of.

This is a great way to build vocabulary, and fits in nicely with your Daily 5 word work activities.

Finally, I included a "What is Genre?" explanation, with an emphasis on explaining the poetry genre. (Nice for giving your students some background.)

Click on the link to view/download the Wind Tricks poetry packet and let the fun begin.  To see all of my wind-themed FREEBIES click on the link to pop over to that section of TeachWithMe.

For more educational "pinspiration", free ideas, activities and crafts on my Pinterest boards, click on the link. I have one specifically for Windy March.

Thanks for visiting.  Time to run.  My 2-year-old grandson is coming to Nana's to play this morning.  I think baking some cookies is in order. 

Although he loves drinking with a straw and blowing bubbles, and truly enjoys craftivities with me, I'm not quite ready for a "mess-terpiece" today. Wishing you a delicious day filled with giggles.

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." -Jimmy Dean

31 pages.

March is a very windy month here in the midwest. With that in mind, I designed this Wind Tricks poetry packet, to go along with my other wind-themed activities.  I hope you find it helpful.

60 pages!

This packet is extremely versatile.  You can do these as a whole group activity, as an independent center, for a bulletin board, for a class-made book (each student contributes a letter) or have each child do all of the letter booklets and keep them in a "portfolio" file folder.

9 pages.

Practice 2D, as well as 3D shapes, with these two "Shaping Up With Seuss" & "Flipping Over Shapes" emergent reader flip booklets.