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

Last week I celebrated apple week. blogging about all sorts of apple-themed activities.  I had a few more requests, and some miscellaneous apple things that I hadn't blogged about, so I thought I'd toss them all in this article. 

To see all of the apple FREEBIES on TeachWithMe click on the link to zip on over to that section of my site. There are over 100 apple-themed goodies to choose from!

Darcy, over in Washington, does a big apple unit with her 1st graders.  She said: "I love, love, love your flip for facts file folder idea. Do you have one for apples?"  Thanks for your e-mail Darcy.  You certainly made my day. :-)

I designed the flip for facts file folders, as a quick, easy and fun way to introduce younger students to doing research. The file folders are a nice pre-cursor to writing a report.  I didn't have one for apples, but was glad to whip one together. 

If anyone else out there in cyber space would like a file folder on another topic (maybe pumpkins?) feel free to shoot me an e-mail: diane@teachwithme.com and I'll add it to my "to do" list.

Click on the link to view/download the Flips For Apple Facts File Folder.  If you need some apple facts to share with your kiddos, click on the link for 125 Apple Facts!

I've also been working on seasonal sets of time cards.  Here's the apple set. Use them to review analog as well as digital time to the hour and half hour. (CCSS 1.MD.3a)  Great for pocket cards, an assessment tool, flashcards, games, and puzzles too.

The apple number word matching activity, is another quick and easy game.  This one will help your students identify numbers and their number word. 

Using a clothespin to clip to the correct answer, provides wonderful fine motor practice and helps strengthen finger muscles. So that students can self-check, mark an X in the correct spot on the back of the card.

Besides working on number words, I designed an apple color word matching game as well.  This reinforces the 3 colors of apples.

I think that patterning is so important to understanding all sorts of math concepts, so I designed an apple patterning activity as well.

Graphing is also something that I did every day with my Y5's. 

I decided to put a collection of 24 apple graphs together.  I think I covered  everything you could possibly want to graph about apples, but if I forgot something, shoot me an e-mail and I'll add it to the collection.  diane@teachwithme.com

Finally, while I was frogging around updating the apple graphing packet, I thought I'd make up some graph paper to do a "magic math" apple picture.

Read the directions to your students and have them color in the number grid appropriately.  If they've followed the directions correctly, an apple will be revealed. 

This is a quick, easy and fun way to teach, review and assess: number recognition, spatial directions, ordinal numbers, diagonal lines, plus listening and following directions. 

 I've also included a large numeric grid for the teacher to use in a "monkey see-monkey do" demonstration, as well as a completed grid showing the correctly colored apple. 

There are also posters to help explain ordinal numbers, left and right, as well as diagonal lines.  Click on the link to view/download the Magic Math Apple

Thanks for visiting today. It's a rainy, sleepy-kind-of day, so I think I'll just pass the time coloring, cutting and pasting; and there's nothing like getting on Pinterest to have the hours fly by.   So many ideas, so little time...

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters and create many ripples." ~ Mother Teresa

1-2-3 Come Do Some Zoo Telling-Time Activities With Me!

As promised, I'm continuing to design some zoo-themed activities in celebration of National Zoo Month, as well as the fact that many lucky little kiddos get to go on an end-of-the-year field trip to the zoo!  Woo hoo for you!

Whenever I went on an outing with my students, time was everything.  When to get ready; when to board the bus and leave; when do we arrive?  When can we eat; when do we leave to go back to school; when do we get there? etc.  So I thought it would be fun to create a zoo booklet centered around time.

I've included analog clocks that students draw hands on, as well as blank spaces for them to record the digital time that things happened.  Be sure and remind them to complete the sentences with appropriate punctuation. 

Share the Zoo Time booklet with your students before you leave, to make them aware of the times that they need to be thinking about. 

Attach a copy to your clipboard (I always carried one with an attendance sheet, emergency information and contact numbers on it. )

As you arrive and go through the zoo, ask your students what time it is.  You can use a watch or your cell phone.  When they come up with an answer, record it in your booklet. 

When you get back to school, have children help you make a list of the various times on the board.  They can refer to this, as they record the digital time in their booklet and then draw hands on the analog clocks to show those times.

Give them a few minutes to color the pages and then read the Zoo Time booklet, as a whole group.  Note some of the various other times that students have come up with for their last page. 

Click on the link to view/download the Zoo Time booklet.

Finally, More Zoo Time is a matching packet with time cards to the hour and half hour. 

Print, laminate and use as flashcards, in  a pocket chart, for Matching or "I Have; Who Has?" games.  Make up an extra set and cut them into puzzles. 

There's also an elephant clock "craftivity" for your students to make as well as a certificate of praise bookmark (in black line as well as color).  Click on the link to view/download the more Zoo Time packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  As always, feel free to PIN away.  My "Pin it!" button is at the top on the menu bar. 

"All you need is twenty seconds of insane courage, and I promise you, something great will come of it." - From "We Bought a Zoo"

11 pages.

Review digital and analog time to the hour and half hour with this Olympic-themed telling time packet.   Print off the clock faces and the digital time rectangles on glossy white photo paper.  Trim and glue to the Time For The Olympics master.  You've now created a dry erase board!

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

Since the Winter Olympics in Sochi, continue through Sunday, February 23rd, I decided to design a few more simple and quick  Olympic activities you can easily fit into your busy day. 

I thought a list of where all of the Olympics have been held (for summer and winter) might be useful, especially if you think of daily trivia questions for your students. 

Click on the link to view/download the Present and Past Locations of the Summer and Winter Olympics.

If you're looking for some educational sites with Olympic "stuff" click on the link to zip on over to Mrs. Jackson's Class blog spot.  She's made a list of over 50 Educational Olympic links.

Ever wonder who designed the official Olympic flag or the meaning behind the 5 interlocking rings?  I did, so I spent some time doing research, so you don't have to. 

A few hours later, I came up with a 2-page list of interesting facts, and included them in the Olympic Flag Information and Craftivities packet.

There's a large black and white picture of the rings for your students to color, or strenghten their finger muscles and give them some fine motor practice, by having them rip & tear 1/2 inch strips of construction paper, and then glue individual pieces to the appropriate rings. 

Whenever my students did our monthly rip and tear activity, I told them to rip piles of colors first, then rub glue over a particular section, and then press the scrap piece down.  This goes so much faster, and is a lot less sticky, than if a child rips one piece at a time and tries to put glue on that little torn piece.

So that students can see what colors to use, I've included a mini poster for you to hang. There's also mini Olympic flags that your kiddos can color and then mount to a Popsicle stick.  Click on the link to view/download the Olympic Flag Information and Craftivities packet.

When I'm designing one idea, a zillion others are also popping into my head.  I have to jot them down or they will be lost.  Such was the case with the game "Rolling For The Gold."

While drawing the black and white rings, I thought it would be fun for students to use them for a coloring game.  Children pick a partner and take turns rolling the dice. 

If they roll a one they color the first ring blue, a roll of a two allows them to color the second ring yellow, and so on. However, if they roll the dreaded six, they lose their turn. 

This is a quick and easy way to review ordinal numbers, as well as a host of other life skills children learn while playing games.

I've included an Olympic rings ordinal numbers anchor chart, an ordinal numbers trace and write worksheet + 2 mini certificates of praise.  Click on the link to view/download the Rolling For the Gold Olympic Dice Game.

I saw another cool Olympic rings idea over at Activity Village.  So that Olympic ring - paper plate painting, is do-able for little ones, here's my extended version for this idea.  So that there's not so much surface to paint, use the small 8-inch plates. 

Have students work in groups of 5.  Demonstrate how to cut a slit and then cut out the center circle inside the plate.   Each student cuts out the center of theirs and then paints it the assigned color. 

You may want to precut the circles for PK kids. (I cut out 2 at a time and it only took me 10 minutes to make 20.)

I like the look of the rings better, if you paint the puffed up back side.   This is also easier for little ones to paint as they don't have to try to fill in the grooves that are on the front.

Set aside to dry.    Have students link their circles according to the appropriate color order. So they don't unlink as you hang them, staple the plates shut after they are linked.   Punch a hole on either end, add a yarn loop, and hang as a high border on your hallway wall.  

The photo is my non-painted sample. Older students can paint both sides and when dry, write vocabulary words that have to do with the Olympics on the back side of their rings.  Suspend these from the ceiling.

A Little Learning For Two has another thing you can do with paper plate rings.  An Olympic ring toss is a quick, easy and fun gross motor activity.   To add some math to the game, give each color a point value. When students are done tossing all 5, they add up their total points.

Students can also make a set of Olympic rings out of pipe cleaners.  Your kiddos can simply make the pipe cleaner links as shown in the photo, or make an Olympic necklace. 

To make "perfect" smaller circles, pre-cut the pipe cleaners so that they are long enough for students to wrap around an empty toilet paper roll to get the circle shape. When they have made all five circles, have them link them up  and then twist the ends to close. 

Tie a piece of yarn at each end so that students can wear their Olympic rings as a necklace.  Adding cut up straws and/or pony beads, is a great fine motor skill and will add to the pizzazz of their necklaces.

Finally, since the Olympics involve lots of timed events, I thought it would be appropriate to make an "It's Time For The Olympics activity packet, to help practice and reinforce analog and digital time to the hour and half hour.   (Common Core State Standard: 1.MD.3)

Run off the Olympic Rings clock template on white construction paper or card stock.  I've included one in color as well as one in black and white.  Print the clock faces and digital time boxes on glossy white photo paper.  Trim and glue to the Olympic rings clock page. 

You now have a dry erase board, as a dry erase marker can be easily rubbed off of the glossy photo paper!  This is a quick, easy and fun way to whole-group assess. 

Call out a time; students draw the hands on their clock and record the digital time in the box; when they are done, they hold up their paper.  You can see at a glance who's correct. 

I've included four worksheets for more practice or assessing, plus a certificate of praise in the form of an Olympic time bookmark.

Beside using the pattern as an assessment tool, you could also punch a hole in the center and add hands if you wanted to have a few clock manipulatives as well.  Click on the link to view/download the Olympic  Telling Time packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  I hope you can stop by tomorrow, as I'll be finishing up with Olympic FREEBIES and moving on to FREE President's Day activities.

“The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.” -Unknown

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

Since the lists of my all-time favorite books for various units, have been so popular, I decided to make one for my love-themed selections, which include Valentine's Day books and books about hugs, kisses and love. 

I think it's probably my biggest collection, as Valentine's Day has been my favorite holiday since I was five.   Click on the link to view/dowload the list of My 100 All-Time Favorite Valentine Books.

Books need a bookmark, so I designed ten Valentine bookmarks that you can use as incentives (challenge students to collect all of them as they complete various tasks each day) or give as prizes on your party day. 

Click on the link to view/download the Valentine's Day Bookmark packet.

Like the book lists, the punctuation pocket cards, have also been extremely popular, so I made a set of 30 with a valentine theme.  Print; laminate and trim. 

You can put them in your pocket chart, read as a whole group and then make corrections with a dry erase marker. 

Students circle the letters that should be capitalized, and then add end punctuation. 

I made a lot more cards for this packet, as I thought it might be a fun activity for Valentine's Day. 

Pass one out to each student to make corrections and then share the results with the class. 

I purposely included quite a few contractions in the simple sentences to provide yet another teachable moment.  Click on the link to view/download the Valentine Grammar Cards.

While I was making the valentine clock cards yesterday, I was working on several other telling time activities, and finished them today. 

Time For Valentines is a candy heart spinner game.  Children play with a partner or in groups of 3 or 4 taking turns spinning the candy heart clock. 

Whatever number they land on, is the heart that they color on their recording sheet.  Students also write in the digital time, and if you want, have them cover the heart with a candy one. 

The student who completes their clock first is the winner.  The prize can be the candy hearts. Inform students that they may eat one, and then put the rest in the box to take home.  Click on the link to view/download the Candy Heart Clock Game.

Finally, I also finished the Watch Me Tell Time whole-group assessment activity.  Print off the pocket watch page on tan or gold paper, cut off the directions. 

Run off the clocks and digital time rectangles on glossy photo paper. Cut out the clocks and boxes and glue one to each pocket watch paper.  You've now created a dry erase board.

Call out a time. Using a dry erase marker, students draw hands on the clock face and write the digital time in the box.  When they are done, they hold up their pocket watch. 

This is a quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess analog and digital time to the hour or half hour.  (Common Core State Standard:  1.MD.3)  Click on the link to view/download the Watch Me Tell Time assessment packet.

Thanks for visiting today; I hope it's love-filled.   Feel free to PIN away! 

"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." -John Dewey 

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Valentine's Day Activities With Me

To help build vocabulary, each month I added themed words to our word wall.  There are a ton of words that are associated with love and  Valentine's Day, so I decided to make an alphabetical list and came up with 240. 

There are 2 covers for a Valentine Dictionary, so that students can think up their own word list, and then look up and record any new words from mine that you want your students to know. 

This makes a wonderful Daily 5 word work activity.  Click on the link to view/download the Valentine Vocabulary packet.

Another interesting way to practice words and letters is with my tri-hearts.   You can use the template in a variety of ways. 

The photo shows: upper and lowercase letters (Put one on each side and then flip open to reveal a picture of a word that starts with those letters.); compound words, contractions, as well as equations.  

I've also included an owl valentine your students can make. Click on the link to view/download the Folded Heart packet.

For more writing practice, have students pick a holiday and compare it with Valentine's Day.  I've designed 12 holiday Venn diagrams for your students to choose from, plus a blank one for them to add something different. 

When they are done with their Venn diagram, have students complete the writing prompt: My favorite holiday is ... because ...  Click on the link to view/download the Valentine Venn Diagram Writing Prompt packet.

Finally, I had a few special requests.  Kara, from Florida, needed some valentine themed puzzles for her young kinders to do on party day.  Laura Strickland's clip art is so adorable, that I designed 20 different puzzles, that will help students count forwards and backwards, as well as skip count by 10's to 100. 

I've included 3 black and white puzzles for your kiddos to color, cut and take home; or they can glue their puzzle pieces to a sheet of construction paper, leaving a small space inbetween each piece.  The results are an interesting mosaic work of art and make a cool bulletin board. 

Besides using the puzzles for a center, have students choose a partner and play "Speed" to see who can complete their puzzle first.  You can also make puzzle flip books.  Choose 3 puzzles, mix them up and then staple the top section to the numbered puzzle grid. 

Students decide which puzzle they want to search for, and flip each strip 'til they find the correct one that will complete their choice. Click on the link to view/download the Twenty Valentine's Day Puzzle packet.

Theresa, from Kansas, requested some heart-themed clock cards. This was also on my "to do" list, so I got busy.  The cards include digital as well as analog times to the hour and half hour.  (Common Core State Standard: 1.MD.3)

Use the cards for whole group assessing, flashcard reviews, or a bulletin board.  Make extra sets; cut them up and use for puzzles and games such as Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?"  

I've included blank clocks so students can fill them in, as well as a clockless set for you to program with whatever. Click on the link to view/download the Heart-Themed Clock Cards.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away. 

"Education is the key to unlocking the world; a passport to freedom." -Oprah Winfrey

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

Use these as flashcards, pocket cards or for a February 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.

1-2-3 Come Celebrate 100 Day With Me

Even though 100 Day was like a party for my Y5's,  we still covered all of our subject areas and standards.  I spent countless hours designing things that would fit the various subjects throughout our day using that particular theme. 

With that in mind, I wanted to design some other activities besides all of the math extensions that go on for 100 Day, so I thought up an "It's Time To Celebrate" game, which reinforces time to the hour.  (CCSS 1.MD.3)

Students choose a partner or work in groups of 3-4 taking turns rolling one dice.  Whatever number they roll, they trace the digital time and then write that number on their analog clock. 

After they have filled in numbers 1-6 (times to the hour) they roll 2 dice and add them together to get numbers 7-12.  The first one to complete their "It's Time To Celebrate" recording sheet, is the winner and receives a certificate of praise. 

Click on the link to view/download the 100-Day Telling Time Game. 

For your writing block, or Daily 5 time, use these 4 different 100-Day writing prompts.  To help get your students started, I designed them with a graphic organizer format. 

Run off copies of each prompt and give students a choice.  Mount completed work on a variety of colors of construction paper for an easy 100-Day bulletin board.

Click on the link to view/download the 100-Day writing prompt packet.

That's it for today.  Feel free to PIN away.  My "Pin it" button is on the menu bar.

"Woo hoo for me; woo hoo for you! We're 100 Day's smarter it's true!"

4 pages.

Reinforce time to the hour with this fun digital and analog clock game for 100 Day. Students take turns rolling one dice to get numbers 1-6 for those times, and then roll 2 dice and add them together to get numbers 7-12. 

1-2-3 Come Do Some More 100 Day Activities With Me

Some teachers have told me that they like to carry their all-year-long themes through to 100 Day. i.e. apples, owls, monsters etc.  With that in mind, I designed some 100-Day themed packets that I hope you'll enjoy.

Do you need some number cards that go all the way to 100?

Click on the link for the 100 Apple number cards or the 120 owl number cards.

I've also designed some owl-themed 100-Day bookmarks.  Tuck them in your students' desks, lockers or backpacks. 

Use them as incentives and challenge students to collect all 4.

Keeping with the apple theme, I have a complete 100-Day Apple themed packet. 

The 27-page packet includes all sorts of activities and worksheets specific to 100 Day.  i.e.

Choose to have students count and color a 100 number made up of 100 apples, or a count by ten's to 100 patterning page. 

I thought it would also be fun to introduce the word googol to students.  Most of them will probably associate the word with the Google search engine. 

A Googol is the number 1 with 100 zeros after it. When I thought about the sound of this silly word, it reminded me of aliens or monsters, so I designed a 51-page 100-Day monster-themed packet.

I created 11 googol monsters using the adorable clip art of Laura Strickland and added some wiggle eyes.  The entire googol number is on their tummies. Choose one or make them all to help introduce this humongus number, then give them away as prizes.  

Have fun counting to 100 by 1's, 5's or 10's with a googol monster slider.

Counting by 5's to 100 is especially fun when naming your googol monster, making 20 groups of 5 spots on it, and then coloring him. 

Another 50-page 100-Day themed packet is the Hog Wild Over 100 Day one featuring pigs.

Because piggies are often banks, this packet includes lots of coin activities,  like the one pictured where students can count to 100 while coloring pennies, or dabbing on 100 spots of mud to the piggy's head, with a Q-tip.

The piggy packet also has measuring activities and a slider. Choose if you want your kiddo's to count to 100 by 1's, 5's or 10's. 

Students can also count by 10's with traceable piggy paddles.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.   Feel free to PIN away.  

I hope you found a few new ideas that will add to the excitement of celebrating your 100th day of school. Be sure and pop in tomorrow for even more fun-themed 100 Day activities.

" One hundred days of learning; one hundred days of fun; one hundred days to work and play, aren't I the lucky one?" -Mrs. McNeill