More Fun With CVC Words

As promised, here is another creative way to get CVC words into your students' heads! Play BINGO with them.  I’ve made up 9 sets of word cards with 20 different cards in each set, using 225 CVC words.

Here’s what to do:

Run each set off on a DIFFERENT color of construction paper. This way you can tell that those color cards deal with a specific set of  25 words.

To give your cards more pizzazz, add a star or smilie sticker to the center “free” space.  The stickers you choose for each set could also vary.

Laminate and cut out the cards.

Make an extra white set to cut into pieces.

There are 25 words per set.  Because of the FREE space, there are only 24 words used on each card.

Glue the white pieces onto the matching color construction paper for each set of CVC Bingo cards.

These pieces will be the cards that you draw so that students can put their “markers” on their bingo cards.

Keep the pieces in Snack Baggies.

Put the matching Snack Baggie in a file folder with the matching set of CVC bingo cards.

Each week play with a different set of words.

Dried beans are an inexpensive “marker”.

Other fun things to do with the cards:

Run off an individual page (two cards per page) to send home with each child so they can play at home with a parent.

Child can cut up one card and play with the other.  The object here is simply to look for the word and put a marker on it, filling up their entire card as a great review of those words.

Another fun game to use the cards with:

Play “Cover & Match”. Run off a set of words on two different colors of copy paper.

Laminate the paper and cut out the words.

Put the set of colors in two different Snack Baggies.

Children choose a partner and take turns rolling a dice.

If they roll an even number they get to take a CVC word tile out of their bag, read it and find the matching word on their bingo card, which they cover with the tile.

If they roll an odd number they lose their turn.You could also play that if they roll an even number they get to place 2 CVC word tiles on their bingo card.  If they roll and odd number, they get to place 1 CVC word tile on their bingo card.

To make things even more interesting, you could add that if students roll a 6, they have to remove 1 of their CVC word tiles from their Bingo card.

Top it all off by awarding certificates.  I've included 2 kinds.

Take a few seconds and register, so you can print or download this 101-page FREEBIE. Afterwards...

click on the link to zoom to the shopping cart to view/print/or download.

If you're already registered, or a subscriber, simply login and click on the link CVC Bingo Bonanza

More CVC Stuff...

If you missed the previous blog article with 338 CVC word cards and more ideas, simply scroll down to check it out!

As always, if you have any ideas you'd like to share,  I'd enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com

I design a lot of things around what my readers and subscribers need help with, that's why I went to work on CVC words, so if there is something you've been searching for, or need help with, feel free to contact me about that too!

Fun Things To Do With CVC Words

Several of my subscribers asked me to design some things involving CVC words.

The first thing I wanted to do was compile a list of CVC words.

CVC Helper Books:

I wanted to come up with at least 100 words, but once I was on a roll the list topped 300!

They are in an alphabetical list entitled 338 CVC Words complete with traceable word cards, 21 letter cards, a student’s personal word checklist and a certificate of praise.

Click on the link to view/print this fun CVC word helper book.

I thought it would be fun to make picture cards for as many of the CVC words that I thought would appropriately trigger a response from a child, so CVC Picture-Word Cards was born.

Students can play Memory Match games with them, a “Flip” card game and “Go Gar” (Go Fish).  They also make an adorable Itty Bitty Booklet of CVC Words.

Directions, tips, and a certificate of praise are also included with the 87 picture cards and 79 word cards.

Click on the link to view/print this fun addition to your CVC bag of tricks.  CVC Picture-Word Cards.

Have your students become ABCDe-tectives:

Because my Y5’s LOVE becoming ABCDe-tectives, and searching for words, I made CVC Word Finds  as yet another enjoyable way of reinforcing CVC words.  Click on the link to see this fun-filled 35-page book complete with and ABCDet-ective CVC certificate of praise.

Word Scramblers is another way my students continue their detective roll. This CVC book has 19 skill sheets where the letters are mixed up.

Students enjoy unscrambling them.  Click on the link to take a look at this interesting way for your students to have fun learning CVC words.

Keeping with the detective theme, children enjoy de-coding the “secret” letters by solving the number codes that reveal a CVC word.  There are 56 words in this “way cool” CVC De-Coder Skill Sheet Book. Click on the link to take a look.

Read & Write CVC Word Sentences:

If you want to work on reading and writing skills along with CVC word recognition, then CVC Reading and Writing with 70 simple sentences, using 140 CVC words, including “write a sentence using a word bank”, is something you’ll want to check out.

I also have 2 fun CVC skill sheet booklets available as well.  CVC Volume I has students fill in a CVC word to match the picture. Click on the link to view/print a copy.

CVC Volume II has students match the word to the picture. Click on the link to see a copy.

Finally, if you’d like to build vocabulary and stretch your students CVC word bank, I’ve made up a list of unique and unusual CVC words that your students might not be familiar with.

This book includes a checklist, 136 word cards and definitions.  Who knows, there might be a few on here that may be new to you as well!

Click on the link to view/print Unique CVC Words

Coming Soon:

Stay tuned for CVC picture puzzles, crossword puzzles, and two board games coming this week!

Why not become a subscription member and be able to get all of these CVC materials + all of the TeachWithMe products for an entire year? Click on the link to find out how.

As always, if you have a tip to help teach CVC words, we’d enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.co

Teaching the Difference Between Vowels and Consonants

Discovering that letters are divided into vowels and consonants are fun for my students to learn about.

I teach them a vowel song to the tune of B-I-N-G-O so they have that concept nailed by the end of the day.

Click on the link to view/print a copy of the Vowel Song.

I also hang up a set of vowel posters and then let them sort tubs of plastic letters, and numbers that I have collected over the years. 

They enjoy sorting them into two piles: one for numbers and one for letters.  When I’m sure they aren’t confusing them, I’ll have them sort the vowels from the consonants.

Speed Games: 

My Y5’s enjoy “Speed” games.  This is when I have them do a skill sheet as fast as they can.  Some take the full minute, others are done as quickly as 15 seconds.

Playing in this game-like fashion relieves tension and anxiety and prepares them for future timed-tests that the state mandates as they get into higher grades.

I reward everyone with a sticker.  The first 3 done correctly, get to choose their stickers.

One of their favorite “Speed” games is to circle the vowels and underline the consonants in a themed drawing.

I have a booklet: Vowel & Consonant Help, filled with 10 (One for each month from September through June).

These skill sheets also double as “I spy an upper or lowercase letter” that your little ones will enjoy playing, when your students are working on letter recognition.

Click on the link to look at the booklet.  The book also includes an upper and lowercase bookmark where students trace the vowels in one color and the consonants in another. 

Afterwards, these can be laminated and used as “I Spy” game strips as well. You'll also find a certificate of praise to reward your students with after they have learned their vowels!

More Fun and Games:

Another helpful booklet is entitled A Little Bit Of This and a Little Bit Of That. 

It's FREE and 136-pages long!

Chock full of interesting vowel and consonant help, your students will enjoy vowel and consonant "searches", Bingo Dot the consonants or vowels, letter puzzles, alphabet wheels, a long and short vowel booklet + long and short vowel writing skill sheets. 

My Y5's really love making a rip and tear vowel booklet, or pinching a golf tee and poking holes around a letter (Pinch & Pokes) to not only help with letter recognition in this fun way, but strengthen their finger muscles at the same time. 

All of these vowel/consonant and letter activities are included in this FREE book. Click on the link to view/print this booklet.  

Nature Pattern Strips

Before the snow starts to fly and everything is gone with the wind or buried, get some exercise and fresh air with your class or send a note home to parents to take a nature walk with their child.

While out and about have students spy patterns on their journey, i.e., leaf-twig-leaf, mum-tree-mum etc.

Arm each child with a large baggie and have them collect 3 of a kind of two different things, so they can return and make an ABABAB nature pattern.

I glued mine to 5 ½ x 12 strips of fall-colored scrapbook paper that was cardstock stiff.  You could also cut strips of colored tag board, use bulletin board border or sentence strips.

Using tacky glue, students arrange their treasures in a line in an AB pattern.  Let dry over night and then collage on a bulletin board.

This activity is lots of fun for them, so be prepared for your students to want to do more than one.

For cut and glue pattern activities take a look at my Pattern Booklet.

Come Blast Off With Me!

My Y5 standards have students learning to count from 10 to 0; other states have kindergartners needing to count backwards from 20.

No matter what number you have to start from, here are a few tips to help you make that easy and fun!

Transitions:

I use counting backwards as a way to transition.  Whenever I need my students to go from point A to point B, I tell them, “Let’s do it before I get to zero.  Count down with me: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0!” They enjoy this, and scamper to achieve.

We countdown every time I have them line up.  I also have my students countdown while we wait for children to finish up in the bathroom.  We’ll countdown and clap, countdown in a whisper voice, countdown in a deep-monster voice, countdown and hop, countdown and balance on one foot, or countdown slowly and finish really fast.

Blast Off!

Their favorite way to countdown is when they are gathered on the carpet.  I have them pretend that they are rockets.  They crouch down and then when we get to zero, they yell, “Blast off!” jumping as high into the air as they can.  I tell them I’ll be watching for who jumps the highest.  They are highly competitive and really want to be the highest “blaster rocket”.

Activities: Rocket Art Projects:

Since my students are also learning to identify and write numbers, as well as learning to count backwards, I combine learning all of these standards with 2 quick and easy rocket art projects.  They can be found in my 50-page Fun Activities Countdown Booklet.

Blast Off Skill Sheets:

I also have them do several tracing countdown skill sheets, and “Zap” the numbers in sequential order in I Spy the number games as well.  After we’ve traced/zapped all of the numbers, we countdown together and they “blast” out of their chairs.

To change things up a bit, they do a similar activity with bingo dot markers in an ABAB pattern.  These countdown skill sheets are also found in the  Fun Activities Countdown Booklet.

Blast Off Bookmarks:

I’ve also made horizontal countdown number line bookmarks for them.  After students have traced the numbers, countdown as a whole group and blast off.  Click on the link to view/print the Blast Off bookmarks

Use these number strips and have students glue them to party tweeters.  I purchased jumbo ones at The Dollar Store. 

It’s just another fun way to have students working with, and recognizing this number sequence.

You can also use these strips as an "I Spy!" game and give children a token or M&M to move down the line as they countdown. They can eat their treat to fuel their rockets, after they finish blasting off.

Blast Off Games:

Blast Off! Is a spinner game using a brass brad and paperclip.  Children play with a partner and take their rocket to the moon counting down as they go.  This game is also in the Fun Activities Booklet.

Another fun game your students will enjoy playing is Sequence Yourself. Print off and laminate the “Blast Off” cards.

Cut them out and pass out numbers 20 to 0 or 10 to 0 depending on your standard.  Since children enjoy picking a card and holding it, I’ve included “Blast Off!” cards as well as rocket cards.

Set a timer for 5-minutes and instruct your students to get into “Blast off” order starting with 20 or 10.

Everyone else remains seated holding their blast off or rocket card.  Children are all in a crouching position.

Begin the countdown.  The student holding that card bounces up, then the next, ‘til you get to zero and then everyone still remaining crouched, jumps up as everyone yells “Blast off!”

Click on the link to view/print the Blast off cards.

Blast Off Booklets:

I’ve included covers for the cards incase you want to run off copies so that your students can make an Itty Bitty Blast Off book.  Click on the link to view/print a copy of the traceable Blast Off cards.

These cards come from the 25-page Come Blast Off With Me! booklet packet.  It’s an adorable easy reader that students enjoy making. They choose a rocket, fellow astronaut friend, planet, and even a new alien friend!  It also includes 6 graphing extensions for math fun.

Blast Off Certificate:

Finally, give everyone a certificate of praise to encourage their efforts.  Click on the link to view/print a copy.

Why not become a subscriber and be able to download all of these activities. Click on the link to see how.

As always if you have a tip for teaching your students how to count backwards, I’d enjoy hearing from you.  diane@teachwithme.com

I Spy Game:

As promised, here is another fun and easy idea for teaching ordinal numbers! Simply run off the template on construction paper.

Laminate the strips and cut them out on a paper cutter.  Have students write their name on the back and use as a bookmark or pointer when not using for ordinal number instruction.

Play "I Spy An Ordinal Number!" using the strips.  Children can simply use their finger and point to the number or you can pass out an M&M, Skittle or Smartie piece of candy and have them use it as a manipulative.

Call on a quiet child and have them choose an ordinal number for the students to place their candy on.   This is a wonderful way to whole group assess.

Because children are looking at the number, as well as the number word,  they are continuously seeing those pairs together and via repetition through this fun game, they will soon be reading ordinal number words!

After all of the numbers have been called, students can eat their manipulative as a yummy reward for their endeavors.

Click on the link to view/print the ordinal number line.   

Ordinal Number Flashcards:

Print off the flashcards and have your students continue to identify the words with their number counter parts, or make a duplicate set and turn them into a Memory Match game, or run off copies for your students to trace and cut out, assembling the cards into an Itty Bitty booklet!

After you have done a few of these things, your students are sure to understand ordinal numbers.  Reward them with a certificate of praise.

Click on the links to view/print a set of traceable ordinal number flashcards and an ordinal number certificate of praise.

Extra Teachable Moment Tips:

Whenever I explain and model things to my students I always use ordinal numbers.  i.e., First we are going to do this. Second we are going to do this etc. 

When I put  tabletop lessons on the board in the morning, I  label them 1^st 2^nd and 3^rd etc.

Give each of your students 6 different colors of unifix cubes.  Using ordinal numbers as directional clues, have your students place the various colored cubes on each other making a tower.  i.e., "First pick up a green cube. Second place it on the bottom of a white cube.  Third put a blue cube on top of the green cube etc." This activity not only helps review ordinal numbers, but reinforces listening and following spatial directions as well.

Do you have a teaching tip you'd like to share?  I'd enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com

An easy way for your students to understand ordinal numbers is to have them DO something in order as a sequence.

A fun way to reinforce this concept is for students to put a themed puzzle together.

Make it even more interesting by having them play the “Puzzle Game”!

Here’s How:

I make up puzzles from clipart to match whatever theme or lesson that we are studying that week.

Depending on the level of your students, you can make them as simple or as difficult as you want by cutting them into more pieces.

I don’t do anymore than 6 because I want to keep the time frame short and because I want to use a normal dice.

If you want to use these each year, then run off a class set of templates and laminate them.

Cut the puzzle pieces apart and keep each set in a Snack Baggie. Put all of the Snack Baggies in an extra large Ziploc Baggie with the numbered boards.

Rules:

Students choose a partner to play with.  Each child gets their own puzzle board and Snack Baggie of pieces.  Each pair gets one dice.

I like to use the big foam dice to keep the noise down.  Children spill out their pieces and take turns rolling the dice.

Because they must do things in order, they have to roll a 1 and place the first puzzle piece on their template.  After they have rolled a 1, then they must roll a 2 and so on, ‘til the last number they are rolling for is a 6.

Set a timer for a certain amount of time.  The child who completes their puzzle, or the one who has the most pieces on their puzzle board by the time the timer rings, is the winner.

I give everyone a seasonal sticker for participation.   After the game, we count out loud as we tuck the puzzle pieces back into the Baggies.

This ensures that you have all of the pieces in the correct Snack Baggie for next year.  It’s also a great way to reinforce ordinal number counting.

Home-School Connection:

If the theme happens to be centered around a holiday like this one, Thanksgiving, I will run off an extra set, and let the children take it home to cut out and play with their family, further reinforcing the lesson.  My students are really happy about this, as they always beg to take the games home that we play in class.

Extra's:

As a writing-reading extension after the game, I have my students trace, write and read the ordinal number words on a skill sheet.

Click on the link to view/print the ordinal number pilgrim & turkey templates.

Be sure and pop in tomorrow for two more ordinal number tips and FREEBIES!

How Are You Celebrating?

I was just reading an article that one school in the eastern part of the US has decided not to celebrate any of the fall “holidays” because of controversy.

I know that in many schools Halloween has “bitten the dust” for a variety of reasons, but I found it quite surprising that this principal is also forgoing anything to do with Thanksgiving as “not everyone celebrates it” and she doesn’t feel that it appropriately depicts Native Americans.

Personally, I’m glad that my school offers teachers a lot of lee-way in the various holidays, and has asked for a great deal of parent in-put in how we handle celebrating and studying about the various fall festivities.

There’s a huge amount of history, social studies and geography that can be covered in a variety of fun ways when dealing with the first Thanksgiving.

When I taught kindergarten we enjoyed being part of an all-school kindergarten Thanksgiving feast (4 classes), complete with either a pilgrim paper hat and collar or a Native American vest and headband.  Children could choose which they wanted to be.

We played a traditional Native American CD as background music. Students sat on the floor in the cafeteria, with a long sheet of brown bulletin board paper as their “table”.

Some years my Y5’s have enjoyed a tempting Thanksgiving “Tasting” feast.  To read that article, click on the link.  I was wondering what everyone else is doing or not doing, and would enjoy hearing from you.

diane@teachwithme.com Thanks for sharing!

A Spooktacular Idea?  You Decide!

The other day I was out walking our puppy, Chloe, in the dark and misty morning.

Perhaps it was because she was wearing her adorable little pumpkin hat, or maybe it was because my brain never shuts off, but when we passed a rubber glove lying in the leaves, it made me think of a craft project—ghost finger puppets.

We happened to have a box at home so I quickly snipped off the finger sections.

I wanted the edges to be a little jagged so they would look more “ghostly”.

Just as I had envisioned, their semi-transparent appearance gave them an eerie and spectral look-making them perfect little ghost finger puppets for a child.

To see which I liked best, I made some with black-magic marker eyes and then used mini glue dots to fasten some with wiggle eyes. You decide which "look" you prefer for your students.

They’re not only super-easy, quick and inexpensive to make, you can use them for a multitude of fun activities with your little punkins!

What to do with the digits:

Make a quickie center by putting up a TV tray covered with a black plastic tablecloth.  You can buy round ones at The Dollar Store.

Put some safety scissors, the wiggle eyes, black markers and a Halloween bowl filled with the rubber gloves on the table.   Demonstrate what to do and post your sample.

When everyone has made their puppet, gather your students together in a circle and do the Ghost Pokey.

Students should be wearing their finger puppets and do the movements with the ghost puppet.  Click on the link to view/print the Ghost Pokey song.

Have your students sit in a circle and practice counting by 1’s, 2’s , 3’s, 5’s, and 10’s with their finger ghosts.  When you count by 5’s and 10’s, have 5/10 students stand in front of the class and flash their finger ghost in unison as everyone counts.

Read stories like Three LIttle Ghosties, or 10 Timid Ghosts in a Haunted House and have your students follow along, adding and subtracting with their finger puppets.  Click on the link for some ghost activities.

Students can also use their ghostly finger to follow along as they read aloud or use it as a pointer to show the correct answer on the board or on their paper.

Click on the link for a skeleton “I Spy”.

My students LOVE doing these each morning.

Fill them in with numbers or letters.  Students point to the number/letter that you call out and then trace it.  They take the sheet home and play the game again by tracing the circles.

I hope the rest of your October is simply boo-tiful !