Teacher Clip Art, Literary Resources, Classroom Ideas
Using games and game boards for phonics instruction is now an integral part of my teaching.
It’s old school, it’s not original, but it’s just so reliable and engaging that I keep going back to it year after year. If you’re not using game boards like these ones, for phonics and math, consider it a no-prep present to yourself!
Board games are one of the very best ways to practice math every day in a fun way. My students quickly become independent [Read More…]
How do you teach the concept of gratitude to your children?
We reinforce the idea all year long, but as we approach Thanksgiving, we take special care to talk about the many things we are grateful for.
I have two free ideas to share with you all about giving thanks and spreading kindness.
GRATITUDE AND KINDNESS CLASS BOOKS
We do a whole class project based on Random Acts of Kindness.
This is a simple page to send home with students. The task is to simply write [Read More…]
When introducing a new topic of learning, especially in math, I notice the anxiety levels in some students rise significantly. The more anxious students in my class begin to fidget and look uncomfortable when they see something unfamiliar because it falls outside of their comfort zone for known success.
These students are afraid to try and fail; since school is all about introducing new concepts and embracing the learning process, this is quite a problem. Here are some strategies I use in [Read More…]
I am always collecting and sharing word work ideas for my classroom, and if it’s no prep, then even better! Today I’m sharing a simple, inexpensive way to practice hands-on literacy with little ones.
All you need is dried pasta!
Have you ever tried using pasta in your literacy centers?
This is an old idea that I’ve been using for 20 years, and here’s what I use:
dried spaghetti
curved macaroni
dried ABC pasta
With younger students, we simply build capital letters with spaghetti, [Read More…]
I’ve recently started to incorporate online read-aloud stories to my daily routine, and discovered there are so many great books online out there!
Howard Wigglebottom Stories
My favorite find in the last year is the site dedicated to the Howard Wigglebottom stories. These cute animations focus on character building, social and emotional development, and lots of other essential ingredients for the primary classroom.
And guess what? They are all animated on one website! We use one story each morning as a springboard for [Read More…]
Do your students need help with sight words?
Emma from Clever Classroom and I have some free sight word resources to share with you!
When you sign up to our VIP group, you will be sent
A Giant Game Board for practicing sight words!
This is SO much fun – just print out the pages and tape end to end so that it stretches across the whole carpet!
Use dice, or the built-in spinners.
The best part is that it is “never ending”, because when [Read More…]
Do you ever show your kiddos the phonics videos on youtube?
My kids just love them. We have collected lots of really good ones, especially for phonics rules like Bossy E.
Harry Kindergarten is their all time favorite – they know every word and sing it LOUDLY!
Harry Kindergarten – One of my favorites!
Just a warning – this one might stick in your head all day!
Magic E Kids
Silent E Song
Silent E Electric Company – An old favorite!
Another Magic E Song
Nessy Reading Strategies [Read More…]
Let’s talk about kindness.
How do you promote a culture of kindness
and empathy in your classroom?
Of course we want kids to be kind in general, but why does it really matter so much in a classroom?
From my 20+ years of experience, it’s sort of like the chain reaction described in the “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie” story.
If students don’t understand and feel empathy, they may have difficulty with conflict resolution…
And if they are without conflict resolution strategies, you’ll [Read More…]
10 Apps for Encouraging Reluctant Writers
Do you have ipads in your classroom this year? Are you looking for ways to encourage your reluctant writers? I am always on the lookout for fun new activities for my young writers.
Each year, I have students in my class who just LOVE to write. When I ask them to write one sentence, they write five. If I give them a few scraps of paper, they’ll staple it and create their own fully illustrated [Read More…]
Fairy Tales are well proven vehicle for Readers’ Theater, but the engagement and learning increases significantly when you also incorporate masks and interactive play.
Here’s how we explore fairy tales in my class.
Character Masks
Creating masks is a fun way to incorporate art into your literacy activities. They are so fun, and sometimes I almost can’t recognise the students underneath!
I love that there’s lots of laughing when the kids walk around with these on!
Letter Writing
Letter writing to the fairy tale characters is also [Read More…]
