Mad Libs - Part 2

As a follow up to one of my most popular items, School-Themed Mad Libs, I have put together a set of 4 Animal-Themed Mad Libs which is available on TpT! There is a separate recording sheet for the list of words before students put their answers into the story so the teacher can then check the list of words for correct parts of speech before having the student their list of words into the actual story.You can also find my original Mad Libs which are school-themed on TpT.

Phonics Cards - Vowels and Digraphs

A second-grade teacher at my school found a set of phonics cards that she thought would be great to hang on the wall behind the table where she pulls small groups, but the cards were only sold in the UK.  She scoured TpT for something similar and found nothing, so she told me about it, knowing that I'm always looking for new stuff to create. So, after days of searching for graphics that would fit each vowel and digraph, it's finally complete! And, now that TpT is allowing you to correlate your items to the Common Core standards, it's aligned with standards in K-2.  So, if you would like to check it out, you can visit my TpT store.
 

8/20/13 - Edit to add photos of the cards all laminated and hung on the wall!

Anchor Charts - Take 2

Well, it's been a busy few months, and I've added a few anchor charts to the list as the months have gone on, and finally got around to putting an updated version on TpT and on Teachers Notebook.  The new charts include:

Reading:
Homophones

Writing:
Their, There and They're
y to i (adding endings)
Crazy for Commas
When Do I Need a New Paragraph?
Fiction Writing

Math:
Math Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Anchor Charts

Am I the only one who dislikes making those big anchor charts? Inevitably, I run out of space somewhere, or smudge marker when the poster is all but finished. Well, no more for me. I've started moving all of my anchor charts into small, digital format. With the Apple TV (which I LOVE by the way), I can put the digital copy up on the TV for my mini-lesson and then print a copy to put in our class anchor chart binder. Some of the charts I can print for individual students to keep in their own writing binders, too. Yes, I know. They aren't all hanging on the walls, but maybe I'll still put up a few of the more commonly used charts. Anyway, I'm sharing what I have done so far on TpT. Below is the description and a link to the download page. Enjoy!

Anchor Charts
This is a collection of printable anchor charts that can mainly be used in Second through Fourth Grade. I got tired of making the large anchor charts for the walls and finding places to store them, so I began moving my anchor charts into digital format. I can introduce them by showing them with a projector/apple TV connection and then just add them to our class anchor chart binder.

I am working on moving all of my old anchor charts into printable format, so this file will continue to be updated as I add more. It currently includes:

Reading:
I PICK (available as a separate download)
Figurative Language

Writing:
Writing Process (available as a separate download)
Nouns and Proper Nouns
Other Ways to Say Said
Story Starters
Proofreading Marks

Math:
Subtraction Poem
Mean, Median, Mode and Range
Math Key Words
Equal Fractions Hopscotch

Digging in the Dictionary

Many of my students have been playing Boggle as part of their Word Work and with the incentive of a homework pass for anyone who can beat my Boggle score on a board, they have been working hard to find as many words as possible.  I've also been getting a lot of "Is this word spelled right?" at the end of every Daily 5 round.  Enter, the dictionary!  Some of the kids have been using it fairly well, although when they look up toward and try to start with 'tw', the frustration sets in quickly.  So, we are taking the week as a class to work on some dictionary skills.  I figure this worksheet will be a great filler activity for those students who are waiting for a teacher conference on their Personal Narratives!  I put it up on my TpT site in case it may be helpful to anyone else!  It is two pages and covers 4 a few different skills students use when looking up words.

Writing Process

Monday we are introducing the writing process, so I created a poster outlining the steps of the writing process.  I also made a b&w version for the students to keep in their writing binder, and a tracking sheet where they can document what they are accomplishing each day.  I also created an I Pick poster since we are introducing that during Daily 5.  Both of these resources are available on my TpT store.

CAFE Board

I put together a set of CAFE headers, with all of the strategies for my new classroom, which I have available on TpT. I've included the CAFE letters, the headers with their descriptions, and all of the strategies, some of which can be seen in the image below. Also included in the file, but not shown in the picture, are blank sheets where students can put their sticky notes to show which strategy they're working on. I was planning to use them, but I am doing daily five with the other third-grade teacher, and we are having all the students put their sticky notes on the board in her room. The signs that you can see on the bulletin board are available in my daily five download.

Daily 5 - Center Management

I needed a matching sign for my Daily 5 centers for a 6th choice - Work With Teacher, and of course I couldn't find anything... so, what was left to do but create my own new set!  So, here it is... my Daily 5 Center Management packet.  6 posters, small cards for students to keep track of their centers (see photo below), teacher check in sheets, and a sheet for conference an observation notes.  You can download the Daily 5 Center Management packet on my Teachers Notebook store.

Daily 5 - Word Work

In preparation for the new year, I wanted to get my Word Work centers all set.  When I did work work in Kindergarten, I felt like I was in a never ending race to find new centers for the kids to keep up with the new concepts that were being introduced, and by the end of the year, my word work shelf was an unorganized mess with way too many choices!  So, I wanted to keep it simple this year, using a set of centers that could work all year long, allowing kids to practice their own individual list of words.  But even that might get a little too boring, so I threw in a few extras that students could work through during the year or that would be based on vocabulary from other units being studied.



After scouring the internet and looking back at the centers I had done in Kindergarten, this is the list I came up with (there are other centers that I was thinking of including, but we also give word work options for homework, so centers such as rainbow writing are ideal for that purpose, and are not included in the centers used in class):

Individual - using spelling list
-Whiteboards
-Stamping Words
-Word Worth
-Place Value Words
-Scrabble Spelling
-Type It
-Words in Words

Partner - using spelling list
-Sign Language
-Secret Codes

Individual - no list needed
-Boggle
-Shake It Up
-Cup Stacking
-Mystery Words

Partner - no list needed
-Pyramid Pile Up

I ordered a set of replacement Scrabble tiles from the Hasbro website, which was $6.50, and I am getting a few old keyboards from old computers at school.  I already have whiteboards and letter stamps, so the only other thing I will need to buy is plastic disposable cups for the cup stacking center.


I put the entire set of Word Work Centers, which includes all of the printables, recording sheets, instructions and reference sheets on my TpT site!

 

Word Work Cover and Secret Codes recording sheet

 Word Worth recording sheet and Place Value Words reference chart

 Boggle letter tiles to hang on wall and Mystery Words to be cut up and placed in envelopes

Mystery Words recording sheet

Kindergarten Freebies

Here are a few little freebies from Kindergarten that I put up on my TpT store.  One is a Roll a Sight Word game, which makes a great word work center.  The other is my 100th Day Celebration Tickets, including instructions for how I used them, pictures of some of the activities, and printables, when applicable.  Enjoy!

      

Daily 5 Board

 

This was my first year using Daily 5, and after we started doing multiple rounds per day, I noticed that they were having trouble choosing what to do each round, because they couldn't remember what they had already been to. We brainstormed different ways to keep track, and we ultimately decided that I had to keep track in my Daily 5 binder, but that they also wanted a chart. So, I created little cards and copied them on to different colors of cardstock, which they then cut out.  This made the process of choosing centers so much easier!  Taking the board apart was also one of the daily jobs in the morning.