Don't throw tomatoes! Sight Word Picture Phrases

Normally, I don't upload a blog post that consists of just some of my 'stuff', but this one is too hard to hang on to!  I want to go ahead and share it with you.  So, don't through tomatoes at your screen!!  hehe


I just found an activity that I can't wait to use with my 7 year old since he is struggling in reading.  One of my core beliefs is that children learn sight words best in phrases in which a mental picture can be attached.  The mental image helps develop sight word schema!!   So...Wooo Hoooo!  I think success might just be around the corner for my little guy.  I am also excited about developing my next set.  Until then, go check this out!

I also want to encourage you to sign up on my blog through the email feed!  I did a little bit of research and found out that as much as 80% of the people that reach you blog do so through emails sent  from the blog host.  I have to confess that with all of the blogs I am a member of, those that I TRULY love, come straight to my inbox in my email.  So...if you are here by chance or through Google Reader or something, take the time to sign up through email, too!  Show me some email love!!

Enjoy!

Syllable Sorting

I needed some things for centers this coming week to teach syllables.  I didn't have anything 'cutesy', so I made some sorting grids.  They turned out pretty nice, so I decided to share them as a freebie!  Enjoy!

This thumbnail is REALLY small!  Sorry!  Just get out your magnifying glass to click on it!  

Why Should I Be 'Making Phrases' in my classroom?

Ok, I am taking a risk here.  I am introducing a lesson that most of you will read about and think 'What a waste of time!'  And, already, I am going to beg to differ with you!  Well, anyway, here it goes!

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I have a class full of fast finishers.  So, I need to either create longer activities or put more in my work stations, right?  NOPE!  More work is not the answer.  However, more of a challenge is.

For years, I have been using the 'make the magic mystery word' lessons and love them because of their scope, the variety of vocabulary that can be used, and because it teachings kids how to manipulate word families or 'word chunks'.  So, when I was rethinking my centers, I thought 'Why not try a 'making phrases' activity to challenge my fast finishers?'  So.....I have put this thought...hope....dream.....into action.

So....here is my thought process about this activity:

Why should I have my students 'make phrases'?  What is this teaching?

¨ This is a higher level version of ‘making words’.  Students will have to go through many different combinations of words in order to find the answer.  It is an excellent activity for higher or gifted students and can be used to differentiate a spelling/making words center.

¨ This activity teaches students to look for clues, use hints, and groupings of letters to find their answers.  Students will have to make inferences based on the information that they have.

¨ This activity was created with the idea that students would be working together.  This promotes listening skills and verbal communication. 

¨ This activity teaches organizational methods such as marking out letters as they are used and highlighting the correct number of boxes that are needed.  Students will have to pay close attention to details in order to be successful.

¨ Students will find themselves asking each other questions.  They will be more apt to carry over the questioning skills into other subject areas.

That said, here are a few screen shots of the activity.  I put a lot of time into selecting the borders, making each card different.  Plus, each border is a hint to the phrase that is to be created!  Pretty good idea if I do say so myself!  This activity has approximately 70 or so cards, for a variety of different phrases for students to discover.  Every task card has a set of clues and a set of letters listed for the students to use.  A key and student directions are provided, also.

This lesson is located at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Making-Magic-Phrases-Problem-Solving-With-Words.  Click here to find out more and see other thumbnails of pages.

Skylar Skunk's Birthday Party--Ordinal Number Task Cards

I am so excited about this activity!  As a semi-new blogger, I am finding that the graphics are the hardest part for me.  After years of working in inner-city schools where copies were limited and color ink was non-existant, I learned to cram as much information onto one page as I could and only use black ink.  But, these days, I am branching out into....yes....you guessed it....color graphics!  :::::::::applause:::::::::::    hehe  <Sorry, I amuse myself sometimes.>

The task cards in this activity are very colorful and the animal character cards are beautiful.   It is my hope that students will be able to use the picture representations that they create to gain a concrete understanding of ordinal numbers.

I am so excited to share this with you!  Click over to the right on little Skylar and go check out the file!

Enjoy!
Jenn

P.S.  The pictures from Skylar's birthday party just came back.  His mom sent these to me to remember the day!  Lots of fun were had by all of these guys AND my students!!!  Posted 12/30/2011

Simply Centers

What do you do when you need to plan new centers?  If you are like me, you hit google and search and search and search, trying to find the right center for the right level and make sure it is differentiated.....and then you just hit a wall because the task seems so overwhelming.  I remember thinking that I wish someone...somewhere....would put all sorts of center ideas in one spot for easy browsing.  Well, someone has!  If you go to simplycenters.com and visit my friend Jennifer Kadar, you will find centers organized by age and grade, type, etc.  Everytime I go there I find something awesome.  Go visit!  There are probably 100 free centers in that one place!  Now....if only we could find a way for them to 'make themselves'!!! 

Have a great weekend!
Jenn

15 Task Cards for Any Author Study

While being home sick today, I worked on this file.  I have used these in my classroom and the kids love them!  I think that this file could be used in grades 2-5.  When you download it, please let me know what you think...the feedback can help me change the grade assignments.

My New Center Container.....Just an Ordinary Cake Holder!

I wanted to share an idea I got from a co-worker at school.  She uses a plastic cake container to store any manipulatives, reproducibles, cards, etc. needed for a center.  I picked up the one featured in this picture for about $4 at Wal-Mart.  I thought it was a great idea!