Five for Friday August 19

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday. Thank you for hosting, Kacey! 

       

I posted all my favorite name writing activities I use in the beginning of the year. (And throughout the year...).  I hope you find some great things.  There are some great freebies from TpT in the post, too!

I made this simple little back to school journal that I use as we begin Writer's Workshop. If you would like a copy, just click on the picture below.  I did a page or two as a whole group, but then worked on some pages with small groups.  I love activities like this in the beginning of the year in small groups, because they are very non-threatening. They give me a chance to get to know my little ones better and just listen to their stories as they draw and write.

These FREE Pattern Block Cards from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler are FABULOUS! I'm printing them on cardstock and laminating them so they last.  My kids love working with pattern blocks, and having these cards to help practice numbers and letters will be wonderful.

 She also shared these great Alphabet Pattern Blocks Printables! Thank you, Erica!

I made this quick little activity for my class and use it early each year. It's a great way to introduce the children to  pointing to each word as they read- and to see that they, in face, CAN READ! 

First, I model the activity for the class.  I point to each word and decide where I liked to go.  I cut out the environmental print word and glue it onto my paper.  When I'm done with the "I go to" side, I point to each word as I read the page.  

                                  

Then, I turn it over and complete the "I like to" page on back.  

                                  

This is also great practice for for cutting, using a glue stick, and completing the activity independently.  

I print out the writing on one page, front and back, and then give each child a sheet of places to go and things to do.  They can choose their favorites.  When each child finishes the activity, he/she reads their paper to a friend and then to me. They also read it to someone when they get home.  The conversations about the places and activities are so much fun to listen to at the tables, too.  

Click HERE if you would like a copy!

Finally, I finished my MORE QR and Writing Prompts Packet- Author Studies!  I have been working on this forever.  It has over 100 books with writing prompts and QR codes to go along with 8 authors: Eric Carle, Donald Crews, Kevin Henkes, Laura Numeroff, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, David Shannon, Mo Willems, and Karma Wilson.  It includes cover pages for your students' author studies and a biography page for each author.

All the QR codes are also at the end of the packet to make it easier for you to print only these out for a center activity if you'd like. 

Each section has prompts with the QR codes right on them, a set of QR codes for a listening center, and a set of prompts without QR codes if you prefer those.  The preview for the listing has some you can try!

My kids LOVE to be able to take home a paper with a QR code of the story right on it, so they can listen to the story again and again at home, whenever they want. It's like magic!  

I love to use writing prompts with my students, too.  The prompts meet almost all of the CCSS in ELA.  They provide great insight into students' thinking and understanding after we read a story. They also provide great opportunities for authentic, purposeful writing.

You can choose the books you want to use for each author to make an Author Study packet (I have cover pages for that.) or just use several of the activities independently as you study an author.  They can also be used as a center activity with the QR code, as a follow up to the story. 

The packet also includes my Author Prezi.  This Prezi has links and videos to go with each of these 8 authors, so you can do whole group lessons on the Smartboard or Smart TV.  The Prezi also includes videos and links for Jan Brett, Norman Bridwell, Theodor Geisel, Robert Munsch, and Shel Silverstein.  

I also have a packet of Writing Prompts and QR Codes for over 100 OTHER favorite books (completely different books!)  that I use all year long!  These  have prompts written with both traditional and  non-American English (colour, favourite). 

These all make fabulous sub plans, too!  They are ready to go and easy to use- plus the kids love them.

I hope you found some things you can use in your classroom. Thank you for stopping by! Have a perfect weekend. 

Five for Friday July 17

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday. Thank you for hosting, Kacey! Actually, it's going to be a Lucky 7 for Friday- even though that makes no sense- because I want to share some freebies with you, and five just wasn't going to be enough.  Maybe it's still left over from Las Vegas- either way, here are my Lucky Seven!

I had a wonderful little break this week with my sweet friends Amy and Holly. It was perfect.  We shopped at the Destiny Mall near us and went to a comedy show.  The mall is HUGE. It was always special because of the carousel inside, but now is even so much bigger with a ropes course, race track, bowling alley restaurant, and ... every store ever (except Charming Charlies, we discovered, which we may need to open there).  So of course, we ended up in Michael's buying school supplies.  Yes. We actually did for a while.  Then, we snapped out of it.  

Speaking of that, we saw a hypnotist for a dinner show- and still aren't quite sure if we all believe it. We all felt exactly the same, which was skeptical, so we're not sure.   Holly got right up there, and we knew that we would then know if it was the real thing.  But she wasn't about to be bossed around by anybody wasn't really receptive to his voice, and was one of the ones that came to sit back down. Hmmmm. We were suspicious.  That, however, didn't in any way stop us from having the best time and laughing... a lot.  For two days. Perfect! We got matching coasters to remember it. 

So, I was in a happy mood to share some freebies that I have made or found that I hope will be useful to you as you begin a new year!

Dr. Jean and I made these FREE Kindergarten CCSS I Can Statement cards for ELA and Math last year. I wanted to share them again in case you didn't get them and wanted them.  They're great to use to start the year.  

You can copy the center cards (2 cards per page) on card stock, and cut them in half.  Hole punch at the top, and secure each strand with a book ring.  Flip through the book, and display the goal you are working on at the learning center.  You can also put magnets on the back to display the cards if that works better for you.  Feel free to adapt these cards so they work best for you and your students. 

Here are some ways that I used a few of the cards.

I put magnets on back of the Speaking and Listening cards, and put them up on my easel for rug time, because that is the time I focus on many of these standards. 

Dr. Jean made an activity to go with each and every CCSS, and has them FREE at her site!  You can find the Writing and Math Activities HERE .  

and the Reading activities HERE. 

You can make her fabulous center activities and use the cards at each center.  Dr. Jean is such a wealth of amazing ideas. I am so excited that she shared all of this work putting these Common Core activities together in one place.  Her website and blog are just full of fantastic ideas. She shares gifts of great ideas every single day at her blog. 

           

Kindergarten Lifestyle shared these wonderful I Can Cards for your block center. I can't wait to use these with my class.  The kids will love them, and they provide such a wonderful academic play center where the children can work together to discuss, plan, and build these buildings. 

You can do as much with this as you want.  You could take a picture of the building and have the children write about what they built or use the building as a setting for a story.  You could have the children describe how they built their building and tell what they used to build it and why.  You could make a classroom book of the buildings, even putting the picture card on one side of the book and the photograph of the children's finished product on the other side.  My classes always love looking at our classroom books.  

If you haven't gotten these great activity cards from Dr. Jean,  just click on the picture or HERE to download them! Dr. Jean wrote the great ideas, and I just added some pictures to go with them.  

There are 60 fabulous, fun learning activities to do with children that would be perfect for over the summer.  It's a way to really engage with your child and make some wonderful memories together. You could send these to your new little students in your class for something to do over the summer, OR pin them and save them for next year to send home with your students at the end of the year as a gift. 

Mary Amoson from Sharing Kindergarten remade Dr. Jean's Cheer Cards.  I use Dr. Jean's cheers all the time.  I printed them on card stock and put them on a ring and hang them right on my easel, so I can flip through and find a fun cheer easily.  

It's great to celebrate the children and for them to celebrate each other any chance you get!   You can teach a new cheer each week- or flip through and find one anytime you want something different. The point is... go ahead and CHEER!

                                                        

These FREE Pattern Block Cards from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler are FABULOUS!  I can't wait to use them next year for centers. I'm printing them on cardstock and laminating them so they last.  My kids love working with pattern blocks, and having these cards to help practice numbers and letters will be wonderful.

 She also shared these great Alphabet Pattern Blocks Printables! Thank you, Erica!

and just one more...

 I love these free Retelling Sticks from Keeping it Captivating's TPT store. I use them all the time.  They are a cute way to reinforce so many skills that we work on as we read.

I hope you found some things you can use in your classroom. Thank you for stopping by! Have a perfect weekend.