Numbers 1-10

It always amazes me how little concrete knowledge most of my kiddos have about number sense.  They might have the number three memorized because of the way it looks but they have no idea what three means.  I like to show my kids lots of examples of how a number can be represented. You never know what might click for some students and what works for others, so I like to use many examples.  I created this song to help kids have a better sense of what each number represents.  I have also made posters that hang in my classroom and I refer back to as the year goes on.  In addition I have other sheets I like to use for kids to see numbers in many ways.  Check out the song and resources below to help get your kids to have a clear meaning of the numbers 1-10.           

          

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Number Posters

                 

Number Practice

                                                 

                                                                                  

                                     

Rule Breaker Sight Words

My students are pretty good at learning basic sight words but those tricky one that break all the rules can cause them problems!  I made this song to help them remember some of the ones they can not sound out and just have to memorize. I encourage them to yell out the word when they recognize it while the song is playing.  I also made this packet of worksheets so they can get extra practice with each word.

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Math Strategies

 I have been teaching my kinders math strategies and tools they can use to help them add and subtract.  I explained how just like we have reading strategies to helper readers, math strategies can help mathematicians.  I spend a week practicing using each strategy, make sure they know using tally marks only works well for addition problems.  Then I like to mix up problems and have practice adding and subtracting at the same time.  I made a song to help them remember the strategies, made posters to hang on my math board in the classroom, and created practice sheets to work on each strategy.  I also have them play partner games and participate in whole group activities during the weeks I spend on this unit.    My practice sheets and posters can be purchased by clicking on the link below.  I have 16 different sheets and 5 posters included in the set.  The link to the youtube song is also found below!

                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                 
                                           

Three Bears Acting Out

My students love to act out the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  It is so funny to hear them change their voice for each character.  From time to time I like to give them little props they can take home to retell stories to their families.  I run all of the materials for this on different colors of construction paper and quickly cut them out.  They glue the pieces in order and move the bears and Goldilocks around to tell the story.  They keep Goldilocks and the bears in a library pocket I stick to the back.

If you would like to purchase it for $1.00 click on the link below

                                                                                                          

                                                                                                         

                                           

Behavior Plan

I have tried a new positive behavior plan for my classroom this year and it has made a world of difference. I have found that focusing more on the positive things that kids do right is much more beneficial than correcting the negative things. Every child likes attention and this system has made it easy for me to complement good behavior. I have a circus theme in my classroom so I went with a balloon for each child. I fill their balloon with a bingo dabber stamp each time I noticed them doing something good. This might be as simple as the first child who comes to the carpet and sits correctly or someone who uses good manners. Every child has a number in class and the balloons are displayed in the classroom. When a child balloon is full of stamps they are awarded a prize. They can pick from one of eight things including being the line leader for the day, using the super supply bucket for their work, being the class DJ, or picking out of the treasure box to name a few. When their balloon is full it is taken off the bulletin board and they take home a certificate celebrating their accomplishment. Then I replace their balloon with a new one and they start over again.  The materials for the bulletin board, award certificate, and prize cards can be found here.

                                       

Reading Comprehension

I added on to my circus/carnival theme this year and created a train for my reading comprehension strategies.  I feel like I always start off the year covering and introducing the first few great and as the year goes on I get busy with other things and I fall short.  I took these straight form the Kindergarten Common Core Literature Standards.  I hung the train in front of my meeting area and have been referring to a lot already.  This narrowed things down for me and seems more Kindergarten appropriate.  Above the train it says Good Readers Always Stay on Track, you can purchase the posters and make your own train by clicking here.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reading-Comprehension-Train-for-Kindergarten-CCSS-1391630

RL.K.1 , RL.K.2, RL.K.3, RL.K.4,

                                                                                                             
                                         

Good Night Owl Acting Out

After we read Good Night Owl a few times I assigned the kids to be one of the animals and make the noise in the story.  I gave them a printout of the animal they were and they colored it in the correct color.  I had them tape the animal to a popsicle stick and wrote the sound on the stick.  We invited the other k classes over and acted out the story.  I hung a big tree made out of paper from my whiteboard and had the student that was the owl sitting on the carpet already.  Then as each animal is mentioned in the book a student walked over to the carpet, help up their animal on a stick and made the sound two times.  Then they sat quietly on the carpet under the tree.  In the end of the story we turned off the lights, when the words in the book say darkness fell.  All of the animlas made their sound one last time at the very end when it mentions that they all wake up.  They really enjoyed putting it on for the other classes and it was easy prep!