Thankful Turkeys

 Here is a cute and easy turkey for kids to make.  If you click on the picture a template for the feathers and body are provided.  I let the kids make the feet and beak themselves using orange construction paper.  I think those little touches help make each one unique and cute.  I read the book Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks before making the turkeys.  Then we come up with something we are thankful for to write on each feather.  I have the students write in pencil and then after I have checked over their work they can trace in black marker.  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

                                        

Beginning Blends

My students are all doing really well spelling cvc words and we are moving on to practicing blends.  We will still be working on stretching out words and recording the sounds.  I have a morning activity that we will do each morning to practice this skill using blends now instead of cvc words.  Blends are not listed as a kindergarten common core skill however, the books that students are reading in kindergarten contain words with blends.  Since my kids know all of their letters and sounds now, this is the next logical step as far as phonics instruction.  I think of blends as a shortcut for sounding out a word.  We also start to work on digraphs during this time.  I have created a video that has all of the blends we work on.  Students make up a motion to go with each blend.  This has proven to be helpful for some students who are kinestic learners to remember the sound. 

I have created a blends folder that we will work on each morning.  Blends are reviewed during this time and the movement and sound is practiced.  Students also write words that contain a blend in the beginning of the word.  All of this is done with students having their own folder with visuals to point to each blend and a space to write the word.  I have included the link to the activity, this packet also includes posters to hang as visuals in the classroom and several games partners can do to practice blend sounds.  

                                     
                                                                                          

                                     

Turkey Time

We read the book Run, Turkey, Run and then came up with ideas of how a turkey could disquise himself so the farmer would not beable to find him.  This would work with any Thanksgiving book about a turkey not wanting to be eaten.  Click on the link below for a free copy of this activity.

                               

 

                                         

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Run-Turkey-Run-966266

Partner Reading

Update: I have created a resources and visual display for kids to help them remember what a good reading coach does.  These things go right along with the video found below!  Click on the picture for the resources.  Happy Coaching!

Children learn so much from each other and gain new understandings by talking to partners. Each day in my classroom I have students read with an assigned partner that is on the same level as them. Students work on the three ways to read a book during this time. I start my partner reading time with a mini lesson and then tell them the type of reading they will be practicing for that day. As the year goes on and students progress into reading the words of books I phase out the read to pictures type. There are four ways to read with a partner. In the beginning of the year I tell groups which way to practice and as the year goes on students are able to pick.

1. I read a page, you read a page (students take turns back and forth reading the pages)
2. Echo reading (one student reads a page and the other student repeats)
3. Choral reading (both students read the words at the same time)
4. I read a book, you read a book (one student reads an entire book, and the partner reads a whole book)

Here is a link to posters I have in my classroom for students to remember the types of Buddy Reading

I have them practice sitting criss-cross and both holding on to the book.  This way both partners can see the book and whoever is not reading can follow along and help coach their buddy.

                                                               Coaching Video

Five Little Pumpkins

   

Our poem this week was The Five Little Pumpkins.  On Friday we made our own Five Little Pumpkins project to take home.  Students had to look at the first letters of each speech bubble and try to read the words to get the speech bubbles in the right order.  I precut brown strips and orange circles to save on time.  We glued the title and pumpkins on the front and the rest of the poem on the back.  Click here for a free copy :)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4NZXEPqaqxkYVc1VDVaQnhHTms/edit?usp=sharing

  

                                                                                                                    

                                      

Sorting Mats

I have  my students use the words their way sorts to work on phonics skills in the classroom.  They are partnered up with a student on their phonics skill level to assist them with this work.  They do the same sort twice a week.  On Mondays they are expected to sort out all of the cards and put them in the right category.  If they finish early they can pick up a card and verbally ask their partner what letter the picture starts with or how to spell the word depending on what type of sort they are working on.  If you do not have the words their way program it is very easy to type up a list of words and have students work on categorizing them.  I like to take the sorts and laminate them ahead of time.  This cuts down on all the time it takes for students to cut them out.  Then I place them in a small envelope and rotate the sort through my groups based on their ability.  On Wednesday pairs re-sort their cards and put them under the correct category again, moving faster this time.  After their sort is complete they use a sorting sheet to record their answers.  Partners take turns quizzing each other over how to spell words and this time they write it on their recording sheet.  I like to put the sheets in a page protector and have students use a dry erase marker to play the game.  This allows students much need writing practice along with reading the words.  

CVC Phonics Activities

The majority of my class knows all of their letters and sounds now. We are moving on to CVC activities. This will allow students that need to still learn a few sounds that opportunity, but will teach students how to blend sounds together in order to read and write three letter words. We start each morning using our CVC folders. This 5-7 minute activity packs in a lot of great skill work. We work on reading words, blending sounds, learning onsets and rhymes, identifying nouns and verbs, and writing words. After we complete our "warm up" we move on to a 15-20 minute for each day of the week.



\You can purchase the cvc folder activity and cvc posters that make great references for students by                                                                clicking on the following links.                                   
                      folder                                                                                     posters




                                                                Monday Letter Swap
Each student has their whiteboard out and we start by writing a three letter word. Students write the word large enough to take up the entire whiteboard. Then I pick a new word that is very similar to the one we previously had the board. Only one letter needs to be changed out to make the new word. For example if the word was hot. I might say the new word is pot. Erase one letter on your board to change hot to pot. I call on one student to come up and point to the new letter on the classroom alphabet. The kids sing "letter swap, swap a letter to make a word" while the student finds and points to the new letter we need to make the word. Then I pick a new word changing only one letter again. Pot becomes pat, pat to pad, pad to sad and so on.






                                                                          Tuesday Basketball Plinko

We ordered this from oriental trading. We taped letters on the basketballs and chunks at the bottom. One student comes up and drops a basketball down the board. They read the onset and rhyme and we decide if it is a real word or a nonsense word. Students are given a recording sheet and write the word on the correct side. A new student is called on and the game is repeated. A different letter is written on the front and the back of the basketballs to give opportunities to create different words each Tuesday when this game is played.

Wednesday Slide Show
All of the chunks are put into a slide show and projected one slide at a time. Each week a new letter is picked to put in front of each chunk. I click through the slides having a student read the word. We decide if it is a real or nonsense word. If the word is real we write it on our recording sheet and draw a picture to represent it. If it is a nonsense word we go on to the next slide.  Click on the cvc words game picture to purchase this game for $1.00.

    



                                                Thursday Spin the Wheel

We ordered this prize wheel from oriental trading and tape word family chunks to it. One student comes up and spins the wheel. We write down the chunk that it lands on at the top of our whiteboard. Then we come up with a list of words that you can make from that word family. We erase our boards and have a new student spin and repeat with the new chunk it lands on.

                                                               Friday Letter Vests

Each student is given a vest to wear. To start the game three students are called to the front to make a word. I have each student wearing a letter say their sound loudly and then as a class we repeat the sounds and blend the word. Every child sits at their desk and has a whiteboard, they all write the word down. One child is asked to sit down and a new one comes up in their place. For example if 3 students are standing up front wearing b-u-g. To make the new word I would sing: (Tune: Alice the Camel)
Letter Uu can sit down, Letter Aa can come up, letter Aa can come up,
So we can make a word boom, boom, boom
Students erase the u and change it to an a on their whiteboards. Then the 3 students standing up front say their sound and the class blends the new word.