Hey Peeps! In my first grade classroom all of us have FINALLY moved on to long vowels this month! Yay! It's always exciting when we reach this time of year. I thought I'd share one of my favorite long vowel things with you.
I LOVE teaching literacy. It's just so fun to see the "lightbulbs" go off as the kiddos get the rules and patterns involved with phonics. In fact, phonic rules are one of my absolute favorite things to teach. Even the kiddos who read FAR above grade level get a thrill out of the knowledge that are rules behind a lot of this wacky stuff that is English.
"I KNEW it was a long A word, but I didn't know there was rule!"
Many of my kiddos who know the e is silent and the vowel it is associated with is long... have no idea there is an actual phonetic rule associated with it. But they "get it" the second you spell it all out for them.
The best part is that with the introduction of this rule, a whole new world of reading opens up for a lot of kiddos. Now they can read a variety of readers, books and stories because long vowels become part of the everyday routine.
This little e goes by many monikers:
Silent e
Partner e
Super e
Magic e
Lazy e
I am sure there are more. But in my room, we call him Bossy e. Because, well, he bosses letters around. He reaches over one consonant sound and BONKS vowels on the head and tells them to say their name. He makes C and G turn SOFT... and he does all of this in SILENCE.
Display this little anchor chart on your wall to copy (trace over) on a large poster paper and you have an awesome tool to which your kiddos can refer while cementing all that Bossy e can do.
The whirlwind of phonetic rules for long vowels and vowel combinations will fill the remainder of our school year. Bossy e is the best way to start it off!
Click the pic below to grab the anchor chart shown above and these two practice sheets.
Hello Friends,
This is Cindy from Kinderkay Love Those Kinders. I LOVE winter projects! I do not especially love WINTER, but I do love the sparkly projects that can be made during this season. There is something magical about snowflakes and snow globes and snowmen. So........ I thought that I would share somefunart projects with you that can ALWAYS be tied to a learning standard (smile) and end with some wonderful winter resources from Blog Hoppin authors.
This first project is based on the picture book "Snowmen All Year" by Caralyn Buehner. We read the story and then discuss how fun it would be for a snowman to be around all year. We talk a lot about seasons in kindergarten, so this book is a great review for the changes in seasons throughout the year. After our discussion, I divide the kids into small groups and they paint snowmen murals onto colored craft paper. I use seasonal colors for the snowmen i.e. blue for winter, pink for spring, green for summer, and orange for fall. They only paint the snowman, snow, face, and arms. The other details are added later.
When they are dry, they label their snowmen and add seasonal details. They are adorable hanging in my classroom AND my kiddos are given the opportunity to review seasonal concepts.
Another fun snow project to do (if you are lucky enough to have snow) is to take your students outside with a piece of black construction paper. As the snow is falling, children catch snowflakes on their paper. The shapes of the snowflakes actually show up on the paper! While outside, we use our senses to smell, hear, see, taste, and touch the snow.
When we return to the classroom, the children do this "Snowy Day" project. (If you don't have snow, read "The Jacket I Wear in the Snow" by Shirley Neitzel or "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats. ) When the project is finished, children write about their experience. Click HERE to download the google doc for the writing paper.
Here is another way to create the snowy day person..... This is mixed media - construction paper, scrapbook paper, paint, glitter (or fake snow), and crayons.
We did these snowy neighborhood projects. We talked about different kinds of neighborhoods and what houses might look like in the daytime and in the night time. This is also a nice follow up project to "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.
I know that you have seen several variations of this final project. Shaving cream mixed with white glue is just the greatest multi-sensory experience! I LOVE everything about it; from the smell to the beauty of the final project... Here you can see my students creating their snowmen upon 12" x 12" scrapbook paper. They added their details directly upon their snowman. Cute and "wintry!"
Finally, my friends..... You will find some AWESOME Winter resources from Blog Hoppin authors by clicking the images below. It will take you directly to their TPT store or blog. All the resources you need for winter in one place!
Hey ya'll. It's Erin from Eberhart's Explorers. I'm over here praying for a snow day and looking ahead! ha Anyone with me? I wanted to post some of my MLK stuff and share what my students did in the classroom last year. Here is a sample of some TLC Art my students make. If you aren't familiar with her stuff, check it out {here}. It's such a great activity for teaching directions and fine motor skills. I especially love how all of the students' art work looks so similar, but yet...so different!
We also add a MLK poem to our poetry journal. I just love these illustrations. Kindergarten drawings are my fave!!
You can find most of these items in this unit {here}.
Jennifer Horner and I also have a great Close Read that accompanies Martin's Big Words. I just love that book! It's a great way to teach students about Martin Luther King and how he used words to fight for equal rights. You can check this out in my TpT store by clicking the image below.
Here are some other great MLK units from Blog Hoppers. Be sure to check them out, click on the image, and visit their stores below!
From Natalie's store: This is a great way to meet your social studies core while celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and/or Black History Month (February). This cute and creative resource pack will give you many printables and graphic organizers to help you teach about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Civil Rights in America.
From Susan's store: Martin Luther King Jr. activities perfect to use on Martin Luther King day! I included the title of my favorite MLK Jr. read aloud, but the activities and craft can be done without the book as well!
From Cindy's store: Awareness and pride in our selves are important concepts for children to learn and embrace as they grow and develop. Karen Katz has written a book that I love! In this book, she writes about a mother and daughter observing the people in their neighborhood. Lena (the little girl) realizes that people are not just black, white, or brown. They are shades of beautiful colors such as gingerbread, coffee, peaches, and cinnamon. After we read this book, my students and I observe the colors of our skin and inevitably we realize that WE are all colors, too!
From Alisha's store: Use this classroom collaboration craftivity to get to know your kiddos dreams! Students will love to sit in a circle and share their individual dreams for their classroom, education, future and the world! A strip is included without the "theme" of the dream filled in for classroom personalization. Check out another freebie from the BubblyBlonde by visiting her blog {here}.
From Kim's store: Happy Birthday, Dr. King! This super cute packet will teach your little ones all about Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement while teaching many math and literacy standards. They will have opportunities to learn through number combinations, fair share, story problems, patterning, phonemic awareness, multi flow map, making connections, sentence structure, and nonfiction writing. Your little ones will learn information about Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement while seeing the impact on their lives today!
From Vera's store: The cards and reference page feature vocabulary words for teaching about Martin Luther King Jr. There is a recording page included so students can show their learning.This packet is a quick and easy way to provide your students with theme related knowledge. It's a perfect way to strengthen specific vocabulary with our ELL learners.
From Michelle's store: This unit includes 6 lesson plans that are common core aligned to go with the popular book, Happy Birthday Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo. It also provides anchor charts to teach and worksheets or activities to reinforce ideas.
From Krista's store: This 45-image set is full of images relating to Martin Luther King Jr. and his life! Included are 36 vibrant, colored images and 9 black and white versions.
From Cheryl's store: Captivate students with winter themed fun while meeting learning standards! This 77 page packet is packed full of excitement.
I hope you will use some of our products to help your students learn about MLK! I'll leave you with a great video from the Kid President. He teaches us that things don't always have to be like they are....we can change them.....kids can change them! Teach your students to celebrate the promise of change and have a Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!!
