CVC Find-a-Word Puzzles!

Hello friends!  I'm stopping by really quickly tonight to share one of my favourite activities to use when kidlets have started to read CVC words - Find-a-Word puzzles!  Typically I'm not a worksheet kinda gal, but I love these because they're super engaging and they're easily differentiated. :)

The puzzles are organised by medial vowel, and each page has 6 words hidden in the puzzle.  Kidlets simply decode the word using the picture clue and then circle it in the grid below! I use these puzzles across all of my ability groups - those who still need support to decode words complete the activity as a group with teacher help (you could enlarge the page for this purpose if you like), those reading confidently work independently, and those who require a challenge move onto the 'Spell & Find' puzzles.  In these, students must write the beginning sound before finding the word.  

These puzzles are perfect as a small group word work activity (that's where I use them!), but they can also be copied into a 'Fast Finisher' booklet, or used as a homework task.  Each pack also includes colour options - simply laminate these and use a whiteboard marker to complete. :)

Each pack has 12 puzzles - two for each short vowel, and another two that have a mixture of medial vowel sounds.  Answer keys are also provided if you would like to have students correct their own work.  

Click on any of the images in this post to see these in my TpT store!

           

Hey Presto! {Pin it to win it!}

This year my class is full of very high energy, exuberant characters.  I love them to bits... but boy are they tricky to find resources for!  They love games and hands on activities, and seem to really be motivated by competition... with fickle attention spans! What's new for 5 year olds, right?  Combining all this with the fact that many of them need to become much more fluent with their reading (at various skill levels) sent me on a mission to create a set of games that would allow them to read, play and win! Today... my mission was completed. :)

I have kidlets in my class who are working on reading CVC words, some who are ready for trickier words, and some who need practice reading simple sentences.  I wanted to make games that were essentially the same concept (similar to Bang!-type games) so that when each new pack was introduced the format was familiar to my kidlets while still focusing on their ability level.  I started by making Shark! (CVC words) and then moved on to Fox in the Hen House! for digraphs and Shiver Me Timbers! for sentences.  Today I finished Hey Presto! and am so excited to use it for my little learners who need to practice reading long vowel 'Magic E' words! :)

I'm so hoping that these resources can be of use to others!  How about a giveaway? Pin any of the below images to WIN the game of your choice!  Pin more than one image for extra chances to win. :) (Don't forget to leave a comment with the link to your pin.)

Happy Thursday, friends! I hope you are enjoying cable TV and the good wine like I am... but then you might not be at your parent's house. :)

Five for Friday... Gratitude after a great day. :)

Another Friday... another chance to reflect on the collection of random moments that combined to make a busy week. Thanks to Doodle Bugs for hosting! I had a great day today... maybe the best I've had all year with my tricky bunch of kidlets.  I am feeling very thankful, so my Friday Five has a theme of 'gratitude'. :)

All year I had been wanting to make some 'Whisper Phones' for my kidlets to use during their 'Read to Self' time.  I'd looked into buying the parts at my local hardware store and there was never a week that I could spare the money (who knew plumbing pipes were so expensive?!).  I ended up putting a note on my foyer noticeboard, asking if any dads/grandads/uncles were plumbers, because I had a project I needed help with.  Last Friday, one of my mums said that her brother was a plumber.  I explained the idea of 'Whisper Phones' and showed her a photo, asking her to see if her brother had some pipe offcuts I could maybe use.  On Tuesday morning, this is what she brought in:

Not only had she shown her brother the photo, but he had glued together a set of 10 made from brand new pipes!  I was just amazed and so thankful. :)  A bit of rainbow duct tape later and the kidlets are using them every day to listen to their reading.

Today I am grateful for generous people.

In our Literacy groups this week our phonics revision activity involved searching in rainbow rice for magnetic letters.  

When they found one, kidlets would say the letter name, it's sound/s and name some words with that sound at the beginning, in the middle or at the end.  They would then write the letter underneath the matching picture on their worksheet.  

The beautiful rainbow rice was made last week by on of my parent helpers, and the sensory table was given to me after it was replaced in the Library.  They had been using the centre container to store pencils and didn't even know that it was a supposed to be used as a sensory table (meanwhile I had been coveting it for ages)! :)

Today I am grateful for lovely Mummies who give up their time to help (and also those who allow me to publish photos of their adorable kidlets!), and for working at a school that provides wonderful resources for me to use to help my kids learn.

I jumped on to TpT last night and was prompted to take their survey. One of the questions asked something along the lines of "How has TpT impacted your teaching and the way your children learn?".  It really got me thinking... I stumbled upon the world of teacher bloggers when I was having a year off, working in Canada (selling jewellery) and desperately missing my classroom life.  I jumped on the blogging bandwagon and quickly became obsessed with pinning and reading blogs (as well as writing my own).  Through this, a door opened to, like, a BILLION teaching ideas that I'm sure I would have never come across (see #1 and #2 of this post, for example).  My teaching has been impacted in a huge way - I am constantly inspired and searching for the best way for my kidlets to learn a concept or skill in a way that is engaging for them - and I am proud of the resources I have created as a result.

In my fine motor groups this week I used Link It Up... the precious kidlet in the photo on the left is my bounciest boy and he was engaged for almost 20 minutes (!!) with this activity. This, my friends, is a miracle.

We played Shark! this week in guided reading and it made me so happy to hear the giggles and shouts of  "shark attack!" as each group played.  Mostly though, it warmed my heart to see the looks of pride in my kidlets' faces as they read the CVC words by themselves.

Today I am thankful for inspiration from the teaching community.

When I got home this afternoon there was the most gorgeous bunch of flowers waiting for me on the doorstep!

Today I am thankful that somebody loves me.

It's almost the end of term here - 2 more weeks and we will be halfway through the year!  I love my kidlets, but man-oh-man they are tiring.  :)  It's also report card season... and I have nothing nice to say about them!  I am exhausted...

...but tomorrow I can sleep in!  No alarm, nowhere to be, nothing (well... apart from housework) to do. I saw this picture this week and it made me wonder if Sleeping Beauty was a teacher?

Today I am thankful for silent Saturday mornings.

Well friends, that's all from me.  Today's Five for Friday was really therapeutic for me, so if you've stuck with me to the end, thank you. :)  I really appreciate the lovely friends I've made through the blogosphere. 

Happy weekend!

Lauren

Two for Tuesday with TTT!

Stopping past super duper quickly to link up with The Teaching Tribune for Two for Tuesday as part of their Summer Bloggin' series!  I've listed 2 products in my TpT for 50% off.  I found it really tricky to pick, so I've chosen one of my most recent products, and a best seller. :)

Shark! is a fun CVC reading fluency card game - grab it here for $1.50! 

I have a real soft spot for my Playdough Mats.  They were one of my first products and were much more popular than I thought they would be.  I use them all the time in my fine motor groups, and in maths groups at the beginning of the year.  They are also $1.50 and you can pick them up here.

I'm off to check out all the other awesome products discounted for this linky. :)  Happy Tuesday lovely friends.

Lauren

New Products to Give Away!

I've been very busy this past week or so whipping up some products that my kidlets need to practise some important concepts and skills.  I thought I'd quickly share them with you in case they will come in handy in your classroom too!

The first is a simple game to practise CVC reading fluency.  I love using card games in the classroom because by keeping the format similar the kidlets can play them independently even when the skills being developed change!  This one is easy - children choose a card and if it features a friendly sea animal they read the word and keep the card.  Watch out for the shark though! If he is on the card that player must return their cards to the pile.  The kidlet with the most cards at the end is the winner.  The pages are organised by medial vowel sound and words have been chosen to use a wide variety of consonant phoneme combinations.

Check it out in my TpT store here!

I'm always looking for ways to integrate fine motor development with curriculum areas, and have also been trying to think of ways to use the giant container of plastic chain links I bought and have rarely used.  After doing some assessment and discovering that some of my treasures needed some more practise with number recognition I whipped up this activity.  It's proven to be a huge hit so far, and I love that it combines fine motor with maths!

I'm planning on making a lot more activities like this one. :)  Find 'Link It Up 0-20' here.

Last but not least is a noun, verb and adjective sorting activity that I plan to use in my pocket chart.  The pack includes some bonus recording worksheets.  

'Sort it Out! Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives' is designed in a similar way to one of my best selling products - 'Sort it Out! Letters Words and Sentences'

Now time for the giveaway!  Simply make sure you follow my TpT store and then pin any image from this post!  Leave a comment with the link to the pin and I'll come back tomorrow afternoon and choose 3 random winners to receive the product of their choice. :)

I'm linking up with Teaching in a Nutshell for Sell It Saturday! 

Lauren

Word Workin' It!

Before this school term ends (last day tomorrow!) I wanted to share a few word work ideas that my kidlets have been LOVING lately. :)

These CVC car tracks fit nicely with our Science unit (you can read about that here) and the boys especially jumped at any opportunity to choose them in free time.  All that's needed is to grab a toy car and practise s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g out the words by driving the slowly at first, and then more quickly along the road beneath the letters.  It was great easy revision for those kidlets who are marvellous at decoding the initial and final sound of their words, but often forget the medial sound!  These are from the CVC Word Mega Pack from Jessica of Littlest Scholars.

Our new favourite sight word game is one that I call 'Spotlight' (once you see the photo you will realise what a creative genius I am with that name!).  I just printed words onto yellow star shapes, cut them out and stuck them all around the classroom.  If I had a ceiling that I could reach that would have been perfect, but I had to settle for high up on the walls and pegged to the net above my carpet area.  We then used torches (flashlights for my North American friends!) to find each word (I either said the word or gave a clue), read it and spell it.  My cuties couldn't wait to have their turn, and they've begged me to play this game every day for almost 2 weeks. :)  I'm sure this isn't an original idea - if I've inadvertently stolen this from you let me know! 

Have I told you how much I love Marsha McGuire's Word Work Galore bundles?  Well, I do.  This week we revised word families and practised spelling words from the families we've studied with the Say, Make Write cards from Marsha's packs.   I popped 2 or 3 from each family with this group.  The cards are pegged closed so that only the picture is visible.  The kidlets said the word, made it with magnetic letters, checked their spelling by un-pegging the card, and then wrote it again with a marker on their whiteboards.  They used our Word Family Word Wall if they needed to.

This lovely cut'n'paste came from Casey and was a freebie! :)  A nice rhyming revision activity.

I must admit that I have really enjoyed the past week, with the kidlets doing lots of revision which means familiar activities and games.  That's meant that I have spent lots of time playing with them and chatting been able to get lots of assessment done.  Just one more day and then we all get a well deserved two week break! :)

Lauren