Beginning Sounds Clip Cards! An easy-peasy literacy center

I'm a big fan of using the "Same same, but different!" approach with activities in my classroom!  I like to teach my class how to complete a variety of tasks, and then use the same activity across different subjects and skills as the year goes on.  This is the perfect strategy to use with literacy centers because it will save you a lot of time explaining tasks - kidlets will see an activity that they know how to complete and get started right away! For this reason, I am a BIG fan of clip cards!  They are so quick and easy to prepare and are perfect to use as a center task, fast finisher option, or even as one-on-one support materials.  

In my classroom you'll find clip cards that cover lots of different skills and concepts - number recognition, counting, punctuation, money, and of course phonics!

These beginning sounds clip cards encourage little learners to apply their phonics skills. They look at each picture, determine the beginning sound, and clip a peg onto the two that match the letter in the middle.  Clipping the pegs on adds an interactive fine motor element to this task - bonus! I usually use regular clothes pegs, but you can find all sorts of novelty pegs and clips if you'd like to use something different!

Make them self-correcting by placing a small dot on the back of the correct answers, using either a sticker or marker.  Children will clip their choices and flip the card over to see if they match!  You can use these cards as skill practise, as an informal assessment tool, or even as intervention work later in the year for those kidlets who need a little help to consolidate their beginning sounds knowledge.

Click on either of the images in this post to check this resource out in my TpT store!

Board Games in the Classroom!

If you've read my blog before you'll know that I absolutely LOVE using games in the classroom! As well as being hands-on and engaging for little learners, they can also help kidlets to practise and consolidate many maths and literacy skills, as well as social behaviours like turn-taking and rule-following.  While I'm all for using products that have been made specifically for use in the classroom (like those you can find on TpT), you don't always have to print and laminate to have a resource that fits in with the curriculum.  I own lots of store bought games that I use either straight from the box or with a few simple hacks. (Read to the end to find out how I get them on the cheap.) Here's a few of my favourites - with some ideas of how to use them! 

1. Snakes and Ladders!

Usually Snakes and Ladders is set up as a 100s board - bonus! Use a regular die to work on subitising, counting and number recognition with your kidlets. You might also like to use different dice depending on what your maths focus is.  This makes it a great game for differentiation! One group may use a dice with numerals, one with number words, another with ten frames and yet another might use two dice to work on their addition skills.  Ask questions as the game progresses - What number are you on now? You've rolled 5 - what number do you think you will land on? What number do you need to roll to land on the number 20?

2.  Scrabble!

Scrabble (or Junior Scrabble) is a perfect word work activity.  Depending on the ability of your kidlets, you could play the game in the traditional way or modify it to make it a little easier.  I like to have the letters laid out on a table - kidlets simply pick the letters they want to build a word on the board.  Speaking of the board - you don't even need to use it if it's too tricky and we never bother to keep score.  Of course, the Scrabble letter tiles can also be used for a tonne of other spelling and phonics activities - use them as you would magnetic letters, stamps, letter beads etc.

3. Boggle!

I like to use Boggle initially as a letter recognition game.  Give the container a shake and then name the letters you can see!  Kidlets can write one per shake on a whiteboard etc. or cross them off a worksheet or board as they appear in the game.  When you begin phonics teaching, have students say the letter sound rather than it's name.  Of course when your learners are ready they can play the game as it's intended - writing down words made from the letters that appear after each shake.

4. Guess Who?

Let me start by saying that if you have the original style Guess Who? with the flat boards, make sure you hang on to it!  The newer version has connected boards that stand upright and it's much trickier for little learners to manage.  Guess Who? is perfect to play straight from the box - it's a game that encourages kidlets to use critical thinking and specific vocabulary in order to narrow down the faces on their board - and on top of that their questions must only have a yes/no answer.  If you watch your kidlets play this throughout the year you'll see how their skills improve.  If you have the time, make up a game board (either a sheet or individual cards depending on which version of the game you have) with the faces of your whole class.  A perfect way for kidlets to get to know their peers! Hasbro even has additional character sheets that you can print from their website to mix things up a bit - and a little Googling will help you find themed sheets that other clever clogs have shared.

5. Trouble!

Everyone loves the popomatic bubble!  Trouble is perfect to play when little learners are working on number recognition and counting skills.  No hacks necessary. :)

6. Hungry, Hungry Hippos!

Another game just made for maths groups. After each round of marble chomping, kidlets count how many their hippo has eaten. Whose hippo ate the most? Whose ate the number closest to ten? Using two different coloured marbles extends this game further - six red marbles and two yellow marbles makes eight in total etc.

7. Connect Four!

Connect Four can be used to work on turn-taking and critical thinking skills straight from the box.  By using a marker, some dot stickers or painter's tape you can also modify it to use for lots of other purposes! I've mostly used it as a sight word game by writing words on the chips.  Kidlets choose a chip from a bag (otherwise they'll just pick the words that are easy for them each time!) and add it to the game if they can read it. Put all the red chips in one bag and the yellow in another. The winner is still the first person to line up four of their chips before the other player.  You can see how easy it would be to modify this to suit any skill you're working on - write letters for recognition or phonics practise, numerals or number words, CVC words (or whatever words suit your phonics focus), shapes etc.

Now you might be thinking - this all sounds great but seems like it could be expensive! It's ideal to have the games differentiated and ready to go whenever you need them, but that means having two or three of each in some cases.  I'll be honest with you and say that I've paid full price for very few of my classroom games! The easiest way to get them for free is to pop a note on your classroom door or school newsletter asking for donations.  There's always families looking to declutter their toy cupboard who are more than happy to share the love and donate to little learners.  You might get a few that are missing pieces - combine them to make a full set.  The next best place to look is in second hand stores, or garage sales.  If you'd prefer to buy new from the store, keep an eye out for knock-off versions that are less expensive.

I hope I've inspired you to raid your board game cupboard and find a few treasures to use in your classroom! 

A Peek Inside Two Puzzling Packs! CVC Word Puzzles

Hi everyone! Today I'm quickly stopping by to give you a peek at my two newest products! :) These CVC word puzzles are the perfect way for little learners to work on their phonics and reading skills.

Find-A-Word puzzles are always a hit with my kidlets! These worksheets are organised by vowel sound.  There are two puzzles for each vowel, with an additional two featuring a mixture.  That's 12 unique puzzles altogether! Kidlets read each word after looking at the picture clue and then find them in the puzzle.  I've also provided colour copies of each puzzle in case you'd like laminate them and use them with dry erase markers.

As kidlets solve each puzzle they are faced with multiple opportunities to apply their knowledge of letters and sounds - as they decode each word, and again as they search for the words in the grid. Because the words are organised by vowel sound they will fit easily into your phonics teaching sequence, or can be used for targeted intervention.  (Aren't medial vowels a huge hurdle for some of our little learners?) 

Spell & Find is a little trickier! Kidlets need to complete each word by correctly writing the beginning sound on the line before finding the words in the puzzle.  As our 6 year old was 'testing' some of these out for me I loved to see her thinking as she searched for words.  Initially she wrote the letter j for the word gem, and then when she couldn't find the word in the grid she went back and thought about another letter choice. :)

These resources are perfect to use during Literacy small groups! They're also great as a quiet 'Fast Finisher' task - kidlets can tuck one away in their desk or a folder and move onto a puzzle without leaving their chair. :)

Click on any of the photos above to see these resources in my TpT store - make sure you view the preview file there for a closer look inside each pack.  Happy weekend, friends!

Rhyming Activities for Little Learners!

Phonemic awareness (listening to, isolating and changing sounds in words) is vital for both reading and writing development in little learners - and rhyme is a BIG part of this learning process.  It's sometimes a concept that kidlets find tricky to grasp - so I thought I'd stop by and share some activities that I've used successfully with my classes over the years, as well as a few new ideas that I'd love to try. :)
From the very first week of school I like to expose kidlets to rhyming words through our poem of the week.  We read it together every morning and talk about the vocabulary used - this is a really great way for little learners to start thinking about words, how they sound and what they mean.  As the year goes on you can spend time identifying letters and sounds, nouns/verbs/adjectives and rhyming words! I usually have a poster sized copy of the poem on the board and we circle and underline words as we identify rhyming pairs.  At the end of the week kidlets glue a copy into their books (I have a dedicated poetry journal) and because we've read it so often together most children can independently read it.  Here's a resource you might like to use - or you could choose any simple poems and rhymes that fit with your classroom themes!

Another oral language activity that my kidlets always LOVE is a simple one.  I have an IKEA igloo that I set up on the carpet area.  Before we start I've collected a box of random objects from around the classroom.  I ask the class to close their eyes while I hide one in the igloo and then say "What's inside the igloo? What could be in it for me? It starts with ___ and rhymes with ___. Oh what do you think it could be?" For example, if I've hidden a book in the igloo I would say "It starts with /b/ and rhymes with look."  Someone guesses the object and then gets to check inside the igloo to see if they were right! We play this game LOTS before we move on to reading and writing rhyming words.  If you don't have an igloo you can use whatever you have - e.g. "What's inside the big, blue bag?"

Of course, our Alphabet Monster helps us during this stage of learning too!  I use the flashcards that come with our phonics program but you could use any that you have.  I lay them out on the carpet and ask kidlets to feed the monster.  I might say a word and have them find the card that rhymes, I might ask them to choose 2 cards that rhyme, or perhaps I'll lay out 3 cards and ask them to feed the monster the one that doesn't rhyme.  During these activities the whole class joins in by saying each word and segmenting the sounds.

 I love to use hands-on activities, particularly in literacy centres.  Top of my list of new ones to try is this one that uses Duplo blocks. If you click on the image to the pin you can check out This Reading Mama and download the pictures used here - or you could use ones you already have!

At least one of my literacy centres is always a game - and I love to use Bingo! when teaching rhyme.  The caller says a word and the rest of the group covers a picture on their board if it rhymes with the word called.  Click on the picture below to check out a resource I created to allow for some differentiation with my kidlets - it includes boards with pictures only, pictures + words, or words only with calling cards to match. :)

As soon as we move into reading and spelling rhyming words I include the teaching of word families.  There's a tonne of great resources you can use for this concept but I love Marsha's Word Families Galore pack! It takes time to print and laminate everything but once you're done you're set for years! My favourite thing is the word wall I made using her cards - I hot glued them to coloured ribbon and it makes a gorgeous bulletin board full of rhyming words for the kidlets to reference as they work!

I also love this hands-on task that is essentially matching rhyming words just like the Duplo idea - except this one includes words for the kidlets to read when they are ready. Click on the image to see more!

Of course any rhyming fun must include lots of reading stories written by our favourite doctor! Dr. Seuss books are perfect for listening to and identifying rhyming words.  After reading 'The Cat in the Hat' I love to have my kidlets invent their own character using the same rhyming pattern.  This is a great way to see which children understand what rhyming means, who can choose 2 words that rhyme, and also who understands the spelling patterns involved. 

And who can resist this gorgeous craft that makes an awesome classroom display? ;)

Hopefully I've shared an idea or two that you might be able to use in your own classroom! I'd love to hear any awesome ideas you have that work on teaching rhyme. :)

Photo Catch Up! (Five for Friday)

It's seems like it's been such a long time since I stopped by to share photos of what we've been up to in our classroom! This week I did a much better job of snapping pics, so this post will be a hodgepodge catch up of all the fun we've had in the past week or so.  I'm linking up with Five for Friday, too! :)

Term 2 means getting serious about handwriting. We've been focusing on the correct formation of letters - but that doesn't mean that we're stuck at our desks with pencils and paper!

Chalk on the concrete in the sunshine was a very happy way to spend one of our lessons...

...and shaving cream handwriting is always a favourite.  

We got up and moving with beach ball sight words - kidlets simply throw the ball to each other and then read a word on the panel they can see when they catch it.  I just have 4 beach balls with each term's words written on in marker and choose the set of words most needed for each group.

The sight word stars I made for our library have been a hit.  Kidlets choose a star and use it to search for that word as they are reading.

Phonics review this week was hide & seek sorting!  I hid picture cards around the room for kidlets to find.  We met back at the carpet and took turns to sort our cards into the appropriate beginning sound hoop.

I saw this pin a few weeks ago and adapted the idea a little to use with this igloo tent I've got.  When our phonics focus was /i/ we played "What's inside the igloo?".

I collected a box of things from around the room and gave this rhyme as a clue:

"What's inside the igloo? What could be in it for me? It starts with ___ and rhymes with ___. Oh what do you think it could be?"

This game was a HUGE hit! We played it all week and kidlets were always excited to make a guess and check inside the igloo to see if they were correct.

The igloo also became a coveted 'book nook' during reading time. :)

Number line work has been all about caterpillars! We played Counting Caterpillars on the interactive whiteboard and used Mel's Caterpillar Number cut & paste worksheets to order numbers.  Both the game and worksheets can be easily differentiated - perfect for group work!

Our science work has been all about 'The Seasons' and for the past few weeks we've been thinking about Summer! (I know, I know... the igloo doesn't fit with that. Have I ever told you I'm not good with themes?)

We used this poem as our shared reading text - you can see the marker and stickers that we used on various days to highlight capital letters and the /s/ and /m/ sounds.  This was also added to our poetry journals.

Stef's For All Seasons Bunting came in handy for this topic, too.  We've done the Summer flag so far and they turned out beautifully.

This was mine! :)

I love these colourful paper plate suns - they were so easy to make.  We sponge painted the plates with yellow and orange paint, and then glued paper strips in a loop to the outside when they were dry.

During outside time we turned the sandpit into a beach with an umbrella and beach chairs.  We also had the buckets and spades for sandcastle making, the fishing boat and music playing.

The playdough ice-cream cafe was open again this year.  We had four flavours, cones, cups and sprinkles! Kidlets took turns to be customers, waiters, ice-cream makers or register operators.  So much fun!!

That's all from me tonight, friends.  Jerry Maguire is on TV so I'm all set for a night of pinning and veging out.  Be sure to stop by Doodle Bugs to read the other Five for Friday posts!

Five for Friday!

Boy oh boy, it sure has been a while since I've linked up with Five for Friday! This week was back to school for us after Easter break and that means back to regular blogging. :)

Our first craft of the term (linked to our phonics focus) were these gorgeous handprint monsters.  If you've read my blog before you might know that I love anything monster themed, and these cuties were no exception!

We simply painted each kidlets' hand - they got to choose which fingers were painted - and printed them onto paper.  When they were dry the googly eyes were glued on and a mouth drawn with marker.  Each little monster has it's own personality!

We also made these cute apples from paper plates.

Just paint, cut, staple and you're done! These turned out so well, but seriously - I need to invest in a paper plate factory  I go through hundreds of them every year!

To go along with our /m/ focus we wrote about our monsters, choosing an adjective to finish the 'My monster' sentence starter.

We also worked on a letter m Alphabet Puzzle.

These were perfect for an independent group work activity.

Don't you love it when kidlets return after holidays and haven't forgotten everything they've learnt during the year?  During during Guided Reading this week we revised rhyming words with 'To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme' made by the very clever Brooke!

My Preppies blitzed this activity!  They said each picture names and then quickly decided which mat the card belonged to.  One happy teacher. :)

Tomorrow is ANZAC Day, a time when we remember fallen Australian and New Zealand servicemen and women.  Today our school held a very moving service to honour those who have died  fighting to protect the truly wonderful country we live in.  When we got back to our classroom, my kidlets wrote the word 'Remember' and drew pictures to represent ANZAC Day.

This picture shows a poppy, a sprig of rosemary, a wreath of flowers, and a soldier standing tall and proud.  

That's all from me today, friends.  Be sure to come back on Sunday to check out my post for the 'Swap, Share, Give' linky that a bunch of us Aussie bloggers have planned!