Alphabet Game Freebie!

Hey everyone! Just a quick note tonight...I just made my first ever fan freebie on Facebook! Head over to my page to check out my "I Have...Who Has?" ABC Game. This is a great game to play with your whole class early in the year to practice the alphabet. All you have to do is like my Facebook page to get it for free!

Enjoy! I'll be back soon with more goodies and back to school ideas!

ABC's and...Embedded Picture Mnemonics!?

Hey everyone! I know you're probably thinking "embedded picture what?" Don't worry, we'll get to that in a second. So I was recently reading some articles for one of my classes and it got me excited because it confirmed something I was already doing with my kids - don't you love when that happens? For each letter of the alphabet, I always have my class create a craft out of the letter. Apparently there's a name for this...well I'm sure you've figured it out by now. Embedded picture mnemonics simply means we form a picture representing the letter-sound out of the letter itself. Research shows that embedded picture mnemonics help children learn letter-sound relationships more quickly than other methods. Fun, simple, AND scientifically proven! So when the principal walks in and asks why you're doing arts and crafts, you've got research to back you up! Hah!! You can download the articles HERE and HERE.

I don't have pictures of all of them, but here are some examples. And of course you can find many other ideas if you search the internet.

A for alligator, B for bumblebee, C for cat, D for dinosaur, G for gum (this one isn't really an embedded mnemonic), I for iguana, N for nest, O for octopus, P for penguin, Q for queen, R for rabbit, T for tiger, and V for vase of violets. 

My class also sings this song every day during morning meeting. I made a chart to go along with it and we use body movements to match each letter sound. The kids love it! I'm thinking I need to update my chart using these embedded mnemonics!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

Alphabet Cards {TPT Store}

We're on fall vacation here in Hawaii! I'm sure ready for a break! Other than relaxing and enjoying the beach, I'll be working on a few projects over the next week or so...

My first project was making some polka dot alphabet cards to match my other polka dot products. There are two different sets, and they both include 27 cards in 3 different sizes. You can use them for your alphabet line, word wall, or even as flash cards! Click the images to go to my store!

Literacy Worksheets {FREEBIES}

I am torn about posting these because I have a love-hate relationship with worksheets. I always try to focus on hands-on learning and meaningful activities, but I'll admit I do sometimes like to use them for morning work and fast finisher folders. I know that some children do learn well this way, and I am just trying to meet the various learning styles of my students hehe ;)

Anyway, I made up these worksheets for my class and I hope somebody else might find them useful!!

  Alphabet Sounds A-Z                                    Word Families                                        Missing Sounds

              

                                                      Sound Sorts                                                    

A My Name Is...

We read "A My Name Is..." and learned about the first letters in our names. We sang "If your name begins with __, please stand up (to the tune of If You're Haappy and You Know It). The students came up to find their letter and place it in the pocket chart. Then we made this cute portrait craft I found from Deanna Jump's blog.

We also learned about the letters in our names with these rainbow name mosaics. I wrote the kids' names on 12x18 paper and gave them strips of colored paper (one color a time to minimize confusion). They just cut up the strips and glued the pieces onto the letters. I cut them out after they dried. I love that this craft allowed for so much learning - letters in our names, counting how many letters, rainbow color order, fine motor practice...and of course, they're so bright and cheery! This idea was also from Deanna Jump.

Next week, we will read Chrysanthemum and chart how many letters are in our names. Stay tuned...

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Last week we read one of my favorite books...Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! After reading, I played the song for them (There's a great Chicka Chicka Song on Youtube that I like way better than the original) and we sequenced the letters on our felt coconut tree. Then each student created their own coconut tree and used foam alphabet stickers to spell their names.

 

Letter Monster Swatter

I was inspired to create this the other day and I thought I'd share it if anyone would like to use it. I just printed 3 copies (on white, purple, and green paper), then cut out the different pieces and glued them together. Then I laminated it and taped it onto a fly swatter with the middle part cut out. It can work as a letter monster, a word monster, or even a number monster. I also found a cute little rhyme to go with it. I might have to make some more of these when I find the time! Click the picture to download.

Letter of the Week {Q}

Here's a quick little craft we did for the letter Q. We used this Letter Q Template.

Letters of the Week {B & O}

B is for Bumble Bee! We made a Bumble Bee out of the letter B! We used this template, crayons, and construction paper. You could also have them paint the bee or just use yellow paper.

O is for Octopus! We used watercolors to paint the letter O and then we cut it out and added some curly construction paper tentacles to make an Octopus! The kids wanted me to take a picture of them with the octopuses on their faces! So cute!