Pots of Gold Segmenting FREEBIE!

What a crazy day today! We had a lock down for an hour and a half due to someone on the High School campus next door who was reported to have a gun. So scary! This happened at lunchtime, so my kiddies were stuck in the cafeteria without me. When I got back to them, they all hugged me and told me how much they missed me and how scared they were. My poor babies! I just wanted to cry! But the police were awesome and showed up right away. I'm so glad no one got hurt today!

In other news, here's a quick freebie for you! I found some of these plastic shamrock coins at the local craft store and I just had to use them for something! I'm using these in my small groups this week to practice segmenting. We use them like Elkonin boxes - the kids put their coins on the pot, then they slide a coin into each box as we say the sounds in the word (you could also use pennies, counters, or yellow circle die cuts). Click the picture to download. Enjoy!

Literacy Centers "I Can" Cards

Phew! It's just past 1AM and I've finally finished my weekend project! My Literacy Center "I Can" Cards are now up on TPT! These are such a great way to get your kids to become independent during literacy centers! And they coordinate perfectly with my free Literacy Center Management Board! I included a total of 153 "I Can" cards, 10 center title cards, and 9 reading response sheets! They are a perfect complement to Deedee Wills' Task Cards! Click the image below to check them out!

Literacy Center Management Board {FREEBIES}

While I won't be starting my literacy centers for another few weeks, I thought I'd get everything ready with a brand new management board! I've posted my management board and some reading response sheets for you all for free! For the management board, I use pictures of the kids and I have them work in pairs. I just move the cards down after each center rotation. Click the images to download and enjoy!

This set coordinates perfectly with my new Literacy Center "I Can" Cards!

Includes 20 center cards with cute Scrappin Doodles clipart. 

Cards are included for Literacy Centers as well as traditional kindergarten centers!

Includes 3 Reading Responses, 3 Listening Responses, 

and a Big Book Response Sheet!

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.

 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear {Freebie}

After reading Brown Bear Brown Bear, we created our own version of the book. This gave the kids some good practice writing their names. I had to highlight in yellow for some of them to trace over. Then I pasted their pictures on each page. On the last page is a picture of our whole class. The kids love seeing their faces in this book and they want to read it again and again! Click an image to download!

Story Elements Posters {Freebie}

I've got so much to post about but I've been super busy this past week! By the end of the week, I'll be posting activities for teaching the alphabet, students' names, and color day activities. For now, here's a freebie! I made these posters for teaching story elements and reading vocabulary to my kinders. Click the picture to download!

Nonfiction Writing {Turtles}

We started off our turtle unit by reading the poem The Little Turtle and meeting a real live turtle. Then we read a few nonfiction books about turtles and made a Turtle Tree Map of our new learning. I printed and enlarged a blank version of this chart and had the children help me fill in the details.

Then we started our nonfiction writing. Here's my template for the pages included in this book: Turtle Writing Templates. First, the children copied the Turtle Tree Map onto their own chart. We used this map to plan our writing and build sentences.

 

Then the children started writing their books. They completed about one page each day. As they worked, I conferred with them to help them edit and revise their writing. They each wrote three to four pages for their books. Most of these samples are from ELL and Junior Kindergarten students. I'm so proud of them for how far they've come!

This is from one of my Junior Kindergarten students. She knew more than I did about turtles! When she told me about how turtles lay eggs with alligator eggs, I had to look it up. And what do you know...she's right! I also love how she added an interactive element to her writing: "How fast can you go?" ADORABLE!

Turtles are slow and swim.

Turtles can swim fast. Can you? How fast can you go?

Turtles lay eggs in alligator eggs.

Early in the year, this ELL/Junior K student spoke little English and knew none of her letters or sounds. You can see most of her writing was copied from the Tree Map, but she also tried to sound out some of the words on her own. She also uses the appropriate conventions of print (capitalization, spacing, and punctuation). Yay! 

Turtles are green and brown.

Turtles can lay eggs.

Turtles can swim.

This ELL student was able to sound out unknown words independently. His illustrations also match his text nicely.

Turtles can swim fast.

Turtles can walk slow.

Turtles can lay eggs.

This ELL student also started the year speaking very little English and knowing no letters or sounds. She copied some text, but also tried to sound out many of the words on her own. Wow! 

Turtles are brown and green.

Turtles can lay eggs in the dirt.

Turtles can swim fast.

We used post-it notes to label the body parts of a turtle. Students volunteered to be the "turtle" as we labeled the various parts. Then they completed their Turtle Diagrams to add to their turtle books.

Then we made some cute turtle covers. The idea for this adorable book cover came from my co-worker, Denise. She always has the cutest ideas! Finally, we published and shared our books!

These are some of the books we read...

Reading Strategies Posters

I was inspired to make these Reading Strategy Cards when I saw some similar ones online. I had planned to use them along with my Beanie Babies but since they are currently in storage, I will have to use the cards without them for the time being. I laminated the pages and put them on a ring for quick access. Whenever I want to remind my students of a strategy, I just have to turn to the appropriate card. Click the link to download my Reading Strategies Cards.