Sight Word Practice FREEBIE!

Here's a very useful SIGHT WORD FREEBIE from Jessica at Deep in the Heart of Teaching. This 11-page set has students write, spell, and trace the following words: go, my, the, see, can, we, to, is, up, am, & at. 

My preschooler is just beginning to work on sight words, so he completed some of the pages yesterday. Each page provided just enough practice to reinforce the sight word. 

TEACHING TIP

Jessica says to use "letters that are the shape of the letter instead of letter tiles for beginning learners/readers. This ensures that the tactile learner can feel the shape of the letter as well as see it." I know working with the letters (a set WITHOUT magnets from Dollar Tree) was my son's favorite part! 

Just click on the picture below to download a set for your student(s)! 

Happy teaching!

Letter Sounds FREEBIE from Miss D's Classroom

This week, my youngest son practiced his letter sounds using this great FREE packet from Miss D's Classroom. The set comes with letters A-E. On each page, students color the objects that begin with that letter sound. 

Miss D's letter sound FREEBIE is nice for fine motor practice, too. My son is a "reluctant colorer," but he'll do it when there is a task to be completed. 

To quote Miss D, "This resource will be useful in the classroom as beginning readers need to know beginning sounds before progressing to other sounds in a phonics unit. By using these worksheets, they will be engaged in learning the beginning sounds of each letter in a fun way -- coloring!"

TEACHING TIP

Miss D recommends having students use letter cards first in order to become familiar with the sounds. "You can even turn it into a game," she says, "For example, who has the card that makes the sound of /b/? Children would look at their cards and shout "I do"! The choice is yours!"

Just click on the picture below to download this great PRINT AND GO FREEBIE for your student(s)! CLICK HERE to see the whole workbook ($4) that's available in Miss D's store!

 

Happy teaching!

Summer Book Recommendations for K-2 and FREE Reading Logs

I want to share a few of my favorite K-2 books with you. For years, I was so focused on providing students with "great children's literature" (Caldecott winners and the like) that I forgot the most driving force behind reading: choice. Children, like adults, are excited to read about subjects that pique their interest. They are much more engaged and willing to read when THEY have chosen a book about something they love. Just click on the title at the top to see each book or series on Amazon.com.

1. Phonics Fun with Barbie by Jennifer Liberts Weinberg (K)

You would not believe how popular this set was with my students! I have had whole groups of students who learned to read early because of this set! It comes with 10 (or maybe 12) small books just right for little hands. Each book focuses on a different word family (like -at, -et, or silent e words) and has high picture support. They are very well done and build on each other. This is a great set for beginning readers! 

2. Lego DC Super Heroes: Phonics Boxed Set by Quinlan B. Lee (K)

Just like the set above, this set of 10 books is highly appealing to superhero AND Lego™fans! The words in this set tend to be a little more difficult, but students do well with them after repeated readings. My son learned to read with this set! (There is also a very similar set available with a Star Wars theme. We have that set, too!) 

3. Princess Posey books by Stephanie Greene (K-1)

I discovered this set last summer. They are PERFECT beginning chapter books. Ms. Greene miraculously uses mostly sight words to write these books. They have simple, everyday story lines, yet manage to engage even the adult! 

4. Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park (K-2)

These books make such great read alouds! Junie's "voice" in the book just cracks me up. While there are some not nice words included (I'll admit that sometimes I skip them), Junie is saying just what many kindergarteners are thinking. Plus, if you're looking for a quick read, these books are just the thing. 

5. Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne (1-2, or read by a parent to K)

These books follow Jack and Annie on adventures to different places and times of historical and/or geographical significance. They appeal to both boys and girls, as well as adults. There is always an interesting story line and several titles have nonfiction books to go with them. 

I hope you find this little list of books helpful. At the very least, I hope it gets you and your student(s) thinking about what they're going to read this summer. No list would be complete without some FREE READING LOGS to keep track of student reading. Just click on the picture below to download a set for FREE! 

Happy summer reading!

FREE Letter Sort for Preschool or Kindergarten

Don't miss this cute TEACHER FREEBIE from Cherry Workshop! It comes with upper- and lowercase As for students to sort. My son had fun "picking" the apples from the tree and placing them in the correct upper- or lowercase basket. The repetition provided my preschooler with enough practice to now be able to differentiate the letters! 

A TEACHING TIP 

Katya, from Cherry Workshop, says, 

"I'm doing a lot of sorting games with my kids and they are always excited to play. What usually grabs their attention is when the game is contextualized in some way. e.g. tell them a story how you're going apple picking and you need everyone's help. It even cooler if the apples are all around the room. The same can be played with any thematic pictures or objects (even better) as a scavenger hunt, or they win the letters in a game and then sort. The possibilities are numerous. As long as there is some story behind the activity, even the simplest one, kids' imagination does all the work for you."

Just click on the picture at the top or the one below to download a set for your classroom.  I hope your students enjoy it as much as my son did! 

Happy teaching! 

10 End-of-Year FREEBIES for First Grade

Here are 10 wonderful FREEBIES, just right for some end-of-the-year or summer review. Take a look at each one and download a set for your students! 

1. School of Fish! Ocean Addition Math Center from Differentiation Station Creations

Download this freebie for an easy-to-assemble addition center. Students will use addition mats and fish manipulatives to solve for each sum. 

2. Popsicle Puzzles: Addition and Subtraction Equivalent Expressions by Krista Mahan Teaching Momster

Students can use this set to practice basic facts and find equivalent expressions. They would work well for small groups, as a whole class activity, or as a math center.

3. Fishing for CVCe Words Memory Game from Kinder Doodles

More fish! This game has cards for a word to picture matching game. It's an easy peasy  literacy center! 

4. Addition Word Problems from Sherry Clements

This set has 3 pages of print-and-go word problems. Students will use number lines, ten frames, equations, and drawings to represent each problem. 

5. Carnival Math Games: Addition and Multiplication from Teacher Tam

This set includes 3 different games: addition, addition with 3 numbers, and multiplication. Each game board comes in color and blackline. 

6. Grammar Task Cards Using Summer Sentences by Teachers Take Out

Students can use these 10 task cards to review nouns, adjectives, prepositions, pronouns, and verbs. It comes with 2 levels of recording sheets. 

7. End of Year Memory Book from The Bulletin Board Lady--Tracy King

This memory book rocks! It has a rock star theme with 5 different pages. This is just adorable and perfect for the end of the year! 

8. Print and Go Math Sample from OCD in First, Shanon Juneau

This FREEBIE has 7 pages of print and go math activities. 

9. Summer Reading Brochure for Parents from More Than a Worksheet

This tri-fold brochure about summer reading includes links to reading websites, tips about summer reading, and more! 

10. Summer Fun Freebie from Happy Days in First Grade 

This fun freebie would be great to send home as part of a summer pack. It has an activity tic-tac-toe, a summer reading log, and a summer vacation mini-poster. 

Thanks for reading! 

I hope you found a few great FREEBIES for your students!

CVC Words Super Pack and a FREEBIE!

Could your student(s) use some CVC practice? If so, then don't miss my CVC Words Super Pack! 

In the picture above, my son (kindergarten) sorts the real and nonsense CVC words. Then, he writes a few words from each set. 

This is just one of several activities included in this set. The CVC Words Super Pack also includes:

* 31 print and go activity pages!

* CVC write the room set. This set has 30 word cards (6 for each vowel), 2 full color recording sheets to laminate, and a blackline recording sheet.

* Real & Nonsense Word Sort. This center activity includes 30 words, a sorting mat, one full color recording sheet, and a blackline recording sheet.

* 20 CVC word and picture puzzles (4 for each vowel). Students will enjoy matching the words with the correct picture using these self-correcting puzzles.

* 20 Spell the word picture puzzles (4 for each vowel). Each of these puzzles has 3 pieces. Students spell the word while reconstructing the picture. This center helps students understand that letters go together to make words.

* CVC cut-and-glue books for each vowel. Each book has 3 pages to copy and 6 pages of print for the child. For each page, students cut out the letters, glue them together to make the word, then write the word. 

It has everything your littles need to master CVC words! 

This is one of my favorite activities from this set. In the picture above, my youngest son (preschool) completes the CVC word puzzles. He says each sound then merges the sounds to say the word pictured in the puzzle. As he finished each puzzle, he felt so successful! He is well on his way to learning to read! 

CLICK on the picture above to see this set on Teacher's Notebook.

CLICK HERE to find it on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Thank you so much for taking a look at one of my latest products! Just click on the picture below to download a FREE set of CVC word mats! This 5-page set covers 2 word families for each short vowel sound. They are perfect for small group practice or as a literacy center activity. 

I hope your students enjoy using the freebie! 

Happy teaching!