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!