Santa Sight Word Toss

Hey all, this year I haven't been timely at all with my postings.  So, if you are still in school, I hope you will be able to use this.  I got the idea from a blog I saw last year and I'm sorry but I can't give the credit to who's blog it was.  If you see this and it is yours, please let me know.  Anyway, here it is and the directions are on the sheet.  Merry Christmas everyone.  I know it's early, but tomorrow is our last day, so I've been saying it a lot lately!

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Make a Sentence

This is like the make a word, but it uses words that make sentences.  Cut out each sheet and put into it's own baggie, there are 4 altogether. The students make a sentence from the words. Then the students record what they made on to the recording sheet.  I've made all of these activities because it's getting so close to our Winter Break and the kids need something a bit different than the usual stuff I have them using.  There is so much energy in the air and it's only December 7th.  Actually, I'm enjoying watching the kids excitement grow each day during this time of the year.  We only have 7 more school days until our break.  But hey, who's counting!

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Merry Make a Word

Here's another make a word.  Same rules apply as the previous one.  This one has more opportunities to find words, so it should be easier for the kids.   

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Make a Word: Gingerbread Boy

Here's my first attempt at a "Make a Word" game.  Students manipulate the letters of Gingerbread Boy to make as many different words as possible.  I included a recording sheet for the kids to write the words they have made.  We haven't done anything like this in my class this year, so I'll see how it goes tomorrow.  I know some may have a hard time with making several different words, but I think they will have fun with this concept.  We've been working hard on the strategy "chunky monkey", so I'll be able to see if they can apply it in a different context.  Enjoy!

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Early Fact Family

Hello everyone.  I made this game today for math to help the kids understand (we've worked on this a lot) that 4 plus 6 is the same as 6 plus 4.  If you have been following my blog, you may remember my "Baby Algebra" game.  I sort of used this concept to show the kids what equal means and it morphed into this game.  The kids work with a partner and they each roll a dice.  Depending on what you are working on (addition or subtraction), the kids write the amount that is on the dice in the two circle boxes.  Then they write the equation in the first box and the flip or reverse in the second box.  My hope is that this will help with their understanding of facts when we get to fact families. It's not pretty, but the kids had fun with this one so I thought I'd share.

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Turkey Bump!

Gobble, gobble, it's turkey time!  Here's a game board I made to use during these next few days before the Thanksgiving break.  It's the game of Bump.  If you don't know how to play, here's the directions.  It's for 2 players.  They will need a game board, dice and some unifix cubes, about 12 each of their on color.  Player 1 rolls the dice, adds up the amount and then places a cube on the answer.  Player 2 rolls the dice, adds up and places a cube on the answer.  If player 1 has a cube on the number, player 2 may bump player 1 off.  Play continues.  If a player gets a sum that they already have made, they get to put a cube on top of their other one.  This "locks" in that number and then they can not get "bumped" off.  A variation of this game for the higher learners is to use 3 die and then the student uses both addition and subtraction to get an answer.  Kids LOVE this game and ask for it often.  They loved seeing the turkeys on it.  

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Fall Cover Up

Here's the second game I made.  This game is just another version of Clear the Board or Elimination.  It's a great strategy game for all levels.  I just taught this one to my kids and they love it.  I'm going to need to make more copies for them!  I hope your kids like it also.

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I Spy OrdinalsI

I made this game ages ago and forgot about it!!!  It's been a crazy busy fall and my desktop on my laptop looked like how I was feeling.  Full of stuff that was almost impossible to organize, so I just kept putting more onto it.  Well, conferences are over and I just finished my report cards.  I decided to clean off the desktop and I found this game and another one I made which I need to tweak and then I'll post it also.  These may be past the time you'd want to use them, so I was thinking that if anyone wants me to, I could remake them with graphics that are more seasonal.  These were at the time I made them, honest!  I wish I had remembered that I had made them.  I'm going to go ahead and use them next week in my room.  Anyway, here is I Spy Ordinals for you.  I hope you can use them and let me know if you'd want some others.

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More Than/Less Than

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted anything.  The start of this school year has kick me hard.  It is settling down now and I feel like we finally have a routines going in my classroom.  Yhea!  So, today as we were beginning to compare numbers, the kids asked me if they could use Halloween cards.  I had made some fall leaves ones that they have been using so I decided to make these tonight.  The directions on how to play are on the front sheet.  The numbers are mixed up but they are all there.  Enjoy, and happy October!

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500 Followers and a New Math Game!!!!!!

WOW!  I have been so busy with the start of the school year that I haven't been on here for awhile, so imagine my delight when I saw that I have over 500 followers!!  You are all so awesome, I'm humbled by that number.  So, anyway, I made a new game that has multiple uses!  Yhea, just the kind that I like.  It will look a little mixed up, but everything really is there, I promise.  If anyone sees that I did mess up, please let me know and I will fix it.  Also, if you find another way to use these cards, please share with us. I hope everyone has a happy start to their 2011/12 school year!

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A New Math Game for Beginning of 1st Grade

I just finished summer school and I had the low, rising first graders.  This helped me figure out what they will need at the start of the year.  I seem to forget what they are like at the start of the year because when the 1st graders leave at the end of the year they have come sooooo far.  So, I realize they need beginning number concepts.  They can orally count and have some number recognition, but the teens numbers seem to be what they need the most help with.  I made this game to practice what comes before and after a number.  I found that the really low kids could do this if they had a number line in front of them.  As I was watching them play a version of this I made using stars and fireworks (let me know of you would want this), I saw that when they were looking up a number on the number line they didn't always have to start at one.  Yhea!!  they do have some skills.  Now that I'm done with summer school, I should have time to start making more games.  I've got lots of ideas, so keep watching for more.

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Hamburgers and Hotdogs SLAP!

I know that some of you are already out of school for the Summer  but we still have 2 more weeks to go!  I'm actually kind of glad (I know I'm nuts! but I really like my class and we have a lot of fun together).  I made this game to help the kids continue to strengthen their automaticity of their math facts in addition and subtraction.  I know they will get a bit loud when they play this but it's the price we have to pay!  They get so excited when they play these kind of games.  I made them hamburgers and hotdogs in honor of Memorial Day!  Get ready for a fun time in your room!

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Q R Codes and Shapes and fractions!

I discovered QR codes from reading Swamp Frog First Graders Blog and they are the neatest things.  If you are not sure what they are then here's the scoop.  You know how you go to the grocery store and they scan the bar codes on the products so you know how much they cost?  Well a QR Code , which by the way stands for" Quick Response", is a square box that has all kinds of geometric shapes in it that when scanned by a QR reader has all kinds of information imbedded in it.  I first saw one in a magazine that had an advertisement for a movie.  There is a free download at  http://www.qurify.com that allows you to make the codes.  Then you can use an ipod that has a camera and also has an app on it (you can find it free to download, ask your IT person because I don't know what it is....but I do know that Apple has one for free) and then click away.  You can also use a Smart Phone that has the app downloaded on it.  These really are soooooooo cool.  I've made my kids names and then they went around the room looking for theirs.  So, I've made this sheet that kills 2 birds with one stone.  The kids click on the QR and it tells them to draw a shape and then to make it into a fraction.  I hope someone out there  will be able to use this.  My mind is spinning with ideas of things to make and use in the classroom.

Download QR Shape/Fraction Codes Here

Equal or Not equal or in other words: Baby Algebra

For some reason my post got deleted!!!  So, I went and fixed it up a bit and here you go, the new and improved Equal or Not Equal Game.   My kids played it and offered suggestions and they were very good ones!  Here's the game and there is a recording sheet that is in a separate download.  I hope your kids have fun playing this and let me know what you and they think.  I love feedback........ I seem to thrive on it.

Download Game Here

Download Recording Sheet Here

Critter Color Tens and Ones

I guess I'm on a color in kick!  The kids work in pairs or groups of 3.  They choose a card that has a base ten block picture on it.  They figure out the number and then look for the number on the critter sheet.  They color in the number.  If they choose a card and there isn't a space to color in then they loose their turn. When the whole sheet has been colored in they count to see how many each player colored to find the winner.

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Children's Engineering: Long Ago and Today

      We just had our school wide Engineering Fair and it was a HUGE success!  My school is located in Albemarle County, Virginia which is home to the University of Virginia.  Several classrooms in my building were working with The University's Curry School of Education and the UVA School of  Engineering since the start of school last fall.  We were given printers and fabricators to use with software (Fablab and Community Construction) that was designed by people in the Engineering department at UVA.  I was one of the fortunate teachers that got to work with these talented people.  We worked on several different projects but our favorite is the comparison communities we made showing Long Ago and Today.  One of our state's Standards of Learning (SOL's) is comparing life from today with that of long ago. 

Before I even began to teach this concept I showed the kids pictures and read books about buildings.  We talked about the shapes that we saw in them.  Then we did a wonderful art project I found on 

http://www.deepspacesparkle.com 

that had to do with shapes and buildings. Here are some samples of the finished product.

 When I began to teach the SOL, I  started out by reading the book "A Street Through Time" and having the kids tell me as we went through each era what they saw that stayed the same and what was different.
      

We brainstormed all businesses and buildings that we see here in Charlottesville and then made a list.  We sorted them into different sections such as businesses that help us, ones that keep us safe, ones that are fun, etc.  This tied into our Economics Unit of Needs and Wants and Buyers and Sellers.

 We then designed our community and decided what "Earth" features we wanted in it.  We knew that all living things need water, so the kids said we would need to have either a lake or a river.  They ended up deciding that they wanted both.  They continued to design the community putting in a railroad, roads and bridges. 

Then we were ready to plan our community: where we wanted the buildings to go. We used squares of paper and the conversation the kids had doing this was awesome.  They really thought out where things should go and thought about the problems that may come from a placement.  It was really amazing to hear them at this young age problem solve together.

Now it was time to work with our friends from UVA.  They came in along with our Gifted Resource teacher and the kids worked on the computers making their buildings.  They used the Community Construction software and each child made 4 buildings.  2 businesses from today, 1 home from today and 1 home from long ago.  The kids got to pick the size of their buildings along with the siding that would go on it.  Again, they did a fantastic job thinking about what the building should look like.  I went online and found different kinds of roofs and sidings for them to choose from.

  From there we printed and fabricated the buildings.  The kids loved watching them come out of the machine (it's called a Silhouette) and seeing the buildings go from a 2D shape into a 3D shape. 

When all of the buildings were finished, we then went back to our community we mapped out and started to put the buildings down.   The comparison between the Community of Today with that of Long Ago came alive before their eyes. 

 It was a very fun way to learn about the differences.

Our Community of Today

  Our Long Ago Community

 Here are what some of the buildings looked like close up.

Look at the details in the sidings and the roofs, pretty cool!

Then we wrote about all we did to make these communities, the struggles and the triumphs we experienced.  We also wrote about the comparisons between the two communities, what would be the same and different from living Today and Long Ago.

   Our final step will be to go on a field trip to a Living History Museum called the Frontier Culture Museum located in Staunton, Virginia that has houses from Long Ago.  The cool part is my kids will be looking not only on how they looked, lived and dressed but also at the architecture of the buildings. 

                   I've attached the design brief that I wrote for this project.

Download Design Brief Here

This Was a Request!!

Awhile back I had a request to make one of my hidden sight word finds using the alphabet. I made this one with the upper and lowercase letters hidden.  I know this is way too easy right now for first graders but in the fall when we go back it should be o.k.   I'm sitting here while we are having a terrible storm outside, thunder and lightening with large hail! It's actually kind of cool.  It's been so hot here in Central Virginia so hopefully this will cool things off and make it more seasonal outside.  Anyway, hope there are some out there that will enjoy this alphabet find.

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Dino Color By Numbers

Here's another one but the numbers have been changed a bit. I was thinking of the boys in the class when I made this one!

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Color By Number

Here's a new idea I got from Anna Can Teach.  It's a color by number picture with a small twist.  The picture has numbers that tell the student what to color but the twist comes in here: the box on the bottom has each color number in a range (ex 41-49).  The student need to know where the number falls in a range to know what color to use.  It's a great challenge for the kids.  When we first started doing these, I gave the kids a 100's board to use but now they are able to complete these without that support.  Let me know what you think of these.  I love the feedback.

Download Picture Here

Hen's on Nest-Doubles and Doubles +- 1

Hello all, it seems like it's been awhile since I've posted.  It's really busy at school right now so I've been trying to get all of my school work done before I got to this fun stuff!  You know how that goes.  Anyway, here's a math game that the kids have to solve the chicken problem and find the nest that has the answer.  The addition and subtraction problems are doubles and doubles plus or minus one.

Download Hens and Nests Here

Oh Happy Days Contractions

Here's another word find per request!  I was working on this one with the thought that it would be a contraction one when I got the request from Busy Bee. Great minds....... Anyway, here it is.  I usually have a second side to the recording sheet that has the kids write a sentence and draw a picture.  I didn't make one for this but you can always use one from the other finds.  If I get to it, I'll re-post it on this one.

Download Contraction Word Find Here

Download Recording Sheet Here

More Sight Words Find- Fishtank

Here's another one.  These are the first 25 Dolch words. Some people asked for the easier words.  So, I hope this helps.

Download Fishbowl Here

Real Words/Fake Words Find

     This time I made a mixed word find.  There are 12  "Real" words and 12 "Not Real" words (pseudo words) for the kids to find.  I made a recording sheet and the child has to decide if the word is real or not and record it in the correct column. The recording sheet is 2 pages but I didn't realize that I had messed up and the second sheet is actually on the third page.  So when you go to download, it looks like there is only one page because the second page is blank.  Sorry, I'll try to fix it tomorrow, but if I don't it just means that you are printing 3 pages, one of which will be blank.  I made this one in black and white but I have another one of the bugs that is in color.  I just have to decide what words to put on it.  If anyone has any requests, let me know.
      This week is my Spring Break and I have spent my time either 1) SHOPPING!!!!!! my favorite thing to do, 2) making these games, my next favorite thing to do, 3) Running , I like to do this but it's not my favorite thing to do and 4) cleaning- definitely NOT my favorite thing to do (so I'm not doing much of it).  I also got to go to Richmond Virginia to see the Picasso exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  It was amazing.  It was my second time and I'm going back again as soon as possible. If you are anywhere near Richmond before the middle of May maybe you can plan on going to it.  This is the only place on the east coast it will be shown.  Enough of this infomercial, but really, if you like art, it's pretty cool. (It's cool even if you don't like art).

Download Word Find Here

Download Recording Sheet Here

Make a Sentence

Here's a twist on the fun "Make A Word" games I've seen.  It's Make A Sentence.  My kids love to do the make a word so I thought this would be a nice alternative to them.  It isn't pretty, but hopefully it will be fun.

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Fish Tank Fact families

My kids still need practice with this concept and I haven't seen any lately, so I made these to work in any season.  I thought they had it and stopped having them play with the ones I had from the Winter but when I went back to it whole group I realized that they really didn't know it. Sigh!  Just shows me that 1st graders need constant practice and repetition and not to stop when I think they've gotten it. Our SOL's (yup, that's what our state standards initials are!!!!) say that the kids need to know the addition and subtraction math facts through 10 and next year they change to 18!  So, more practice in fun ways. I know there have been a lot of these on different blogs, but I hope you can use these.

Download Fish Tank Fact Families Here

Alien Pseudo Word find

My co-teacher "Anna Can Teach" from Pro teacher fame has been busy again and came up with this Pseudo Word Find and recording sheets to go with it.  Thanks Anna! and have fun in Seattle this week.  
I was blog stalking and I want to thank the many blogsters out there that have put up my blog as a favorite on their blog.  I've got to learn how to have favorites on the side of mine so I can do the same.  I love the blogs that are out there that have their creations free for others.  I've said it before that we are all in this together and I think posting my stuff for others is paying it forward.  I'm glad I can be a help to you all that enjoy what I and my co-workers make. I work with a group of very creative people and we all have the same mind set.  So, as soon as I figure out how to post favorites, my list will be fill with those of us that share the idea and philosophy that we are helping each other and "paying it forward".

Download Alien Word Find Here

Download Alien Recording Sheet 1

Download Alien Recording Sheet 2

A Twist On The Word Finds-Compound Words!

I decided that I've probably exhausted the sight word finds, so I was thinking" what else could I do?"  I came up with several idea's (more to come on that in later posts!).  The first idea is to find words and then make them into compound words.  I started out with 30 words but then decided that was too many so I made 26 words that will then make 12 compound words. Let me know what you think of this.  I love the feed back and it helps me know if this is a good idea or not. I'm on Spring Break, so I can't test it out on my kids.  Hope you like this idea!

Download Circus Word Find Here

Download Compound Word Recording Sheet Here

Spooky Haunted House Part Two

It's the black and white version.  My boys in the class went bonkers today for the color version.  Funny how holiday stuff makes kids so excited.  I also remade the recording sheet to add in another space so there are 25 words to record now.  It's not pretty, but at least they are all there. We have one more day with kids before Spring Break, and then it's a teacher work day to work on our report cards.  I guess I'll have to stop this fun stuff for a while so I can complete them.  Don't worry though, I've got a ton of idea's and I'll get back to them as fast as I can!

Download Haunted House Here

Download Recording Sheet Here

Spooky Haunted House

Here's a sight word find that's in color.  I also have one in the works that is a black and white version of this one.  I know there are many that can not print these out in color, so I'm trying to meet several different level of needs.  I do take requests, so feel free to ask for something you don't see or the words to be different.  Now, time for me to go to bed!

Download Haunted House Here

Snowmen On Parade

Here's another.  I'm now working on holiday themes until my cd comes from d.j.inkers.  Halloween is next!

Download Snowmen Here

Here's the Space Sight Word Find

So, let me know if you are getting tired of these!!!!!  I love making these and I'm having a lot of fun with it.  Here's the Space one I've made in black and white.  Enjoy!

Download Space Here

Growing Feet!

Here's another growing pattern.  I made this one as a work sheet.  It's a simple counting by 2's pattern, but I've made it so the kids can discover this and then write about it. Hope your kids enjoy.

Download Feet Pattern Here