Spelling activities for any word list - no prep!

Hi all!
Happy March!  Here on the east coast we are anxiously awaiting spring!  The snow just keeps on coming!

The upside of snowdays is that I usually spend some time puttering on my computer.  I just compiled some of my word work activities into a new learning pack and posted it to my store.

These activities can be used with any word list - spelling, words walls, word families ... choice is yours!

There are 16 activities included: 
Watermelon Words
Show Me 4!
What's the Number?
Bubble Words
Secret Code
What's it Worth?
Word Tic-Tac-Toe
Graffiti Wall
Newspaper Hunt
Ghost Words
Opposite Hand
Word Cloud
Playdough Words
Word Maze
Box it Up!
Lightning Words

I use and like them all but my faves are probably the Graffiti Wall, Box it Up! and the Word Maze... students stay engaged for sooooo long!!!!  Each one is ready to print in black and white and includes both a color and black and white student instruction 'I can' page.

You can find it HERE - take a peek at the preview for a closer look!

I have posted this in my TPT store for a discount until midnight. I will also give away 3 copies to the first 3 people who comment on this post.  Please remember to include your email!

Beginning Sounds Mystery Messages

I spent a rainy morning getting another learning pack ready to post in my store.  (I have a few that I need to do that too!)

My students love Mystery Messages and I love that they can use these to practice beginning sounds, capital letters, spacing, correct spelling, punctuation, and neat handwriting.

There are 24 messages included.  Each one has a choice of 2 writing lines.
Back to School:  I am very happy you are here!
Fall: The squirrel has an acorn.
Fall: Do you like to carve pumpkins?
Halloween: Are you afraid of spiders?
Halloween: What is your favorite candy?
Thanksgiving:  I am thankful for my friends.
Christmas: The elf on the shelf is magic!
Christmas: Do you like candy canes?
Winter: My snowman has a carrot nose.
Winter: Do you want to build a snowman?
New Year: It is going to be a great year!
Groundhog Day: Do you think the groundhog will see his shadow?
Valentine’s Day: Will you be my Valentine?
100th Day: I am one hundred days smarter!
Earth Day: We can all help the Earth.
Easter: Draw five eggs in the basket.
Insects: An insect has three body parts.
Summer: Swimming at the beach is fun!
Summer: It is important to wear sunscreen.
Friends: I can be kind everyday.
Color: What is your favorite color?
School: School is cool!
Superhero: I always try my best!
Recess: Playing outside is fun!

For each message students look at the picture, sound out the word and print the beginning sound.  The letters will spell a mystery sentence that students then need to print.

I have included an 'I can' student instruction card for you to use if you plan to use these in a literacy center.  

You can find this learning pack HERE at my TPT store.

As always, the first 3 people who leave a comment on this post with their email will receive a copy.

Blends and Digraphs Word Building

I'm excited about this learning pack!

When working with small groups I am always looking for easy-prep resources to reinforce blends and digraphs so I created and laminated these words strips fro students to use with dry erase markers.  They are also included in black and white which could be copied to make student booklets.

As you can see in the background there are 4 recording pages so students can show what they know at a literacy station.  After they work in a small group with me I always send them off to work on a related task and thought these would be perfect!

You can find this learning pack HERE at my TPT store.

As always, the first 3 people who comment on this post with their email will receive a copy. It pays to stop by! :)

The Day the Crayons Quit

About 4 months ago I started creating activities to go with one of my favorite read alouds ... The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt.  Now that school's out I've had a chance to put the activities into a learning pack. :)

Although this started as a small unit it ended up being 80 pages!

Inside you'll find:

opinion writing
persuasive writing
scrambled color words
point of view
character traits
using color
personification
creating a new character
alphabetical order
writing craftivity
teaching tools
writing pages
and ... I added a place value mystery picture because my students can't get enough of them!

As you can see... this unit is jam packed!

Don't have the book on hand?  Here's a link to a read aloud on YouTube by The Storybook Factory.

You can find this learning pack HERE in my TPT store.  As always, the first 3 people who leave a comment with their email will get a copy!

Did I mention who I spent my Saturday evening with???  None other than Blake Shelton!  His show was FANTASTIC!!!!! 

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and I hope to be back soon with more of my half finished products! :)

Syllables

I teach first grade and the kindergarten teachers at my school do an amazing job teaching syllables, but there are always a few... you know the ones!  So, I've created a learning pack to use to target those students in particular, but could also be used in kindergarten.

I've included picture cards to sort using either a pocket chart or sorting mats, a name sorting activity, anchor charts, and 4 different recording pages including a flip book.  There are "I can" cards included to build student independence and everything is in color and black and white.

You can find this learning pack HERE at my TPT store.

As usual, I'd love to give a few copies away, so the first 3 people who comment on this post with their email will receive a copy :)

To, Too, Two

After I posted my There, Their and They're Mini-Posters and Flip-Book I had a few requests to do the same for To, Too and Two.  I'm pleased to say that I have now posted them in my TPT store to be downloaded for FREE.  I hope you're able to use it!!!

 And, In case you missed it:

Just click on the pictures to download for free :)
Enjoy!!!!!

Long Vowels Flip Book

Vowel Flip Books part 2 :)

I've posted a Long Vowels Flip Book and am thrilled with how it turned out!!!!

There are 25 picture cards with a long vowel sound missing.  Students need to print the missing letter, color the picture (might as well put in some fine motor skill practice!) and glue them onto the correct page of the book.

I've included 2 different options for creating the book.  One has you photocopy each page then have students assemble, the second uses less photocopies.  Make sense? Maybe this will help:

I have included an I Can student instruction card to go with each choice making it perfect for a word work station.

You can find this HERE at my TPT store and the Short Vowel version HERE.

I'll send a copy of the Long Vowels pack to the first 2 people who comment on this post.  As well I'm giving away a copy on my Facebook page.

Short Vowels Flip Book

Happy Thursday!

I am super excited about my newest learning pack!

There are 25 picture cards with the middle short vowel sound missing.  Students need to print the missing letter, color the picture (might as well put in some fine motor skill practice!) and glue them onto the correct page of the book.

I've included 2 different options for creating the book.  One has you photocopy each page then have students assemble, the second uses less photocopies.  Make sense? Maybe this will help:

 

I have included an I Can student instruction card to go with each choice making it perfect for a word work station.

You can find this new pack HERE at my TPT store.  Next on my to-do list - you guessed it I need to finish up my long vowels book :)

Would you like a copy?  There are 2 ways - I'll send a copy to the first 2 people who comment here with their email AND I'm giving one away on my Facebook page.

How I use Sight Words and a freebie (or two)

Yesterday morning I posted a picture on Instagram of the Sight Words Pouches (pencil cases) that I picked up at Target.  Since then I've received a number of emails wondering how I store / use sight words.  Here's a peek into my sight word routine.

First, the picture I posted of the cutest pouches.

At the beginning of the year I stock up on recipe cards at the dollar store.  Each time I teach a new sight word I have the students print the word on a card and store it in their pouch.  The pouches travel home for practice but are returned to school so we can use them each day for practice (see the game below) and to add more.

I jazz them up with a label for the front.  Click HERE to download my labels. I have formatted them to fit on AVERY 5163 labels.  There are 10 on a sheet so I only needed to use 3 sheets :)

One of the games my kiddos love to play is an idea I picked up from a co-worker years ago.  It is called WORDO  - think bingo but no bingo markers!  You can download a copy for FREE by clicking on the picture or HERE.

I've included the directions with the game, but basically students choose 6 words from their pouch and place them on their playing card (which I print 11X17).  The teacher (or caller) calls out sight words and if the player has it they remove it from their card (NO MARKERS NEEDED!).  The winner is the player who clears their card first. EASY PEASY!!!  My students ask to play it ALL.THE.TIME!

I hope you enjoy these sight word freebies :)

If you have ideas for how I can use sight words in my classroom I'd love to hear them.

Mirror Magic - Contractions

My mirror activities started out as a Tricky Leprechaun activity, but the students were so engaged that I've created a few more 'backward' activities since.

The latest has just been posted!

Students use a mirror to read backward contractions.  How fun is that????

As you can see by my photo, I had a crisis ... I ran out of colored ink!  AHHHH!  It might have had something to do with the 300 tickets I printed for my daughter's farewell dance.  I guess I'll be hitting Costco this weekend to pick up some ink :)

To use this word work station, students choose a card and use a mirror to read the contraction.  The word is then recorded and matched to the two words that create the contraction.  I've included the option to use 12 or all 24 cards.  Perfect to add differentiation into your lesson plan.

You can find this HERE at my store.

I've got some lesson planning to do this evening (I know, you're jealous!) but when I finish I'll choose 3 people to receive a copy of this unit.  Just leave a comment with your email :) Perfect, there were 3 comments - I'll send it soon!

Enjoy your evening!

Laureen

Insect Literacy Centers

I had an amazing four day weekend!  I could get spoiled with the extra couple of days :)  I used some of my time to organize my insect themed literacy stations and get them ready to post in my store.  Here's a little peek:

 Students will be working on:

compound words

non-fiction writing (I plan to have some non-fiction books handy for them to use for research),

r-blends,

word family work,

scrambled sentence sorting

and alphabetical order.

Aren't these graphics adorable?????

These stations will also match my listening center response sheet freebie

and my Insect Mirror Words Activity

My Insect Literacy Stations are available HERE at my TPT store.

I will send a copy of my Insect Literacy Stations to the first 3 people who comment on this post.  Last time I had responses within 5 minutes.  Let's see who's visiting this evening :)