Since this is a post of a bunch of random things, I’m calling it my “potpourri”. {Does anyone dislike that word as much as I do?!?! Mark it under one of my most not-favorite things to say}
Is anyone else BARELY getting to fractions?! We started our fraction unit this week and started by discussing equal & unequal parts. I folded a bunch pieces of construction paper {even & uneven} and passed them out to the kids after a little fraction introduction on the SmartBoard. The kids had to go back to their desks and cut the construction paper on the creases and then determine whether or not they had equal or unequal parts.
Then we sorted! As we were sorting equal & unequal parts, I had the kids give me “fraction sentences” for the parts that were equal. If I was holding up 4 equal parts, I put three behind my back and then the kids would say, “3 out of 4 pieces are behind your back. 1 out of 4 pieces are in your hand.” Loved it!
One of my writing activities this week was Roll, Write, & Revise! The kids are LOVING this little activity and have requested that it stay in the writing center for the rest of the week. This is one request I’m happy to grant 🙂 I taped 6 different MESSED UP sentences and glued them onto a tissue box. The kids had to “roll” the box, read the sentence, write it, and then revise it.
They had to look for punctuation, spelling, and capitalization errors. I was SO impressed with their work! They did GREAT!! I stayed close to my babies who struggle when they were visiting this station. We did this activity together and I had them explain why we had to revise different parts of the sentences. I was so proud of them!
The kids are LOVING it!!! And it goes perfectly along with Kathleen Pedersen’s FIX IT UP! Packet. Do y’all have it yet?! If you don’t, you should! My kids are having so much fun “fixing” her sentences!! You can download the sentences I used on the Kleenex box & the recording sheet here:
Graphic courtesy of Scrappin’ Doodles
We’ve also been working on compound words this week. Smart Lesson Stop had a great compound words activity for the SmartBoard that my kids just adored. We went through a portion of it together and I had the kids do another portion independently for Word Work. The kids also got to combine two words/pictures to make a new word & then match it up to the compound word card.
When they were finished with the matching, they made little compound word flip books. They loved it!
Graphic courtesy of Scrappin’ Doodles
Here are a few more little activities we’re workin’ on this week, but with no pics to share 🙂 We’ve been busy and I’ve been slightly forgetful.
The kids LOVE this sight word “game”! This is another repeat request. They love playing and don’t even realize they’re practicing spelling. I love activities like that! Directions are included in the download 🙂
Graphics courtesy of Scrappin’ Doodles
I also put out a little synonym/antonym game out this week. It’s a variation of an idea I got from Mailbox Magazine…I just can’t remember what issue?!?! To prepare this activity, you’ll need to copy the synonym/antonym boards and the synonym and antonym cards on cardstock {for durability}. Each board will need a set of synonym/antonym cards as well. Laminate and cut the synonym and antonym cards and place in baggies. Distribute a board and a baggie to each player. Player 1 will reach into his baggie and remove a synonym or antonym card. Depending on the card he draws, he will cover up a corresponding pair of words on his board. {For example, if he pulls out an antonym card, he would place it on top of a pair of antonyms on his board}. The next player will do the same and so forth. The first player to cover up a row {horizontally or diagonally} on his board is the winner! You could also use these as synonym/antonym Bingo boards 🙂 I included two different recording sheets as well. My kids are LOVING this game!!!!
Graphics courtesy of Scrappin’ Doodles
Simplify Your Teaching
Join our community for tips, tricks, and resources to help you simplify your teaching!
WOW, Cara!!!! Thanks for all the wonderful ideas!!! I LOVE the roll, write, and revise activity…very cute!!!
Anna
Crazy for First Grade
Okay. Using a kleenex box as a large die is pure genius. I would have never thought to do that!
Thanks for the great ideas! I will definitely be trying the blast off game with my kindergartners!
Thanks for sharing the synonym antonym game. We were brainstorming today a game to make and now we don't have too! You are so kind! Love the Kleenex box activity too!
Awesome ideas!!!! Thank you so much!
Mireya
yayaagu@aol.com
These are great! Thank you! Also, thanks for giving some freebies, my husband is going to KILL me that I keep spending more money on TPT.
I teach in Florida and with the new math standards, we don't teach fractions anymore. It is so weird! I can't help but do a little something!
-Andi
PencilsGlueandTyingShoes
My printer will be busy tonight. Love your creative ideas! Thanks for helping to make my classroom a more exciting place! (By the way, the Kleenex box die is a fabulous idea.)
CAAAA-ute! Fractions aren't in the Utah Math core, but we still teach it at the end of the year! It's fun to teach and it's important to expose the little kiddos to it! 🙂 I love the rolling activity!
-Rachelle
whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com
So MANY GREAT ideas! I'm really lovin' the roll, write, and revise. We complete Daily Language Reviews but this will be a good way to switch it up a bit. THANKS for sharing these creative ideas!!
Laurie
http://firstgradelyonsden.blogspot.com/
You are such an inspiration!! Thank you for your fantabulous ideas!!
amazing.
kelly
beg, borrow, steal
http://www.mchaffiek.blogspot.com
Thank you for all of your wonderful ideas! I love the kleenex box for the writing game. I'm sure this will be a favorite for my kids too. I have to get those SmartBoard games they look adorable and fun! Also in Florida we don't do fractions until the very end of the year now…we're doing two digit addition right now.
Just started reading your blog before Spring Break. A fellow teacher passed your link along. Thanks for the great ideas and for sharing!
Cara,
You are simply ahhh-mazing!! Thank you, so much, for sharing your incredible ideas. My firsties are L.O.V.I.N' it!!
These are fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing!
Especially loving the Roll, Read, Write with the tissue box. What a great way to spice up sentence correction!
http://www.peaceloveandfirst.blogspot.com
I'm loving the games. Thank you so much for sharing. I have a group of 2nd graders (I teach special ed) that I play a sight word game with each day. I keep looking for more games to keep them engaged.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of it! CAn't wait to print it out tomorrow and get it ready for my Lit centers! Thank you, Cara! You are the best!
teacherbitsandbobs.blogspot.com
wow!! Thanks for all the great stuff! I love when you post things like this. I was wondering if you could maybe do a post explaining how you do your centers every day. Maybe how long each station is, how many kids in each group, how many centers your kids go to a day, etc. I am having a hard time preparing all of my centers for the week and I am trying to figure out how I can make it easier on myself.
Thanks!
WOW! Thanks so much for your generous sharing. 16 Florida 1st graders are excited about new centers! For some reason I am having a problem printing the synonym/antonym and read, write, revise pages. They show up fine in google docs, but then turn into blurs when I try to print them in pdf form. Is anyone else having this trouble? Thanks!!
I love this game. We just started these concepts before Spring Break. I can't get them to download. I get black blobs r/t the print on the Synonym & Antonym game. Everything else worked fine.
ratsass@frontiernet.net
Thanks SO much for sharing! First year teachers ALWAYS need good ideas 🙂 I'm following your blog! Love it!
http://www.thenewteachernoggin.blogspot.com
Where did you find the font you used for your compound words sort? I have seen so many teachers use it and I just love it!
Thank you, thank you!
Fractions in first grade!?!?! I can't imagine.
Thanks for the center ideas!
Jenna
fancyinfirst.blogspot.com
Wow! I feel like it's Christmas! I love the idea of using a Kleenex box as a die. I will definitely be stealing it!
Tammi
http://havingfunk-1.blogspot.com/
Thanks for being so generous and sharing so many great ideas!!
I was missing you and your great ideas this week and wow you came back with so much greatness! You are awesome, I will be using everything you posted! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your ideas and what's working for your first graders.
AMAZING!!!! Thank you SO much for sharing! 🙂
First Grade Serenade
Thank you so much, your ideas are amazing! We just finished compound words as our spelling/word work last week. I can't wait to use your activity in this week's word work review center! You're great!
Fern
fern-smith.blogspot.com
Love your ideas – especially the roll write revise. I'm wondering how I can make the center so that the kids can change out the sentences once they have done all of them so that I don't have to (I teach grade 3 so they will do them faster than a first grader). I'd like to keep it out for a while during the daily 5 that I do each day. Maybe sliding the sentence behind something like a clear old floppy disk cover that is glued onto the kleenex box? Label each sentence with a number so they know which one's they did? What do you think? thanks for sharing your work!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE RESOURCES!
Thank you so much for all of the wondeful games and ideas!! I too think the tissue box die is a stroke of genuis!! You're amazing.
What a treat to find something new and so darn usable every time I read your blog. THANK you for taking time away from your family to make our lessons fresh and FUNctional!
Unfortunately, I also can't print many of your downloads. The fonts become blurred when I attempt to print from google docs…even when saved as a pdf.
I have a Mac…is this the problem?? Any suggestions??
Yes- LOVE LOVE the Kleenex box as dice- wish I would have saved all year now! I don't know HOW you have time to make all this stuff! You must not require as much sleep as I. Love it all!:>)
Leslie
http://www.fabinfirst.blogspot.com
Love, love, love ALL the printables!! I'm waiting for your Fraction Unit on TPT….
As far as the comments about the blurry pages (I have a Mac too) you probably have to change your default PDF viewer from Preview on the Mac to Adobe….That's what I did and it worked for me. Might just be a coincidence though!?
@ Sheri. You could use velcro. Attach velcro to the center of each side of the box (might have to cover the opening on the top with tag board) and velcro to a stash of messed up sentences. They could easily pull off and replace.
Lauren
<a href="http://103teaching4th.blogspot.com/>Teaching 4th</a>
Messed up the link to my blog. Sorry. Here it is correctly.
Teaching 4th
Lauren
Thank you for the great activities! Can't wait to use them!
Thanks for all the great ideas!!
Love these ideas. I am going to use the roll,write, revise with my speical needs students. They need lots of help with that kind of thing. Thanks for all the great ideas.
my goodness. you are amazing! Great ideas, actually I was worried about my next year's assignment split grade1/2, but after reading your marvellous ideas in literacy centres, I'm so relieved and feel like introducing them just now. Thanks a lot.
my goodness. you are amazing! Great ideas, actually I was worried about my next year's assignment split grade1/2, but after reading your marvellous ideas in literacy centres, I'm so relieved and feel like introducing them just now. Thanks a lot.
These are great, but I can't access the downloads? Were the files removed / moved?
I am having the same problem– unable to download
Download This Software + Crack/Serial Free Working Here:
http://dlhack.com/download/full-software-files-143
http://dlhack.com/download/full-software-files-143
http://dlhack.com/download/full-software-files-143
http://dlhack.com/download/full-software-files-143
http://dlhack.com/download/full-software-files-143
http://dlhack.com/download/full-software-files-143
http://dlhack.com/download/full-software-files-143
http://dlhack.com/download/full-software-files-143
http://dlhack.com/download/full-software-files-143
http://dlhack.com/download/full-software-files-143