Oh, what a week I
had in South Dakota! The weather
was incredible and the teachers were amazing!!! From the beautiful Black Hills through the Badlands and the
prairies to Sioux Falls, it was an exciting week. If you’ve never seen Mt. Rushmore, it will take your breath
away!!!
South Dakota
Song (Shirley Whitney)
(Tune: “Frere Jacques”)
Are you
going? Are you going?
To South Dakota,
to South Dakota?
Buffalo are a
grazing
Pheasants are a
flying.
Come, come, come!
Come, come, come!
The Word on the
Bus (Laura Gerlach)
Draw the outline
of a bus and place flashcards on the bus as you sing:
The word on the
bus is was, was, was.
The word on the
bus is was.
That’s the word on
the bus.
Counting in
Spanish (Judy Knodel)
Sing to ten in
Spanish to the tune of “I Had a Little Turtle.” Flip and clap your hands as you wiggle your hips.
Uno, dos, tres,
cuatro, cinco,
seis,
Siete, ocho, neueve, diez.
Earworm (Kathy
Liesinger)
When a song gets stuck in your
brain it’s called an “earworm.”
Use the letter bus song to sing
the different sounds one letter can make.
For example, the “A” on the bus says /a/ /ay/ /ah/.
Attention Grabber
(Vanessa Prasnicki)
Teacher sings to the tune of
“Old MacDonald”: (Teacher’s name)
had a class.
Kids respond: “A – E – I – O – U”
Eaglets
Search “decorah eagles” and you
can watch eagles hatching and growing.
Buggy (Denise Harford)
Write letters of the alphabet
on popsicle sticks. On some of the
sticks have a picture of a bug.
Children pull a stick out of a bag and tell the name and make the sound. When they pull out a picture of a bug
they stand up and go “buggy” until you swat (clap hands) the bug down.
Hugs and Bubbles (Jo Ann
Hittle)
Before going in the hall remind
children to give themselves a hug (cross arms over body) and put bubbles (puff
out cheeks) in their mouths.
Tisket A Tasket Letters
(Pam Uecker)
I can make a letter.
I can make a letter.
I use my arms (or hands),
I use my legs,
And I can make a letter.
(Call out a letter for the
children to make with their bodies.
You could use these for sign language or other signs from your phonics
program.)
Cell Phone (Janet E.)
You will need a picture of a
cell phone for this activity.
Children can practice punching in their phone numbers, lunch account
numbers, etc. on the phone.
Picture Walk (Melissa
Roel)
Invite your students to take a
“picture walk” through a new book.
Ignore the words and have them focus on the pictures as you ask
questions:
“What’s happening?”
“Who is that?”
“Where are they?”
“What do you think this story
is about?”
You can use this for vocabulary
development, prediction, and other pre-reading skills.
Post It Letters (Lisa
Miller)
Teach the children to recognize
their name and learn letters with this activity. Put their name on a folder or poster board and
laminate. Write letters on post it
notes and have them match the letters in their names.
Singing Names (Erin
Rempfes)
Teach children how to spell
their names using the tune of “BINGO.”
Write their names on flash cards and have them hold them up as you sing:
I have a friend who has a name
and child’s name is his/her name-o.
(Spell out), (spell out),
(spell out),
And child’s name is
his/her name-o.
Stove Burners (Ruth
Stabile)
Give children stove burners to
use as their “work station” with magnetic letters.
Spinners (Ann Parsells)
Make a circle board with a
spinner. Divide into pie wedges
and put letters, colors, shapes, pictures, etc. in the wedges. Children can spin and identify the
information. Adapt for categories,
math, vocabulary, phonics, etc.
Letter Chart (Kathy
Barren)
Pass out cards with the
children’s first names. Place a
letter you are working on in a pocket chart. If their name has that letter they place it on the pocket
chart. If their name does not have
the letter, place it under the “no” sign.
Count the number of names with and without the letter. Repeat for last names.
Names (Pam Bonenberger)
Make flash cards with
children’s first and last names and their picture. Place 8 names at a time in a pocket chart and sing to the
tune of “Are You Sleeping?”
Joe Smith,
Frank Wilson,
Amy Craft,
Susan Wells….
Pumpkin Teeth (Susan
Kraemer)
Draw a pumpkin face with teeth
using a permanent marker and laminate.
Color in some of the teeth with a water soluble marker to make them
dirty. Let children brush the
teeth with a toothbrush and water as you sing, “This is the way you brush your
teeth…”