Wednesday, December 19, 2012

INDIANA IDEAS PART 2


I Love My Flag  (Cindy Tabor)
(Tune:  “Yankee Doodle”)
I love my flag,
My country’s flag,
The red, white and blue.
It has broad stripes
And fifty stars
And stands for freedom, too!

Phonics Books
Use a flip book for diagraphs.
Make a step book with three sheets of paper for a vowel book.
Cooking in the Classroom  (Julie Wilson and Chandra Phillips)
Cook things for each letter of the alphabet.  It’s a great way to teach letters and sounds as well as math measuring skills and cooking safety.

Holiday Brain Breaks  (Sharon Smith)
Melt like a snowman…
Polish your halo like an angel…
Roll like an ornament…
Flicker like a candle…
Prance like a reindeer…etc.
*Adapt for different seasons and themes.

Reindeer Shirt Day 
At the beginning of December ask parents to send in T-shirts.  Make reindeer on the shirts by tracing the child’s footprint with fabric paint for the head and their handprints for antlers.  Add a red pompom nose and googly eyes.  Wear these every Friday in December.  Watch the cartoon version of “The Grinch” and invite a guest speaker (superintendent, principal, Santa) to read the book.  Compare and contrast the book and the movie.  Serve cocoa and cookies.

Letter Cards
Write letters on cards and hole punch on each side.  Use links to hook the letters together to make word wall words.

Punch Cards for Rest Time  (Kelly Lohr)
After children rest quietly, they get a punch on their card.  If they get 10 punches they get a coupon for “Craft Quietly” or whatever they choose. 
Problem of the Day  (Hiba Qasmi)
Each day write a math problem on the board that is a review of the previous chapter.  All the students write their answer on a piece of paper and put it in the “lucky box.”  At the end of the day have a “lucky draw.”  The student whose name you pick gets a prize.

Book Presents (Danielle Underwood)
In December wrap holiday books up like presents.  Randomly choose a name out of a popsicle tin and let that child unwrap the present.  After reading the book, display it for the children to look at during free time.

Craft Stick Spacers (Danielle Underwood)
Use jumbo craft sticks as spacers for those students who struggle with spacing.
*Remind them to use meatball spaces between words and spaghetti spaces between the letters in a word.

Wheel of Fortune 
Tell the students you are going to give them a secret message.  Write the message on the board with blank spaces for the letters.
_   _ _ _ _   _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _.
The children get to fill in the letters until they can read the message.
(I like my little dog.)
The winner gets something from the treasure chest.

Bubble Wrap Words
Create a paper with sight words on it that will match up to bubbles on the wrap.  Lay the wrap on top of the worksheet.  Children get to pop the bubbles as they read the words.

Egg Stories  (Penny Cooper)
Cut up parts of a sentence or a story.  Place the pieces for a story in the same color of eggs.  Children find the eggs and then create a group with the same color.  The group must then assemble their sentence/story and illustrate it.

Class Jobs  (Jenny Drang)
Create class jobs that are REAL jobs.
Post office person helps pass out Friday folders
Meteorologist helps with the calendar
Host/hostess - pass out napkins
Water/waitress – pass out straws
Police officer – keeps the floor clean
Coach – checks lockers
Teacher – helps put stickers on papers

Pencil Grip  (Cheryl Rose)
Put on your seatbelt.  (Put a rubber band on your wrist and wrap it around the end of the pencil.)
Mom and dad ride in the front seat.  (Reminder that pointer and thumb hold the pencil.)
All the kids (remaining 3 fingers) ride in the back seat.