I love my job! I keep saying that, but I really
do! Teachers share ideas with me
and then I get to pass them on to you!!!
Here are some super cool ideas from Harrison City, Pennsylvania.
Pick Up Your Name (Cindy Mondi)
Write names on paper plates
and place a few on the floor. Sing
this song to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”
If your name is on the
plate, pick it up.
If your name is on the
plate, pick it up.
If your name is on the plate
Then you’re really doing
great.
If your name is on the
plate, pick it up.
*Do this at the beginning of
the year for name recognition and then change it to last names.
Toot a Roo (Cindy Mondi)
Explain to the children that
inside every toilet paper roll there is a free toot a roo. Ask kids to save them and bring them to
school. Kids decorate these and
then use them to cheer. “Toot a
roo!”
*It goes “Blhhh!” if it’s
broken!
Zero the Hero Bubble Wrap
Stomp (Janie Rock)
Save bubble wrap and cut it
into 8-10” sections. Place one on
the floor in front of each child.
As you sing “Zero the Hero” and count to 100 allow the students to stomp
one time on the bubble wrap every time you make a set of ten.
Carousel (Kelli McCall)
1.
Each child gets a letter and they must tell you the name and sound.
2.
Students form a circle.
3.
Place the letters on the floor and the students say they letter (or
sound) as they
go around.
4.
Place paper of different colors on the floor (representing Elkonin
boxes).
Say a word and the
kids have to spell it out with their cards.
Hot Potato Review (Kelli McCall)
- Stuff a knee high with cotton to make a “hot
potato.”
- Play music.
- Students pass around the potato until the music
stops.
- Hold up a flash card (word, letter, etc.) for
that student to identify.
Step Book Measurement (Alexis
Redman)
Use a step book to
demonstrate capacity.
Gallon – quart – pint – cup
Who Am I Step Book? (Melanie Ward)
Children write three clues
with details about who they are.
Use baby pictures on the front.
Hang in the hall for others to try and guess who they are.
Ready to Move On Signals (Maria D’Ascenzo)
When students understand a concept or are ready to move on to the next question have them give you a signal. They can do Spiderman hands, Batman face (circles around eyes), moose ears, crowns, ice cream cones (lick), etc.
Envelope Puppets (Alexis Redman)
Laminate envelopes before
cutting them in half for displaying two choices. Students can use a dry erase marker to program choices for a
variety of skills.
Old Maid! (Janice Skoretz)
Use Old Maid cards to choose
partners. If your group is an
uneven number include the Old Maid.
The person who has the Old Maid gets to choose which group to go into.
Binoculars (Mary Beth
Smyda)
Take 2 toilet paper rolls
and wrap them in jungle theme paper with tigers, cheetahs, etc. Staple these together and put on a
strip for straps. Children can
look through these and find words, letters, shapes, etc.
Silly Sentences Flip Book (Melanie Ward)
Fold three sheets of paper
in half vertically as shown and staple.
Cut slits on top five sheets to make flips. Write “Who?” “Did What?” “When?” and “Where” on the front as
shown. Children write
possibilities under each one. They
then flip through the book making silly sentences. Here are a few examples:
Who? My teacher…my mom…the king…
Did What? Went to the moon…hit a home run…baked a
cake
When? Today…three years ago…a 100 years ago
Where? At school…on the moon…in the White
House
Check out this shirt that a
principal had made for each of her teachers. The children’s thumb prints are the apples on the tree on
the back of the shirt. Cute!
