I went coast to coast last
week from Corning, New York, to Los Angeles, to Phoenix, and back to Charleston. Don't you love my new BFF's? You're also going to love some of these ideas you can use this week in your classroom.
Connecting with Books (Audrey
Yoshioka)
As you read books have students
touch index fingers to show that they have a personal connection with the book
or whatever you are talking about.
You can quietly acknowledge individual connections without stopping the
story.
*Students love to make connections
and you will know that they are listening!
How Do You Feel? (Bonnie Lewis)
Teacher: How do you feel?
Children: We feel good. Huh! (Children bend over slightly and flex their muscles.)
Who Let the Letters Out? (Angela Curtiss)
Write letters on dog bones. Have children stand in a circle and
place a dog bowl in the middle of the floor. When they hear their letter sung in the song they place
their bone in the dog bowl.
Attendance Activities
(Claudia Castaneda)
*While taking attendance say a
rhyming word for each child's name.
Maudia instead of Claudia...or Dr. Mean instead of Dr. Jean.
*Say a sound and children respond if
their name starts with that sound. /m/. Mary! Manuel!
*Say a letter and they must answer
with a word that begins with that sound.
Chapstick (Judi Little)
You can reward children with a dab
of scented Chapstick on their hand.
Call it a scentacular or
smellicious!
Right Hand (Kathy Crowe)
Always put the Chapstick on
children's right hand. By the end
of the year they will know their right from their left.
Build a Bear Hangman (Judi
Little)
Play a game similar to hangman
except building a bear is so much more positive than a noose! Put blanks on the board for each letter
in a word. Children take turns
calling out letters. If the letter
is not in the word draw the bear's head, body, ears, arms, legs, etc.
My Little Thumbs Keep Moving
(Judi Little)
(Tune: "The Bear Went over the
Mountain")
My thumbs wiggle around, my thumbs
wiggle around, (Wiggle
thumbs.)
My thumbs wiggle around and then I
tell them STOP!
My hands wiggle...my head...my
tongue, etc.
Name Rhymes (Nicole Cracco)
Think of a silly rhyme with each
child's name.
Ziplock Baggie Book (Jennifer
Nelson)
Put a few baggies together and sew
them along one side opposite the zipper.
This creates a refillable book that you can use for letters, sounds,
numbers, etc. Students can also
illustrate things that start with that letter.
Peek a Boo Book (Heather
Wade)
Fold a piece of paper into
fourths. Open and fold in
half. Cut slits to the crease as
shown. Open and fold in to the middle
to make little flaps. Use for
compound words, letters, etc.
The Olden Days
(Amanda Baroody)
Do a unit on the
"Olden Days" and bring in a record player, typewriter, rotary phone,
old camera, etc. Churn butter for snack, say nursery rhymes, wash clothes on a wash
board, etc.
Voting Pictures
(Kirsta Gilliam & Megan Shelanskey)
Print children's names and
glue their photos to cards. Let them vote for snacks, books, and other
activites by placing their picture by the one they want to vote
for. This allows children to see what they (and their friends) voted for and
they get excited to tell their families about it
when they get picked up.
Letter Tickets (Kieren Pennypacker)
Put the first letter of
children’s names on a piece of paper and that is their
"ticket" to the
carpet. When they come to the carpet they must identify their
letter and make it's
sound. Put their letter in a "treasure box" and that's their
ticket to go home. Letters are saved in the cubby until the next day.
THIS IS WHY I LOVE WHAT I DO!!!
Ilene and Gayla from Sierra Vista made books from Super Hero napkins (instead of doing worksheets) with their students on Friday. "They loved it...they ate it up and wanted to share!"