1, 2, 3, 4 - JEAN-YUS!

Carolyn Kisloski (ckisloski.blogspot.com) is one of my bestest besties!! She and I wrote (well, it was really more her than me) READING RECIPES and MATH RECIPES. I wanted to share the email she sent me last week because it reinforces the power of something that is “simple” and “open-ended."  It's much more engaging than a worksheet and can be adapted for so many different skills.

One more quickie- yesterday we did your activity where you fold the paper into 4 parts and label 1,2,3,4. The kids then wrote words in each box with one letter, two letters, three letters, and four letters. It was genius! The kids did so great-and I think they were concentrating on figuring out how many letters were in the words, so they wrote them much more easily. They weren't worried about spelling- they KNEW how to spell them. They were counting the letters to get them in the right box. I loved it!!! Thank you for yet another "Jean-yus" idea!
                               
But, let’s get a little more mileage out of this four-square activity.

Math – Show four ways to make a number. (word, numeral, set, facts, etc.)

Draw four objects made with the same shape.

Nouns – Label “people,” “places,” “things,” “animals.”

Sort nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Task Card - Write four things they can do when they finish their work.

How To – Write/draw four steps for an activity, such as making a sandwich, making your bed, building a nest, etc.

Life Cycle – Four stages of the butterfly.

Seasons – Four seasons.

Writing Prompts – Draw pictures of four things they’d like to include in their story, such as the characters, setting, problem, solution.

For younger children, let them draw pictures of four things they like, don’t like, four animals, or any category you might be studying.