Want to know which 300 sight words your student should be able to read automatically? Well, I’ve got a list for that! 🙂 To get your FREE sight word resource, please click here or on the graphic above. Best wishes! You Might Also Like:End of the Year WritingStickers and Stars on the 120 ChartPoetry ... Read More about 300 Sight Words Your Students MUST READ INSTANTLY!
This post shares details for promoting critical thinking with math riddles. Plus you can get a FREE set of Math Riddles Task Cards with QR Codes.
Many young learners struggle with linguistic cues and following both written and oral directions can be difficult. They are required to learn vocabulary as well as strengthen cognitive processing areas such as auditory processing, visual processing, sequencing and more. Come download some free sample activities on my blog that you can use to help your students ... Read More about Fun Following Directions Activities Freebie
One of the best ways to get to know your new students is through an interest inventory. I love to collect as much information as I can about my students at the start of the school year. I want to know about their likes, their dislikes, their learning style, and so much more. The Purpose ... Read More about Grab this Interest Inventory!
Refer your students this free Types of Writing printable to introduce to or remind them of the 4 main types of writing: narrative, expository, persuasive, and descriptive. Each type of writing includes a short definition. Great for writers’ notebooks! Just print and use! You Might Also Like:Word of the day for kids Google SiteFree Guided Readers-MiceBooks ... Read More about Four Types of Writing Printable
Writing is so challenging for students and for teachers, writing is one of the hardest topics to teach! However, have you tried using interactive notebooks for writing? Students get practice in a fun, interactive way!
GRAMMAR UNIT 7: CONTRACTIONS It is time to teach contractions ! My students have come so far with their grammar skills in units 1-6. Our language has improved so much as we have been learning about nouns , adjectives , verbs , adverbs , capitalization , and punctuation .
I lapbook, strumento interattivo per imparare Cos’è un lapbook? Si tratta, semplificando le parole, di un materiale tridimensionale concettuale, un...
These FREE Printable Math Centers are perfect for K-5, Special Ed & Work Centers for students with Autism-15 Printable Activities & tips on differentiation!
Games are a tried and true way to engage students. Whether teaching in-person or remotely via a live session like Zoom or Google Meets, teachers know that games, brain breaks, and icebreakers are an awesome way to get students actively involved in learning. With the ever-changing landscape of education, I thought it might be nice to compile some versatile activities that challenge students in really fun ways. Best part? These activities are very low prep and work in a variety of settings. These activities encourage students to listen, solve problems, be creative, and practice critical skills. They're designed to be easy to do with little to no prep. You can easily add one of these games to any lesson as a warm-up, closure, community building activity, or lesson extender. GAMES & ACTIVITIES ⭐How Many? Give students a category and then challenge students to see how many different things they can fit within that classification. At first students will respond with obvious ideas. However, as they brainstorm, their ideas will stretch and their creativity will grow. Students can jot their ideas down on scrap paper and earn points for each unique response when they share out. Here are some categories to get started: occupations, things that are slimy, things that roll, animal noises, articles of clothing ⭐Listen Carefully: Read a short passage out loud to students. Then, have them answer questions based on what they can remember. Make it especially fun by awarding points for every answer that students get right. You can change up this activity by reading two versions of the same story. Mix up some of the details in the second version for students to listen for. Give this activity a try with the passages in this set of FREE Brain Bursts. Add your information below and then check your inbox! ⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟ ⭐Silly Silent Spelling: Practice spelling words in a super silly way. Explain to students that you are going to be giving them a practice spelling test (definitely NOT the real thing). Just like a typical practice test, they'll listen for the word and write it down. However, here's the catch: you're only going to silently mouth the words. Students will need to read your lips to figure out what word they will need to write down. Of course, figuring out a word from a silent cue is not easy. That's what makes this fun. Students will write down some wild guesses as they spell their way through this game. ⭐One Word: Pose a fun question to the class and have them all think of a one-word answer. Then, give every student a chance to share their responses as you call on each of them. Here are some questions to get started: --- If you were a type of dessert, what would you be? --- Where do you feel happiest? --- How would a soccer ball describe its day? --- Where is somewhere that you would like to visit? --- What would be the perfect gift for you? ⭐Mystery Item: This activity is quick and easy to play. To prepare, write 5 or 6 clues about an object. Make the clues gradually increase in their specificity. Then, read the clues to students as they jot down their guesses for the mystery item until you reveal the answer. ⭐Punchline: Start telling a joke to students, and then have them guess the punchline. Find a ton of jokes for kids here. ⭐Strike a Pose: Explain to students that they are going to pretend that they are in a photograph. They will need to imagine that the photo was taken at the height of the event. All they have to do is strike a pose after you give them a situation. For instance, you might say, "haunted house," and then students would freeze in a pose that shows them frightened or terrified. Here are a few situations to try: Dentist Office, Roller Coaster, Last Day of School, Scary Movie, Food Fight, Race ⭐Timed Writing Activities: Engage students with a creative writing prompt. Then, "amp up" the fun factor by adding a timed element. Challenge students to race the clock as they write as much as they can in a fixed time period. Find my favorite prompts here. ⭐And Then...: This is a listening game for the entire class. Students will need to listen to and add to a growing story. You'll start the story with an opener like, "At the zoo, I decided to open the lion's cage, and then..." Next, you'll call on a student to explain what happened next. That student will add one line and the phrase "and then" before selecting another student to add to the story. ⭐Listen and Draw: Students love this activity! To prepare, create a simple illustration filled with shapes and designs. Then, write out the directions for students. Have students complete the activity on a piece of paper. Read each direction to students and challenge them to replicate the illustration you instructed them to draw. (These are included in the exclusive freebie below.) ⭐Class Pet: Pretend that you have a new class pet. Explain to students that they will need to guess the type of animal. Students will need to ask questions and write their guesses on a piece of paper when they think they have figured out the new class pet. ⭐Add the Ending: Engage students as they practice writing and storytelling skills with this activity. First, students will listen to the beginning of a story that you read to them. Then, they'll take over the writing and complete the story. The story starters are a fun way to motivate students to write. ⭐Alien, Tiger, and Cat: Here's an improvisational theatre game that works in the classroom. Explain to students that they can be one of three things: an alien, a cat, or a tiger. If they choose to be an alien, they need to hold their pointer fingers next to their head (like antennae) and say "bleeb, bleeb." To be a cat, they need to rub their wrist along their face (like a cat cleaning itself) and say "meow." Finally, to be a tiger they need to push their hand forward with a claw stance and roar. On your cue, every student will choose and act like an animal. The goal is to get everyone to choose the same animal (which is nearly impossible, but fun to try). ⭐Rapid Recall: Create a list of random words. Then, read the list of words to students. As you read the words, you might have students put their hands on their heads so that you know for sure that they aren't taking notes. Once you've read the words to students once or twice, wait about a minute before letting students write down every word that they remember. (Find ready-made lists in this complete resource.) ⭐Finish the Fact: Share the beginning of a fact with students. Then, challenge them to complete the fact. Have them share their guesses before revealing the complete fact. Find a collection of random facts here. Want a free set of virtual classroom activities designed to be NO PREP and NO COPIES? Just add your name and email below. ⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟ BONUS: Here's one more idea: ⭐Paper Airplanes: Help students practice following directions by challenging them to fold a paper airplane by following your directions. To get started, choose a paper airplane design to have students fold. Then, have students take out a piece of paper. They'll need to listen carefully to each of your directions to make their paper airplane. Wishing you tons of fun in your (virtual) classroom, Mary Beth P.S. Find a TON of ready-made activities HERE.
Working memory can be a problematic issue for many students. As a result, they may forget materials, struggle with multi-step directions, and can have problems doing mental math. Working memory is a workspace in the brain that helps learners maintain attention, manage distractions, and complete tasks. Some students need to develop this ability. Come to ... Read More about Remediating Working Memory Freebie
Free nonfiction main idea reading comprehension passage and questions to practice finding the main idea and details in a passage.
Being able to both follow and give directions is an important skill in school, and in life. Kids with language disorders often have trouble with processing the directions we give them, or with being able to formulate accurate directions or descriptions so that another person can complete the task or find the object. This is ... Read More about Susan Berkowitz’s Free Mystery Picture Hunt Game for Following and Giving Directions
Ozobots can be so much fun, but sometimes give you multiple problems. Here are some of the troubleshooting tricks I have discovered along the years of using Ozobots. I first purchased Ozobots for my classroom in 2015!! What really drew me in, was that that they do not need a computer or iPad to be ... Read more
Hi there! This is Hannah from the Classroom Key. A couple of months ago I was watching the movie Fargo without knowing anything about it ahead of time. At the beginning it says that it is based on a true story. So as I watched, I was paying close attention to the crime as it was laid out, trying to piece it all together. By the end of the film I wasn't very impressed and couldn't figure out why it was critically acclaimed. I obvious didn't "get it." I looked up some reviews online and realized that the intriguing part of the movie was supposed to be the idiosyncrasies of the culture in Minnesota. If I had been looking more for the humor and the culture I would have enjoyed the film and understood it's true intent. Our students have this same experience when they pick up a new text without much/any background knowledge. If we want to help them comprehend nonfiction text, we need to teach them to look for the text structure. If students realize that the author is using compare and contrast they can start looking for important similarities and differences. If they notice a sequence they can look for important steps or events and the order in which they are presented. Here is a free anchor chart to help students identify the 5 common text structure in nonfiction text. It's perfect for putting in a reading notebook, projecting in front of the class, or using with a small group. Click on the picture to download it. Have a great day!
Math puzzles to teach addition facts to twenty. Fun and engaging for students, these versatile puzzles are a great addition to your math lessons.
As we enter winter and flu season, taking an unexpected day off as a teacher can always be a time consuming and stressful task. As a teacher, I always dread getting sub plans together since for me, it is such a time consuming task because I want everything to be perfect. I always like to be prepared for my students in case of an unexpected absence. While I am gone, it is important for my students to have meaningful work that reinforces the skills we are learning... not just busy work. My winter themed sub plans are all based on one of my favorite stories to share with my students in the winter, and "The Mitten" sub plans and can be easily printed in advance for a stress free day out. Included are a full days worth of activities for "The Mitten." All you need is a copy of the book The Mitten by Jan Brett (affiliate link), and I always like to copy and prepare my resources in advance. Or a YouTube version that is read online by the Jan Brett! The activities that supplement the story will keep your students engaged and challenged for the entire day. They cover all subject areas with kindergarten appropriate activities, as well as instruction sheets for your sub. To begin, I always read the story with the students and then sequencing the events to reinforce the story. It is always fun for students to put the events in order in a pocket chart and they always enjoy the participation. Students can then get their own little hands on their own emergent reader, that is a great way for them to help remember the story sequence independently and get a text in the student's own hands. Students at this time are pretty familiar with the story, so we complete a sequencing activity. (This sequencing sheet is a freebie at the end of the post). Also included are quite a few other literacy activities that are common in kindergarten such as labeling, “sentence surgery,” where students create a sentence out of mixed up words and a color by code mitten where students identify the middle vowel sound in a word. Writing is also an important skill in kindergarten. These sub plans cover two different levels of writing activities, based on the needs of your students. Many times in kindergarten, writing may be just be drawing and telling your story, while some students may be capable of writing to answer a question, so included are activities for both levels. As a teacher, it Is also to model for students and see what a "correct" sentence looks like so there is also a sentence copying and sentence "fix it" activity as well. Math is another subject that has so many different skills levels in a kindergarten classroom. I have included a huge variety of easy to differentiate activities for math as well, based on your students levels and what you have taught in the classroom. You will see simple skills such as counting and writing the numbers, ordering numbers 1-10, addition, and counting, counting by tens, teens numbers and graphing. Finally, there are fun "extras" that can be used to supplement or to substitute out an activity if you wish. Included you will also find a "hat," puppets for students to make and retell the story on their own, a crossword puzzle, maze and "which doesn't belong." These activities can definitely last you an entire day out, if not two. Hopefully, these sub plans and everything included will be able to give you peace of mind if you do have to be out of the classroom and your students are able to enjoy the activities while reinforcing skills. You can find the whole unit here: The Mitten Full Day Sub Plans And the FREE sequencing activity by clicking here: The Mitten Sequencing
This free download has a variety of reading comprehension passages so you can find something for everyone in your K-5 classrooms! These passages help students with fluency, comprehension, and finding evidence to prove their answers! Get the download HERE! Would you like to have your printables featured at Classroom Freebies? Become an author and ... Read More about Free Thanksgiving Close Reading K-5
Winter is the perfect time to study arctic animals. Explore these printables and worksheets that will teach your kids about arctic animals.
Free reading comprehension passages for grades 2 - 3
Handwriting can be tricky to teach. Sometimes it must be done 1:1 with students, and it requires rigorous, thorough practice and follow through. Some teachers and administrators will tell you that handwriting really isn’t important, but I disagree. In kindergarten and first grade, we are
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned in THIS post how I would be taking a giant step forward in “stepping up” my sight word instruction this upcoming year. Not that I need to “teach” sight words any differently, but offer continuous and hands on ways for my kiddos to practice them. Another area I will be offering […]
Do you want to learn how to create adapted books for special education classrooms? This post provides a step by step list, with examples...
Do your students loose materials, call out irrelevant comments, and get lost with multi-step directions? If so, these learners are probably struggling with working memory difficulties. Working memory is a cognitive task that helps students recall and select relevant information to complete tasks. It is a mental workspace that helps learners maintain attention, block distractions, and ... Read More about Working Memory Free Activity
Free Seven Sacraments sorting game is perfect for kids to play in the classroom
Create a Math Block I can't say this enough. An effective math block will help you tremendously! It creates routine and structure that you need to make sure everyone is on task. This is what I include in my math block: Engaging Mini Lessons Math centers Independent practice visuals throughout the classroom Use A
Free BASIC CONCEPTS SAMPLER Free sample pages from basic concepts resources! Includes temporal, emotions, and prepositions concepts. No prep, print-and-go pages, or just open on your device! These pages are left open-ended for flexibility for what you want to target and how difficult you want it to be. The perfect addition to your speech therapy […]
Hi! Today, I wanted to share some of my favorite crafts to use for teaching digraphs. I try to make my blog posts useful for teachers in the classroom, and […]
Escape the classroom game tutorial and FREE downloadble game pack. For teachers, for parents or who else willing to preprare their own game.
Math Journals, or problem solving notebooks are a great way to get students writing about their mathematical thinking. They are also especially effective for giving you a glimpse into their problem solving process. I use math journals almost daily in my class and often start with this strategy to help my students more coherently explain their thinking. Teaching 4th grade in Nevada means teaching the dreaded constructed response math questions for our state test. One thing that I have been trying in my class that has been very successful is the making a MESS model for problem solving. As you can see from the anchor chart the MESS acronym stands for: M - Model E - Equation S- Solution S- Sentence The students learn to use the acronym to help them set up a written response to a math problem so that they not only know where to start, but also all of the parts to include. It is really easy to remember and they LOVE the idea of being encouraged to "Make a Mess". I started my students off with the anchor chart above, then gave them my math journals which are set up using this method, and include 4 math prompts for each standard. I print out the ones that my students need to work on most and place them in a folder for math journal time. This student started to divide the given numbers (963/10) but then raised her hand and asked if she could round first. I told her, "Try it!" The students become better and better at writing responses as we share methods and responses throughout the year. Towards the end of the year in preparation for testing, I start giving them prompts without the model to guide them. After working with the MESS model all year, they know what to do, and are better prepared. I really emphasize perseverance and trying things out before raising their hands to ask for help. I compare it to a video game. I say, "If you don't pass a level on a video game, you don't call me up and ask for help, you try something different, you persevere until you figure it out. That is exactly what mathematicians do!" I have been blown away by some of the feedback that I have received! Grade Level Math Journals Available: 1st Grade Math Journal 2nd Grade Math Journal 3rd Grade Math Journal 4th Grade Math Journal 5th Grade Math Journal 6th Grade Math Journal Here are a few links with sample constructed response questions http://tn.gov/education/assessment/ConstructedResponseAssessment.shtml http://www.sandi.net/cms/lib/CA01001235/Centricity/Domain/217/Math%20Documents/Archives%20K-5/Grade%204%20Modules%201-10%20Response%20Guides.pdf http://www.opi.mt.gov/PDF/Assessment/CRT/RI/07/07Gr3MathCR.pdf I also have a Pinterest Board where I pin Math Journal Ideas. I am linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried It Tuesday. Head over there for some other amazing ideas, or to share something you have tried recently! This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog. All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love. I would love to hear from you! ❤️ Have a question? Idea for a resource you might find helpful? Be so kind and leave a comment below.
Sing and learn sight words!
Fun and engaging vocabulary and word work ideas and activities. Here the some freebies and other ideas for your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade classroom.
