If you follow me on Instagram, you saw me post this picture yesterday. We played a game I named "Head Hunters" to review our sight words. It's super easy to make and did I mention it's loads of fun too! To Make (Labels): Type up sight words onto labels (I used Avery 5160 template in Word). Print. To Make (Recording Sheet): Simply type up a class list with a blank space beside each student's name. Print. -------------------------------------------------------------- To Play: Now that you have your supplies, stick one label to each students head. Yes, stick it to their head! {They may have thought I was crazy when I walked up with one on my head.} #teachersplaygamestoo Pass out recording sheet. Students will walk around and read the sight words on each classmates' head. They will read the word to person and then record it on their paper. Once completed, they may take their sticker off and place it next to their name. Here we are in action! This game can be made to fit any list of words or any class size. Happy word hunting!
In these early weeks of school, it's so important to enforce the idea of teamwork among your classroom. I feel that if you have a classroom that functions as a community, everything runs more smoothly. My teacher and I discussed the importance of team-building exercises among the students this week. She told me that she loves to incorporate them into the classroom and that they usually produce wonderful results! I was more than excited to see it with my own eyes. For our team-building exercise, we "saved Sam". ( idea found on Pinterest) You will need: Gummy worms (Sam) Life-saver Gummies (Life vests) Clear plastic cup (Boat) Cocktail stirrers (Oar) Paper clips Poor Sam is a worm that has found himself in a rather unfortunate situation. His boat has capsized and his life jacket is trapper underneath it! Poor Sam can't swim! His oar, his only means of movement, has fallen into the rocky waters as well! He now sits perched on top of his capsized boat and he needs our help! It is the students job to SAVE SAM! they will be responsible for flipping Sam's boat over and getting him back inside. He needs his life jacket ON him this time, and his oar laying horizontally across the top of his boat. Here's the catch: You can't touch Sam with your hands. You may only use the two paperclips supplied. Keep in mind we wouldn't want to hurt poor sam by stabbing him or popping his life jacket by stabbing it! Also, we cant let him touch the water (the floor or desk) because he can't swim! It was so enjoyable to watch the students problem solve! Our little engineers were hard at work. It was interesting to see how they utilized the materials given. Some bent the paperclips into tweezers, while others snapped them in half to create more tools. This fun exercise really got our students excited to work together. I loved seeing their wheels turn as they asked "are you sure this is possible?". I loved seeing the proud looks on their face when they figured it out!
The first day of school is full of so many things: anticipation, wide-eyes, school supplies, new faces, maybe a few butterflies. And I...
A few weeks ago I had the idea to incorporate sports into a vocabulary review. Many of my students play basketball on a team and/or play at recess, so I incorporated basketball into our review. My son received this over the door basketball set for Christmas so we brought it to school one day. He told me to "make sure they don't break it, but you CAN show them how to dunk it." Although I didn't share my dunking skills, my fifth graders LOVED this! I knew they'd notice the goal as soon as they walked in so I wrote a little message beside the board: "Are you ready for vocabulary basketball?" It was a fun way to review vocabulary in an engaging way. We split into two teams. I had the vocabulary words written on the board and I'd call out definitions. If they told me the correct word, they earned 1 point for their team. Then, they could earn 2 points or 3 points by making a basket. I had ribbon on the floor to show what would count as 2 points vs. 3 points. They had a BLAST! Most of our vocabulary words come from our read alouds, but most of the words in this unit were student generated. I kept a sheet of paper that students could add words to as they read independently. If they found a word they didn't know or one that they thought would be a good vocabulary word, they could write it down. Vocabulary review - basketball style - was a HIT!
Many verbs in English are often followed by the same preposition. Therefore it is best to learn them togehter from the beginning. However, even if you do this it is neccessary to sum it up from time to time. ADVERT [showmyads] The following summary was created for my elementary students of English and it contains […]
Drama games & activities in your classroom or drama club as warm-ups, ice breakers, or as fun activities to start any class!
Some days you just need a break from the monotony! Preparing for exams, transitioning to a new unit, days when half your students are gone for a basketball tour
Learn, review, repeat.
I wanted to do something for my choir kids as a thank you for all their hard work this semester. This was a relatively affordable "gift" even though I ended up getting the giant sized Symphony bars (since Walmart didn't have enough of the XL bars stocked....) I conned my sister into helping me cut out the tags and tie up the ribbons. Here is the finished product. I designed the tags in powerpoint. Here is a closer picture and a PDF if you'd like to print your own.
Five fun and action-filled circle games to practice rhythm, pitch, and more with your elementary music students.
Here's a template for all your hangman playing needs! Of course, you don't need a template at all. My kids and I have played hangman on various bits of scrap paper found in my purse, including receipts! But having a template is fun too and helps when playing with younger kids. The version above includes the outline of the hanged dude and outlines for letter blanks. These make it easy for kids to trace. The version below has no outlines which allows players to make longer words, phrases, or even more complex hanged dudes! Hangman really is a game of unlimited fun! If you need directions on how to play Hangman, About.com has thorough instructions. Just click on the Hangman templates, and you can download them from GoogleDrive. After downloading, feel free to print them as many times as you like!
Today one of my kindergarten classes earned their very first free day in music. I'm sure it sounds crazy, but our free days are actually ...
The Write Ideas
#ratiorine
A few weeks ago I had the idea to incorporate sports into a vocabulary review. Many of my students play basketball on a team and/or play at recess, so I incorporated basketball into our review. My son received this over the door basketball set for Christmas so we brought it to school one day. He told me to "make sure they don't break it, but you CAN show them how to dunk it." Although I didn't share my dunking skills, my fifth graders LOVED this! I knew they'd notice the goal as soon as they walked in so I wrote a little message beside the board: "Are you ready for vocabulary basketball?" It was a fun way to review vocabulary in an engaging way. We split into two teams. I had the vocabulary words written on the board and I'd call out definitions. If they told me the correct word, they earned 1 point for their team. Then, they could earn 2 points or 3 points by making a basket. I had ribbon on the floor to show what would count as 2 points vs. 3 points. They had a BLAST! Most of our vocabulary words come from our read alouds, but most of the words in this unit were student generated. I kept a sheet of paper that students could add words to as they read independently. If they found a word they didn't know or one that they thought would be a good vocabulary word, they could write it down. Vocabulary review - basketball style - was a HIT!
It was the first Friday night of college and I was alone. My roommate, who'd just gotten into her sorority of choice, was partying with her new sisters, and the entire dorm hallway was empty. Everyone was out making the most of freshman year, which…
I love this time of year in my classroom because it signals the beginning of a delightful string of holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! The music of Halloween is especially fun̷…
Thank you so much Laura (littlereadhood) for making this piece happen ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Andreil deserves some happiness ✨❤️ #aftg #aftgfanart #andreil #andriel #tfc
This week I have been visiting third grade classrooms to do lessons on strategies for success on the SOLs. Third grade students will be taking the SOLs for the first time starting May 13th. Some of them shared that they are feeling scared, nervous, worried, excited, etc. The goal of this lesson is to build their confidence and give them strategies to help them do their best. The lesson is titled "You're In Control". We started by watching this video: Next, we moved on to identifying strategies that can help students be successful on the tests. There are many things students can do before, and the day of the test to help them do their best. We talked about being in control of our success. We used the buttons on a remote control as examples for things we can do to stay in control. As a class we came up with lots of ideas and then students picked their top 10 for their remote control. Here is an example of what your student might be bringing home: Here is a list of some strategies the classes came up with: Prepare and study-use your resources Take your time, you have as long as you need Relax and take deep breaths Flag questions you want to go back and review Reread Get enough sleep Eat a good breakfast Take breaks: water, walking, bathroom Circle key words Wear comfortable clothes and dress for success Cross out wrong answers Use your tools remove distractions BE CONFIDENT! You're going to rock this test!
Why are Spanish learning games so effective? Here are just a few reasons: Games are fun! When our students are absorbed in a good game, their affective filter is lowered. This means they are more relaxed and they can more easily acquire new language. Students are invested during games. Even if their main focus is winning, we get increased focus and engagement, which is a win for us. Games create good vibes. When we add that element of fun and competition, we trigger the 'happy emotions' in our students and create good feelings about coming to class. Most games naturally involve language. Sometimes activities can
The monumental Musaeum of Alexandria was famous for its legendary library. The tragic story of the building’s destruction continues to be a painful one for people who love ancient history and literature. So what treasures were lost in its devastating fire?
From Einstein to Shakespeare, some of the greatest minds in history were touched by classical music - here's what they had to say about it
You are probably familiar with Kahoot as a review game, but my favorite way to use this website is a BLIND Kahoot. The game structure is the same only instead of reviewing a concept, you use it to introduce it! Check this out as a way to mix up your lesson plans, introduce content, and engage your students!
Looking back to the “good old days” can be great. So use our conversation starters to find out what your kids are thinking about their own lives.
Review by Devin Powell.
Mrs. T's First Grade came up with this awesome game to make spelling fun! "2 player game, each player inserts his word list in spaces going across (one letter per box). Players take turns guessing coordinates. If they miss, they mark it on their board. If they hit a letter, they keep guessing until they miss. If they sink a word, the player marks it off of his list. The goal of the game is to sink all of your opponent's words." Visit Mrs. T for a free printable!
It’s hard to wade through the internet searching for the most hilarious book memes, so we’ve compiled a complete list of all of our favorites right here!
