Cheer and Spell

It can be difficult to get kids excited about spelling. Most times they find it redundant, because usually they are just writing a word over and over again. This Cheer and Spell activity is a good way to get kids motivated and moving as they practice their spelling words.


This activity works best with at least a couple of people. Everyone loves the excitement of a crowd.




One person calls out a word and then the kids spell it out. There is a motion for each letter of the alphabet. If a "tall" letter is called, which is a letter that touches the top line when written on paper, then the kids put their hands up in the air and say that letter.




If  a short letter is called which is a letter that touches the middle paper line, then kids put their hands on their hips when saying this letter.



If the letter goes below the bottom paper line then kids bend over and touch their toes as they say this letter. After they have completed the word they clap their hands and say the word.

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Gobble, Gobble Turkey Art

I'm really trying to share some of my favorite seasonal activities as I do them in the classroom. This turkey art project is one that is at the top of my list. Getting the project ready is a bit of work because all of the turkey pieces need to be cut. It helps if you can recruit a parent helper. But, if you really want kids to be creative you could just give them pieces of paper and let them create their own turkey figure.

Materials needed:

- brown, tan, red, yellow, orange, and black construction paper
- markers
- aluminum foil
- coffee filters
- masking tape
- spray bottle
- glue
- hole punch

Steps for Turkey Art:
1. Prep all the turkey pieces and put complete sets in individual bags for students (see the bottom of this page for a picture of the turkey pieces). You will want to prep sheets of aluminum foil and attach a piece of masking tape to each one. You will also need to get the spray bottles ready.

2. Supply students with foil, markers, and a coffee filter. Have them write their name on the masking tape with a pencil before they get started. Have students flatten the coffee filter. Then have them find the center of the coffee filter and use different colors to make triangles. Instruct students not to use black. This color overpowers the other colors and can ruin their project. Have them completely color in each triangle.

3. Have students continue around the coffee filter until it is completely colored with bright vibrant colors. I use this vocabulary because some students just try to color in the triangles lightly leaving lots of white showing.

4. Once the coffee filter is completely colored in it is time to spray the filter. Have students lightly spray all around the filter making sure that all spots are sprayed, but not soaked.

5. Set the filter out to dry. It usually takes overnight for them to dry, so this basically becomes a two-day project. It works out though because it is really two different art activities.

6. On the second day, after the filters are dry, attach the masking tape with students' names on them to one side of the turkey feathers. Pass out the bag of turkey pieces and have students assemble their turkeys. Then have them glue the turkey onto the feathers. After the turkeys are completely finished I glue them onto another sheet of paper. I usually do this myself allowing the turkeys to dry a bit first and remembering to write names on the back of the paper. If you don't want to bother with it you could just have your students do it themselves.

I'm sorry that I couldn't provide an actual pattern for this project, but it is pretty simple. Really the only thing you need to watch for is that you make it proportionate to the feathers (filter art).

I hope that you enjoy this project. As I already mentioned, this is one of my seasonal favorites. I think I like it so much because of the vibrant colors and because it seems kind of like a science experiment as colors get sprayed and my students observe what happens.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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AR Book Finder

Do you use AR in your classroom? Well, even if you don't the AR Book Finder website is still a very helpful website, because either way it is good to know the book level that a child is reading at and providing them with books at that level. AR Book Finder is a very easy to use website. From the home page you just click on either student, parent, teacher, or librarian. Click submit and it will take you to the next page. Enter the title of the book in question and hit "go." It will give you a list of books with that title. Look for the book you want. If it is an AR book it will tell you the book level, points, and AR number.

I use AR in my first grade classroom and rely on it as a resource for differentiating. All my AR books are leveled and have the AR number written in them. It took a lot of parent help initially, but it was worth it. My students are able to log on way faster using the number vs typing in the title.

Here is the link to AR Book Finder

http://www.arbookfind.com/UserType.aspx

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Storyline Online

I was just going through some of my old favorite websites and came across the Storyline Online link. It is a great website for young readers. Well, actually I love it too, so I guess it is a great website for just about anyone. There are lots of popular books and they are read by various actors. Check it out, I know you will love it too. It looks like the stories are linked to YouTube, so if you can't get YouTube in the classroom then you might want to check out the question and answer page. They explain what to do to access this website in the classroom.

Storyline Online

http://www.storylineonline.net/

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Math Puzzles

I was going through some of my center activities and came across my math puzzles. I haven't used them yet this year and had kind of forgot about them, so I was glad to find them. These are supper easy and inexpensive to make. I made a set several years ago and they have passed the test of time.

The foam figures were purchased at Michael's Arts and Crafts store. I made a group set with a couple extra and then wrote addition and subtraction problems on them. I should have taken a picture of them at that point. The puzzles are more challenging then they look. I can attest to that, since I just assembled 4 of them for the picture. After I wrote the problems on the figures I cut them apart into about 6-8 pieces. Once each puzzle was cut apart I stored them in a zip-loc bag.

It is fun to watch students work together to assemble the puzzles. They practice the math problems as they are doing this, because of how the puzzle is cut. They need to make sure that the math equations are correct. They can't just put pieces together because they think they fit.

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Halloween Reading Chain

Remember those chains you used to make during Christmas time each year? Well, I decided to use that idea, but with a bit of a Halloween twist. I decided to create an orange and black chain that I could use to provide my students with some phonics practice. Here is what I did.

First, I had a classroom volunteer cut a bunch of orange and black strips of paper. Then I gave each student two strips. I had them use a black crayon to write words on the orange strips and a white crayon to write on the black strips. The words I had them use were the words from the "ll" word families that we were working on in class. After each student finished writing their two words I stapled the chain together.

Once the chain was done I placed it in our reading area. This allowed students to easily access the chain and practice on their own. I also tried snaking it through tables having students read part of the chain and then keep moving it on. This was fun, but the chain kept getting pulled apart, so probably not such a good idea.

I hope that you like this idea. It was really pretty easy and didn't take much time. The best part about this is that it continues to provide my students with practice time long after completing our phonics lesson.

Another way to use this reading chain is to have students add a link to the chain every time they read a book. It is amazing to see how much students want to read just so that they can add to the chain. 

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Marshmallow Cubes

I'm sure you have done this activity before, but I thought I would post it for anyone who hasn't, or just as a reminder. Usually I use white marshmallows, and sometimes the big ones, but this time I decided to try these fruity flavored marshmallows. It was a good decision. It added fruity fun to this activity.

We have been working on plane and solid shapes, so my class was already familiar with them before doing this activity. While the 3D solid shapes that can actually be made is very limited, it is still a good activity for students to discover this fact. It is also a good way for them to look at and think  about the attributes of the shapes they could make.

I bought 4 bags of marshmallows and 4 boxes of toothpicks for a class size of 26. This was plenty, and I even had some left over. I pre-baggied the marshmallows for students to use. This was helpful, but not necessary. This activity was actually one of my math inquiry activities, so I only had one group doing this at a time. Students anticipated the day it would be their turn. One thing I did to help with this was on the first day I gave all students a few marshmallows to eat.

At the end of the activity I had students bag up their toothpicks, marshmallows and paper towel piece. I had them take everything home, so that they could discuss this activity with their parents. They really enjoyed this activity and I enjoyed watching them being creative.

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