CoMmAs WrItInG cEnTeR

This is a fun new writing center to help students practice putting commas in a series and putting commas in a date.  My kids needed some extra practice so I made this.   I am going to put the cards around the room and have the students use clipboards as they write the sentences by the matching pictures. I even added a answer key for student to self check or as an easy reference for you to check it quickly. Grab it on TPT now!

More writing centers

I have been busy outside playing in the pool, watching TONS of t-ball and baseball games, and enjoying summer.  I have also managed to make more writing centers.  I have added 3 more to my store.

 

Click on any picture to get them from my TPT store.  Remember if you purchase the bundle you will get all them and any additional ones that are added later for FREE.  I will notify you of any updates to redownload.  Get it before the price increases.

All things ZOO!!

So we are busy getting ready for the zoo!  Only 15 more days!!!  I can't wait!  I made a zoo packet that we are going to use while we learn all about the zoo.  First we have a countdown chain!  Everyday we are taking off a number until we get to the zoo.
  Click on the picture to grab your copy of the packet! 

We are going to do a writing project starting next week.  Each student will pick an animal that lives at the zoo.  We have a lot of easy nonfiction books in our library that focus on only one animal in the book. I will get a book for each child.  If you don't have enough books you could pair your students up and do this as a partner activity. So the students will fill in the animal web.  They will write in the covering, what the animal eats, and where it lives.  They will also find an interesting fact about the animal.  I know some of the words will be hard to read but the students should be able to see the animals from the pictures in the book.

After writing in the web.  The students will fill in the chart to tell about their animal. 

Then students will write sentences to tell about their animals.  They can write so much from the pictures in the books.  This is a fun activity that helps the student learn about zoo animals.

I also have two pages of animal beginning and ending sounds.  I also have answer sheets so students can check their own work. 

And, my favorite!  Story problems.  My kids are getting so good at these.  We work hard to read through the story together and figure out if we will add or subtract. It will be interesting to see them draw the animals.  I created 6 addition and 6 subtraction story problems. 

Animal equations!  I created 12 addition and 12 subtraction cards.  Students use the pictures to write equations.  I also created an answer sheet for each checking.  My students love these!

 

This packet also has some writing prompts!

My favorite animal at the zoo is ....

My least favorite animal at the zoo is....

If I ran the zoo I would....

 

Don't forget to pick up my Zoo Writing Center to complete your zoo learning!

Zoo writing center

 

Have fun and enjoy learning about zoo animals! 

 

 

 

Work on Writing- Pocket Chart Centers

This year I have been working on making pocket chart writing centers each month. I started to make some thematic ones to use as you teach different units.  I like using these because the kids copy the word by the picture.  This is better than just using thematic word walls because they have something to look at later as they read the word.  Many of my kids are ELL and do not have a lot of background knowledge.  So these writing centers help them build their vocabulary. Here are a few that I have in my TPT store. Try them out! You kids will love them!

 

Here are a few pictures from my April writing center! Click on the picture to grab your copy! 

 

We are going to the zoo soon so, of course, I had to make one with zoo animals.  Click on any of the pictures to grab your copy from by TPT store!

 

I also made a farm animals writing center.  A must if you are studying farms! Click on any picture to get your copy!

 

Hope you enjoy my little writing centers!  Easy and effective to implement! I'm working on plants writing center next. If you have a theme that you would like me to make a writing center for let me know!  Thanks! Lisa

 

 

 

Snowman Sound Box & Writing Center Freebie

Well, we are back to school and starting to get back into routine.  I had a student move over break and then got a new one on Monday morning.  Oh fun times!

We have been getting back into routines.  We are starting to work on word families.  We have been working hard to make CVC words with our sound boxes.  I have made cute gingerbread man for Christmas.  They are perfect for guided reading.  We do them as a warm up.  We practice stretching out words.  Sometimes I give them the word first and have them write it out and other times I give them the sounds and have them tell me the word.  Either way they are working hard to become great readers.  Here is my brand new off the press snowman sound boxes!! 

Snowman Sound boxes

Aren't they so cute??

I also created my January Writing Center.  I always have this as a work on writing activity during Daily 5.  The kids love learning the new vocabulary. 

 Click here to grab your FREEBIE from my TPT store. 

 

 

 

 

OMG!  Have you seen this guy? He goes by Teacher Tipster on You Tube.  Not only is he humorous, he has some great ideas. Here is a little video he made about something he called Phonics Photos.  A great idea to hold kids interest while learning. I'm in the process of making these.  The just of it is that you take pictures of your kids holding the letters of the alphabet.  He did beginning sound chunks since he teaches 1st grade.  I just did all the constants.  I typed them up in 400 size font and copied them on green.  Then I typed up the word chunks (-an,-at,-ig,-op,-ut, etc)  and put them on yellow. I had the kids hold one letter and take a picture. Now I have 31 pictures to go print. Then you just put two kids together and make words or nonsense words. SO FUN!! 

 So excited to go print of photos this week. I know the kids will love them!

 Watch this video from the one and only Teacher Tipster, he explains it with visuals.

 

 

 <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hdNa8ffFqjA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Enjoy! Lisa

December fun!

December Writing

This is a fun writing center that I use for my Daily 5 work on writing center.  I put them in a pocket chart and the kids have fun sitting and writing the words.  :) It's a FREEBIE for you!  YAY!  Just click on December writing below.

December Writing

I have also made a fun Time to the Hour Gingerbread Man.  I created a matching digital and analog clock game, two cut and glue match worksheets, make a clock with gingerbread man and best of all BINGO!!  There are 20 different game boards that everyone in the whole class can have their own.

This is my newest TPT item. Hope you enjoy it!  Gingerbread-man-Time-to-the-Hour

 

This week we have been learning about money! 

So we have been watching some Money songs on YouTube.

Here is our favorite!! Watch out it's addictive.  The kids were singing it all day!  I even went home singing it! 

 

 Another favorite

 

Enjoy your weekend!

People that We love!

We have been working hard at writing.  We use the Lucy Calkins Units of Study.  Right now we are working on really stretching out our words and trying to write sentences about things that happen to us.  However, I have had some kiddos asking how do you spell......sisters and brothers and cousins names..and I have no idea how to spell them!   Since everyone spells names differently I decided to come up with a little note to send home and have parents write down names that kids can use during writing. 

 This list will go in their writing folders! :) 

Click here to download parent letter

Hope you enjoy! 

Lisa

My label anchor chart!   

We talked about why it is important to write!  I love that one student said to "learn about each other". So cute!

If you don't do this, you should!  It helps.  My kids tell me all the time, "Look, I don't have any white spaces!"

Writing......

When You're Done, You've just begun!

I was tired of hearing the kids say "I'm done!" five minutes into their 45 minutes of writing.  So I created this poster to help them think through the writing process.  They can add to the pictures, add to the words or start a new piece.  I tried to create this visual so that they students would understand and be able to this without ME reminding them. 

Well, I'm going to give this a try!.... Writing has been my big focus this year! I have been able to slow down and little and really work with my kids on the process of writing. I saw this idea on the Kindergarten Virtual Teaching Expo! We have create little boxes in the corner of our paper and check as we go through the process. The students are now on step 3, labeling. They have to create three labels before getting their check. Here is the poster I created to put in their writing folders. Check out my TPT store as I grow and learn more about the blogging world!