Gingerbread Kids... Sharing Information Through Glyphs

I thought my students' gingerbread kids turned out so cute! Plus... each one is unique! Every gingerbread project tells the story of the child who created it. The components convey information about children's families, birthdays, age, interests and favorites.





See my post below for the legend, and instructions. My students loved doing this, and it's been even more fun "reading" the glyphs! My little geniuses are getting to be pros at looking at a gingerbread person, and quickly being able to figure out who it belongs to based on the eye color, number of brothers  and sisters, and birthday month. So smart!

 

Gingerbread Glyph in Kindergarten and First Grade

Well the joy continues...

I forgot to take pictures of the gingerbread kids that my little sweeties made today, but I will do it tomorrow! They turned out great!

This little activity is in my Gingerbread Goodness Unit, and I'm offering it here as a freebie! Snag a copy of the instructions for the Gingerbread Glyph and get busy with your kiddos!



A few tips for creating glyphs with your kinders and first graders... I first distributed this page to each child. I had my own copy up on my teaching easel, and students were seated on the floor, where they could see well. First, we numbered each of the boxes. I showed them how to number 1-2-3 down the left column, then 4-5, then 6-7. This was just to make it easier for them to keep track of where we were! Then, I read each box, and students circled their answers. As we went through all the questions, we talked about how we would represent that data. I explained carefully, "My birthday is in July. In the middle of the page, it says, 'July=red, white and blue,' and that means that I will make hair using red, white and blue paper." We discussed every box, and students shared some of their answers and how they would represent the information on their gingerkid.

Only after all that do I recommend tracing and cutting gingerbread men. I have tagboard gingerbread man shapes that children traced onto 9" by 12" tan paper and then cut out. I modeled how to cut eyes, nose, stripes, hair, etc.... and then I put out a ton of colored paper and let the students work independently. So fun! The room was filled with the buzzing sound of children working, and it got messy! But we cleaned up and all is well!

Pictures tomorrow, I promise!

Thanksgiving Literacy and Math: Reading Response, Interactive Journals, Graphing, and more!

First of all, I'm happy for those of you who have next week off. I'm not gonna lie, though... I'm a little jealous, too. Yesterday I told a friend, "I'd rather add three days to the end of the year than work next week!" But y'all know I'll be changing that story come May!

I spent some time updating my Thanksgiving: Math and Literacy for Primary Grades pack that is available on TpT. It's even more full of seasonal goodness! It's a cornucopia of Common Core activities!



 

The unit now includes several activities that you can just print and use. Immediately. No prep required. I've included activities to support Informational Reading and Literature standards. Simply print, read the book, and your kiddos will be good to go. And think. And work. And write.

Check the library or your own collections. These are some of the Thanksgiving books for which I've included lessons aligned with CCSS.







 

 

Thanksgiving at the Tappletons has a couple of different versions of illustrations, but they all have the same hilarious story!





 



I've been using Interactive Journals with my students for a couple of years now. This year, last year, and the year before, that is. At first, I was very, very careful about what I wanted to include. Everything that was added met my own, self-imposed, ridiculously strict criteria. Now, though, I include a much wider variety of activities, skills, formats, etc. I love looking back to see how much we've accomplished and how much my students' skills have improved. I've adopted the attitude that I can make almost anything into an appropriate entry for students' interactive journals. Last week, students added information about what life was like on the Mayflower. We read, and read, and discussed, and made a chart of important words/ideas, and then the students did their own writing. Did I mention that this year's class absolutely goes nuts for any kind of writing?! They love it!

I added some activities for Interactive Journals when I updated this pack. Check out the preview!

To my friends on vacation--- enjoy! You KNOW how fast it will fly by, and I hope you can savor every moment. For the rest of us--- our time is coming! Just a few more days until the long weekend!

 

Fall Unit: Turkeys, Mayflower, Thanksgiving and More Pumpkins!

I'm working on fall-themed math and literacy units. There are just not enough hours in the day! Most days, I leave school thinking, "Wow! I got so much done! How productive!" But then on my way home, I think of five million other things that I want/need to take care of... And of course, I don't just get home and go right to work. Darn that dinner that needs to be made and the clothes that need to be washed!

But I did manage to get one fun activity ready to share. This is Pumpkin Bump.



The game is for two players. (Today, though, a group of three students played together. They never made it to a point where someone "won," but they had a great time and practiced adding in the meantime!)

A pair of students shares one game board, but each needs 10 Unifix cubes (or other game markers.) Color is BIG for the six-year-old set, so I always let them choose their own colors. Object of the game? The first player to place all their cubes on the board is the winner.

Roll two dice and add those numbers. Cover a matching number space with your marker. If your partner is already on that number, you can bump your partner’s color and take their space! If you bump your partner, they take back their marker and have a chance to use it again. If you roll a number that you have already covered, you can stack another marker on top of it! Any space with two markers stacked on top of each other, is locked and that space can’t be bumped.

The player to use all of their markers first is the winner!

My kids love this game. The bumping part is a ton of fun for them! I also have a version with three dice.

Halloween Week Activities

Well, I'm a little late on this, I know. But perhaps you need just a few activities for the week. Your students might love the number order picture puzzles in this unit, or you could have some fun with The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin.



Or perhaps you need an alphabetizing activity for your literacy block or a way to practice place value.

Then this is for you!



It's taken much longer than I anticipated, but my Pumpkins! unit is finally ready to go. You've got everything planned for this week already, you say? Well, you could always think about next year!

This unit is on sale in my TpT store until Halloween. Three dollars?! Yup. It's my way of saying, "So sorry I didn't get this to you sooner!"

And now off to do report cards... Have a great weekend and ... boo!

 

I Hate to Even Mention This...

I saw this on Facebook a few days ago.



I looked twice to see if was actually a photo of me! I've been exhausted for weeks. First, I had the crazy start-of-the-year school change, and all the recovery and unpacking and time-consuming work that went along with it. I'm absolutely still glad I did it, but I've not yet recovered in the sleep department.

Next, I've gotten seven new students since the first day of school. Seven. SEVEN. Did you hear me?!  They are lovely children, but they all have above-average needs. And they have nearly all been kindergartners. It has been very challenging. And disruptive. And time-consuming.

And a few other additions to my sleep deficit: professional development I was asked to provide for my staff last week (I was happy to do it, just not thrilled with the timing!), some parenting challenges, a two-week virus that wiped me out, too many meetings after school... you get the idea.

But now... I get a week off. How beautiful is that?

My district has a Fall Break.

Have you ever even heard of such a thing?! I never had. But I'm totally on board with the idea now!

I've worked every day since the start of school. Most weekend mornings, I've grabbed my laptop first thing, and spent at least a few hours planning, prepping, creating... Until this weekend, that is. I didn't do a shred of work yesterday! Omiword, it felt so good. I slept as late as I could, had a leisurely cup of coffee, went to my son's swim meet, lunch, errands... I bought new running shoes (I had been putting that one off due to lack of time!) and looked for a geocache with my daughter and watched some TV and truly enjoyed spending time with my family. OH. SO. GOOD.

Today I'm going to shop a little. I want to go to Athleta and Loft, among other places, and I'll probably stop by Nordstrom for a fresh pair of Toms. I'm going to run, and bake some pumpkin cookies, and clean out my closet, and wash the mountain that our laundry hamper has become. I'm going to lounge on the couch and watch some more TV. (I heard there was a Modern Family season premiere this week, but I missed it, so Hulu Plus, here I come!)

I might even get out my laptop and do a little work. I have some projects to work on (requests from TpT followers) and I want to organize my data binder and transfer all the little Post-It note information onto my calendar.  But I don't have to, and that makes it seem all the more appealing!

And I'm sorry if you're working this week. Here are a couple ideas for you!

Last week we did lots of Apple-Themed activities:

We read books about Johnny Appleseed, talked about the different between fact and opinion, and then students wrote.



Get that activity page HERE for free!

My kindergartners had a great time during math last week. They put number cards in order (1-12) and then build unifix cube towers to show each number. They worked in groups of two or three, and they loved doing this! I'll repeat this activity during math workshop time with different number cards and different manipulatives.



And I really like using this book with beginning readers. There is a poem for each sight word. I never go in the order in the book. I choose based on theme.



 

I started enlarging the pictures on each page, and letting student color them for our big, shared reading chart a couple of weeks ago. Six or eight students get that honor each week-- and they love it!  After we've practiced reading for a few days, I provide the students with their own copies. They trace the sight words, color, and add to their "Rhymes to Read" notebooks. But the chart stays up in the room.



Happy Sunday, Friends!

Kindergarten Math Game: Train Race

Last week, my kindergartners learned how to play Train Race. With all the squealing and cheering, you might have thought it was a really exciting activity. It's just a simple counting game, but the students love it. The prep required is minimal. Print and laminate the cards below (you'll need one card for every two children, so print more if needed.) Trim them and then attach to a piece of yarn that's about one yard long. You can attach with staples, or punch a hole in the card and tie the yarn through. Gather a box of Unifix cubes or linker cubes. You can attach the "Train Race Start" to one end of the yarn, and "End" to the other end of the yarn. And now go sit down and have yourself a cup of coffee and one of those delicious double-chocolate cookies... because you're done. That's all there is to it.

  


Click here for the PDF.

Wait. I lied. Each pair of students will need one die. So you'll also have to locate your box of dice and get it out.

To play, player one rolls one die. Player counts the dots on the die, and then counts out that many cubes, and builds a train with them. Next it is player two's turn, and he rolls the die and builds a train. For the next turn, player one rolls again, and adds a number of "cars" (cubes) to his train. Then player A needs to stop and count the number of cubes in his train. Each time a player has a turn, he/she needs to count the number of cars in his/her train.



The player whose train reaches the end of the yarn or the End card is the winner. I teach this game early in the year, and students frequently choose to play it during Math Workshop.

Place Value Boxes from Target and a Corner of my Classroom

More calendar math... Each day, we add a Unifix cube to our collection. When there are ten, we stack them into "one ten" and move the entire stack to the tens column. Well, I saw these cute little boxes in the dollar bins at Target and they are perfect for collecting the cubes. Today was the ninth day of school, so tomorrow my students will stack the cubes into a ten.



I printed the Ones, Tens and Hundreds labels from my unit, Common Core Calendar Math, and taped it on! Easy! Yes, I know that the words are in the wrong order in the picture! Not sure how that happened, but it's fixed now.

Today my students finished up some little Pete the Cat paper projects, and I couldn't resist hanging them all over the classroom.  I think they're just adorable. My kinders and first graders were both able to do the project somewhat independently. The best part is the tail. I shared my idea for a spiral tail, but told the students that they could make any kind of tail they wanted. The variety is awesome! They're all different, which I love!

I still have organizing and unpacking to do in my room. I'm trying to do a little each day, but I'm waiting for the district to deliver a couple of big bookshelves.

Geez, is that picture blurry? Or am I just in need of sleep?

Common Core Math: The Calendar

I just finished this big pack of goodies for primary classrooms. Calendar activities are still an effective way to teach Common Core skills. The only thing... some of our old calendar routines need a little tweaking!



 

I created this file full of printables that you can use during your calendar time. Instructions are included, and the activities are Common Core aligned. Even my good friend who is a *pro* at innovative calendar activities found some new ideas! Click HERE to get your copy!

Have a great week! Tomorrow is our ninth day of school!

A Hundred Numbers for Your Pocket Chart

It seems like lots of teachers are loving bees this year! It's a great theme! So I made a set of number cards with bees on every one.

The cards are for those nylon pocket charts that so many of us have hanging in our rooms. You know, the kind with 100 tiny pockets? Yep, I have one too! I have never loved the red numbers that came with the pocket chart, and it finally hit me---- why not make cute numbers?! Yes, I know I wrote that post about too much cute in a classroom. But if it's functional and cute, I think that's awesome!



The great thing about these cards is that they can be used alone or with those red cards that came with the pocket chart. You can use the "cute" cards to highlight number patterns or a number of the day or whatever. I love Marcy Cook's "Color It on the Hundred's Chart" and these cute numbers work really well with her lessons.

So far, I've made a black and white version with bright bunting, and a bee version. Any other requests? Let me know and I'll get right on it!

Tons of Ten Frames

Okay, I admit it. I can be ridiculous.

Here is a perfect example.

I created a gigantic set of ten frames...one for every month in the school year, plus some extra thematic ones, plus one with a cute Pete-ish cat, plus one for Earth Day, plus one Cat-in-a-Hat-ish, plus one with a beach theme, plus more. Seriously?! Yep, I'm afraid so.

I made two versions of each theme, too. The first version has two ten frames on a page. Each page is meant to be cut in half (I included a dotted line for cutting.) The second version has two ten frames on a page. This one is to use for numbers to twenty! It should not be cut in half, but used as is!



I will be doing lots and lots of lessons with ten frames this year. They are perfect for teaching Common Core math standards for kindergarten and first grade. Hungry for more?



OMG. That Brown Bear-themed one is definitely one of my favorites! You can bet we will start the lesson with some quick color review, a little oral language, and some reading!



I like classroom materials that can do double duty. Pattern isn't included in the Common Core State Standards, but I've heard several experts say that it's assumed. Children will still need practice with pattern at every grade level. So, on the rainy day ten frames, I included boots lined up in a pattern. Take advantage of a quick opportunity to discover the pattern and count by twos with your students!



I made sure to several generic ten frames in this pack, like this colorful one. This would be good for any day of the year!

What about manipulatives, you ask? Well, how about buttons for the Pete frames? Tiny pumpkin erasers for the Halloween frames? There's a beach ten frame that is just begging to be used with shells! But really, any small object will work just fine. Try Unifix cubes, pompoms, pattern blocks, glass beads, tiny base ten blocks, paper clips, foam pieces (like the kind they sell in giant tubs at Michael's), erasers, tiny die cut papers or even construction paper squares. So many possibilities!