Resolution Solution Linky Party

Amanda Madden over at Teaching Maddeness is hosting a terrific linky party to encourage bloggers to choose (and stick to) New Year's resolutions!  I thought I would join in with some resolutions of my own.  Here goes:
School
1. I like to have one-on-one conversations with my students to learn how they're doing and what really interests them, so that I can make motivational books, worksheets, books, etc.  But it always seems like there's a time crunch, and there are a few kids that I just don't get to because they're really shy or hard to approach.  I'm resolving to start the New Year off by finding out a little more about those hard-to-reach kids.  I think in the end it will be very beneficial for everyone.
2. My second resolution is to help my four lowest students to learn their numbers to 20.  Sometimes I feel like I've already explored every option, but the truth is we know that there's always something else that we can try.
Personal
3. I have a difficult time relaxing.  I always feel guilty on weekdays if I'm not doing schoolwork all night.  My New Year's resolution is to take one hour a day to listen to a book, or watch an episode of "Chopped" or "Cupcake Wars" - these are my two new favorite shows!  :-)  They describe everything really well, and being blind, some TV shows are hard to watch.

Gingerbread Friends and More

"Gingerbread Friends" by Jan Brett

I'm not sure if all of you know, but Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett is the sequel to Gingerbread Baby.  It picks up where the gingerbread baby is living in the house that Mattie made for him, and he's happy except for when Mattie goes out with his friends.  So the gingerbread baby goes out into the wide world to find somebody to play with.  This is such a cute story!  He goes to a bakery and sees many decorations, but none of them are alive like he is.  When he comes back home, Mattie shows his love for him by baking him many gingerbread friends.  This book is really lovely for this time of year.

I always make gingerbread houses at this time of year.  Here is a little gift to you, if you'd like to use a guided reading book.  This is one of my children's favorite books, because they really feel like it connects to what we're about to do.  We discuss the sequence of building the house before we actually make it.  It helps SO much!  I think it's really important that kindergarten students have a clear picture of what we want them to do.  Years ago, I did this project without using the book, and I can honestly tell you the houses come out much nicer with the instructions.
My Gingerbread House Big 2

Another thing I like to do at this time of year is make sight words really fun and accessible to my kids.  So I made this Christmas tree where the children have to match the sight word ornaments to the words that are already on it.  I did it first in large group, and they went crazy for it.  They begged me to put it in the ABC center!  Since it's laminated, I did put it in the center, and they've been recognizing sight words all week.  Below are the ornaments in PowerPoint format so that you can make it your own.  What I did was cut a green tree from posterboard and put it on black backing for contrast.  Then I printed the white ornaments on sticker paper, cut them, and attached them to the tree.  Next, I laminated the finished tree and then put velcro above each of the words.  I printed the colorful ornaments, laminated them, cut them, and then put velcro on the back of each one.  Then it was ready to go!

Sight Word Christmas Tree

Sight Word Christmas Tree


I also wanted to tell you that I just put up Christmas Guided Reading Books and Winter Sight Word Board Games on TPT, and I think they're two of the best products I've ever made, mostly because they were inspired by the wishes of children in my class.  If you have time, take a look and let me know what you think.

Twelve Days of Christmas

Sometimes I struggle with how to make counting and sequencing numbers fun for my children.  I mean, seriously, how many times can we count to 12 in interesting ways?  Well, you all know that I love using music.  So, how about teaching your kids the twelve days of Christmas using this sequencing paper?
Twelve Days Sequencing

I made this paper to help my little cuties to be able to count each set with one-to-one correspondence.  Of course, I also play a version by Harry Belafonte.  There's also one by Burl Ives, and many others.  This song really brings back sweet childhood memories for me.  There's also a very cool version of the Twelve Days of School by Dr. Jean which uses the melody from the Twelve Days of Christmas.  So, why not do a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the different things in the songs?  Think of all of the Common Core standards you're covering:

K.CC.2:  Count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of having to begin at 1).
K.CC.4:  Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.
K.RL.5:  Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.
K.RL.9:   Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series).

These cards can be laminated and placed in a center on a cookie sheet for an independent sequencing activity:
Twelve Days Cards

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.  I also made larger pages, for books.  If you think you'd be interested in Twelve Days books, mention that in your comment.  If there's enough interest, I'll post those files too.

Last Minute Thanksgiving Ideas

I really can't believe that Thanksgiving is already here!  This year has just gone so incredibly fast.  With that said, this morning I was making and gathering up all of my Thanksgiving work and realized that I could share these ideas with all of you.

To start off with, I posted a carousel at the top of this post with six delightful books that all capture the meaning of Thanksgiving in some way.  Thanksgiving Day by Anne Rockwell is going to be very helpful for me to read to my kindergarten students, because it talks about the first Thanksgiving.  I haven't found many books that discuss this topic in an age-appropriate manner.  I also like this book because it shows pictures of Native Americans, pilgrims, the Mayflower, etc. in a kid-friendly way.  Students in a class are acting out the story.

My students lately have been asking me how to spell words when they're doing writing projects, so I thought I would make a Thanksgiving Folder specifically for next week.  This folder is like my "Things I Can Read" Writing Folder and my Fantasy Folder that I already had up on TPT.  It sells for $1.00 and has three different writing prompts added to it.  I make these folders because it allows the kids to be totally independent.  I read them their writing prompt and they can go and write completely by themselves at their tables while I'm working with another reading group.  I love it when they can work independently!

Some fabulous songs that I use at this time of year are

"Friends and Family" by Jack Hartmann:  The children do a little drum beat and sing to this one
"Tommy Turkey" by Mar Harmon:  This song is SO cute - the kids get to shake their tail feathers as they dance and sing
"Going on a Turkey Hunt" by Mister Q:  This song and dance is very similar to "Going on a Bear Hunt", and my kids beg for it every day in November
"Five Fat Turkeys" by Francyl Gawryn:  A really cute subtraction song
"Five Little Turkeys" by Bill & Tammy:  This is a nice rhyming song that counts up using ordinal numbers

I made these turkey number lines so the children could move their fingers along the number lines as they're singing the last two songs in the list:
Number Response Strips Turkey

For guided reading next week, I'm going to be using this book.  It's really for my high kids; they're ready for more kindergarten sight words.  My low group is still struggling with letters.
Where is My Turkey 2

In math, to keep with the turkey theme, I'm going to be doing this number fill-in-the-gap paper using turkeys.
Number Fill in the Gaps Turkeys 1 to 15

I would really enjoy hearing about what you all are doing for Thanksgiving, and if you are using any special materials.  Please leave a comment below.

Comparing Numbers and Amounts

"Five Creatures" by Emily Jenkins

I recently did a math lesson for my principal to observe, based on the following three goals.

1. The students will compare two numbers using sets and 1:1 correspondence, and be able to explain and express the relationship verbally, through pictures, and in writing.
2. The students will analyze a number line to find out if written numerals are in correct sequential order.
3. The students will use deductive reasoning as they problem-solve scenarios in books related to "more" and "less".

The first two goals were specifically math content goals.  The third one was a literature goal integrating the math concept.

During language arts, we read the book Five Creatures by Emily Jenkins.  This was a great book for several reasons.  It lent itself really well to using the vocabulary words "more" and "fewer".  For example, on one page it said that there were three humans and two cats.  So I would ask the students "Were there more humans or more cats?"  On another page, it said four of them liked fish and one did not, so I asked "Did fewer of the creatures like fish, or more?"

I started off the math lesson by having the children look at the Visualizer, which had number lines that were each incorrect in some way.  The students had to turn-and-talk and figure out what was wrong with the number line, and then we discussed their ideas.  This worked really well.  Here are the number lines that I used.

Number Lines Missing

One of the next things we did was to use this "Number of the Day" poster to practice writing our numerals:

"Number of the Day" poster

We all wrote the numbers with dry erase markers on individual whiteboards as the "Number of the Day" student wrote them on the poster.  That way, the children had a model to go by.

Since Common Core focuses much more on numbers, I think it's important that my students know how to identify numerals, count, match quantities, and understand how amounts look on ten frames.  Our county's module assessments also incorporate ten frames, so I made these books to help the children have a frame of reference so that when they saw the question on the test, they wouldn't be confused.

My Ten Frame Book 2

My Ten Frame Book 3

For differentiation purposes, I made two levels of books.  I used the first book with my lower students who still need to match numerals with amounts.  The second book was used with my students who do understand matching numerals with amounts and are now ready to compare numbers.

We also played a game with large flip-circles (yellow and red) on a giant ten frame mat.

Single Ten Frame

Double Ten Frame

I used the back of a Twister mat to make the ten frames sturdy and durable enough for the children to crawl on.  This game can be played in several different ways, depending on the level of your students.  I had children place flip-circles on the ten frame with some red-face-up and some yellow-face-up.  Then they had to tell me which color had more, which color had less, and how they knew that.  For a variation, we played "Are there more squares empty or are there more squares filled?"  That was a little tougher.  We've also started doing addition with problems such as "If you have five red flip-circles and you want ten, how many yellow flip-circles have to go on the board?"  This game is mostly for my high group, which is composed of eight kindergarten kids.

I found a real treasure at Really Good Stuff.  They're ten-frame dry-erase boards that are magnetic, and you can purchase flip-circles that are also magnetic.  I think these are fab for any pre-k, k, or 1st grade classroom.

Magnetic Ten Frame Boards from Really Good Stuff

Please let me know what you are doing to compare numbers.  I'd love to hear what you think of these ideas. Also if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in a comment.

It's Pumpkin Time!

"It's Pumpkin Time" by Zoe Hall

If you're looking for a realistic fiction book that discusses the life cycle of a pumpkin, look no further.  It's Pumpkin Time by Zoe Hall is fabulous for any kindergarten or advanced pre-k class.  I like the colorful illustrations and the way the author makes dry facts seem really interesting and cool.  At this time of year your students are seeing pumpkins everywhere, so why not take a closer look at pumpkins by cutting them open, letting them feel inside, pulling out the seeds, and comparing the weight and size of pumpkins to a variety of fruits and vegetables.  My class also made a Venn diagram comparing a pumpkin to an apple, and they really learned a lot.

I'd like to share with you some really great pumpkin fingerplays and songs that you can use for math, reading or science.  These also fit in wonderfully with the Common Core curriculum.  The first song is by Sharon Macdonald, and it's called "Five Round Pumpkins."  I print the numeral pages of the file below on orange paper and cut them out.  Then I print the remaining pages of the file on white paper, cut them out, and attach them to the back side of the pumpkins to match the song lyrics.  Here is the download:
Five Round Pumpkins

Sharon Macdonald also has another great song called "Pumpkin Seeds."  It talks about the life cycle of pumpkins and what they need to grow - a super connection for science!

A fingerplay that I've used in pre-k and kindergarten is "Five Little Pumpkins".  Singlish performs two versions of this song, one with lyrics and one instrumental.  I like to use the instrumental version and change the second lyric from "There are witches in the air" to "There's a chill in the air."  I have plastic pumpkins that I bought at an arts and crafts store to go along with the song.  My kids just love them because they look so realistic and they're 3D.  I also place them in Math Center so the kids can do the rhyme independently, taking away one pumpkin each time they do it.  Here are the complete lyrics that I use:

Five Little Pumpkins sitting on a gate,
The first one said;
"Oh my it's getting late!"
The second one said;
"There's a chill in the air."
The third one said;
"Well I don't care."
The fourth one said,
"Let's run and run and run!"
The fifth one said,
"I'm ready for some FUN!"
WHooooooosh went the wind
and OUT went the light,
and one little pumpkin,
rolled out of sight.

Then I start the song over from the beginning, and take another pumpkin away, and so on.

A nice circle time pumpkin song is "Pumpkins" by Newbridge Songs for Learning.  This dance has the children forming a circle around five pumpkins in the center, and as the song counts backwards pumpkins are taken away from the center group one at a time.  This song is good for teaching the concepts of subtraction or "one less."

I made the following paper to help my students identify color words as well as classify pumpkins by size:

Pumpkin Color by Size

My students kept commenting about how everything matched on this day, and wondering how that happened.

Please leave a comment below and tell me what type of pumpkin activities you do in your classroom.  I'd love to hear from you!

Autumn Activities

I can't believe it's October 1st!  Fall is my favorite season, and I think it's really important to celebrate the change of the seasons with my students.  So I read all of the books in the carousel above, plus Fall, Leaves, Fall which is a great large-size book, but Amazon did not have a picture of it.  I want to share what I did for Leaf Man, because some of my children who normally don't like to do seat work were really motivated by this activity.  We read Leaf Man, of course.  Then I had little pieces of paper cut out in red, yellow, orange, green and brown so that the students could make their own leaf man pictures.  I hung the originals in the hallway, but I also wanted to make a class book so that students could practice reading the sentence frame "My leaf man is a ______," and so that they could see their own writing.  If you're interested, take a peek:
Our Leaf Man Book

I've been working a lot on math plans lately, to match the Common Core standards.  I came up with this idea to have the children count leaves, identify numerals, and then color the squares on the ten frames.  Since Common Core wants us to recognize up to 20, I made twenty different Velcro spots for leaves, and 20 different numeral cards.  There are also two ten-frames on the tree so that children can color the appropriate amount of squares up to 20.

This week, we started working on number lines, so I designed a leaf number line paper to keep with the theme:

Number Fill in the Gap Leaves

I feel that my posts are never complete unless I share some of the songs that I've been using.  There's a fabulous song by Jack Hartmann called "Follow Me to the Apple Tree," which has the kids actively hopping, paddling, skipping, walking, etc. to an apple tree and then picking the apples.  After they pick the apples, they hurry back through the same motions, sort of like the song "Goin' on a Bear Hunt."  I also really like the song "Seasons" by Dr. Jean, because the kids can easily picture different activities for each of the four seasons.  Both of these songs go really nicely if you're discussing and making connections between the books and the real world.

I also recently put up Four Seasons Writing Folders on TPT, and I think they could be really useful in any writing center throughout the year, especially when you're focusing on seasons.