Word work activities for ANY words! Word work is an essential part of language learning in the primary grades. Make word work FUN while LEARNING takes place! There are seventeen different word work activities included in this pack. They can be used for absolutely ANY word learning! Perfect for literacy centers or sub plans. A must have for Kindergarten- Third Grade! #wordwork #wordworkactivities #spelling #1stgrade #2ndgrade #kindergarten
These editable word work activities are perfect for small groups or centers and help every level of reader as they become stronger readers!
Do you reinvent the wheel every single week when it comes to centers, word work, stations.....whatever you happen to call them? Yeah, me too! I know better, I swear I do but it just never fails. I am here today to tell you that there IS A BETTER WAY! Let me begin by saying I am a big fan of Daily 5. I run my room about as closely to the Daily 5 model as possible but this is one area I just never could give in on. The sisters suggest having out materials for students to build words, write words, and work with words during this choice. It is that simple. It is called word work after all right? I have always felt the need for my work work choices to be very specific so that students could be working on what I wanted them to be working on. Wait a minute.....that's the opposite of Daily 5 philosophy. It's all about CHOICE and becoming a BETTER READER so why am I making all of the choices? So here is what I did. I put as many random materials as I could find in my classroom and made them available to students. THAT'S IT! Along with a sight word list to use as a reference and one fun morning of showing them what it was all about and I haven't looked back since. They are working SO HARD during our word work time because they are truly using materials they love and making good choices to become better readers and writers. It has been amazing! Here are a few simple, simple examples. Again...simple! I did not go out of my way for any of these! #1 Magnets I have a couple of really organized sets of magnets and then these just thrown in a clear shoe box. Guess which one gets picked the most? You guessed it! Maybe it's the bright colors or maybe kids are just drawn to chaos. Either way it's a win! #2 Wiki Sticks I lied. I did go out of my way for this one just because I've always wanted to use them. My students think they are really fun! One of my kiddos who struggles the most during word work time (and refuses to use a sight word list) spelled out "tatr tot" last week using these. He was pretty impressed with himself and I was too! I got these from Amazon. You can see them through my affiliate link HERE. #3 Pom poms I've used these for fine motor before but I've never just included them in word work. They get picked every round! I didn't originally tell them to use a cookie sheet to build on but I like how it keeps everything in one space. They came up with that idea. #4 Beads I had these from the Dollar Tree for my fine motor bins too so I just included them in word work for now. They are REALLY interesting to build with because you have to pick up each bead and set it on its side so it won't roll away. The cookie sheet came in really handy for this one. #5 Plain OLD white boards I have really old yucky white boards. Guess what? They don't care! I set them all on the shelf and they pick one, a marker, and a sock (they are baby socks) and write their sight words. Marker dry? DON'T COME GET ME! Just throw it out and get a new one! I put an old assortment of markers in here so we could weed out the bad ones. TIP! Put your sight word list in a sheet protector and students can cross off words as they write them. My students figured out that organization tip too. I love when they help me figure things out! #6 Letter Tiles These came with our Reading Street materials and they are really fun for building CVC words because there are so many vowels included. I encouraged them to work on sight words but I noticed one student building CVC words, blending them together, and then sorting them into real words and make believe words.You better believe I had him share out at the end of word work to show his classmates and now everyone is doing it too. Instant center.....no prep! #7 Scrabble Tiles Seriously though. I have been collecting these forever and I NEVER use them because well.....honestly I didn't know what to do with them. It bothered me a little that they were all capitals but guess what? My kids don't care! They love using the little stand to build words with and it does not matter one little bit that they are all capitals. #8 Letter Stamps I had these already and they are always a part of our word work so this was a station that just stayed the same. I do like that they have to focus on our new words of the week for this one. I have to be in a (little) bit of control sometimes! But my 2nd grade colleague just has blank paper at this station and they stamp any word they want. I'm sure my kiddos would love that too! I might switch it out and have them do that next week. You can get the STAMPS HERE and the STAMP PAD HERE. These are affiliate links which means I get a small amount if purchase through the link at no additional cost to you. Seriously love these though and they have lasted a long time! #9 Paper Centers Yes....I still need a little bit of control and my theory is that some kids will totally love using all of the hands on stuff but some kids still want to complete a paper like a cut and glue, word search, or write the room. I didn't do away with all centers, I just added all of the fun word work centers into what we already had going. BUT! This has already saved me a ton of time in the planning department. I put out 4 papers for the week and that's it. All my centers are planned for! You can see the centers I have available that are aligned with Reading Street stories HERE. This week our story is The Little Engine That Could. You can see the four paper choices on top and then all of the materials stored below. I love these containers from Walmart because the handles on the sides lock the lids down tight and keep beads, wiki sticks, tiles, and pom poms from flying everywhere. I have reflected a little bit on whether these were just working so well because my students are UBER independent right now or because this is just a great fit. I mean really, they are almost 1st graders after all! But I think that these would have worked great at the beginning of the year with some alphabet options just as nicely as they are working now. I put out similar items at the beginning of the year anyway, this would just be some added options. Would I overwhelm my students with all of this in one day. NO WAY! My students have been exposed to all of these items in one way or another (through fine motor stations, word work, or in small group with me) except for the wiki sticks. Those were brand new. I waited a couple of days to add those in to make a BIG deal about them. If this was the beginning of the year I would put out 2 choices until we were really solid with those choices and then add more in. Get the sight word list shown in the pictures that aligns with Reading Street Kindergarten words HERE. These types of centers work great with these Rainbow Word Sight Word lists too! Want to save this post for later? Pin it here! P.S. Get a FREE ALPHABET ACTIVITY when you sign up for my newsletter HERE!
In this post, I'm going to share TWENTY word work ideas for sight word practice in your classroom. Before I begin the fun, I want to quickly explain how my
Looking for new ideas to perk up your Daily 5 Word Work? This post is filled with fresh ideas!
We work hard to teach our students the correct way to spell words. We spend countless hours creating spelling practice activities that are fun and not
Each Monday we collaborate with our building's new and Dual Language staff members for a professional development session based on what they highlight as their needs and/or desires for learning! This week we focused on Daily 5 ideas as all of our staff are currently working hard to get their stations and guided reading up and running! The teachers who attending the session came up with a variety of wonderful ideas and activities that could potentially be used throughout the year in these work stations. I thought some of you may enjoy taking a gander at what they came up with as well! Just a little background... we utilized a strategy many of you may be familiar with called "Round Robin" to gather ideas during our meeting. The staff were given the anchor charts with only the titles and asked to add any activity ideas they were doing, would like to do, etc. based on the title on their paper. We gave each group 1 minute to brainstorm and write their ideas, and then they were asked to pass the poster to the next group. We continued to do this until all posters had made it to all groups. This is a great strategy that you could use with your students as well to assess their background knowledge and/or learning of concepts. You could even do it at the beginning of the year to see what activities they already know and enjoy doing during Daily 5 if they are familiar with it from the year past! This may give you some insight as to what they may want to do in your classroom as well! Alright now onto the posters...keep in mind these were quickly written by our staff and we discussed them a bit after as well, so not everything may make perfect sense! But feel free to ask questions in the comments if you have any and I would be happy to try my best to answer! After our meeting, I also took some time to type up all of their ideas onto one page for them to hold on to and refer to throughout the year. You are welcome to a copy if you'd like- just click on the image below :)! (Graphics: Scrappin Doodles, Priscilla Concepcion)
I can say that I am so HAPPY that this stressful week is over. My husband and I are in the process of buying our first home, which we LOVE, but there have been a few hiccups with water in the basement after a spring rain.... but TODAY... all is settled and great! Whew! I am linking up with Doodlebugs in the special WORD WORK themed Five for Friday. One of my biggest challenges this year is my management of the Daily 5 structure in my classroom. I struggle between giving the kiddos too much freedom (last year) and not enough freedom and variety (this past fall). I finally feel like I've hit my stride and it comes with the introduction with my word work organization in January. I try to keep the Word Work activities fun and hands-on!! I love when my kiddos come in at the beginning of the week and ask "WHAT'S FOR WORD WORK?" They used to ask this same question in the form of, "What's for lunch?" I figure if word work is ranking above lunch now, I MUST be doing something right! ORGANIZATION: Here is a peek at my word work organization board, Across the top are the 5 word work centers for the week. Each student is in a color group (based on their guided reading group... that way I can differentiate the centers based on reading abilities). When we are ready to start word work, students look at what their group is doing that day, they get their supplies, and they can sit anywhere in the classroom. THEY LOVE IT! (and because they love it... I have very few behavior/redirection problems, which frees me up for my reading groups) I take pictures of the word work materials to make the center labels. You can see from the photo that I don't always have time to make the new labels after I introduce the new center... I write on a blank laminated card with a Vis-à-vis marker. The backs of the word work labels have Velcro so that I can switch the centers each week! The word work supplies are always organized on the top of our classroom library book shelves. My "teacher's helper" make sure that everything is ready to go in the morning and that is it all put back nicely when we are finished! WORD WORK FAVORITES: BEADS Every week, student focus on 7 phonics related words (based on a common spelling pattern) and they have 5 sight words (from the pre-primer and primer dolch word lists). As we go this year, I have been making laminated cards with the words on them. This allows students to easily complete their work anywhere in the room... they just bring their little word card with them. Last year, I would write the words on the board, but then students couldn't always see them from the spot that they chose to work in. One of our favorite centers is stringing letter beads on pipe cleaners to spell our words. EASY!! Just a little prep to put the bins together... I initially had the beads organized into the above organizer... but it was too hard for the kids to get the beads out of them. I recently switched to putting the beads in old pencil boxes and it works great!! I also have a choice of big or small beads! WORD WORK FAVORITES: FLUENCY FOLDERS I recently used Cara Carroll's Rock Your Fluency packs to put together Fluency Folders... I posted about this about a month ago... Check out this LINK to see my previous post about fluency folders... I do have to say that these are a class favorite (and totally worth the cost!) WORD WORK FAVORITES: WORD SORTS Students sort word family words into categories and record. I put the word cards and the word family heading cards into a tub. Students spread out on the floor and sort the cards. If they finish early, they write sentences with the words on the back of the paper! LONG VOWEL WORD SORTS are available in my TPT store! Here's a freebie of the Long U Word Sort! WORD WORK FAVORITES: PRINTABLES Stumbled across this great set of word work printables last year and THEY ARE FREE!! Click the link to check them out on Mrs. Mabe's TPT Store! Enjoy!!
If you’ve read my blog before, you probably know that I use a Daily 5 structure to organize our reading time. I love the freedom, choice, and time spent reading/writing it offers my students. One of the most common questions/comments is “My students can’t handle choice. I’m doing Daily 5 just without the choice. My...
Free, no-prep, editable spelling activities perfect for any word work center! #wordwork #sightwordactivities #daily5 #teachingreading #mrswintersbliss
Free, no-prep, editable spelling activities perfect for any word work center! #wordwork #sightwordactivities #daily5 #teachingreading #mrswintersbliss
These editable word work activities are perfect for small groups or centers and help every level of reader as they become stronger readers!
Here’s what works for us! First up on Friday afternoon I stock this 5 drawer unit with the activities for the following week. This is a picture from last year. ...
I have always struggled with spelling, and how to engage students in meaningful activities to practice their spelling words! I have tried just about everything under the sun, from rotating through teacher-selected word work centers, to a free choice spelling menu where students try to complete different activities throughout the week. Nothing seemed to work!
Free, no-prep, editable spelling activities perfect for any word work center! #wordwork #sightwordactivities #daily5 #teachingreading #mrswintersbliss
Use this word work collection to put together homework packets for any word list. Three different sets are included. FREE from The Curriculum Corner!
Grab these free spelling dictionaries for kids in first, second, and third grade! I love how they come in different versions depending on the needs of your learners. They're great to support children's writing and their learning of sight words. #spelling
I love the idea of having ready to go printables that will work for any list and that can be used in a number of ways. This set of pr...
Look at me- two posts in two days. I'm on a roll! I'm linking up with Freebielicious to share a couple of printables I just posted to TpT and will be using in my classroom tomorrow. http://freebie-licious.blogspot.com/2013/05/fabulicious-freebies-may.html The first is just a practice page I plan to use for Spelling. They just write the word, illustrate it, and use it in a sentence. The other is a quick litthe graphic organizer I'll be using during Guided Reading groups to practice asking thin (Who/What/When) questions and thick questions that really encourage them to think. So here you go!
Ideas and resources for independent word work centers in grades 2-4.
Combining sight words and word families is the perfect way to start a child's reading journey. Download free printable worksheets and centers!
Short A is usually the first phonics sound you teach in kindergarten and first grade so I figured it'd be a great sound to show you teaching...
Read to Self Read with Someone Word Work Listen to Reading Read with a Teacher/Teacher Time Word Work is still my work in progress, so look for updates to this post as I continue to grow and add to the effectiveness of this choice :) For now, though, I will give a brief overview of how it goes in my class. First, the anchor chart of expectations: All students have five independent spelling words (aside from the class list of words) that they work on each week. These are kept in their spelling folder (I'll blog about this after I get some pics) and include third grade words from the district and list of 1200 high-frequency words from Rebecca Sitton. Students are responsible for these five words and have the chance to practice them, as well as class list words during Word Work time. Students have a variety of ways to practice these words: White Boards- (a class FAVORITE!)- they can practice cursive, print, and/or sentences Stamps- I purchased several of these sets and ink pads in multiple colors (be sure they are washable!) and this is a close second favorite Sign Language- kids will work with a partner using these sheets to help and try to guess the words Secret Code Spelling- each letter is worth its place in the alphabet (a=1, b=2, c=3, etc.) and kids will work to spell out their words in numbers, then switch with a partner and decode (This is available as a freebie HERE.) Scrabble Tiles- I post more info about this center HERE. Money Words- similar to secret code, but each letter is worth a coin amount. I blog more about this center HERE. I am always on the lookout to add more individual spelling practice activities. You can keep updated on my quest here on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/3rdGrThoughts/word-work-spelling/ What I noticed was that sometimes students' stamina in practicing these words waned, especially with our 25 minute session length. Also, we don't have spelling words every week (short weeks, in particular), but we do Daily 5 every day, so what were we to do? Enter DonorsChoose.org!! (you can read more about my love of Donors Choose here) I found a wonderful product at Lakeshore Learning that covers all of these amazing word skills that I teach throughout the year, including: synonyms & antonyms context clues prefixes, suffixes & root words idioms similes & metaphors analogies and more! Their At-My-Desk Vocabulary Set was perfect- already assembled, quality pieces, directions card that is very easy for kids to understand (yay!), and full of concepts that always use extra practicing :) The price was jaw-dropping a bit steep, so I applied to Donors Choose and ta-da! it became a part of our Word Work Center! Yippee! {happy dance} Seriously, donors have no idea how much they make my students' and my day! <3 Now, when kiddos feel like they have had enough practice with their words, they can go to our spinny activity center and choose an envelope to work with at their desk. They LOVE them! And the best part is that, while some of them are a once-and-done activity, most of them a student can do over and over! So that is my Word Work in a tiny nutshell. Are there any great activities that I should add? Let me know how you do Word Work- I would love to continue to tweak this to make it more perfect for my students :)
Hello darlings! This post is an overview of the Word Study Program I use in third grade. Stick with me though, because you could do the same thing in your classroom, you just need some word lists. These pics will take you through the program step by step. It is a mash up of Words ... Read More about Differentiating Spelling in the Elementary Classroom
Winter is just around the corner and I have been working hard on our Winter Math and Literacy Packet for Kindergarten! I am happy to say that it is
Help your little speller learn to write short vowel words in a fun way - with these free printables!
Hello Everyone! Another post about Daily Five. :) One of the kids' favorite parts of D5 is the Word Work component. I do believe in giving the kids room to make their own choices, even when it comes to the word work activities. Research also tells us that a multi-sensory approach to anything will help reinforce objectives. As far as word work goes, I'll discuss which words my kids choose to work on during the week at another time. Tonight I wanted to share the different choices to practice those words that may be on the menu for the day! I pick about three different menu items from the list daily. I'll put a clip next to the items. Kids can choose any of the three but they have to stick to that activity for the duration of that "Daily." Most of the activities are self explanitory. I've included some recording sheets in the unit. Most of the time my kids will practice in their Word Work Notebooks (which is just a spiral), but you may need some of the recording sheets. "Write Right on White" is simple practice on their mini white boards. "Teacher Treat" is when I have come up with another fun way for them to practice that may go along with our chunks, eg. using Chips Ahoy cookies for working on oy words. Most of the rest take very little prep work or explanantion after training and modeling the first time. I love the consistency of having predictable choices! (I'll post some pics of the kids working later!) Click her for your printable download word work unit If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me, or leave me a question. Have fun! Joyfully! Nancy
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!
Next week our story in our reading series is Super Storms. I know, I know - but, Jen, you've said you don't DO the reading series! You're right. I don't. BUT, I DO do weather, so I did make a pack to go with the story, because I can actually use the centers in my weather unit outside of the reading series. WELL, I went to get the pack to get ready - and OH. EM. GOSH! Yeah - it was one of my FIRST packs I did .....wow. SO, I did a make-over on it - AND I added something like 10 pages to it. I think it looks much better now :) 6 different activities: ~Vocabulary cards with a graphic organizer ~Compare and contrast (in both Venn Diagram and Double-Bubble) for rain/snow and hurricane/tornado with a writing extension ~Compound concentration game ~Sentence Scramble - these are written in a way that they are writing facts about weather ~Picture and caption - after brainstorming ideas, they create a "poster" and write about it ~What I learned - using a divided circle map, they jot down what they know and learned, then write about it And here is a freebie from this pack - it's the vocabulary word graphic organizer - my kids love doing it! You will also get some examples on what I do in the "More!" box - TONS of ideas. So if you've already bought it, make sure to go download it again to get the updated version! Make sure to head on over to my FB page - there's a nice surprise for you there!
I'm a fan of HGTV's House Hunters. I really like House Hunters International. Most of those episodes really make me appreciate the size of my kitchen and closets. House Hunters: Where Are They Now? gives you a chance to see what people did with their homes after they move in. We are over half way through the school year and I thought I might do a little Daily Five: Where Are They Now? post about my Daily Five journey with my class and some changes I've had to make. I am certainly not an expert on The Daily Five, but I have used it for more than a few years. I figured if I have had some challenges, other teachers have too. Here are some of the changes that have helped this year's group of students . . . Below you will find a freebie packet I've put together for some of the paper assignments during Word Work. You can use these activities even if you are not doing the Daily Five. Click on the picture for more information and to download your own copy. If you are interested in getting started with The Daily Five, be sure to read The Daily Five by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser and check out some of my other Daily Five posts. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great week.
Boggle is such a great game for pattern recognition and spelling. You can even get a little math in there with the scoring. Kids (and adults) love it! Here is a template you can use with your class. The color version is for using with your document camera, while the grayscale version is perfect for ... Read More about Boggle Template: Make a New Game Each Time!
Stephany, Stephanie and Kathi have organised this great initiative for the new year. I am happy to be participating in a huge sharing of ideas and blogs from all over the world! I am over at Teacher Mom of 3 But I am happy to introduce Angie from Rulin' the Roost Hi everyone! My name is Angie from Rulin’ the Roost! I’m so happy to be guest blogging for Brooke today!!! I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday break, however long it may have been. For the past few years, our district has been taking the initiative of having more engaging, student centered activities, as well as starting a word study program, Words Their Way. One thing that I have started this year which could be done at any grade with any word list is having a Tic-Tac-Toe choice board. These are activities that students can choose to do to work on their words. Students feel empowered because they are choosing what they want to do. YOU choose the activities that you want them to do! It’s a win-win situation that has kids “doing” more than listening. When I create my activities, I keep in mind the paperwork and preparation involved. I try to keep it simple, yet meaningful. Here is a freebie example of a generic Tic-Tac-Toe word work choice board. You can click on the picture below to grab yourself a copy. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByB-1HaFtKDwVnNvd2xuc0JiMnc/edit Now, since starting this, I have taken a little spin on it as well! At Christmas time, I decided to create themed activities that we used each week before Christmas. The kids had a blast and they learned their words quickly, in a fun, meaningful way! I JUST finished one that we’ll be using for the next month or so, throughout winter. I bundled up all the materials that would be needed and have it in a packet in my Teachers Pay Teachers store! You can click on the picture to check it out! Thanks Angie for coming to visit me today :)
I came up with some fun ELA Word Work ideas that my students LOVE. You can use a special space in your classroom, "Word Work Station", or you can just allow students to work at their desk to complete these different activities.
These editable word work activities are perfect for small groups or centers and help every level of reader as they become stronger readers!
There's really not a difficult thing unless you decide it's a difficult thing. Otherwise, it's just the next thing you're figuring out. wood species will vary according to what we have on hand average dimensions: 4.5" W x 5.5" H x 7/8" D story by Kai designed to stand freely or hang
This is a game that was adapted from an idea I got from a presenter at a BER workshop. Letters were written on lima beans...both lowercase and capitals and multiples of each. Then I covered an empty container (from breadcrumbs) with construction paper and attached a label that I created. Using an old medicine cup the students scoop some beans out and then create words from the beans in front of them. You can adapt this activity in any way you like. For example, you can have the students write down the words they create or you can tell them the words that you want them to create. Also, if there is someone who has an allergy to legumes you could always use beads or other small item that can manipulated.
This Building Blocks Sight Word Box is a hands-on way for your students to practice reading and spelling their sight words.
Do you need new phonics activities? These Short U Phonics Worksheets give students practice reading and writing short u CVC words by word family. In this teaching resource, there are 18 different phonics worksheet templates with multiple pages for each template to accommodate all of the short u CVC words taught in kindergarten and first grade. This is a great no-prep printable for kindergarten word work centers.