K-1 OPINION WRITING This unit is so much fun to teach! I just love hearing all about my kiddos’ opinions… and kindergarten and first grade students sure love to share. In Unit 5 of my primary writing curriculum we are learning how to write about our opinions. We are writing about what
This free Kindergarten sentence building and writing center is perfect for practice with making simple sentences for beginning writers!
Lots of ideas and pictures of ways to teach reading skills using phonics centers to make learning fun and promote fluency in reading skills.
Here we are, at the end of the school year, and my kiddos have gotten lazy! They are writing fast and messy, with letters flying all over the page. It is time to slow down and remember how to form letters correctly and how to get them to use the lines appropriately. How can we do this with only 2 weeks left? Practice, Practice, Practice! You could even bribe them! I will be telling my kiddos that they will get a special prize if they can show me their best handwriting. And to do this I will keep track of it in their end of the year handwriting packet. Check it out: Click here to get your handwriting freebie!
K-1 POETRY UNIT I love teaching poetry to kindergarten and first grade students! Even though I have this labeled as Unit 8 in my Writing Series , I actually teach poetry throughout the entire year. We follow the same routine and students look forward to our poetry week every month.
I love writing prompts for my kids, because honestly, I just have to find things for them to write about when my ideas run out. Check out these 10 FREE samples of writing prompts worksheets for your homeschool this year.
Here are some developmental writing rubrics and standards or expectations-based rubrics for kindergarten teachers.
Instilling a love for numbers in kids is crucial for their academic growth. It's not just about memorizing digits – numbers are like the...
Make reading exciting for your students with these fun phoneme segmentation activities for kindergarten! They are a fun way to support these essential literacy skills so you can set your students up for reading success. Thanks to new research about how we really learn how to read, we now know that it's more important than ever to fully develop our students' phonemic awareness skills before we expect them to read the written word! Students learn best when they start with something concrete and gradually move to the abstract. This new research about synthetic phonics tells us that our students’ reading abilities are directly linked to how well they can identify and manipulate the sounds in words. This makes sense. Speaking is a physical act; all of us understand it intuitively. Reading, however, is an abstract skill that requires consistent and explicit instruction. Our kindergarten kiddos need us to start with what they know - spoken language - so they can learn to read more efficiently and to ensure all our students are set up for literacy success. What is phoneme segmentation? Although it's easy to lump this skill in with the whole bubble of phonemic awareness skills, segmentation is about breaking a word into individual sounds. It's an intermediate phonemic awareness skill preceded by phoneme isolation and phoneme blending. They all fit within the umbrella of phonological awareness skills. Learn more about these different terms in Phonics vs Phonemic Awareness. Levels of Phonemic Awareness Phoneme isolation Phoneme blending Phoneme segmentation Phoneme addition Phoneme deletion Phoneme substitution At this stage, your students should be able to hear a word and break it into sounds. The word frog should become /f/ /r/ /o/ /g/. The word cat should become /c/ /a/ /t/. This can be taught in many different ways, and it's an essential skill to practise throughout kindergarten. How do you make phoneme segmentation fun & engaging for kindergarten students with a short attention span? I highly recommend getting hands-on! Use manipulatives and include a variety of physical movements, like drawing, playing, clapping, and more, to help make this learning as engaging as possible. To them, it will feel like play, but they’ll be laying the foundation for their future phonics skills and reading abilities every single day! 7 Phoneme Segmentation Activities for Kindergarten There are countless ways to practise identifying and segmenting phonemes! You can turn almost any material into a tool, depending on how you use it. You don't need to buy all of the tools right away, and you can often get by using materials you already have on hand! Be creative and focus on the skill, not the stuff. 1. Listening to Sounds in Words This is the easiest and most simplistic phonemic awareness activity. Your kids need only their ears (and maybe some fingers) to identify and segment the individual phonemes in different words. It will take time for your kindergarten students to get used to this concept at the beginning of the school year, but if you keep modelling and practising, they'll get it! Start by modelling this practice yourself. Break apart words verbally. Starting with your thumb, lift a finger for each phoneme you hear. Examples Dog: /d/ /o/ /g/ House: /h/ /ow/ /s/ Chin: /ch/ /i/ /n/ 2. Sound Boxes Also known as Elkonin boxes, sound boxes are a phenomenal way to support your students to identify the individual sounds in words. This practice supports orthographic mapping, which helps your students encode these spelling patterns to their long-term memory more efficiently than traditional memorisation. These are best to use when your students have had a chance to isolate and blend sounds together, but you can also use them from day one of your instruction. Essentially, students listen for the different sounds in a given word to get used to breaking them up. When they're ready to start writing, add the letter or groups of letters representing that sound in each box. For example, digraphs would go in one box since they represent one unique sound. This visual approach really makes this abstract concept easier to understand. It's such an effective skill that I recommend using it with your whole group, small groups, or independent practice every single day. Any time you introduce a new word from your word list, run it through a sound box first! You could also use these googly eyes to make it even more fun! There are a bunch of great sound box activities and templates on my site to get you started: Animal Word Mapping Mats CVC Orthographic Mapping Activities Free Printable Word Mapping Templates 3. Interactive Digital Slides Since we have so many little things to track every single day, I highly recommend incorporating custom digital slides! I created them to be interactive to keep interest high, evidence-based to make them powerful and effective, and convenient so you won't have to worry about hunting down missing materials again. I have a variety of slides to support different phonemic awareness skills, including: Phonological awareness slides: These are perfect for the beginning of the school year! Practise counting the words in sentences, identifying the beginning and ending sound in words, and more. In the 'count the sound' slides, the sound buttons are animated to flash as you say each sound. Heart words interactive slides: Instead of teaching sight words the old-fashioned way, teach them using the best evidence-based practices to help your students learn them faster than ever. As part of The Hive, you'll also have access to my plethora of sound boxes and phonics activities! The Hive is an intuitively designed and nimble digital teacher planner, but it’s also so much more. It includes literally hundreds of custom-built apps, downloads, printables, and more, so you can set up your entire day in just one program. You'll be able to incorporate these phonemic awareness activities into your daily lessons and routines with no extra prep at all! Join The Hive today and check it out! 4. Rhyming Games One of the best ways to teach young children phoneme segmentation is by playing rhyming games! Kids love listening for rhyming words, and there are so many great rhyming books for kindergarten to reinforce this skill. Most rhyming focuses on the vowel sound, which can be tricky to identify as they often sound similar. Start by identifying word families (-all: ball, call, fall, etc) and then incorporate these rhyming words activities. Once they're ready, challenge them to listen for rhymes in longer passages, like with these poetry games. 5. Missing Sound Task Cards One fun, accessible way to practice this skill is to incorporate picture cards with missing sounds. Students will need to say the name of the item on the card to identify the lost sound. Note- this is a more advanced way to practise segmenting, as it also incorporates phonics skills. For example, if there is a picture of a pig and the letters __ig, students will need to think or say the word
Story retelling is an ongoing core kindergarten skill and takes place when a student is able to comprehend a story and retell it in their own words. A retell should include key details like characters, the setting, the problem, main events (BME) and solution of the story. Kindergarten students do most story retells from listening to a story read aloud. Because of this, I feel it’s super important to select high quality and engaging texts to help develop a real love for reading. For me, I’m drawn to a silly or feel good story that opens up the floor for a great conversation. I want it to be a memorable and lovable story that they'll want to tell and retell! My Master's is actually in Library Science, so I'm extremely passionate about book selection AND story retelling for littles. So much that... I've married them into a series of monthly retelling activities, using high quality picture books, that work perfect in a kindergarten and first grade classroom. Pre, During and After Reading: Set your students up for success! Book talk the text prior to reading. When reading, an interactive read aloud goes along way with comprehension, I love to occasionally stop and really dig into an illustration or get student input when reading aloud. Whether you retell on day one or later, your kiddos will need to recall key details, and I love doing it with multiple and varied exposure using a single story. Retelling Hand: I like to start and review with a retelling visual like the retelling hand! You can grab a free retelling hand by clicking here. Review the parts of a story retell and then give the kiddos time to "turn and talk" to recall information in the story together. Retell Games: I love board games and just games in general. They're engaging, casual and get you TALKING and moving a little bit! After the kiddos have spent time with a partner, I like to take it up a notch and retell it in a gaming setting. My retelling activities generally include a low-prep game to help the kiddos start chatting alongside some visual support. Anchor Chart: Shared Writing and Sequence: After double exposure with a buddy, it's time to come together and discuss the retell. Review and record the characters and setting. For the sequence portion, students will help you order the events. Once the events have been sequenced, students will help come up with the beginning, middle and end to wrap up the retell (great shared writing practice). If you're looking for interactive writing opportunities, scripting the BME sentences would also be a great way for students to come up and assist with writing. The picture card activity works great on chart paper, a pocket chart or even repurposed later on using a pocket chart in a literacy center. *all corresponding activities can be found here. The Retelling CRAFT or Printable Option: To offer a chance for independent practice, the story craft or cut & paste printable will allow the individual student to practice sequence and retelling the story at their own pace and sharpen fine motor skills. I've always told my students a retell activity is a keepsake... because it's almost like you're taking the book home to read it to a loved one. This retell activity supports the mentor text Florette by Anna Walker. *all corresponding activities can be found here. Written Expression: The written and illustrated graphic organizer is another way for students to show their comprehension of the story after reading and practice writing. If you're making a follow-up literacy center with the picture cards in a pocket chart, this printable (or any of the others within the kit) would be a great add-on. For more retell activities, click here!
Looking for fun and educational resources to help your child learn and practice beginning sounds? Look no further! We are delighted to offer...
Looking for a fun and engaging way to inspire your students' creativity and imagination? Our one-page creative writing worksheet is just what you need! This worksheet is designed to be used with a toy die, making it a playful and interactive activity that will capture your students' attention and help them get excited about writing. The worksheet is divided into three main sections: Character, Setting, and Problem. Under the Character section, you'll find a range of pictures and phrases that your students can use to inspire the creation of a unique and interesting character. From a bold and daring superhero to a shy and introverted artist, the possibilities are endless! The Setting section includes a variety of pictures and phrases that will help your students bring their story to life by creating a vivid and engaging setting. Whether they choose to set their story in a futuristic metropolis or a quaint and charming countryside town, the options are endless! Finally, the Problem section provides a range of pictures and phrases that will inspire your students to create a compelling and engaging problem for their story. From a daring rescue mission to a difficult moral dilemma, your students will have the freedom to choose the type of problem that suits their unique creative vision. With this worksheet, your students will be able to use a toy die to randomly select one option from each section, and use those options to create a unique and engaging story. This activity is perfect for students who struggle with writer's block, or who are looking for a fun and creative way to explore their writing skills. So why wait? Download our one-page creative writing worksheet today and give your students the tools they need to unlock their creative potential and unleash their imaginations! This is a printable pdf, you will not receive a physical product in the post, but a file you can download either in your Etsy purchases or through an email you will receive from Etsy. You download this on a mobile phone.
Check out these fun activities from Award Winning Author/Illustrator Jarett Lerner to do at home or in the classsroom. Includes comics, drawing, and more.
Check out this procedure writing freebie. This 'how to' writing worksheet helps students write about how to make popcorn!
Here are some developmental writing rubrics and standards or expectations-based rubrics for kindergarten teachers.
Teaching elaboration might seem impossible sometimes, but I recommend this engaging and authentic activity to better help students understand what it means.
Free kindergarten worksheets and printables for homeschool & classroom teachers. We've created thousands of free kindergarten printable worksheets, game, activities, and more! You'll find kindergarten math worksheets, kindergarten reading worksheets, kindergarten writing worksheets and even a free kindergarten assessment!
Sentence Practice Worksheet
Included in this long ago unit are anchor charts, sorts, student worksheets and an interactive social studies flap book. Get a freebie in this blog post!
The AT Word Family Workbook is packed with activities designed to help kids blend the sounds of consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words and transition from sounding out phonemes to reading simple words.
I can't even believe May is almost here. Time just flies in spring! This might just be my favorite time of year to teach kindergarten. In nine short months, my kinder cuties have gone from not being able to recognize the first letter in their name, to READING! This never fai
