Hanukkah Game Board

Looking for a little something to help your kids celebrate Hanukkah?

 

This game can be used in many ways in the classroom!

 

 

Brain research tells us that frequent repetition helps bring information from the short term memory to the long term memory. (Rather than "Practice Makes Perfect", I prefer "Practice Makes Permanent"!)  

 

I use board games like this to practice sight words, math facts, sentence fluency, task cards, or any skill that needs practicing! The children just roll one die, but before they can move their place marker that many spaces, they have to perform a task. I sometimes have a selection of cards the children can choose from, and sometimes I have a specific skill for them to practice. Here are some ideas for practice cards: Practice Card Bundle, Word Work Bundle, or Reading Celebration Game.

Just click this link to download your Hanukkah Game Board

For another option, see Hanukkah Two Syllable Nonsense Word Game.

 

Illustrating to Build Reading Skills

Illustrating is a great way to build reading skills!

I often have my students do some illustrating when I want to make sure they really "get" a concept.  

It forces them to visualize what they're learning.  

Brain research tells us that visualizing helps the memory and deepens understanding.

Brain research also tells us that adding an element of fun helps them remember as well... and don't kids love to draw? 

Add some classical music in the background, and the brain is more activated! 

 

Want to add a little more assurance that the kids are learning?  

Let them talk about what they're drawing and why!

I have several resources I use with my students that get the kiddos illustrating.

Figurative Language can be very tricky for little ones to learn! It takes a lot of conversation before they are ready to illustrate, but it's important that they "get" these confusing phrases. Once the instruction happens, the illustration really helps them to GET it!

 

There's this Mini-book about Healthy Habits.  

This resource is the result of much research on health and children. It has 10 pages written in child friendly language.

My own students have been working on this one this week, and have come up with some incredible ideas!

I also have a set of homophones for the children to illustrate.  These can be tricky for most kids, but in order to draw the different meanings, they have to deeply understand the different meanings.  

That involves a lot of conversation as well as thinking, but once they've got it, they've GOT it!  

As children are "social animals", they tend to remember not only their own pair of homophones, but the homophones their friends did as well!

 

I've got another set of word pairs for illustrating as well... these are homographs!  Just like the homophones, these are tricky, but once they've got them, they've GOT them!

Another advantage to these individual sheets that the children illustrate... they make great visual displays for bulletin boards!  I've had many compliments on the work of my students on these!

They also make awesome class books!

Another advantage? These are great for the sub tub! Just run off the set and leave it in the emergency sub folder!  Plus, they work for a variety of ages and levels. (Fifth graders are NOT too old to draw, they love it!)

Of course, any illustrating is enhanced by music. May I suggest this one?  (Click image for a link to Amazon!)

 

Acts of Kindness Holiday Countdown

Ever notice that wonderful feeling that comes from doing something for others?  I suspect you know it well, since that's what teaching is all about!

I decided, instead of just a "Countdown to Christmas", I wanted to do a more special countdown.

 

I made this Acts of Kindness Holiday Countdown Set, which is a paper chain countdown with a twist - each link of the chain is an act of kindness to be done by the child, each day between now and Christmas!

First, the children will choose a "topper".  There's a star, a tree, and a Christmas Bear.  The topper is mounted on a piece of construction paper or tagboard, and a slit is cut near the bottom to hold the first link.  Personally, I think this guy is going to need some glitter, and a big red bow at the top to tie him to a special countdown spot!

The "How Many Days" poem goes on the back.  I think this needs glitter, too!

Next, the children can put the individual strips into a chain, putting just the right amount so that one can be removed per day until Christmas.

I have to admit, I'm excited about my new product, and can't wait to put them together with the kids!

My Favorite Holiday Activity

Ever have one of those activities that's a win-win?  It's something that works so well, you keep bringing it back year after year. 

That's how I feel about this Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.  I've done this activity with second graders for about 15 years now.

 

I've always loved the music from The Nutcracker. When my daughter was 5, I figured she was old enough to go into Boston to see the Boston Ballet perform the classic. We read a few versions of the story so she'd know what to expect, put on our very best holiday dresses, and drove into the city.

Since I knew the story so well, I brought the CD into school, and shared the story with my students. I wrote this summary of the classic story, and played the music while the children visualized what it must look like, then illustrated the different parts of the story.

Every year, the children loved the activity, and it practiced some valuable skills: visualizing, summarizing, and sequencing. Plus, it gives them some exposure to classic holiday literature and classical music. Of course, you can't miss when the setting is called, The Kingdom of Sweets!

A couple of years after seeing the production in Boston, my daughter had the opportunity to audition for a production of The Nutcracker. She was in the youngest group, and the little ones had a very small part, but it was priceless. She went on to perform in the Nutcracker 3 years in a row before life just got too busy with other performances. However, the story of The Nutcracker will always be near and dear to my heart.

Enjoy this freebie: The Nutcracker story for Visualizing, Summarizing, and Illustration! It's one of my favorites!

Don't Be a Turkey!

Second graders are expected to add and subtract within 20 fluently. This is no easy task, but this game helps them master the 9s trick!

I find, once the kids catch onto the tens trick, the nines trick is easy! I first use a number grid like THIS ONE to show them how easy it is to do "ten more". From there, it's pretty easy to figure out "nine more". 

Once they have a good understanding of the 9 more trick, they're ready to play Turkey Nines!  It works like "Old Maid", so they pair off all the addends and sums with nines, and one of your little turkeys will end up being the "Thanksgiving Turkey".

This is one of those games that "even the losers are winners" because there's something about cooking a turkey that makes the little ones giggle.  Plus, they're getting better at that mental math!

When they've mastered the plus nines up through 20, there's a more challenging version of the game to work on this standard: Turkey Nines:

Have fun practicing mental math, and don't be a turkey!  (At least, don't be a cooked turkey!) 

Here's a little movie about how the game works:

A Couple of Freebies for Veterans Day

Somehow Halloween is over, we have Veterans Day in less than a week! 

I've rounded up a couple of freebies to share with you!

Here's a collection of paper for writing thank you letters to veterans!  After a lesson or two on what veterans are and how they help us, I find letter writing to be a nice way to culminate the activities.

Thank You Veterans!

 

 

I've noticed my little second graders often confuse the different patriotic holidays, so I made this freebie to help them keep track of President's Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Constitution Day, and Veterans Day. It's really helped them keep track of which holiday is which!

Patriotic Holidays!

 

Hope your students end up with a good understanding of Veterans Day!