Some free websites that I find useful with my students are:
Reading:
For beginning reading skills Reading Bear is a resource that approaches reading phonetically and begins at a very basic level, with letter sounds.
StoryWeaver allows children to hear books in both English and other languages. Text levels are not very challenging, so it's better for younger students or beginning readers.
Math:
To work on specific lessons and skills, Splash Math allows some free accounts for teacher's to tailor and assign tasks.
Videos & Lessons:
Khan Academy gives lessons on a multitude of topics.
TeacherTube gives students the advantage of watching a video of a teacher teaching lessons and is searchable by content.
Bilingual Kidspot has a variety of poetry, nursery rhymes, and videos in different languages for kids to interact with.
Showing posts with label elementary school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elementary school. Show all posts
Monday, April 29, 2019
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Castle Unit and Read Alouds
(A work in progress)
Using castles to thematically teach in reading and writing:
References for kids:
I Wonder Why Castles Had Moats- Philip Steele
Castles- David Macaulay
Read alouds:
A Brave Princess- Beatrice Masini
to discuss characters
Tumble Tower- Anne Tyler
Math related:
Sir Cumference and the Round Table
- draw and measure the perimeter or circumference of tables and/or moats
Other Sir Cumference Books
How Big is a Foot?
Writing:
- Describe a castle in detail- project a photo on the board and brainstorm whole group descriptive words
- Write about the adventure of a knight
Using castles to thematically teach in reading and writing:
References for kids:
I Wonder Why Castles Had Moats- Philip Steele
Castles- David Macaulay
Read alouds:
A Brave Princess- Beatrice Masini
to discuss characters
Tumble Tower- Anne Tyler
Math related:
Sir Cumference and the Round Table
- draw and measure the perimeter or circumference of tables and/or moats
Other Sir Cumference Books
How Big is a Foot?
Writing:
- Describe a castle in detail- project a photo on the board and brainstorm whole group descriptive words
- Write about the adventure of a knight
Monday, January 5, 2015
Gingerbread Houses
Building gingerbread houses with the students is a seasonal activity that also develops oral language, reading and writing, and integrates Common Core Standards of science and technology. Before we built the houses, we read some books about gingerbread houses (Jan Brett's The Gingerbread Baby) and a few different versions of the Gingerbread Boy.
.JPG)
We have also been writing and reading directions about building a gingerbread house. For older students, they read a passage from ReadWorks.com and answered questions. With the younger students, we wrote out on chart paper directions for putting together a gingerbread house. Later children wrote about constructing their gingerbread houses in an informational piece and wrote a fiction
Materials for house construction:
Non-edible: paper plates, muffin tin liners (for holding various decorating candies), small cups (Dixie cups work well for icing), popsicle sticks or knives for spreading icing, a bowl for mixing, hand mixer, if you are feeling adventurous- sandwich bags to use to "pipe" the icing
Optional: a disposable table cloth, paper towels, small (rinsed and emptied) milk or juice cartons to build around
Food items: egg whites (Egg Beaters are a good bet, they are pasteurized and no need to separate eggs), confectioner's sugar, cream of tartar, and graham crackers. For decorating- the lighter the candy, the more likely it is to stick- sprinkles, Nerds, M & Ms, chocolate chips, more traditionally- gum drops and candy canes, but they are both heavy!
There are a variety of recipes for Royal icing, the white icing that hardens when it dries, here is one that I used:
- makes 4 cups
(*if kids eat the icing, the eggs should be pasteurized)
Process:
1.) Set up and out all of the materials
Each child receives: a paper plate, a milk carton, a small cup for icing, a popsicle stick or disposable knife, 6 graham cracker pieces
2.) Make the royal icing according to recipe
3.) Children build the houses around the milk carton
4.) After 5-10 minutes of drying time (they can read or color after washing their hands) start decorating
This is a super messy (but fun) activity- be prepared!
We have also been writing and reading directions about building a gingerbread house. For older students, they read a passage from ReadWorks.com and answered questions. With the younger students, we wrote out on chart paper directions for putting together a gingerbread house. Later children wrote about constructing their gingerbread houses in an informational piece and wrote a fiction
Materials for house construction:
Non-edible: paper plates, muffin tin liners (for holding various decorating candies), small cups (Dixie cups work well for icing), popsicle sticks or knives for spreading icing, a bowl for mixing, hand mixer, if you are feeling adventurous- sandwich bags to use to "pipe" the icing
Optional: a disposable table cloth, paper towels, small (rinsed and emptied) milk or juice cartons to build around
Food items: egg whites (Egg Beaters are a good bet, they are pasteurized and no need to separate eggs), confectioner's sugar, cream of tartar, and graham crackers. For decorating- the lighter the candy, the more likely it is to stick- sprinkles, Nerds, M & Ms, chocolate chips, more traditionally- gum drops and candy canes, but they are both heavy!
There are a variety of recipes for Royal icing, the white icing that hardens when it dries, here is one that I used:
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 egg whites, beaten
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- makes 4 cups
(*if kids eat the icing, the eggs should be pasteurized)
Process:
1.) Set up and out all of the materials
Each child receives: a paper plate, a milk carton, a small cup for icing, a popsicle stick or disposable knife, 6 graham cracker pieces
2.) Make the royal icing according to recipe
3.) Children build the houses around the milk carton
4.) After 5-10 minutes of drying time (they can read or color after washing their hands) start decorating
.JPG) |
| This was mad with gluten-free graham crackers, so proportions are different. |
This is a super messy (but fun) activity- be prepared!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Bio Poems
This is a great "get-to-know you" activity with a group of students. I have used it at all levels and adapted it to the students. There are a variety of templates available for bio poems, available on the web and in teaching resources. I have provided a couple here. I usually create a model with the students, especially to model it for elementary school students. Kids can also illustrate them and I always have them share (or at least the parts they are comfortable sharing). Fun to put up for open house or parent conferences also! You can create your own based on a template also.
First name
Three traits to describe yourself
Son or daughter or relative of...
Who feels...
Who fears...
Who needs...
Who gives...
Who would like to see...
Last Name
or
First name
Three adjectives describing yourself
Who feels
Who wears
Who wonders about
Who loves
Who fears
Who wants
Who will achieve
Last name
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Multiplication facts strips
One way to remember multiplication facts, for the auditory and visual learner is to get a long strip of paper, like adding machine or cash register tape.
On the strip write the answers to the multiplication facts that are currently being worked on, and hang them somewhere visible and accessible. Each day before class, run down the strip pointing out each answer as the class choral reads it.
For instance, the 3's:
0
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
24
27 and so on.
By learning just the products, or skip counting, children have another access point if they cannot quickly recall the fact. You can faze out the visual after a week and continue chanting, or leave the visual to refer back to.
Students can also have their own strips at their seats, stapled inside a folder, to track with a clip or their rulers as you are reciting the products.
On the strip write the answers to the multiplication facts that are currently being worked on, and hang them somewhere visible and accessible. Each day before class, run down the strip pointing out each answer as the class choral reads it.
For instance, the 3's:
0
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
24
27 and so on.
By learning just the products, or skip counting, children have another access point if they cannot quickly recall the fact. You can faze out the visual after a week and continue chanting, or leave the visual to refer back to.
Students can also have their own strips at their seats, stapled inside a folder, to track with a clip or their rulers as you are reciting the products.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Working with the Clock
Reading an analog clock seems to be challenging for children, especially of this generation of phones, Ipods, computers, and other electronic devices, and of course digital clocks and watches. I don't always teach time explicitly, rather I use the clock throughout the year and throughout each day to refer to as a tool.
One way that I scaffold reading the clock is by labeling it. These labels can be numbers or words, and can be taken down, covered, and relabeled by the children. School clocks that have a glass casing, can also be written on with Expo or other dry erase markers, and shaded in. For example, we will look at the clock and determine how long we have until music class. We discuss how much working time that is, transition time, and we can actually shade in that fraction of the the clock (yes, I also teach fractions in relation to the clock face). Here is the clock this year in the classroom.
One way that I scaffold reading the clock is by labeling it. These labels can be numbers or words, and can be taken down, covered, and relabeled by the children. School clocks that have a glass casing, can also be written on with Expo or other dry erase markers, and shaded in. For example, we will look at the clock and determine how long we have until music class. We discuss how much working time that is, transition time, and we can actually shade in that fraction of the the clock (yes, I also teach fractions in relation to the clock face). Here is the clock this year in the classroom.
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