Making Thank You Cards Educational

We got several Donors Choose projects funded this winter/spring which is super exciting.  We got new sensory toys, reading/writing activities, printer paper, headphones, and more!  Part of the Donors Choose process is for the kids to make Thank You cards for the people who donated to the project.  This can be difficult in my class, since I have very few students who can write very easily.  But it is also a perfect, functional opportunity to target writing skills.  I have some kids working on everything from coloring in the lines, to tracing, copying words, copying sentences, and even others working on coming up with their own sentences.

Everyone's skills could be targeted through the simple act of making thank you cards.  I threw some simple clip art on the cards and the kids got to color and write.

Here are some students working on coloring.  For the picture on the right, I traced the outside of each petal in a different color and the student had to find the correct markers and color the petals.  For the picture on the left, the student colored independently.

Lakeshore Love

I was going through my closet the other day looking for something new and different to use with my students to target some slightly more difficult matching skills.  I found these two treasures from Lakeshore.  They were an awesome change to our regular activities, and the kids loved them.

The first one is an "Object Matching" activity.  It has a bunch of picture mats and objects to go with them.  The kids match the objects to the different outlines on the mats.

Tackling Grammar: NOUNS and VERBS

I am beyond thrilled that my kids are starting to work on identifying nouns and verbs!  We have been trying to get to this for awhile, but other things kept coming up.

Spelling Folders

Yesterday, I wrote a post about how we are working on spelling with my beginning readers.  Today, I will show you how my more advanced learners work on spelling.  

These spelling folders are simple to set up and amazing at keeping my higher functioning students organized.  This bunch is the type that, if they actually clean up after themselves, throw their materials everywhere.  So, I have to be extra prepared with lots of labels and visuals to stop that from happening and to teach them how to be organized. 

NEW Reading Center Set-Up

**UPDATE 08/03/16: These reading centers are now posted on TPT as a year long product!  There are reading lists, worksheets, additional activities, and multiple assessments for you to utilize to teach your students how to read functional words!

My reading center is set-up and differentiated for several levels of learners.  In the beginning of the year, I had a group of students who were working on learning letters.  I am proud to say, they have mastered all 26 letters now and are ready for the next challenge…READING!  

With my students, I often start with teaching functional words instead of traditional sight words since these are more meaningful to them and (hopefully) make reading more motivating!  The first list we started with was Color Words.

I was trying to think of the best way to set up this reading center for an aid run station (the assistant has 2 kids with her at a time), and of course ended up putting everything in a binder.  The spelling list is velcroed onto the front cover and can be removed easily for all the different daily activities.  On the other side of the binder, is the "mastered list" of words.  We will use this to track all the words they can read/spell.

Tracing Worksheets

Sorry I have been MIA for the past couple weeks.  Mostly, I have been on vacation...and I needed a break from everything!  But now I am back, and refreshed, and ready to blog away!  First up, my newest classroom activity and product on TPT.

"When" Activities

We finally made it to "When" Questions.  These were a little harder than some of the other question types, because there are so many different types of answers (time, day, month, holiday, season, and more).

Again, we reviewed our other questions types and brainstormed answers to each one on the board.

Q-Tip Painting Templates

I am really struggling lately.  I am so tired of the cold and so ready for Spring Break!  Unfortunately, Spring Break isn't for another TWO WEEKS!  Ugh.  I may or may not have just booked myself a trip to Dallas for the Final Four this weekend because I need to get out of the cold so bad!  (oops!). 

On that same note, I have been re-doing a bunch of things in my classroom (which I am excited to share with you guys soon!).  In the meantime, I have been exhausted and looking for some quick, easy tasks to set up to keep my kids busy (they are also anxious to get out of school!).

April Crafts and Activities

Just got done planning for April!  We have some fun, spring themed projects planned to keep us busy this month.  Lots of flowers, birds, and bunnies!

Flower Inspired Activities

Fork Flower Painting..got this idea from Blog Me Mom