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30 Spelling Activities for ANY List of Words | Education to the Core

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As teachers, reading signs like this make us cringe! 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 just writing the word multiple times. Are you ready to get some of those hours back?!

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Question & Answer Relatiships

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Fordham, N. W. (2006). Crafting questions that address comprehension strategies in content reading. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49, 390-396.

Liang, L. A., Watkins, N. M., Graves, M. F., & Hosp, J. (2010). Postreading questioning and middle school students' understanding of literature. Reading Psychology, 31, 347-364.

Raphael, T.E., & Au, K.H. (2005). QAR: Enhancing comprehension and test taking across grades and content areas. The Reading Teacher, 59, 206-221.

Wilson, N. S., & Smetana, L. (2011). Questioning as thinking: A metacognitive framework to improve comprehension of expository text. Literacy, 45, 84-90.

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The question-answer relationship (QAR) comprehension strategy teaches students how to ask key questions about their reading, and then how to find the answers to their questions - whether it means locating a specific fact, drawing an inference, or connecting the reading to their own experience.

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PBS Kids

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Educational games and videos from Curious George, Wild Kratts and other PBS KIDS shows!

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Sesame Street | Preschool Games, Videos, & Coloring Pages to Help Kids Grow Smarter, Stronger & Kinder

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We have launched the new ReadWriteThink.org and we would love to get your feedback: Give Feedback

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Junie B., as she insists on being called, is an opinionated, lively, character in Barbara Park's series of books, and she is sure to delight primary students. In this unit, the teacher reads aloud selections from Junie B., First Grader (at last!). Students discuss the text with a partner and then individually compose sentences about key events from the story. Each student also creates and adds items to a mystery box, or a box that holds items or pictures referenced in the story. After students have listened to the entire story, they use their mystery boxes to retell the story to a classmate. As a culminating activity, students use the mystery boxes and the sentences they composed to make a related stapleless book about the story.

Stapleless Book: Students can use this interactive site to create a six-page story using the sentences they composed during the lesson.

A literacy mystery box contains items that are referenced in a book, story, or any piece of text. The boxes can be used before reading to introduce a story, during reading to follow plot episodes as they are introduced in the story, or after reading as a response activity.

Literacy mystery boxes motivate and encourage students to engage actively in reading.

Using literacy mystery boxes after reading, students can retell a story by including items that were mentioned in the story's plot. While sharing the story with their classmates, the physical objects serve to remind students of the story's content.

Laverick (2002) found that when students are given an opportunity to respond to text before, during, and after reading, they are better able to "focus on the text and become more active, comprehending readers."

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Junie B., First Grader (at last!) by Barbara Park (Random House, 2001)

Computers with Internet access and a word processing program

Old magazines

One pencil, star, Band-Aid, and a pair of scissors (for each student)

1.

This lesson is based on the text Junie B., First Grader (at last!) by Barbara Park. Make sure to read the book in advance of the lesson, as you will be reading it aloud in class.

2.

In this lesson, students will be creating literacy mystery boxes related to the story read aloud. A few days before the lesson, ask each student to bring in an empty cereal box or shoebox for this activity.

3.

Make a sample literacy mystery box to show your students. Decorate a shoebox or cereal box with pictures obtained from the Junie B. Jones website. Place one pencil, star, and Band-Aid in the sample literacy mystery box.

4.

Primary students and their teachers often become hooked on Junie B. Jones stories. To truly enjoy these humorous tales, it can be helpful to learn more about the author Barbara Park. Access Randome House's Barbara Park Author's Page to find interesting facts about Park that you can share with your class.

5.

In Junie B., First Grader (at last!), Junie B. records her first-grade experiences in a journal. During this lesson, your students will compose sentences for each section of the text that you read aloud. Make preparations to enable each student to compose, save, and print his or her work with a word processing program.

6.

Reserve time in your school computer lab, and make sure that the interactive Stapleless Book and the Junie B. Jones Coloring Book are bookmarked on all machines. If the school computer lab is not available, you can use your classroom computers, but make sure to schedule and adjust the estimated lesson time as needed to accommodate only a few students working on the computers at a time. In classrooms with very few computers, students can work in pairs or small groups to complete the online activities.

Students will

Use strategies to increase their comprehension of a text read aloud (i.e., classroom and partner discussions, creation of literacy mystery boxes, recording of key events, and retelling of the story)

Identify significant events from a story and make personal connections by selecting related visual items or props for a literacy mystery box

Summarize and describe, in writing, key events from a story with guided assistance

Retell a story orally to their classmates and in writing in a book format by using the created literacy mystery box for visual prompts and the written sentences to aid in describing the key events

In this session, students will use the items in their literacy mystery boxes and the sentences they have composed to retell the story of Junie B., First Grader (at last!).

Bring students to the computer lab with their literacy mystery boxes. Direct them to use the items and written sentences in their boxes to create a Stapleless Book that retells the story of Junie B., First Grader (at last!). The stapleless book allows students to create six pages of text. For this project, students can use one page for the title and then type the sentences they composed onto the remaining pages. The printout can then be folded into a book. Students can also leave room in their books for illustrations of their stories.

Continue the excitement by reading additional Junie B. Jones stories to the class. This time, let students identify and locate their own items for their literacy mystery boxes.

Students can make Junie B. Jones masks to wear when they retell and discuss the story.

Encourage students to write a letter to the author Barbara Park. Letters should be addressed to:
Barbara Park
c/o Random House, Inc.
1540 Broadway, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10036

(When sending letters from an entire class, teachers are asked to place all of the letters in one envelope.)

Access the Junie B. Jones activities page for printable activity sheets and an online Junie B. Trivia Quiz. Encourage your students to visit this website to build reading motivation.

Use a completed literacy mystery box to introduce a new story, either in a literature circle or whole-class setting.

Have students make literacy mystery boxes and present the boxes to the class as an alternative to traditional book reports.

Student Assessment / Reflections

Throughout the lesson, use the Observation Guide to monitor each student's work.

Use the Retelling Rubric to assess each student's ability to retell and make personal connections to the story. The goal is not for students to repeat every detail of the story. Rather, the retellings should be used to determine whether students can identify the main events in a story and relate them in a logical fashion. [Applegate, M.D., Quinn, K.B., & Applegate, A. (2004). The critical reading inventory. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.]

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Junie B. Jones Introduces Literacy Mystery Boxes

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We have launched the new ReadWriteThink.org and we would love to get your feedback: Give Feedback Preview Standards Resources & Preparation Instructional Plan Related Resources Comments Junie B., as she insists on being called, is an opinionated, lively, character in Barbara Park's series of books, and she is sure to delight primary students.

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Chapter Books for Early Readers

Create enthusiastic readers with Magic Tree House (MTH) early chapter book choices for beginning independent readers that are fun, accessible, and help improve comprehension and the habit of reading.

Ready to use these MTH books and more in your classroom? Visit MTHClassroomAdventures.org for downloadable MTH resources or head to www.MagicTreeHouse.com. Eligible educators can join First Book's Network to bring new books and resources to the classroom.

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Let's read and grow together with 12 months of recommended books, authors, and teaching resources that promote diversity and inclusion.

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Did you know that magnetic letters are a powerful literacy learning tool? That's right, you can create "gold nugget" activities right now that will help your kids learn the alphabet and other important emergent literacy skills.

You know you have oodles of magnetic letters stashed away in your closet, or maybe they're all over the floor of your classroom. Either way, we all have a set ( or two, or three) of magnetic letters that are gathering dust somewhere.

The best part about these activities is that you won't break the bank or spend hours toiling away in your classroom to create stellar literacy activities, just grab a set of magnetic letters and you're good to go!

Ways to Use Magnetic Letters

Using magnetic letters daily can help young children in preschool or kindergarten begin to internalize the shape and feel of letters. This internalization builds alphabet fluency, which is a predictor of future reading success.

1. Put magnetic letters in your sensory bin foralphabet sensory play.
2. Attach a picture of a palm tree to a cookie sheet and invite your kids to retell the story ofChicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archembault.
3. Use metal cans to create your own magnetic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree your kids can use to re-tell the story.
4. Put magnetic letters in a pencil pouch to make a personalized name kit for each child that they can use to spell their names on cookie sheets or at home on the fridge.

How to Use Magnetic Letters

5. Use a permanent marker and a cookie sheet to create a t-chart. Students can sort letters "in my name/not in my name".
6. Create a quick and easy alphabet fishing game with a wooden dowel, string, and a round magnet.
7. Make a t-chart with a permanent marker and a cookie sheet. Invite students to sort upper and lowercase letters on the cookie sheet.
8. Place a sun-bleached letter matching mat on cookie sheet and invite children to match the letters to the correct spaces.

9. Invite your little learners to spell their names in metal pencil cases from the dollar store.
10. Add magnet tape to a paint stick and invite children to spell their names.
11. Use a permanent marker and a cookie sheet to create a t-chart. Students can sort the letters by determining if they have holes or no holes.
12. Invite your kids to use magnetic letters to spell words and their own names in play dough.

Teach the Alphabet with Magnetic Letters

13. Use stove burner covers from the dollar store to create a magnetic alphabet soup game.
14. Make a quick and easy alphabet car parking lot for your kids to practice letters in your block center.
15. Match magnet letters to objects that have the same beginning sound.
16. Place letters and small objects with same beginning sound in plastic eggs.

17. Put letters in a bottle to create analphabet discovery bottle.
18. Place letters on the sticky wall (sticky contact paper).
19. Use a permanent marker and a cookie sheet to create a t-chart. Students can sort the letters by determining if they have curves or straight lines.
20. Try this super funFeed the dog activity.
21. Make an easy and engaging bingo game using magnetic letters, paper, a marker, and cookie sheets.

Magnetic Letter Ideas Video

More Alphabet Ideas

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20+ Ways to Use Magnetic Letters - Pre-K Pages

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Did you know that magnetic letters are a powerful literacy learning tool? That's right, you can create "gold nugget" activities right now that will help your kids learn the alphabet and other important emergent literacy skills. You know you have oodles of magnetic letters stashed away in your closet, or maybe they're all over the floor of your classroom.

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Letter magnets are my favorite low-cost tool for my preschool classroom. Letter magnets are great for so many different activities, some simple, some that need more preparation. Playing with letters is in my experience one of the best ways to prepare children for the more targetted early literacy activities. Start with play. Many of these activities are geared towards children who have already shown great interest in letters, in how they work, and why we use them. Make sure that you carefully choose which activity to use for the child or group you are working with - it should strike just the right balance of challenge and fun!

You can find my favorite letter magnets on Amazon with this affiliate link.

Letter Match with Letter Magnets

Using a dollar store cookie sheet and a permanent marker, write out the alphabet on the sheet. Give your child a bowl full of the magnets and have him match them up! You can also use this FREE printable if you don't want to mark up a cookie sheet. Letter Matching

Sight Word Match with Magnetic Letters

This activity is an excellent use for magnetic letters for children ready for sight words. Read the how-to here.

Missing Letters and Building Words with Letter Magnets

Write out simple words leaving one letter out. Pop them on your fridge, and have your child fill in the blank with the magnetic letters. In a class doing this activity with the alphabet is super fun. Sing it and STOP when there is a missing letter than invite a kiddo up to the board to fill in the gap.

You can also build words working with word families. This activity is always a big hit with emergent readers. See how it's done here -> word building

Color Sorting with Letter Magnets

I love this activity with my 2 and 3-year-olds because they are confident about colors walking into my class but are just starting to get excited about letters. You can do this with a tray like this
Rainbow Letter Sorting
You can even work in themes! Check out how I used these letter magnets around the holidays in my preschool class. See how I used this letter magnet activity in my classroom here.

Letter Magnets in The Sensory Bin

Add magnetic letters into your sensory bin for students to discover letters while exploring with their other senses. Check out how I made this one here.

Letter Magnet Scavenger Hunts

Hide the letters all over the house or your classroom and go on a hunt!

Circle Time Lessons with Magnetic Letters

I love this alphabet soup lesson, and so did my students. They gobbled this one up! See how I did it here.

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Letter Magnets - Activities For Preschool and Kindergarten

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Letter magnets are my favorite low-cost tool for my preschool classroom. Letter magnets are great for so many different activities, some simple, some that need more preparation. Playing with letters is in my experience one of the best ways to prepare children for the more targetted early literacy activities.

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Phonemic Activities for the Preschool or Elementary Classroom

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Activities that stimulate phonemic awareness in preschool and elementary school children are one sure way to get a child ready for reading! Here are eight of them from expert Marilyn Jager Adams.

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Inside: 35 fun, hands-on spelling activities that get kids actively engaged with their spelling words - thinking, making, creating! Includes a printable version for at home learning.

There's no doubting that some children (if not all!) learn best when they are actively engaged with thinking, making, creating - DOING. Which is why it can be advantageous to add an active, hands-on element to subjects that more typically rely on rote learning style activities - like spelling.

The 35 hands-on spelling activities included on this list are much more fun and engaging than simply writing out spelling words over and over again (my kids both strongly disliked the 'Look, Cover, Write, Check' approach to spelling - and I honestly didn't see much learning happening with it).

These ideas can be useful as activities for literacy rotations or as homework activities, working particularly well with children in the early elementary/primary grades. Plus, at the bottom of this post you'll find a handy printable version that can be sent home with families to use for at home learning.

RELATED: Looking for meaningful spelling activities for grades 4-6? Check out our spelling activities worksheets.

35 Hands-On Spelling Activities

1. Make each word with Scrabble letter tiles.

2. Cut some short lengths of yarn and use them to form the letters of each word.

3. Paint the words with watercolour paints.

4. Write words with pavement chalk on the pavement or on the trampoline mat.

5. Make the letters of each word with your body as you spell the word aloud.

6. Build your words with Lego bricks.

7. Stamp your words onto paper with letter stamps.

8. Stamp your words into playdough with non-inked letter stamps.

9. Dot paint each word with a Q-tip or cotton bud.

10. Make your words with letter stickers.

11. Spell your words aloud as you star jump - one jump for each letter.

12. Make letters from chenille stems/pipe cleaners and use them to spell each word.

13. Type your words on a computer.

14. Write each word with your finger in a sand or salt tray.

15. Make rainbow words, tracing each letter with lots of colours.

16. Thread your words with letter beads.

17. Write your words on the window with a whiteboard marker.

18. Spell aloud and clap for each letter of your words.

19. Spell each word aloud in a robot voice.

20. Make each word with alphabet stones.

21. Write each word with your finger into shaving cream on the shower screen at bath time - or spray a little on a cookie tray to try it when you're not in the bath.

22. Write your words onto paper plates or circles (one word per plate) and make up a jumping game.

23. Write your words in a fun script - with tiny letters or tall, skinny ones, or try bubble writing!

24. Draw a hopscotch grid on the pavement with chalk. Add a spelling word to each square. As your stone lands on a square spell the word aloud before hopping.

25. Squeeze a small amount of acrylic paint into a re-sealable Ziploc bag. Seal the top and then use your finger to write each word 'in' the paint.

26. Make each word with magnetic letters.

27. Play Tic Tac Toe with your spelling words - each player chooses a word to use in the place of the 'x' or 'o' as you play. Choose a new word for each game.

28. Write each word with white crayon onto white paper and then paint over them with watercolour paint for a magic word reveal!

29. Play Hangman choosing the word to guess from your list of words.

30. Make each word from playdough or plasticine snakes.

31. Spell each word aloud as you jump on the trampoline - one bounce per letter.

32. Write the letters of each word onto a craft stick (one letter per stick). Jumble the sticks up and then remake each word.

33. Use a laser pointer to 'write' each word on the wall.

34. Write your list words onto two sets of index cards and use them to play a memory game.

35. Write each of your words onto a chalkboard with chalk and then use a small paintbrush to paint over them with water.

35. Write each word onto a piece of coloured paper, cut the letters apart and mix them up. Race to unscramble each word.

How to Print Your Hands On Spelling Ideas Grid

Click here to download: Printable Hands-On Spelling Ideas Grid. Save the PDF to your computer. Open the PDF for full printing instructions.
Having trouble accessing or downloading the file? Please try a different internet browser.
Please note: All Childhood 101 printables are for personal use only, you may not use any part of this content for commercial purposes-that includes selling the document, giving it away to promote your business or website, or printing the file to sell. You may not share, loan or redistribute these documents. Teachers may use multiple copies for students in their own classroom.

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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.

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35 Hands-On Spelling Activities to Use With Any Word List

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Inside: 35 fun, hands-on spelling activities that get kids actively engaged with their spelling words - thinking, making, creating! Includes a printable version for at home learning. There's no doubting that some children (if not all!) learn best when they are actively engaged with thinking, making, creating - DOING.

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Phonics is one of the five essential components of the science of reading, along with phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Phonics activities help young learners break words into their constituent sounds so they build their literacy skills, bit by bit. Here are some of our favorite ways to teach these key skills.

1. Sing a phonics song

Singing songs is such a fun and effective way to learn! Kids will love to watch and sing along, and might not even realize they're learning along the way.

Learn more: 15 Phonics Songs for Kids at We Are Teachers

2. Color in the beginning sounds

Most kids start learning phonics by mastering the beginning sounds of words. Have kids color in the words that start with the matching sound on these cute and free worksheets.

Learn more: Beginning Sounds Coloring Pages at The Measured Mom

3. Use Google Slides

Google Slides has tons of fun phonics activities kids can use in the classroom or at home.

Learn more: 18 Interactive Google Slides for Teaching Phonics and Sight Words at We Are Teachers

4. Hang phonics anchor charts

When it comes to phonics, there's a lot to learn. Post anchor charts around the room to help kids remember important rules like silent E, vowel blends, and hard and soft C and G.

Learn more: 20 Perfect Anchor Charts for Teaching Phonics and Blends at We Are Teachers

5. Build words with a chart of beginning sounds

Grab this free printable chart and print out copies for your students to use with their phonics activities. There's a version for rimes too.

Learn more: Beginning Sounds Chart at This Reading Mama

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6. Learn digraphs with clip wheels

Combine fine motor skills practice with phonics work with these free beginning digraph wheels. Tip: Add small dots on the back to mark the right answers so kids can self-correct their work.

Learn more: Digraph Wheels at Playdough to Plato

7. Slap the letter sounds

Sounding out words letter by letter is a lot more fun when you slap each letter with a flyswatter! This is a great idea for active learners.

Learn more: Letter Sound Slap at Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls

8. Walk the word

This one will also keep active learners moving and happy! Write words in sidewalk chalk, then walk (or hop or skip) along them, sounding the word out along the way. Simple but fun!

Learn more: Gross Motor Phonics Game: Walk the Word at Coffee Cups and Crayons

9. Fill in the missing letters

This active game combines a scavenger hunt with phonics! Hide sticky notes around the room with various vowels. Then, write CVC words with the vowels missing. Have kids hunt for the missing sounds and fill them in. Fun!

Learn more: Missing Sounds Reading Activity at Busy Toddler

10. Just swap one letter

As students move from box to box, they change one letter to make the new word represented by the picture. They might need to change the first, middle, or last letter, so it's a real challenge!

Learn more: Just Swap One at This Reading Mama

11. Make magic spoons

Pick up a pack of plastic spoons at the dollar store, then use them to practice building words by combining beginning sounds with word endings.

Learn more: Activities To Teach Phonics and Math at Education to the Core

12. Toss and blend with plastic cups

Grab a stack of plastic cups and some Ping-Pong balls for this fun phonics game. Label the cups with different letter blends and set them out (tape them down if they tend to fall over). Kids toss a ball into a cup, then come up with a word that uses that letter blend to earn a point.

Learn more: Toss and Blend at Education.com

13. Flip the pages

Divide the pages of a small notebook into thirds, then write letters on each page. Flip them to form new words.

Learn more: Phoneme Substitution Activities at Tickled Pink in Primary

14. Mix and match cups to make words

If you've still got some cups left over, label them with more letters or letter blends, then use them to mix and match words. This is an especially fun way to work on CVC and sight words.

Learn more: CVC Cups at Inspired Elementary

15. Hack pool noodles into phonics tools

This has got to be one of our favorite phonics activities. Cut a pool noodle into pieces and label it with letters. Then stack and spin for learning fun!

Learn more: Pool Noodle Phonics at We Are Teachers

16. Spin and rhyme

Here's a different spin (pun intended!) on Pool Noodle Phonics. All you need is a cardboard tube, a wire pants hanger, scissors, and a marker to make this fun DIY rhyming activity.

Learn more: Spin and Rhyme at No Time for Flash Cards

17. Make some phonics cubes

Slide the free printable inserts into a set of photo cubes, then roll until you get the correct combination of letter and word ending.

Learn more: Phonics Cubes at This Reading Mama

18. Use paint stirrers to make word pull-outs

These clever phonics tools are easy to make using paint stirrer sticks and paper towel tubes. Simply slide the stick in and out to make new words!

Learn more: Word Family Pull-Out Activity at I Can Teach My Child

19. Play a flip-top phonics game

If you go through packages of wipes like most parents do, you'll appreciate this idea. Save the flip tops and use them for DIY phonics activities.

Learn more: Flip Top Phonics Games for Kids at No Time for Flash Cards

20. Use a pocket chart for phonics activities

Here's another reason teachers love pocket charts: They're great for phonics centers. Sort and match cards to practice beginning sounds, blends, short and long vowels, and so much more.

Learn more: Short A Activities and Resources at Miss Giraffe's Class

21. Compete at Blends and Digraphs Bingo

Every kid loves a good game of bingo! Snag these free printable bingo cards and use them to practice blends and digraphs.

Learn more: Blends and Digraph Bingo at The Measured Mom

22. Toss some phonics water balloons

This one almost seems too fun to count as learning! Tape up beginning sounds, then toss water balloons to complete the words.

Learn more: Water Balloon Phonics at Mess for Less

23. Race to the Top with blends and digraphs

Play this free printable game to practice consonant blends. Toss a chip onto the board and say that word out loud. Then move the counter for the correct blend up one space. First to the top wins!

Learn more: Blends and Digraphs Games at This Reading Mama

24. Try locks and keys to learn phonics

This self-correcting phonics activity is also a good way to practice fine motor skills ... and a lot of fun to boot! Label keys with beginning sounds and locks with word endings, then match them up and try the key to see if you're right.

Learn more: Unlock and Learn Game at We Are Teachers

25. Play Phonogram Connect 4

Draw a word card and find an open phonogram slot on the board. Your goal is to get four in a row!

Learn more: Phonogram Connect Four at Mrs. T's First Grade Class

26. Teach them the Soft C & G Chant

Simple little chants like this will help kids remember some of those confusing language rules. Pair it with other favorites like " I before E, except after C."

Learn more: Soft C and G at This Reading Mama

27. Mix, color, and spell

We can't get enough of games that reinforce CVC words with short vowels-it's such an important early literacy skill! Practice identifying and distinguishing between vowels by coloring in the middle sound from pictures of CVC words.

Learn more: Teaching CVC Words at Susan Jones Teaching

28. Write the Room: Digraphs

Use this fun little letter scavenger hunt to move around the room to search for pictures with digraphs. First, mark the ones you find with a dot marker and then use another sheet to write the digraphs.

Learn more: Beginning Digraphs Write the Room at ABC's of Literacy

29. Use disappearing ink for letter formation

One of the first keys to early reading success is letter identification and formation. Keep it fresh by using "disappearing ink" (aka water) so students have to trace letters multiple times to prevent them from disappearing too fast. With so few materials and such high engagement, what's not to love?

Learn more: 3 Simple Play-Based Phonics Activities at Research and Play

30. Do word sorts

Word sorts are great for comparing word patterns that make the same sound, like vowel teams. They can also help reinforce so many different phonics skills, making them the perfect activity that can be easy differentiated for learners of all stages.

Learn more: Using Word Sorts for Phonics Instruction at Mrs. Winter's Bliss

31. Roll and Read

Roll a die and read the word from the corresponding column. Play with a partner or do it solo by coloring in the words as you read them.

Learn more: Lesson 79 Roll and Read at UFLI. While you're there, check out the UFLI free lesson resources, which include decodable passages and games for almost every phonics skill!

32. Roll letter dice

A perfect DIY idea for old blocks! Use three blocks and write consonants on two of them and vowels on the other. Have some fun rolling and blending CVC words.

Learn more: DIY Phonics Games at Early Impact Learning

33. Sort syllable types

If you are teaching the different syllable types, this word sort helps students practice their knowledge of the six types and shows you what they know.

Learn more: Six-Way Syllable Sort at Florida Center for Reading Research. Also, check out the many other phonics resources available by grade level: Kindergarten and First Grade or Second and Third Grades.

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33 Fun Phonics Activities and Games for Early Readers

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Help kids learn to read with phonics activities that break words into their basic sounds, like phonemes, digraphs, diphthongs, and more.

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Preschool parents are concerned their children won't learn their ABCs. I get that. I was that parent.

Then I became a preschool teacher. I relaxed. As a teacher, I know that alphabet learning should be hands-on. It's not about flash cards or workbooks. It's about providing playful literacy activities that excite young children to want to learn more.

If you are a preschool teacher, you might wonder at what part of your day should you include alphabet learning. My answer? All day long.

Remember my post about how to add literacy in all areas of the classroom? (If not, I've got you covered. Just click here.) Parents can add similar activities in the home.
Bottom line: keep it fun while you teach the alphabet and let them explore!
30+ Awesome Ways to Teach the Alphabet

Fine Motor

Download these free alphabet printables that can be used with Do-a-Dots. (Tot School)

Trace letters using cars and these free road letter printables. (Playdough to Plato)

Practice writing letters in spices for an additional sensory experience. (Frog in a Pocket)

Download these free block letter printables and see over 150 ways your child can fill them. (The Measured Mom)

Use recycled materials to make a Feeding the Alphabet Monster Game. (I Can Teach My Child)

Create lines and curves on rocks to teach preschoolers correct letter formation. (You Clever Monkey)

Art

Children can make their own watercolor alphabet chart to hang in their rooms. (Homegrown Friends)

Do you explore a letter of the week? If so, check out B-Inspired Mama's letter-of-the-week collection.

Literacy

Enjoy listening to a variety of alphabet books. (This Reading Mama)

Write letters on beans for a simple letter matching activity using muffin tins. (The Imagination Tree)

Music

Add literacy to music with some fun alphabet songs. (Fun-a-Day)

Blocks

Create letters with Duplos after downloading these free letter printables. (123 Homeschool for Me)

Add letters to your block area for some added literacy fun.

Sensory

Explore letters in the sensory table. Both toddlers and preschoolers love this activity!

Make your own tactile cards! Tactile cards allows children to explore the alphabet by tracing the letters with their fingers. (Teaching Mama)

Science

Add some science to your literacy activities - one for each letter of the alphabet. (Science Sparks)

Break the ice and find the letters. (Super God Not Super Mom)

Find out what happens when you drop watercolors onto letters with glue and salt. (A Dab of Glue)

Games

Help children learn their letter sounds while playing an alphabet sorting game. (Free printable from Tot Schooling)

Feed the shark some alphabet fish. (Toddler Approved)

Small World

Use letters in small world play by making a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree. (Buggy and Buddy)

Cooking

Explore the alphabet while baking a variety of foods with your children. (Life at the Zoo)

Get in the kitchen and make alphabet pretzels. (Simple Today Life)

Large Motor

Get your body moving while learning the alphabet with bean bags. (Teach Preschool)

Identify letters by name and sound while kicking a ball. (Fun Learning for Kids)

Outdoors

Practice the alphabet outside by making a letter museum. (Rubberboots and Elf Shoes)

Trace letters on the ground and watch them erupt. (Learn, Play, Imagine)

Name Recognition

Help your children learn the letters in their names with fun, hands-on name activities.

Press letters into playdough to make your name. (123 Homeschool 4 Me)

Build your name using Duplo bricks. (No Time for Flashcards)

Magnetic Letters

Make a simple letter box for recognizing and sorting letters.

Use magnetic letters on a cookie sheet. (Free printable from The Intentional Momma)

If you have some magnetic letters, you will want to try one of Growing Book By Book's ideas from their magnetic alphabet collection.

FREE alphabet matching printables!

Click on the photo for the pdf download:

You can find more activities on our Literacy Board.

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Preschool parents are concerned their children won't learn their ABCs. I get that. I was that parent. Then I became a preschool teacher. I relaxed. As a teacher, I know that alphabet learning should be hands-on. It's not about flash cards or workbooks.

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Reading Comprehension Strategies: SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

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2nd grade Somebody Wanted But So Then

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A RIGHT ROYAL ROACH TRIP (Read Aloud) by Susie Violet | Kids Books Read Aloud | Children's Books

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Readers Theater (Readers Theatre) Scripts and Plays for Kids Free

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Readers Theater Play Scripts for Kids Free for the classroom. Readers Theater is an oral reading of a script to build reading fluency, student engagement.

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[ Stage set: Outside of and inside the HARE's cave. The set inside the cave has a chair. Outside the cave, students can create small trees, flowers, and bushes, or paint these onto a large butcher block paper for a backdrop.]

[When the play opens, HARE is sitting on the chair inside his cave (or her cave, if the actor playing HARE is a girl).]

[NARRATOR enters.]

[NARRATOR steps forward.]

[HARE starts out on the stage. He is sitting in a chair. This is his cave. He gets up and speaks.]

[CATERPILLAR enters. It is good if CATERPILLAR can crawl.]

This seems like a very good cave. Maybe I'll just go for a bit. ( CATERPILLAR:
sits on the chair) Ah! I like it here. I could stay and be very happy. ( looks around) Say, this cave has an echo. It makes my little voice sound big!

[HARE enters onstage and looks around.]

It's good to be home. HARE:
(looks at the ground outside the cave) Oh, my! I see footprints outside my cave! What's going on? Did someone go in there while I was out? ( calls out) Hello there! Who is in my cave?

[JACKAL enters the stage.]

[JACKAL exits.]

[LEOPARD enters.]

[LEOPARD exits.]

[RHINO enters.]

[ELEPHANT enters. RHINO remains on stage.]

[ELEPHANT and RHINO run off the stage.]

[FROG enters.]

[Enter JACKAL.]

[Enter LEOPARD.]

[Enter RHINO.]

[Enter ELEPHANT.]

[JACKAL, LEOPARD, RHINO and ELEPHANT all laugh.]

[CATERPILLAR gets off the chair, crawls over to the animals, and stands up.]

[JACKAL, LEOPARD, RHINO, and ELEPHANT step in closer to CATERPILLAR. They are mad.]

[CATERPILLAR quickly crawls off stage.]

[All ANIMALS laugh, except HARE and FROG.]

[If you have a curtain, close it now. If you do not, fade the lights. If you have no stage lights, all actors come on stage and bow to the audience.]

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A Caterpillar's Voice Readers Theater ~ Play Scripts for Kids

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Stage set: Outside of and inside the HARE's cave. The set inside the cave has a chair. Outside the cave, students can create small trees, flowers, and bushes, or paint these onto a large butcher block paper for a backdrop.]

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Interactive Read aloud Making Connections 2nd grade

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Interactive Read aloud Making Connections 2nd grade

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Heart Word Magic - Read and Spell High Frequency Words | Really Great Reading

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Heart Word Magic - Help Students Learn to Read and Spell High-Frequency and Sight WordsHeart Word Magic is a complimentary teaching tool designed to help students learn to read and spell high-frequency words and sight words, particularly those that aren’t very decodable. Show your students the animations, then try these fun, hands-on free Student Practice

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5 Insanely Simple Word Work Activities Your Kids Will LOVE!

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When you ask your students to do peer review of their writing, do they stare at you with puzzled expressions? Here are five specific, hands-on approaches to peer conferencing that your students can really sink their teeth into.

Revising and editing a peer's writing helps students learn to work as a team. It also gives them a fresh perspective on the proofreading process that will help them become more aware as they write and edit their own work. So, how can you make the peer review and editing process engaging, meaningful and fun for students? Here are five ways to get your students excited about peer review that actually work!

1. Neon Revision Many kids don't know what or where to mark when reading another student's work. Neon revision is an approach that can really help. First, give each student or pair of students three highlighters and these instructions:
Highlighter Markers: 3 Colors
Yellow - Mark the first word of each sentence. Questions to think about: Is there variety? Does the writer use transitional words? Are there any sentence fragments or run-ons?
Pink - Highlight each adjective. Think about: Is the writing descriptive? Are the adjectives strong and specific?
Blue - Highlight each verb. Think about: Are there too many "to be" verbs? Are the verb choices strong?

Students begin by highlighting specifics. Then, remind them to look at the big picture. After highlighting, they can make comparisons and add suggestions about what the student needs to add, adjust or remove. Proofreading will come later. First, they are helping a peer with sentence fluency and word choice-both descriptive language and "showing without telling."

Teach students about the revision sandwich: compliment, suggest, correct. Remind students that when reviewing someone's work, always start out by saying what they like about their work. Next, they make a suggestion and converse with their partner. Students ask questions. Then, they make corrections. By working together, they both learn from each other.

2. Writing Wheel Checklist Have students assemble their writing wheels using this template, a piece of plain paper and a brad for the center. To assemble, cut out both circles and attach with the brad. Explain that they will use the writing wheel checklist to help them edit one another's writing. Students should do each task on the wheel as they review another's work. The writing wheel checklist is portable, so students could even check their peers' writing from home on a class blog! Students can post their writing on a kid-friendly blogging site such as Kidblog or Weebly, where peers can write comments. Using their writing wheel as a reference, students will know how to assess their classmates' compositions for conventions.
Click here for a PDF of the Writing Wheel Checklist.

3. Revising vs. Editing (What's the Difference?) Students need to know the difference between revising and editing in order to help refine their peers' writing. Revising makes writing better. Editing makes writing correct. A popular approach in many classrooms is to use the acronyms ARMS (for revising) and CUPS (for editing).
Revising (The big picture)
Add words and sentences (be descriptive, capture all ideas).
Remove words and sentences (be concise).
Move words and sentences (sentence fluency, organization).
S ubstitute words and sentences (word choice, voice).

Editing (Conventions)
Capitalization
Usage (Verbs and nouns-does it make sense?)
Punctuation
S pelling

To help students with their understanding, say you use your arms and hand to hold your ear to help them remember that when you revise, you want the writing to sound better. If you punch a hole in a cup and look through it, you are using your eyes. This will help them remember that when you edit, you want your writing to look better. Students could even create a telescope made out of a paper cup and call it their Revisoscope! Check out Busy Bee Kids Crafts to see how to construct one. Once students know the difference between revising and editing and have the acronyms memorized, they can jot them down on a Post-it note when checking a peer's writing. The acronyms will remind students of what to look for and how writing can be improved to make it look and sound better!

4. Proofreading Spectacles Put your proofreading spectacles on, it's time to edit! To make editing for conventions fun, have students wear crazy glasses with the lenses popped out of them. It will motivate students and encourage them to look closely at their peers' writing. Remind students to always reread to check for misunderstandings in writing. You can purchase glasses at the dollar store or a party supply store. You could also have students create their own glasses out of paper.

5. Switch! Revising and Editing Stations
Set up six stations around the room. Label each station with one of the following titles:
1. Word Choice
2. Ideas and Content
3. Organization
4. Sentence Fluency
5. Voice
6. Conventions
Print out Be the Editor task cards for students to use when revising and editing at each station. Students use Zaner-Bloser's task cards to help them discuss and check one another's writing! The task cards provide the children with prompts, making editing/revising easier. By concentrating on one writing trait at a time at each station, students will not feel overwhelmed. Along with the task cards, put out highlighters, sticky notes, colored pencils and other writing utensils to keep students interested.

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5 Peer Editing Strategies That Actually Work For Student Writers - We Are Teachers

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When you ask your students to do peer review of their writing, do they stare at you with puzzled expressions?[...]Continue Reading

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Ask you kids if they want to make their spelling words disappear. What do you think they'd say? I can imagine lots of grins and giggles. With this activity, we're going to do things a bit different and practice our spelling words by making them disappear.

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Hi Friends!
Today I have a SUPER EASY activity to share with you that helps children with their letter (and number) formation. Guys, let's get real for a second. I think that handwriting practice is incredibly beneficial and needed in kindergarten, but it's hard to deny that it does get boring for the kids (and teachers!) from time to time. We need to help our kiddos out with their handwriting and formation while making it fun and memorable for them.
Recently I stumbled upon Education.com's post about writing in rice. It was a bit if a DUHHH! moment for me. I have had the kids writing in sand for the longest time and I think rice would be so much better. It doesn't stick to their hands as much and is a bit easier to clean up! Plus you can always dye rice to make it colorful! Here are the directions:

Trace Letters on Rice
Is your kindergartener eager to practice writing? Does he love to play with his food? Enjoy making designs in his mashed potatoes or carrot puree? Transform his inclination to play with his food from taboo to "yahoo"! He'll get a big kick out of working on his handwriting...using rice!

What You Need:
1 large baking sheet
1-2 cups uncooked rice
Pencil
Lined paper

What You Do:

Sit your child down at a table with a large baking sheet with 1-2 cups of uncooked rice spread evenly across it

Draw a line across the top of the rice, and one across the bottom. Then, using the pointer finger of the dominant hand, show your child how to draw the following handwriting strokes, which are the building blocks for most letters of the alphabet:

Straight line: begin at the top, and draw straight to the bottom
Straight line: begin at the left, and draw straight to the right
"Slant left": begin at the top, and draw a diagonal line left, eventually connecting to the base line
"Slant right": begin at the top, and draw a diagonal line right, eventually connecting to the base line
Circle- draw an "o"
Half circle: show your child how to draw one to the right, and one to the left (as in d and b)

Once he's practiced a few times in the rice, ask your child to write the same strokes on the lined paper.

When the strokes themselves become easy, it's time to move on to the ABC's. Slide out that baking sheet and ask your child to write each letter in both its capital and lowercase form. As he finishes writing in the rice, have him write the letter on the paper as well, to reinforce things.

Still feeling crafty? You can extend the activity by using the leftover rice for a different purpose. Now that your child has written all of his letters onto paper, have him glue rice on top. It may sound a little odd, but working with rice and glue helps improve hand dexterity (which works those writing muscles!), plus, it helps kids think about the shape of the letters, and the direction they moved while writing them. Dried corn, macaroni, raisins, or uncooked noodles also work well for this purpose. So raid that pantry, and get your kid thinking about those ABC's!

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Hi Friends! Today I have a SUPER EASY activity to share with you that helps children with their letter (and number) formation. Guys, let's get real for a second. I think that handwriting practice is incredibly beneficial and needed in kindergarten, but it's hard to deny that it does get boring for the kids (and teachers!)

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Thanks for stopping by and checking out the activities contained within the Make, Take & Teach Alphabetic Principle Activity Pack and Intervention Kit. The activities contained in the pack and kit are ideal for your small group intervention and are aligned with the DIBELS Next assessments and early literacy assessments commonly administered in schools. We know that all children learn best with a hands-on approach to teaching and learning. The activities contained in the printable pack and intervention kit are hands-on activities. This means that you'll have to gather some materials to assemble several of the activities. If you purchase the intervention kit, I've provided all the printables and materials for you all contained in a sturdy Sterilite container. The pack/kit contains 19 activities all designed to teach sound-symbol correspondence and beginning blending. A 19 page teaching manual is included complete with an assessment and step-by-step directions for each activity.

The first activity focuses on the skill of alphabetic order. Three templates are included where students can match upper- to uppercase letters, lower- to lowercase letters, uppercase to lowercase letters or order letters without a visual cue. This activity is easily differentiated as you decide how many letters to place on the board.

Five multi-sensory activities are contained within the activity pack/kit. Printable multi-sensory cards are used as templates to assist in correct letter formation.

Mirrors and phonics phones are staple items in any small group instruction area. Mirrors help students use visual cues to assist in correct sound production and phones provide amplification to assist with sound discrimination.

Make drill and practice fun with the Fiddle Sticks activity and the Beat the Clock activity. Fiddle Sticks is a face paced game which provides multiple opportunities for response.

Students can practice upper- to lowercase matching with this classic game of memory. Again, this activity can be easily differentiated as you choose how many letters to use.

Students practice matching letters to beginning sounds with a fun game of Dominoes. These dominoes are easy to assemble.

Included in the activity pack/intervention kit are 100 bright and colorful pictures that are used for sound sorting activities. A minimum of 4 pictures for each letter is provided (x not included). This activity is easily differentiated as you choose which letters and how many letter sounds are to be sorted.

11 Clip the Letter cards are included in your activity pack/intervention kit. Why not squeeze in a little fine motor practice into a reading-related activity. For the Clip the Letter activity, students choose the correct beginning or ending sound on the card.

A fun game of Bingo is a great way of practicing letters and sounds. You'll need a few players and a few bingo chips.

This time the memory game addresses the skill of beginning sound matching. Students just love the colorful pictures!

Tee It Up for Sounds is a teacher-favorite! There are 32 Tee It Up cards contained in the activity pack/intervention kit- 16 addressing beginning sounds and 16 for ending sounds. Students place the tee through the hole of the beginning sound. They then turn the card over. If the tee is poking through the hole with the red circle, the answer is correct. The self-checking feature of this activity makes it an ideal activity for literacy centers.

Word Change is a great activity when teaching students that a change in one letter creates a new word. Students manipulate the letter tiles to create the pictured words.

The ABC Turtle activity is a fun little game for practicing beginning sounds. Students try to be the first player to cover all the pictures on their turtle.

The activity pack/interevention contains two sets of flashcards. The first set includes key words for our little ones just learning letters and sounds. The second set contains only the printed letters.

The RtI Alphabetic Principle Activity Pack is jam packed with activities designed to teach and practice sound-symbol correspondence. The printable activity pack contains 104 pages! This activity pack is available through my online TpT store.

Just in case you're not so sure you want to print and gather the materials, I've done it all for you! When you order the Make, Take & Teach Alphabetic Principle Kit you'll receive all the printables and materials needed to assemble your activities. The activities are printed in color and on 90 lb cardstock. When you order the kit, the activities are printed in triplicate for use during small group instruction.

The Alphabetic Principle Intervention Kit is available through my TpT store .

Don't worry, parents, I didn't forget about you! You play such an important role in your child's education. The Make, Take & Teach Alphabetic Principle Kit is also available for single users. The kit contains 10 activities.

Click HERE to order the Alphabetic Principle Kit for Parents.

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Alphabetic Principle Activity Pack and Intervention Kit - Make Take & Teach

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Thanks for stopping by and checking out the activities contained within the Make, Take & Teach Alphabetic Principle Activity Pack and Intervention Kit. The activities contained in the pack and kit are ideal for your small group intervention and are aligned with the DIBELS Next assessments and early literacy assessments commonly administered in schools.

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Class is done. We've learned a lot. We've tried some new things. We've had some great discussions.

So ... now what?

How can we make the most of the end of class? How can we tie a bow on a day of class to wrap everything up?

An exit ticket gives us that opportunity - much like bell-ringer activities help us kick class off effectively.

The name "exit ticket" makes it sound like you need a ticket to exit the room, but exit tickets are final quick check-ins with students before class wraps up.

What can we do with exit tickets?

In an article in the publication Educational Leadership by ASCD, Robert Marzano explains that there are four kinds of prompts teachers often use with exit slips - prompts that ...

Provide formative assessment data (How would you rate your current level of understanding of what we did today?)

Stimulate student analysis (How hard did you work today? What could you have done to help yourself learn better?)

Focus on instructional strategies (How did the group work today help you understand the content?)

Are open communications to the teacher (What could I do differently to help you understand better?)

Exit tickets are also a research-based best practice for several reasons ...

Exit tickets are a pretty versatile tool. We can use exit tickets one day as formative assessment and on another day to check in on students' feelings to learning.

Armed with this data, it can inform your instruction instantly - as soon as the next day or even later on in that same day!

So ... what does this look like in a classroom? What digital tools can help us with exit tickets? I have 10 ideas for both!

BONUS: The Exit Ticket Builder for Google Slides and PowerPoint

Having some ideas for exit ticket prompts can save you time AND help you remix them to meet the needs of your students.

Here I'll share 10 exit ticket prompts ... but let's take it a step further!

These prompts are part of my FREE Exit Ticket Builder template for Google Slides and PowerPoint! With this template, you can quickly add any of the 20 pre-made exit ticket prompts to your slide deck -- then assign it to students.

Flip through the slides below to see all the exit ticket ideas in the Exit Ticket Builder.

Then, make a copy in Google Slides or PowerPoint to assign to your students!

10 ideas for exit ticket prompts

Here are 10 exit ticket prompt ideas that you can use to wrap up your class ...

1. Do you agree or disagree with the topic today? Describe why. If you're studying a topic that has two or more sides, this lets the student decide where he/she stands and why.

2. How are you doing? Just a simple social-emotional check-in can give the teacher valuable information and help the student to feel seen and heard.

10 digital tools for exit tickets

The traditional way of doing exit tickets is with slips of paper. That's totally fine. But we do have plenty of digital options that give us variety.

The great thing about many of these is that you can re-use them. For many, you can create them once and use the same (or similar) questions and templates without having to reinvent the wheel.

Here are some digital tools and ideas for using them for using digital exit tickets in the classroom.

1. Socrative

Use Socrative ( socrative.com) for to ask a quick question or do a quick poll at the end of class. The quick question option lets you ask a super-fast open-ended or multiple choice question. Plus, Socrative has a built-in exit ticket option, asking students ...

how well they understood the day's lesson (multiple choice)

what they learned (open-ended)

to answer an additional question from the teacher, maybe one you ask verbally (open-ended)

Benefits: It's fast and summarizes your info quickly on one screen.

2. Google Forms

Creating a quick Google Form ( forms.google.com) can let you customize your exit ticket experience. Building your exit ticket with Forms, Google's survey tool, lets you add a variety of question types. Plus, you can also display videos, images and text. The drag and drop interface of Google Forms makes it pretty easy to pull together an exit ticket. When you're done, use the "Send" button to give your students a link. View results in the "Responses" tab and even export them to a spreadsheet.

Benefits: You get more question types and multimedia. You can view graphs of responses quickly.

3. Pear Deck

Pear Deck ( peardeck.com) works with slide presentation tools (easiest, in my opinion: Google Slides, with the Pear Deck add-on) to make slides interactive. Have a quick slide deck pre-created for the end of class. Design slides visually - or use the pre-created slides in Pear Deck's slide library in the Google Slides add-on. Students interact on their screen, drawing, dragging and typing. Pear Deck has a paid premium version, but there's a lot you can do with its free version.

Benefits: Questions are visual, hands-on and interactive.

4. Flipgrid

Using Flipgrid ( flipgrid.com) as an exit ticket means you get to see and hear your students via video. Create a simple prompt. Give your students a link to it - or assign it in Google Classroom - or provide students the QR code to answer it. Students respond in their browser (or with the mobile app). It's one thing to see text on a screen. It's another to be able to read your students' body language and vocal intonation.

Benefits: You can learn more from watching how your students answer via video sometimes.

5. Synth

Like the idea of video responses but prefer to respond with audio? Synth ( gosynth.com) makes responding with your voice digitally feel like a conversation. Students can leave short audio responses to a question - perfect for exit tickets. But they can also respond to each other's recordings, making it feel more like an asynchronous conversation over time.

Benefits: This lets you hear your students' voices - and lets them practice answering with their voices.

6. Kahoot!

You're likely familiar with this classroom staple by now. We often use Kahoot! ( kahoot.com) for reviewing. However, we can also use it for exit tickets. Create a new survey Kahoot! instead of the traditional quiz game. Surveys still have multiple choices, but they aren't scored. It takes the competitive edge off and lets students be more thoughtful with their answers.

Benefits: It uses a familiar interface that students likely connect to having fun. Plus, students can answer quickly and easily.

7. Google Slides

Google Slides is for way more than oral presentations in front of class! Create a new slide presentation and share it with students, making it "everyone can edit". ( Instructions in this blog post.) Each student gets a slide on the slide deck for responding. Give students a question or prompt to respond to at the end of class. Note that everyone can see everyone's slides, so this wouldn't be ideal for fact recall or for sensitive personal questions. Because of the design freedom in Google Slides, it opens up what students can create for you quickly!

Benefits: The design tools mean students can quickly make something visual with text, images, lines, shapes, etc.

8. Formative

Formative ( goformative.com) is like using Google Forms in some ways. But it offers even more flexibility. There are TONS of question types. One of my favorites is the "Show Your Work" question where students draw their answers. If you ask multiple-choice questions, it will autograde the responses.

Benefits: Have students draw their answers using the "Show Your Work" question type.

9. Poll Everywhere

Using Poll Everywhere ( polleverywhere.com) lets you create a quick poll with lots of options. You can add images to your polls and even rank items instead of just choosing one.

Benefits: Ask students to rank multiple items.

10. Seesaw

Teachers love Seesaw ( seesaw.me) because it creates a digital learning community. It's a bit like social media (think Facebook) for the classroom. For exit tickets, students can post to their Seesaw classroom and snap a picture of what they've been working on. They can even annotate it by drawing and labeling.

Benefits: Marking up images can help students show what they know.

Exit tickets that DON'T use technology

Technology opens up lots of opportunities to assess, create and gather data in unique ways.

That doesn't mean we HAVE to use technology, though. Sometimes, the data we want to gather can be done faster - or more meaningfully - without technology.

Here are some ideas:

The sticky note mosaic: Grab a few pads of sticky notes of different colors. Tell students what each color stands for: something that know for sure, something they're still unclear on, something they need to tell the teacher, etc. Stick the sticky notes on the board randomly or in groups as they leave. The colors will help you sort them quickly.

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20 ideas for exit tickets in the classroom

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Class is done. How can we end it effectively? Using digital exit tickets can bring closure to your day. Here are 10 you can use tomorrow.

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How do I use it?

Create questions for the Anticipation Guide based on a given article or video, or use one of the Ready-to-Use Anticipation Guides created for Let's Talk Science content (see right).

Anticipation Guide Reproducible Template

Provide students with an Anticipation Guide at the beginning of the class.

Students complete the first part of the Anticipation Guide activity before they read the selected article or view the selected video.

Students answer answer the questions by marking a true or false (T/F) in the Before column of the Anticipation Guide.

Once students have answered the questions, they they read the article or view the video.

After reading or viewing , students mark true or false (T/F) in the After column of the Anticipation Guide.

Students find and write evidence from the article or video that supports their thinking, using the space below each statement.

Once completed these Anticipation Guides can be used in a variety of ways:

Handed in to the teacher to provide a formative assessment prior to starting studies about the topic featured in the article or video.

Students pair up and share their responses with their partner and discuss their responses.

Have a class discussion on the responses and the information presented in the article or video.

Variations

Model how to fill out an Anticipation Guide and find evidence in a text or video by completing an Anticipation Guide on an overhead or white board with the class.

Have students develop their own Anticipation Guide questions based on a reading or video. These student-developed Anticipation Guides can be shared with other students.

Extensions

Have students do additional external research to support or refute the claims and information in the article or video.

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Educational Resources: This is an individual strategy in which students are presented with a list of statements that are related to the topic(s) presented in a text/video that will be read or viewed. While some of the statements may be clearly true or false, a good anticipation guide includes statements that provoke disagreement and challenge students' beliefs about the topic.

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Exit slips are written student responses to questions teachers pose at the end of a class or lesson. These quick, informal assessments enable teachers to quickly assess students' understanding of the material.