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Phonic Talk :: Phonics Steps in Sequential Order

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Because successful phonics instruction must be systematic and sequential, we divide the process into 8 detailed steps, encompassing all 44 sounds found in the English language.

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Daily 5 in Kindergarten - schedule and ideas shared

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Daily 5 in Kindergarten - schedule and ideas shared

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and I am soooo excited about it!

This is what we have been doing each day.

This is our Daily 5 Bulletin Board.
I created large charts for instruction, but keep these smaller ones on the board:

They are a cute western style.

Here are some freebies on TPT

Here is the first 25 days of the Daily 5 in my kindergarten class.
(For the most part, my schedule follows the Daily 5 exactly. I added a few extra review days for certain areas.
That's why it's 25 days and not 20 days)

I started on the very first day of kindergarten.
Materials Needed:
Picture Book, Chart Paper, Book Boxes w/ Books, Designated spaces around the room that are comfortable (e.g., under tables, couches, pillows), Chimes, lights or bell

3 Ways to Read a Book:
I began by introducing 3 ways to read a book (I only talked about the first two strategies on day 1 and I covered the 3rd way with a piece of paper).
1. Read the Words
2. Read the Pictures

3 ways to read anchor chart:

I began by reading The Kissing Hand.

I explained that the students were going to be detectives and explore different ways to read a book. First, I read the story by just looking at the pictures. I really modeled this strategy since this is all most of my kinders will be doing during this time because they cannot read yet. Next, I read the words.

Then, we launched Read to Self.

Read to self anchor chart

We created a read to self anchor chart. We talked about urgency and the importance of reading.

We talked about student/teacher expectations during this time.

Sense of Urgency: Why do we read?

1. Become better readers and writers

3. It makes us happy!

5. Work on fluency (add this one day 2 or 3)

Students should (I use body language to help them remember the rules):

1. Read the whole time (make your arms circle big above and around your head)

2. Stay in one spot (point to the ground)

3. Read quietly (whisper and show shhhhhh signal with pointer finger at your mouth)

4. Build stamina (show muscles)

5. Sit by themselves (point to themselves)

6. Follow directions quickly (snap and say it quickly)

In the first couple weeks of school, I am not sure of the kinders reading levels yet, so I made generic book bags with various books (Dr. Seuss, Sunshine Readers, I Spy, interesting picture books, Zoo News magazines, etc). and keep them at their desk.

I am using Ziplock bags for my book bins and keeping them at their tables.

I purchased tote bags from Oriental Trading and I am just waiting for them to arrive.

Here are some other ideas for book bins:

Cereal boxes or book containers with pictures

Next, I had 2-3 kiddos MODEL correct and incorrect read to self behaviors in front of the class. First, we modeled appropriate behaviors. Then we modeled inappropriate read to self behaviors. I used a few "outgoing" students to model the incorrect behaviors. After they modeled the incorrect behaviors, they had to model the correct behaviors. That way they know they are capable of making good choices during read to self.

NOTE: Earlier in the day, I introduced my for bringing students back to the carpet in between rotations. I created an anchor chart for what to do when you hear this signal.

I use a xylophone. It works great! It sounds like a chime.

Finally, we practiced ! I placed the kids around the room in various BOOK NOOK areas ONE AT A TIME.

We only practiced for as long as kids could read and stay focused (about 1 minute on the first day). If ANY students disrupted the class, got up or stopped reading, I rang the bell/chime to signal them back to the rug. Time to check-in!

We talked about what we did correct and how we could improve (we added ideas to the anchor chart). Kinders can only practice about 2-3 times in one day before you start losing them.

I continued 3 ways to read a book. I reviewed the first 2 strategies (read the words; read the pictures) and then introduced the third way: retell a story.

I used The Kissing Hand again to retell.

When we finished, I gave the students their own Kissing Hand book to color and practice reading.

Next, we practiced read to self . We reviewed our read to self and book nook anchor charts and modeled correct and incorrect behaviors. Our stamina goal was 2 minutes but we only made it for 1 minute). We practiced read to self. I placed kids ONE AT A TIME around the room. Again, I rang the bell or chime as soon as one student became distracted. It is very important not to talk to students during read to self. They need to learn to follow directions without cues or praise.

When we come back to our meeting place we check in--How did it go? We reviewed the anchor charts, modeled correct/incorrect behaviors and practiced again.

You can use these TIMERS for great ways to build stamina. Kids can see the visual for how much longer they still need.

I reviewed 3 ways to read a book.

We read Rosie's Walk (I am using that books that also tie into the first week of school)

(Rosie is a hen who walks all around the farm. It is full of prepositions and is a great story to use before taking a tour of your school campus). Once again I reviewed that we can read books by looking at the pictures and by reading the words. Rosie's Walk is perfect for both ways because all of the pictures go hand in hand with the text. As I read the words I pointed out the pictures that went with them and we talked about how we would be able to retell the story easily be only reading the pictures. Then, I read the story. I also showed the video on Youtube.

After, we took a tour of our school and wrote our own class book called KA's Walk.

Then we continued read to self. We reviewed the anchor chart.

We talked about good places to sit in the room (Book Nooks).

This is my BOOK NOOK Chart.

We MODELED correct and incorrect behaviors.

Then we practiced (Our stamina goal was 2 minutes and we did it). On day 3, I let the kiddos find their own book nooks (some had a hard time and just wandered, so I knew I needed to address this during check-in). I explained that if you can't find a spot when the timer begins, just sit down right where you're at.

Follow the same procedures each day. Ring the bell or chime as soon as one child gets distracted or disrupts. The goal is to train students muscle memory to make good choices while reading. At the rug, we review the rules and expectations. I ask them to put thumbs up on their heart if they believe they tried with all their hearts. Thumbs sideways on their hearts if they believe they could try harder. I don't do thumbs down.

Below are some BOOK NOOK areas in our room.

Reading Bench or Hay Horse

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I reviewed 3 ways to read a book.

I modeled this strategy by reading, No David by David Shannon.

This is a great book for teaching read to self and school rules at the same time.

After reading this story, we talked about being peace-buiders and peace-breakers. Then we created a picture story about being peace-builders and peace-breakers.

All the kids want to choose the wagon in the beginning of the year, so I teach them to say, "Oh well! Maybe next time!" (with an okay snap).

Next, we practice, repeat and review the steps as needed. WE DO TONS OF MODELING!!!

By day 4, we were at 2 minutes of reading stamina. Most of the kids do really great but there is always about 3-4 students who have a hard time. They talk to a neighbor, can't find a book nook and wander the room, or say, "I'm done!" or just sit there.

I use these kids to model correct and incorrect behaviors when we return to the rug. We talk about the read to self rules again. In Kinderworld, you MUST be patient and just keep modeling and reviewing the rules.

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Writing paper, writing materials (pencils and crayons), work on writing anchor chart

Review all the anchor charts ( 3 ways to read a book; where to sit/book nooks).

I read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom for my read aloud to model reading the pictures and reading the words.

On day 5, our read to self stamina goal is 2-3 minutes. I must admit, on day 5 I felt a little discouraged. It was a Monday and the kids had a really hard time. But I kept telling myself, "It's ok. This takes time, patience and lots of modeling and practice."

We reviewed our read to self anchor chart, modeled correct/incorrect behavior and repeated as needed. It is so tempting to talk to the kids during read to self (by either praising them or telling them what they should be doing) but I don't. I realize I MUST train their muscle memory to be able to do it on their own.

On day 5: Introduce WORK ON WRITING:

After read to self, I explain that we are going to learn part 2 of The Daily 5: work on writing!

Make a Work on Writing Anchor Chart (it looks a lot like the read to self chart)

Sense of Urgency: Why do we write?

1. Become a better reader and writer.

2. We care about writing and the people who read it.

3. It is fun!

4. It makes us happy!

Students should: (use the same body language movements as read to self rules)

3. Write quietly (voices off)

5. Choice of what to write about

6. Follow directions quickly

1. Work with students on writing

2. Work in a group or one-on-one

We are following Deanna Jump's Writing Through the Year. It is really helpful and pretty much follows the same outline in The Daily 5. I tweaked it a little to make it work. Our stamina goal is 1-2 minutes for writing.

Note: For the first month at our school, the kindergartners only come to school half day, so we do not have time for Writer's Workshop until October. However, we do still practice writing everyday!

When we go full time, Writer's Workshop and The Daily 5 Work on Writing will be at two separate times. For now, I'm am incorporating them together due to time.

When we go full time, these will be the optional writing ideas and materials available:

During half days (the first 25 days), we will be be:

You can find the unit on Deanna's store.

In the Daily 5, work on writing day 1 , the goal is to demonstrate "underlining words you are not sure how to spell". This does not really work in my kindergarten class because 95% of my kiddos cannot read or write yet.

So instead, our focus goal is to "tell a story using pictures." I model how to think out loud and choose a topic. I draw a picture of my pets and label the picture.

Then, we create our work on writing anchor chart and model correct/incorrect writing behaviors.

Our stamina goal is to write for 1-2 minutes. I have students write at their seats. Before dismissing them, I ask them one at a time what they are going to write about. This is a good opportunity for others to get ideas and to make sure they have an idea. They can write about WHATEVER they want (it's their choice). We write until students get distracted, get up or say, "I'm done!". We check in and review.

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Different types of shoes, I-PICK anchor chart, variety of different books/magazines

During read to self, we review the anchor charts and teach how to choose good fit books .

I refer to this I-Pick Anchor Chart:

2. Purpose--Why do I want to read it?

3. Interest- -Does it interest me?

4. Comprehend--Am I understanding what I am reading?

5. Know--I know most of the words

I teach children about choosing good fit books by comparing book selection to shoe selection.

We talk about how Pete the Cat changed his shoes. Sometimes we change our shoes too.

I brought in a bag of my daughter's shoes (boots, slippers, dress-up shoes, church shoes, running shoes, flip flops, etc). I began by pulling out each pair of shoes one at a time and asking the class what they think the of these shoes is. As I pulled out the shoes, I talked about them: "Each pair of shoes has its purpose. I certainly would not wear dress up shoes to go running! Just like choosing which shoes to wear for which activity, we also have a purpose when we choose a book. The purpose for choosing a book may be because you want yo learn about a certain topic or just read for fun."

During the examination of shoes, the discussion moves to I explain that my daughter does not have soccer shoes in here because she doesn't really like to play soccer. However, she loves dressing up in princess dresses, as well as, wear cute church shoes, so she has plenty of those types of shoes. I let the kids talk to an elbow buddy about what type of shoes they wear and why. We then discuss the importance of choosing books that interest us as well.

I share with them, "Just like the way our shoes reflect our interests, it is important we pick books that interest us." I share a variety of books I am interested in and not interested in (e.g., dinosaur book, princess book and snake book and pirate book, magazines, etc.).

Next, I pull out my husband's much-too-large shoes, put them on, and proceed to try and move around the room. The kids think this is really funny and I explain that this is just like a book that is either too hard to read or that we don't understand. The shoes don't fit and either does the book.

It is fun to let the kiddos try this out too. I picked two students who clearly had different size feet and let them try on each other's shoes (which obviously didn't work). I explain. "This is just like books! Books that are a good fit for one student may not be a good fit for another."

I will teach the other two ways to know if a book is a good fit on day 7 (comprehend and know). Kinders can't sit for too long and I want to make sure they are grasping this concept.

We model correct/incorrect read to self behaviors, practice, check-in and review as needed.

Focus: Telling a story using pictures (FYI: The Daily 5 wants to work on underlining words we don't know though). I modeled this strategy by thinking out loud and drawing a picture of my family.

I reviewed the WORK on writing anchor chart. We modeled correct and incorrect behaviors, practiced, checked-in and repeated as needed.

Our stamina goal was 2 minutes.

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Cinderella DVD or book, a variety of books/magazines

I modeled 3 ways to read a book by retelling Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes.

Next, we reviewed choosing just right books. On this day, I showed the students a video of Cinderella and the Evil Step Sisters trying to fit into the glass slippers. I explained: "Certain shoes will only fit certain people. It is painful if you try to fit in shoes that are too small or too big". I compare shoes to books again: "Choosing a book that is too hard or too easy will make you frustrated or bored. The glass slipper fit only on Cinderella's foot. It was a just right pick! Just like the Fairy God Mother helped Cinderella choose just right shoes, I want to help you find just-right books."

We watched just the part where the evil stepsisters were trying to fit in the glass slippers

and also when the slipper fit Cinderella.

We review the I-PICK anchor chart.

I modeled the last two components of the I-Pick chart. I showed the kids a picture book, a good-fit chapter book, and a finance magazine, in which we can read the words but can't explain what the articles mean, thus modeling lack of comprehension. I explained that students MUST COMPREHEND and the words in order for a book to be just right.

This is another anchor chart I am using on my Daily 5 wall:

We reviewed our read to self anchor chart, modeled correct/incorrect behaviors, practiced, checked-in, reviewed, repeated as needed. Our stamina goal was 3-4 minutes.

Focus: Tell a story using labels and words (Again, we are following Deanna Jump's Writing Unit and tying it into the Daily 5).

I reviewed the work on writing anchor chart. We modeled correct and incorrect behaviors, practiced, checked-in and repeated as needed.

Our stamina goal was 2-3 minutes.

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I did a quick review of 3 ways to read a book . I read Pete the Cat: Rockin in My School Shoes to model reading the words and pictures.

Next, I did a quick review of choosing a just right book . Again, I referred to how Pete the Cat chose cool rockin' shoes to wear to school. He loved his shoes and had fun wearing them. We need to choose cool, just right books that we enjoy too.

We reviewed our read to self anchor chart, modeled correct/incorrect behaviors, practiced, checked-in, reviewed, repeated as needed. Our stamina goal was 4 minutes. We did it too!!!! The kids are definitely getting it. Again it is so tempting to not "butt in" but I wait until we check in.

Focus: Tell a story using words (inventive spelling)

I reviewed the work on writing anchor chart. We modeled correct and incorrect behaviors, practiced, checked-in and repeated as needed.

Our stamina goal was 3 minutes.

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Day 9 looks almost identical to day 8.

We reviewed 3 ways to read a book (By this time, all my students can recite 3 ways to read a book! They totally get it!!!! Yea!!)

We reviewed our I-Pick anchor chart and reviewed choosing a just right book.

We read Goldilocks and the 3 Bears and talked about finding a "Just Right Book."

She made these FREEBIES below:

We reviewed our read to self anchor chart, modeled correct/incorrect behaviors, practiced, checked-in, reviewed, repeated as needed. Our stamina goal was 4 minutes.

I noticed a lot of the kiddos were having a hard time returning to the rug when the was rung to stop. We practiced reading, then putting our books back in the bin and returning to the carpet when we heard the chime.

Focus: Building Writing Stamina

I actually just passed out the new September Writing journals on this day.

I reviewed the work on writing anchor chart. We modeled correct and incorrect behaviors, practiced, checked-in and repeated as needed.

Our stamina goal was 3-4 minutes.

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Review our read to self anchor chart, model correct/incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in, review, repeat as needed. Our stamina goal is 4-5 minutes.

Focus: Establishing Routines (explain mini lessons, writing time, sharing our work)

On day 6, this is where we are with our writing (which is all very different)

Only picturers (no words) Pictures with labels

Simple Sentence (inventive spelling) Multiple sentences

Review the work on writing anchor chart. We model correct and incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in and repeat as needed.

Our stamina goal was 4 minutes.

Materials Needed: EEKK anchor chart, Voice Level Chart

Practice partner talk and whole brain teaching ideas.

I began transitioning into Mini-Lessons during READ TO SELF:

Author Study (Kevin Henkes). We read Chrysanthemum. I told the kids to read the pictures while I read the words. We also begin learning aboutconcepts of print(parts of a book).

Review our read to self anchor chart, model correct/incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in, review, repeat as needed. Our stamina goal is 5-6 minutes.

Focus: Review Establishing Routines

Mini Lesson: Teach about sharing our work; Kids write then share; Audience job is to listen quietly

Add to anchor chart: Teachers will...Students will....

Review the work on writing anchor chart. We model correct and incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in and repeat as needed.

Our stamina goal was 4 minutes.

Introduce Part 3 of the Daily 5: Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)

Introduce EEKK (Elbow, Elbow, Knee, Knee).

During Read to Someone, students st right next to each other, almost close enough to touch elbows and knees. This close proximity allows for children to read quietly and still be heard by their partners but not loud enough for the rest of the class to hear. This sitting arrangement allows partners to look on and read the same book if they choose.

On day 1 of Read to Someone, we just practiced sitting EEKK with our elbow buddies at the rug.

I began with by telling a story:

"Boys and girls, yesterday I was at Starbucks (my favorite place) with my sister and I was ordering my Venti Skinny Vanilla Latte at the counter. All of a sudden, a giant, ugly, hairy spider crawled across the counter!!!! My sister and I both screamed, "EEKK!!!!" We moved so close to each other because we were both scared. We moved so close to each other we were elbow to elbow, knee to knee".

I showed them the EEKK anchor chart and explained that this is the way we sit during Read to Someone. I asked a student to come up front and pretend she was my sister and just saw a spider. We sat on the floor next to each other, so that are elbows and knees were lined up, almost touching. I put a book in the middle of us and we modeled this strategy.

After modeling how to hold a book together, we talked about voice level and modeled it.

I said, "See how easy its is for the two of us to share a book when we sit this way. Listen how quiet our voices can be when we sit this close."

This is the voice level chart I use in my classroom.

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Read to someone anchor chart

Practice partner talk and whole brain teaching ideas.

Mini-Lesson:Author Study (Kevin Henkes). We practiced retelling by rereading Chrysanthemum. We continued learning aboutconcepts of print(parts of a book).

Review our read to self anchor chart, model correct/incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in, review, repeat as needed. Our stamina goal is 6 minutes.

Focus: Brainstorm a list of TOPICS the kinders could write about.

Ideas: family, friends, favorite places, favorite food, pets, etc. (We charted about 20 different ideas)

Read: The Best Story Ever (the best stories are the ones that really happen to you)

I reviewed the work on writing anchor chart. We modeled correct and incorrect behaviors, practiced, checked-in and repeated as needed.

Our stamina goal was 7 minutes.

Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)

Review EEKK (Elbow, Elbow, Knee, Knee).

I explained, "Yesterday we learned EEKK and today we are going to practice EEKK and reading to someone (buddy reading). If a visitor were to walk in our classroom and see us reading to someone independently, what might they see you and I doing?"

We created a Read to Someone anchor chart.

Sense of Urgency: Why do we read with a partner?

1. Become a better reader

4. It s Fun!

4. Get started right away

5. Quiet reading (voice levels)

I explain, "One strategy for improving fluency is called, I Read, You Read. One of you will read a page, then your partner will read the exact same page. We take turns."

Next, I chose 2 students to come up and model Read to Someone.

We modeled correct and incorrect behaviors.

NOTE: according to The Daily 5, we should introduce "check for understanding" but I am going to wait until later in kindergarten when the kiddos are reading.

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Practice partner talk and whole brain teaching ideas.

Mini-Lesson: Author Study (Kevin Henkes). We read OWEN.

We continued learning aboutconcepts of print(parts of a book).

Review our read to self anchor chart, model correct/incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in, review, repeat as needed. Our stamina goal is 6-7 minutes.

Review brainstorming a list of TOPICS.

I explained, " Yesterday we gathered lots of ideas about what we can write about. Today we will use our ideas to help us think of something to write about. This is Wendy the Writer and she LOVES writing. Sometimes she gets stuck and doesn't know what to write about. We are going to help her out by putting all our writing ideas in her "brain". From now on, i f you get stuck, refer to this chart to help you think of a new idea. . "

(I printed small pictures on the web of the ideas the kids picked).

Writing ideas include: places, food, family, friends, people, pets, animals, holidays, careers)

Review the work on writing anchor chart. We model correct and incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in and repeat as needed.

Our stamina goal was 8 minutes.

Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)

Review EEKK (Elbow, Elbow, Knee, Knee). Practice partner talk and whole brain teaching ideas.

Day 3 of Read to Someone looks almost identical to day 2.

We reviewed I Read, You Read.

I partnered kids up and chose their spot for them. It did feel a little crazy but by the time they were all seated, they did great.

They really enjoyed reading with a friend. Here are some pictures using just 1 book!

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Practice partner talk and whole brain teaching ideas.

Mini-Lesson: Author Study (Kevin Henkes). We practiced retelling by rereading OWEN. We also read Wemberly Worried. We continued learning aboutconcepts of print(parts of a book).

Review our read to self anchor chart, model correct/incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in, review, repeat as needed. Our stamina goal is 6-7 minutes.

Focus: On day 10, we did writing about OWEN from our Kevin Henkes author study.

Mini-Lesson: Making connections with characters.

"I connect with Owen because he has a special blanket and I have....."

Review the work on writing anchor chart. We model correct and incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in and repeat as needed.

Our stamina goal was 9 minutes.

Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)

Review EEKK (Elbow, Elbow, Knee, Knee)

Focus: P ractice how two partners read 2 different books.

I explained, "For this Read to Someone, you and your partner can both have different books, yet still read as partners. Here is how it goes. Jayden, will you help me model this one. You get a book from your book bag, and I'll get one from mine. What do you notice about our books?....That's right! We have different books but we can still enjoy reading and sharing the words and pictures together. Jayden you read the first page of your book to me. I'll keep my book closed with my finger marking my place. When you are finished reading the first page, you close your book, marking your spot with your finger, and you listen to me. Then when I am done, we switch!"

Then we MODEL! MODEL! MODEL! We model correct and incorrect ways to do this.

DO NOT SKIP THIS PART!

The process continues the same as day one with repeated modeling, practice and checking in to build stamina.

By day 4, our stamina goal was 5 minutes.

Here are some pics of my class reading to someone with 2 different books:

Here the kids are reading books we made in class.

Here the kids are reading 2 different Pete the Cat books we have already read in class.

Practice partner talk and whole brain teaching ideas.

Mini-Lesson: Author Study (Kevin Henkes). We read Sheila Rae The Brave. We continued learning aboutconcepts of print(parts of a book) and compared and contrasted the Kevin Henkes stories.

Review our read to self anchor chart, model correct/incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in, review, repeat as needed. Our stamina goal is 6-7 minutes.

Note: I anticipated that our stamina goal would be at to at least 12-13 minutes by day 15, but there is always 1-2 students who can't read longer than 6 minutes.

I am really sticking to the Daily Five rules and bringing them back to the rug (this is frustrating when so many kids are on task but hopefully it will pay off).

I let the kids use different reading tools this week.

(I made these from PVC pipe)

Silly glasses and witch fingers

These are all from the Dollar Store.

Focus:Noticing Details-Characters have a setting (adding details to our story).

Read Arthur Writes A Story by Marc Brown.

Review the work on writing anchor chart. We model correct and incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in and repeat as needed.

Our stamina goal was 10 minutes.

Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)

Review (Elbow, Elbow, Knee, Knee).
Review how two partners read 2 different books.
Brainstorm good places to sit in the room.

I explained, "Each day as we have been practicing and building stamina, I have been picking partners for you and placing you around the room. You have experienced good places to sit in the room. Today I will again pick your partners, but you and your partner will select a good place to read using what you know about good places for working."
Practice modeling, practicing and checking in to build stamina.
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Mini-Lesson: Author Study (Kevin Henkes). We read Lily's Purple Plastic Purse. I told the kids to read the pictures while I read the words.

Review our read to self anchor chart, model correct/incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in, review, repeat as needed. Our stamina goal is 9-10 minutes.

Focus:Review brainstorming a topic. Brainstorm a list of FORMS the kinders could write about.

Ideas: letters, recipes, postcards, books, lists, poems, narratives.
(Write a letter to someone like Lily did to Mr. Slinger, the teacher from Lily's Purple Plastic Purse).

Review the work on writing anchor chart. We model correct and incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in and repeat as needed.

Our stamina goal was 11 minutes.

Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)

Review EEKK (Elbow, Elbow, Knee, Knee).

Review and practice how two partners read 2 different books

I explained, "Everyday I have been choosing you partner. Today you will learn the corrcet way to choose a partner all by yourself. When we choose partners, it is very important to remember that our partner doesn't always need to be our very best friend, It is also great fun to read with other friends in our classroom. In fact, sometimes our very closest friends don't make the best partners, because we have a tendency to chat instead of read."

1. Raise your hand as a silent signal that you need a partner (do not scream out, "Hey I need a partner!"

2. Make eye contact with another person who has his or her hand raised.

3. Walk to the person and say, "Do you want to be my partner?" (with a quiet voice)

4. Partner says, "Sure." (I teach students that it is not an option to say no)

We model correct and incorrect ways to do this, especially, students saying, "I don't want to be your partner!". We talked about how this wold make someone feel.

We practice, review and repeat as needed.

Mini-Lesson:Author Study (Kevin Henkes). Do a quick retell of Lily's Purple Plastic Purse.

Also read Julias..... Continue comparing and contrasting the stories.

Review our read to self anchor chart, model correct/incorrect behaviors, practice, check-in, review, repeat as needed. Our stamina goal was 10 minutes.

Review a list of FORMS the kinders could write about.

Ideas: letters, recipes, postcards, books, lists, poems, narratives.

Create a chart of forms.

Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)

Brainstorm and practice How to Choose Books: Let's make a deal: rock, paper, scissors

I started an anchor chart called "Ways to Read to Someone" and "How to Choose Books."

I listed all our tricks and strategies.

1. I Read. You Read.

2. Read two different books

3. Let's Make a Deal: Rock, Papers, Scissors

(This ties in good with the read aloud we used for the day Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse since Lilly really wants to share her purse with the class but her teacher will not let her. She had to learn to do something even if she didn't want to)

I explained, "Put your thumbs up if you have ever played a game with a friend and couldn't agree on which one to play first. You wanted one game and your friend wanted another one. The same thing can happen when choosing a book with a buddy. Today I want to teach you some strategies for how to choose books with your buddy with out getting into an argument. This game is called, Let's Make A Deal. Makena, lets pretend we are partners and I tell you I REALLY want my book and you say you REALLY want your book because it's your favorite. Here's how to solve this problem using 'Let's Make A Deal.' Hey, Makena, how about we read your book together first and then we read mine. Will that be ok with you? Yea! Class do you see how we just made a deal? We solved this problem so we didn't waste time disagreeing. Another way to solve this problem is by playing ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS."

We model, practice, review and repeat his strategy and practice building stamina.

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Mini Lesson: Using Resources in our classroom to help us write (ABC Chart, Class List)

Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)
Focus: Coaching or Time
This one is a little tricky with kindergartners because most of my students cannot read yet, but I still model it for the 1 or 2 that can (I will definitely review this strategy over the whole year).

I asked, "How many of you play a sport like soccer, baseball, gymnastics, dance, or any others? Who helps you? Yes, a coach! A coach is a person who gives you help when you need it, tells you 'you can do it', and gives you support. Today we are going to learn about being a reading coach. We will be learning lots of fun reading strategies this year! Here are some of them."

I introduce these strategies:
1. Eagle Eye: Look at the pictures
2. Lips the Fish: Say the first sound
3. Stretchy Snake: Stretch the words
4. Chunky Monkey: Look for chunks
5. Flippy Dolphin: Flip the vowel sound
6. Skippy Frog: Skip over the word
7. Tryin' Lion: Reread the sentence
8. Ask yourself: Does it make sense? Does it sound right? Does it look right?

Click here for adorable posters of these strategies.

As I introduce these strategies in mini lessons and in guided reading, we will model and practice them during read to someone. Each of these strategies will be taught individually and put on the wall for students to refer to.

Explain to students, that they can use these tools to coach their friends.
For example,"Oh, Ben is stuck on a word. I'll count silently to three to give him some time to figure it out. If he cannot figure out the word, I will ask him softly, Ben, would you like TIME to figure it out or COACHING? If Ben says 'TIME', I will give him more 3 more seconds to think. If he says, 'COACHING', I will be his coach and ask him, 'Did you try to use STRETCHY SNAKE and sound out the word?"
Continue modeling, practicing, building stamina and developing independence.

Work on Writing: Day 15
Writing Mini Lesson: Moving from lists "I Love" to a focused idea
Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)
Review EEKK; Read to Someone Anchor Chart; How to Choose a Partner and Good Spot To Read;
Coaching or Time.
Continue modeling, practicing, building stamina and developing independence.

Introduce Part 4 of The Daily 5: Working on Words
I explained,"Today we are going to learn the procedures for how to use our spelling materials. We are going to learn the procedures for how to set them up, how to use them, and how to clean up. It is important to spell the words correctly when we write, because we care about our writing and the people who will read it. Spending time on our spelling will help us become better readers, writers, spellers and it is fun!"

Create a Work on Words Anchor Chart
Urgency:
1. It helps us become better writers, readers and spellers
2. We care about our writing and the people who will read it.
3. It is fun!
Students will:
1. Work the whole time
2. Stay in one spot except to get and return materials
3. Work quietly at your seat
4. Work on stamina
5. Try your best
6. Get started quickly

Teacher will:
1. Work with students

Introduce optional materials and their locations to students.

7. Leap Frog Games (Fridge Magnets)
8. Magna Doodles
9. Sand Tables
Brainstorm I-Chart of how to set up and how to work with materials independently.
Model finding the materials, material placement in the room and set up materials.
Brainstorm I-Chart of how to clean up.
Model materials placement in the room, setup and cleanup of the materials.

Work on Writing: Day 16
Writing Mini Lesson: Moving from lists "I Love" to a focused idea

Work on Writing: Day 17
Writing Mini Lesson: Writers are good partners
Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)
Begin transitioning into reading lessons.
Continue modeling, practicing, building stamina and developing independence.

Work on Writing: Day 18
Writing Mini Lesson: Writers are good partners
Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)
Reading Mini Lesson:
Continue modeling, practicing, building stamina and developing independence.

____________________________________________________________

Work on Writing: Day 20
Writing Mini Lesson: Pick a piece to fix up (introduce the writing process)

Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)
Reading Mini Lesson: Individual Writing Partners

Read to Someone (Buddy Reading)
Reading Mini Lesson:
Continue modeling, practicing, building stamina and developing independence.
Here is a video of two boys reading to someone. They are so adorable. They were a little distracted with me videoing them, but they still are getting the idea!

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and I am soooo excited about it! This is what we have been doing each day. This is our Daily 5 Bulletin Board. I created large charts for instruction, but keep these smaller ones on the board: They are a cute western style.

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Daily 5 Organization & Scheduling Resources

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Daily 5 Organization & Scheduling Resources

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Daily 5 Literacy Stations!!!! Holy email, you all have a ton of questions, and while I'd love to claim that I'm an expert, I can really only tell you how this works in my own classroom.

As some of you know, I do a form of Daily 5 . . . We call it Daily 6 in my classroom. Even though six stations are going on in a given day, students only travel to three in a given day for 20 minutes each.

So it looks like this on paper (no this isn't my lesson plan but it is a good visual - I'll show my lesson plan in my next post).

So for instance, on a Monday, Group 1 will go to Word Work 1st, then to Meet with the Teacher 2nd and finally to Read to Self. You can start any group with whatever station you would like...it really doesn't matter. For me, this schedule just assures me that every group gets to every station every two days. (Remember, if you want to see my actual activities for the first two weeks for each of these stations, you can find the HERE.)

Now the above schedule only shows students meeting the 'teacher' every other day. However, when I have an aide or a classroom volunteer (or a student teacher like I'm going to be having those first few weeks of school) , I actually have that extra adult meet with students who are "working on writing or word work". So if there are no aides or volunteers that day, students will see this card on their rotation

If there is an aide or volunteer however, they see this card.

Either way, they go to the same 'work on writing' station. Really though, you can substitute that second 'meet the teach' station where ever you think students need extra help. You may want your more independent groups to go to 'work on writing' independently that rotation and put your second 'meet the teach' card with a group that needs help rhyming at a word work station. Just move the cards around or substitute them as needed.

There are also two 'word work' stations in the beginning. This is because students have not yet become independent enough to 'read to someone' in the beginning of the year during our station rotations. So I prefer to have two 'word work' stations until they are. Some groups might be ready for this before others. When they are, their group will see this card,

instead of word work.

To make the rotations as simple as possible for students, I will connect my station cards to the location when possible. I have my word work #1 card attached to the drawers where those materials are kept.

My classroom is small, so their are very few stationary stations. Students take materials and whatever they need from these drawers and go.

The Work on Writing drawers will be the same and there will be a station card for Listen to Reading over by my listening bags. This will be helpful for those students that need that visual aide and connection.

And although we aren't quite ready to talk about it yet, inside each drawer for let's say 'word work #1' there will be different colored storage materials for holding materials for each color coded group. This is how I tier their independent stations. I love love love poly envelopes for organizing my tiers. I prefer to use just the clear kind now and label them with a large colored circle to indicate group color. But seriously, these poly envelopes are the BEST.

Do I do this for the beginning of the year? Absolutely not. I have not done any assessing, I have no idea where my students' readiness levels are that first week or two, and they need time to just learn to use the materials and to master the procedures and routines. Remember my post about getting them started? They need to explore. I also do not have a lot of choices within those first several stations.

Even though I may have several drawers in my Word Work #1 station, those drawers only fill up one at a time, little by little. Students need to be taught what their jobs are with station choices and which activities are choices and which activities are 'Have Tos.' There will be a post for these subjects too...I promise. Remember we're going to take this slow.

Ok so how does a student know where to go? Well, here's an example of how you could set up your board. It doesn't matter if you use the wall, a pocket chart or magnetic strips on your white board. Whatever you choose, just stay with it and don't change it around too much so your kinders can get used to it and know exactly how to read it. (I'm actually going to use much smaller name cards, but I told you my room is torn up so this is what I had on hand.)

You'll see here that for Monday and Wednesday, students have one schedule and for Tuesday and Thursday they have a different schedule showing exactly which stations they go to first second and third on those days.

Students look for their names and the icons of where they are going. Remember, there will be matching icons where the materials are stored in most cases. I don't really plan on placing a 'meet the teach' card on my own forehead but, for those first several weeks, there will be a 'meet the teach' card where we meet.

When a student gets lost, I can point to the board and say where should you be? Is this the right card for that station? They usually can figure it out from there.

So how do students know which day it is? I have a little magnetic that I stick either in front of Monday/Wednesday or in front of Tuesday/Wednesday. That way I am physically only changing one thing on the rotation board each day. There is no moving things up and down and around . . .just the magnet.

Why do students have different colored name tags? So that I can tier their activities in their independent stations. So if I have a students with their name on a green name tag, when they go to word work, they will select the materials with the green sticker or in the green envelope. Students do NOT all have to be the same color within a group this way. Also, I never print off my students name on cards because I may need their color to change quickly. I always write with a dry erase marker. One day you may be working on rhyming with students and you can have this one student that is a rock start at it. But the next day, you may be doing segmenting and that student struggles with that skill. You can easily change his skill level by removing his name from one colored tag and putting it on another color. You don't necessarily have to change the group. Just the student color.

What do I do on Friday? Yep, you'll notice there isn't a Friday literacy station day on my schedule. That's because once a month, we have a late start day that interferes with Daily 5 or there always seems to be an assembly scheduled when my Daily 5 meets. By opening up my Fridays, I can make up missed literacy days easily (we had like 11 snow days last year so I really needed it) and when I am able to get all of my Daily 5 stations in Monday-Thursday, Friday's are used for small group intervention, whole group literacy art activities, whole group science activities and experiments or poetry work.

Now are your students going to know where to go and what to do that first day? Of course not. You are physically and verbally going to have to say, 'OK Susie, Max, April and Johnny,' you will be a 'Word Work #1.' This is word work #1 (point to their schedule) and this is where word work #1 is located (point to the place where they will go). Susie, Max, April and Johnny now you point to where you will go first.' Then they point. You will have to do this for every station and for each time you rotate those first couple of weeks. But you will see, eventually, there will be a few of those kinders that catch on and know before you tell them. They will tell the others in their group. And so on until everyone has a plan of action for stations and knows where they should be.

I love this type of schedule board. It is so low maintenance. I literally have to move one thing. All I do is move a magnet to show which day we are on. It's flexible enough that I can move kids readiness levels when I need to on the fly. And...students do NOT have to be grouped by ability.

So I know some of you like to use a pocket chart for your rotation board and some of you prefer a wall or a board, so I made up some different sized charts and name tags for you to grab.

Also, if you need other materials for setting up Daily 5, I want to encourage you to head on over to my blogging buddy, Lyndsey's, from A Year of Many Firsts, to grab her materials. I will be using a ton of her charts this year, but I needed to make my own Daily 5 rotation cards in order to coordinate with my tiering colors. Believe me, she has a ton of free printables you are going to want to grab.

I'll be back later to show you how all this looks in my lesson plan. But until then, please feel free to leave me any questions or comments. Like I always say, I'm not an expert but these are the things that have worked in my class. You really need to be daring enough to take what works for you and adjust it to your students, your classroom environment and your schedule.

Thanks for stopping by.

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Organizing Daily 5 Literacy Stations in Kindergarten and ...a freebie for you. - Differentiated Kindergarten

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Daily 5 Literacy Stations!!!! Holy email, you all have a ton of questions, and while I'd love to claim that I'm an expert, I can really only tell you how this works in my own classroom. As some of you know, I do a form of Daily 5 . .

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Kindergarten Daily 5 Literacy Station Ideas

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Kindergarten Daily 5 Literacy Station Ideas

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Sight Words and Word Families Week 2

You know what they say, "Better late than never!" I popped in today to show you what Filip and I did for Sight Words and Word Families Week 2 and to give you some free samples of what we used to help you decide whether you'd like to try these activities or worksheets in your own classroom or home.
You can read about Sight Words and Word Families Week 1 here.
Week 2 sight words: can, me, the, you

Focus word family: an

After we took down the first week's worksheets, I glued them into a project book. As well as displaying our sight words and word family words in the room, I glued them into the project book like so.

(Click the photo to download the sight words and word family word wall. Click here to purchase the complete Pre-Primer Sight Words Word Wall packet and here for the complete Word Family Posters packet.)

Many of the activities we did this week are the same as what we did during the first week, but since it's been so long since I blogged about the first week, I know you won't mind seeing the activities again.

We started each day with a Sight Words Word Find.

(Click the photo to get this week's word find freebies.)

We then moved on to doing a Sight Words Cut and Paste activity. I love these worksheets as they focus on correct letter sequence and help children to grasp the concept that letter sequence is vital when reading and writing.

(Click the photo to get this week's sight words cut and paste worksheet freebies.)

Then Filip did a Sight Word Q-tip activity. Of course, this was always his favourite because he got to paint and sprinkle glitter and all that stuff we all love 😉

(Click the photo to download some q-tip sight word freebies.)

We did the above sight word activities Monday - Thursday. Each day, we also read from my Sight Words Fluency Reading Homework packet. I LOVE this resource as it incorporates both sight words and CVC words. AND each page builds on the previous one, making sure that sight words learnt in the past are never forgotten!

This week, I printed out all the pages and bound them into a booklet. I think I like having them like this more than putting them into plastic sleeves.

(Click the photo to get the pictures pages.)

Friday, I decided to test my lil' man to see how he was picking things up. He did 2 pages from the Pre-Primer Revise and Assess packet.

It took him a little while to understand what the word search was all about, but he quickly got how to write the missing words for the bottom activity.

(Click the photo below to get the 2 free revise and assess sight word pages.)

For the second page, Filip only needed help with unscrambling and writing the word correctly. And colouring the flower. Let's be honest - colouring is really not his favourite thing!

We finished off our sight words study by reading together a Pre-Primer Sight Words Comprehension reader.

(Click the photo to get the two booklets pictured.)

Each day, we also did a word family activity. Monday, we did did a Word Family Word Building Activity. We had previously used small letters, but this week I decided to go with alphabet stickers.

(Click the photo to download the word family word building mat.)

Tuesday, we did a "Who Lives Here?" flip up flip book. Filip did not understand what this was about until after it had been put together. I wrote the words on the front and, once I lifted the flap to show that it revealed a picture of the word on the house, he had his light-bulb moment.

(Click the photo to get the free flip book.)

Wednesday we did a Word Family "Color It!" worksheet. I know. He coloured everything green. I really wonder how any child of mine could CHOOSE to NOT use different colours to make things look pretty!?!

(Click the photo to get the free word family Color It! page)

Thursday we did a Word Family cut and paste sorting activity. Obviously, I helped him colour the pictures. I didn't want to risk another "green" incident 😉

(Click the photo to get the free word family cut and paste activity.)

Since we did two sight words worksheets on Friday, I decided to do a fun sorting activity for our word family part. I wrote some CVC words that we learnt this week and some from last week on some icy-pole/popsicle sticks and printed off some cute roof templates I had made and voila - a fun hands-on sorting activity. After Filip had sorted the words under the correct roof, he wrote them a recording page.

(Click here or the photo to get the complete roof templates and writing pages.)

Alrighty! So, that's our Sight Words and Word Family Week 2 all done! I hope you found the freebies from this post helpful!

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Sight Words and Word Families Week 2 - In My World

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Sight Words and Word Families Week 2 You know what they say, "Better late than never!" I popped in today to show you what Filip and I did for Sight Words and Word Families Week 2 and to give you some free samples of what we used to help you decide whether you'd like to try ...

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These are super cheap and easy to make with chenille stems and any kind of bead (pony beads work well and are inexpensive). This site explains many activities these can be used for - subtraction being one of them.

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Yesterday, I went to the dollar store and spent $2 on a pack of beads and some stems. (I’m giving away my age, but we used to call th…

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Recipe for Teaching - Ingredients for making learning fun and engaging!

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Subtraction can always be a little tricky for young learners. I think the concept of taking things away is hard, because what young child wants things taken away! I have seen different teachers share about using Play-Doh to roll out balls and smash the ones that are being taken away - GENIUS! Play-Doh is pretty much always a good idea with young kids!

I took the Play-doh smashing idea and created a "Subtraction Smash" mat with six boxes. For this activity I had my students roll a dot cube. This told them how many Play-Doh balls to roll out on the mat. I had my students smash one each time. They had to tell their partner how many Play-Doh balls they had left after smashing one. This was just our introduction to subtraction so I wanted to start with taking away one. This was a HIT (or should I say SMASH!) with my students!

My kids love working around the room in their scoop rocker chairs to do math activities!

Smashing Play-Doh balls in action!

I also had my students do another version of Subtraction Smash. For this version they spun the first spinner (3,4,5 spinner) and rolled out that many Play-Doh balls. Then they spun the second spinner (0,1,2 spinner) and smashed that many Play-Doh balls. They counted how many Play-Doh balls were left. I had my students say the math talk, "___ minus ___ equals ___."

I had my students use a pencil and a paper clip to spin the spinners.

If you want to try this with your students, grab your FREE "Subtraction Smash" mats by clicking the image below! Also included in the download is a "Subtraction Smash" mat where students can record the equation. Directions for using the mats are included as well. You could easily differentiate for your students by having them use different mats that best meet their needs. Enjoy and have FUN with math!

***UPDATE - Included in the download are also mats with spinners that go up to 10!! Great option for differentiation!!

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Subtraction can always be a little tricky for young learners. I think the concept of taking things away is hard, because what young child wants things taken away! I have seen different teachers share about using Play-Doh to roll out balls and smash the ones that are being taken away - GENIUS!

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hands-on activity using play-doh and spinners or dice

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This is a hands-on subtraction activity using play-doh

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The activity on this site involves Pete's Butrons book and includes a printable to go along with the book. The printable is available if you click the link below the printable image.

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We started subtraction this week. Of course, we have to read "Pete the Cat and his four groovy buttons" by James Dean! Love that book! I especially love that you can go to the website and listen to the groovy music. The kids love it!!

So anyway I wanted to do a simple subtraction matching page to go with the book.

I made this quick subtraction matching sheet.

Here is a subtraction video that I can't stop singing! My kids love it!

Mr. Harry has the best songs!

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We started subtraction this week. Of course, we have to read "Pete the Cat and his four groovy buttons" by James Dean! Love that book! I especially love that you can go to the website and listen to the groovy music. The kids love it!!

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Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you temporary access to the web property.

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This website has quite a few different subtraction games and activities along with links to the printables needed.

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This website has quite a few different subtraction games and activities along with links to the printables needed.

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Wow! This last month of school has been a whirlwind of craziness for me! On top of closing up the school year and getting ready for a big move across the country to NY, we've been displaced from our apartment for weeks due to a flood and mold issue...right in the midst of all our packing!! We leave on June 20th and I am soooo not ready! In other news, school is out and I am ready to enjoy Maui for the next few weeks before I say good-bye to this beautiful island!

And as I promised way too long ago, here is some of the fun we had with subtraction. Better late than never!

Five Little Ducks

We read Five Little Ducks and acted out subtraction problems using duck puppets. Then we used rubber ducks in a "pond" to model subtraction stories. I modeled with the ducks while the kids used orange cubes for ducks and blue construction paper ponds.

This lesson inspired an idea for one of my math tubs. I just filled one of the tubs with a bit of water, added some small rubber ducks (from the Walmart party favor section) and a recording sheet! They modeled subtraction problems with the ducks and recorded the equations on the sheet. They LOVED it! So simple to make, and it was definitely the hit of the year! Click here for the Duck Subtraction Recording Sheet. You may want to laminate the recording sheets and have them use expo markers to avoid making a mess!

We read The Tale of Peter Rabbit, then acted out story problems. In each problem, Peter would take some carrots from Mr. McGregor's garden. I didn't have any bunny ears, so I made some from construction paper and I printed out some large carrots for props. While some of the kids acted out the story problems, the rest of the class modeled the problems on their Bunny Work Mats and recorded the answers on their white boards. This cute idea is from Deeanna at Golden Gang Kindergarten. She is so creative!

Five Little Monkeys
We sang Five Little Monkeys and acted out subtraction problems with monkey puppets (ex: 6 little monkeys swinging in a tree, teasing Mr. Alligator, "Can't catch me!" Along came Mr. Alligator, quiet as can be and snapped 4 monkeys out of that tree). One student was the alligator and used his arms to "snap" the monkeys out of the tree. Then the kids used a tree mat and monkeys to model the problems. Finally, they colored and pasted their monkeys on their page to make a subtraction story for a class book. Click here for Five Monkeys Subtraction activities.

Five Speckled Frogs
We sang Five Speckled Frogs and modeled subtraction problems using frog props on the felt board. Then each student got their own lily pad and frog counters (I found these in the party favor section at Walmart). They modeled and wrote subtraction problems as we sang: "4 green speckled frogs sat on a speckled log eating the most delicious flies, yum yum! 2 jumped into the pool, where it was nice and cool. Now how many green speckled frogs?" Click here for Five Speckled Frogs Props.

Pete the Cat
Do your kids love Pete as much as mine do?! We read " Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons" and then modeled subtraction problems using my Pete the Cat poster and some buttons. Then each student got a Pete Work Mat and some buttons. As I told stories about Pete losing his buttons, they modeled the problems and wrote the equations. This awesome idea was also adapted from Deeanna at Golden Gang Kindergarten. Have I mentioned how creative she is?!

We sang "Who Stole the Cookies?" and modeled subtraction using a big jar work mat and some "cookies." As one child took away cookies, the class wrote the equation on their white boards. Then, each child got their own cookies (Cookie Crisp cereal worked well for this) and a cookie jar work mat and recording sheet. I told subtraction stories as they modeled and wrote the problems. Fun and delicious! The kids wanted to take the work mats home so they could practice subtraction with their cereal in the morning! Love it! Click here for my Cookie Subtraction Activities.

We read "If You Were a Minus Sign." Similar to the addition version, this book is filled with many adorably illustrated subtraction stories. After reading, we worked together to illustrate subtraction stories on chart paper. Later, each child illustrated their own subtraction story for our Subtraction Class Book.

Alexander Who Used to be Rich
We read "Alexander Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday." After reading, we used piggy bank mats and pennies to model subtraction. I used the kids' names to tell subtraction stories. For example, "Jenna used to be rich last Sunday. She had 6 pennies in her piggy bank. Then she bought a (child names an item) for 3 pennies. How much does she have left?" They had to model the problem with pennies and record the equation on the recording sheet. They loved hearing the stories with their own names! Click here for my Piggy Bank Subtraction Activities.

Monster Musical Chairs

To practice subtracting one, we read this fun story about some monsters who play musical chairs. Each time, one monster is out! After reading and discussing the story, we played musical chairs! I had one table play at a time, and the remainder of the class watched and wrote the subtraction sentences on their white boards. Then we discussed the patterns we noticed in our equations (minus one, one less each time, etc). Then, the kids used these cute monsters from First Grade Best to cut and paste a "minus one" subtraction story in their journals.

The Cheerios Counting Book

We read The Cheerios Counting Book and then ate cheerios as we practiced subtraction. I told them how many Cheerios to put on their plate and then how many to eat. As they ate the cheerios, they wrote out the subtraction sentences.

Ten Frame Race
Certainly not original, but the kids had fun using this game to review addition and subtraction. First we played on our large human ten frame. We took turns rolling a large pocket cube (labeled +1, +2, +3, -1, -2, -3). Each time students were either added or taken away from the ten frame. The game continued until we got to 10. Then partners worked together to play the game. I labeled wooden cubes to use with this game and quickly made up some game boards. Here is a copy of my Ten Frame Race game boards. I included Race to Ten and Race to 20.

Number Line Race
This is another great review game. We practiced playing as a group using a large "human" number line and pocket cube. The cube is labeled +1, +2, +3, -1, -2, -3. Two students modeled for the class, rolling the cube and racing to the end of the number line! They start on zero and go forward or backward depending on their roll. First player to reach 10 wins! Then, students played with their partners, using a number line game board, spinner, and car counters to play. The game board was inspired by The Teacher Wife! Click here for the Race to Ten Game Board.

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Wow! This last month of school has been a whirlwind of craziness for me! On top of closing up the school year and getting ready for a big move across the country to NY, we've been displaced from our apartment for weeks due to a flood and mold issue...right in the midst of all our packing!!

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This website has quite a few different subtraction games and activities along with links to the printables needed.

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This website has quite a few different subtraction games and activities along with links to the printables needed.

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Wow! This last month of school has been a whirlwind of craziness for me! On top of closing up the school year and getting ready for a big move across the country to NY, we've been displaced from our apartment for weeks due to a flood and mold issue...right in the midst of all our packing!! We leave on June 20th and I am soooo not ready! In other news, school is out and I am ready to enjoy Maui for the next few weeks before I say good-bye to this beautiful island!

And as I promised way too long ago, here is some of the fun we had with subtraction. Better late than never!

Five Little Ducks

We read Five Little Ducks and acted out subtraction problems using duck puppets. Then we used rubber ducks in a "pond" to model subtraction stories. I modeled with the ducks while the kids used orange cubes for ducks and blue construction paper ponds.

This lesson inspired an idea for one of my math tubs. I just filled one of the tubs with a bit of water, added some small rubber ducks (from the Walmart party favor section) and a recording sheet! They modeled subtraction problems with the ducks and recorded the equations on the sheet. They LOVED it! So simple to make, and it was definitely the hit of the year! Click here for the Duck Subtraction Recording Sheet. You may want to laminate the recording sheets and have them use expo markers to avoid making a mess!

We read The Tale of Peter Rabbit, then acted out story problems. In each problem, Peter would take some carrots from Mr. McGregor's garden. I didn't have any bunny ears, so I made some from construction paper and I printed out some large carrots for props. While some of the kids acted out the story problems, the rest of the class modeled the problems on their Bunny Work Mats and recorded the answers on their white boards. This cute idea is from Deeanna at Golden Gang Kindergarten. She is so creative!

Five Little Monkeys
We sang Five Little Monkeys and acted out subtraction problems with monkey puppets (ex: 6 little monkeys swinging in a tree, teasing Mr. Alligator, "Can't catch me!" Along came Mr. Alligator, quiet as can be and snapped 4 monkeys out of that tree). One student was the alligator and used his arms to "snap" the monkeys out of the tree. Then the kids used a tree mat and monkeys to model the problems. Finally, they colored and pasted their monkeys on their page to make a subtraction story for a class book. Click here for Five Monkeys Subtraction activities.

Five Speckled Frogs
We sang Five Speckled Frogs and modeled subtraction problems using frog props on the felt board. Then each student got their own lily pad and frog counters (I found these in the party favor section at Walmart). They modeled and wrote subtraction problems as we sang: "4 green speckled frogs sat on a speckled log eating the most delicious flies, yum yum! 2 jumped into the pool, where it was nice and cool. Now how many green speckled frogs?" Click here for Five Speckled Frogs Props.

Pete the Cat
Do your kids love Pete as much as mine do?! We read " Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons" and then modeled subtraction problems using my Pete the Cat poster and some buttons. Then each student got a Pete Work Mat and some buttons. As I told stories about Pete losing his buttons, they modeled the problems and wrote the equations. This awesome idea was also adapted from Deeanna at Golden Gang Kindergarten. Have I mentioned how creative she is?!

We sang "Who Stole the Cookies?" and modeled subtraction using a big jar work mat and some "cookies." As one child took away cookies, the class wrote the equation on their white boards. Then, each child got their own cookies (Cookie Crisp cereal worked well for this) and a cookie jar work mat and recording sheet. I told subtraction stories as they modeled and wrote the problems. Fun and delicious! The kids wanted to take the work mats home so they could practice subtraction with their cereal in the morning! Love it! Click here for my Cookie Subtraction Activities.

We read "If You Were a Minus Sign." Similar to the addition version, this book is filled with many adorably illustrated subtraction stories. After reading, we worked together to illustrate subtraction stories on chart paper. Later, each child illustrated their own subtraction story for our Subtraction Class Book.

Alexander Who Used to be Rich
We read "Alexander Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday." After reading, we used piggy bank mats and pennies to model subtraction. I used the kids' names to tell subtraction stories. For example, "Jenna used to be rich last Sunday. She had 6 pennies in her piggy bank. Then she bought a (child names an item) for 3 pennies. How much does she have left?" They had to model the problem with pennies and record the equation on the recording sheet. They loved hearing the stories with their own names! Click here for my Piggy Bank Subtraction Activities.

Monster Musical Chairs

To practice subtracting one, we read this fun story about some monsters who play musical chairs. Each time, one monster is out! After reading and discussing the story, we played musical chairs! I had one table play at a time, and the remainder of the class watched and wrote the subtraction sentences on their white boards. Then we discussed the patterns we noticed in our equations (minus one, one less each time, etc). Then, the kids used these cute monsters from First Grade Best to cut and paste a "minus one" subtraction story in their journals.

The Cheerios Counting Book

We read The Cheerios Counting Book and then ate cheerios as we practiced subtraction. I told them how many Cheerios to put on their plate and then how many to eat. As they ate the cheerios, they wrote out the subtraction sentences.

Ten Frame Race
Certainly not original, but the kids had fun using this game to review addition and subtraction. First we played on our large human ten frame. We took turns rolling a large pocket cube (labeled +1, +2, +3, -1, -2, -3). Each time students were either added or taken away from the ten frame. The game continued until we got to 10. Then partners worked together to play the game. I labeled wooden cubes to use with this game and quickly made up some game boards. Here is a copy of my Ten Frame Race game boards. I included Race to Ten and Race to 20.

Number Line Race
This is another great review game. We practiced playing as a group using a large "human" number line and pocket cube. The cube is labeled +1, +2, +3, -1, -2, -3. Two students modeled for the class, rolling the cube and racing to the end of the number line! They start on zero and go forward or backward depending on their roll. First player to reach 10 wins! Then, students played with their partners, using a number line game board, spinner, and car counters to play. The game board was inspired by The Teacher Wife! Click here for the Race to Ten Game Board.

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Wow! This last month of school has been a whirlwind of craziness for me! On top of closing up the school year and getting ready for a big move across the country to NY, we've been displaced from our apartment for weeks due to a flood and mold issue...right in the midst of all our packing!!

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I am recently obsessed with using plastic Solo cups in our classroom. They're fun and cheap and make great STEM activities. The stacking of the cups is great for incorporating fine motor skills while we're learning. These addition and subtraction cups are our third Solo cup activity and the kids are loving it! This activity gives us practice with addition and subtraction to 10 with a fun, hands on and engaging math activity!

These cups are super simple to create. We used black plastic cups from Party City and neon shipping labels from Amazon!

The cups are $6.99 for 100 cups and they are buy one get one free!! SCORE! We bought 200 cups but ran short so you'll need 300 if you're going to do addition and subtraction cups to 10!

Now, if you don't want to print on labels that's totally ok. Just use a light colored cup and you can write on the cups with Sharpies! BAM!

Print your addition equations and answers on the labels. And attach the labels to the cups.

Students solve the equation and match the equation cup and answer cup! As they add and subtract they stack the cups!

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Addition And Subtraction Cups | The Kindergarten Smorgasboard

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I am recently obsessed with using plastic Solo cups in our classroom. They're fun and cheap and make great STEM activities. The stacking of the cups is great for incorporating fine motor skills while we're learning. These addition and subtraction cups are our third Solo cup activity and the kids are loving it!

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This is a paid resource but this page gives free samples and shows effective activities  for each standard without purchasing anything.

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centers listed in blue under each Common Core State Standard or download the eBook and have all the Number, Geometry, Measurement and Data Centers you'll need for the entire school year in one convenient digital file. With over 170 easy-prep, engaging centers this resource will simplify your math lesson planning and make hands-on math instruction an integral part of your classroom.
Kindergarten Math Centers eBook . Try out the sample Kindergarten Number

This page provides sample Kindergarten Number tasks and games from our Teaching in a state that is implementing their own specific math standards? Download our Kindergarten Correlations document for cross-referenced tables outlining the alignment of each state's standards with the CCSS-M, as well as the page numbers in our Kindergarten Math Centers eBook related to each standard. Teaching in Australia? This resource is also available for the Foundation Year outcomes as written in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics.

Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from.

Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings, sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations. K.OA.A.1

Make 5 on the Five Frame (v. 1)
Literature Link: Fish Eyes

Also included in Kindergarten Math Centers:

Work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place value

Compose and decompose numbers from 11 to 19 into ten ones and some further ones, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each composition or decomposition by a drawing or equation (e.g. 18 = 10 + 8); understand that these numbers are composed of ten ones and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine ones. K.NBT.A.1

Ten Ones and More Ones (ver. 1)

Also included in Kindergarten Math Centers:

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centers listed in blue under each Common Core State Standard or download the eBook and have all the Number, Geometry, Measurement and Data Centers you'll need for the entire school year in one convenient digital file. With over 170 easy-prep, engaging centers this resource will simplify your math lesson planning and make hands-on math instruction an integral part of your classroom.

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Kindergarten Common Core Math Standards Checklist

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Kindergarten Common Core Math Standards Checklist

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Everything “I Can” Common Core for Kindergarten

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Everything “I Can” Common Core for Kindergarten

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We have gathered all of our Common Core resources for kindergarten. We hope this makes it easier to access all of our 1st grade resources. We will be doing the same for each grade level as we complete materials.

Common Core Checklists ("I Can" & CCSS versions - as an Excel spreadsheet & as a PDF)

"I Can Checkboxes" - These are ideal for including in student binders. You can check off progress with students and easily communicate with parents.

Doodle Border & Borderless in Spanish

Kid Clip Art (these have the same format as our original "I Can" posters, just with the updated standards) in Spanish

Individual "I Can" Statements - These were designed for teachers to post daily classroom objectives. Print and laminate so that you have each of the standards readily available.

Gray Chevron Green Chevron Colorful Polka Dots

Individual "I Can" Simple Posters - These posters contain each of the standards on a separate 8 1/2 x 11 page. They have a simple border and are black and white.
Individual Simple ELA Posters Individual Simple Math Posters
"I Can" Posters - This set is made with a larger font than the checkboxes. It includes all of the same standards but they are spread out over a larger number of pages. If you are concerned about printer ink, this is not the set for you.

Gray Chevron Green Chevron Colorful Polka Dots
Reproduction of these posters or statements with the intent to sell is prohibited. These were created to help busy teachers and are meant to be free. Thank you for understanding! If you are interested in purchasing a commercial use license, please message us for details.

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Everything "I Can" Common Core for Kindergarten

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We have gathered all of our Common Core resources for kindergarten. We hope this makes it easier to access all of our 1st grade resources. We will be doing the same for each grade level as we complete materials.

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organized by component of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension)

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Curriculum and Instruction - Student Center Activities, Grades K-1 (Revised, 2008) - Student Center Activities, Grades K-1

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During the Spring 2004 Florida Reading First school site visits, staff from the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) determined that teachers may benefit from classroom materials that would be immediately useful in implementing independent student center activities.

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includes a plethora of developmentally appropriate math resources including instructional resources aligned directly to standards.

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Print and Drive Number Rhymes are perfect for your little tot or preschooler. This set includes numbers 1-10 with a fun transportation theme on each page. For every number, there is a small rhyme for children to learn the proper number formation as they drive their vehicle around the number. These will get tons of use in a classroom setting so be sure to laminate them or store in pocket protectors.

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Print and Drive Number Rhymes are perfect for your little tot or preschooler. This set includes numbers 1-10 with a fun transportation theme on each page. For every number, there is a small rhyme for children to learn the proper number formation as they drive their vehicle around the number.

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Number Writing Activity. Salt Tray Game.

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Follow us on Pinterest This quick and easy to set up activity uses a few basic materials and is fabulous for practicing number writing, counting, subitising and more. It can be a great independent activity that promotes self checking and self correction. Ages: 3+ (Maddie was 4 here. See the bottom for Handy Tips to sim