$1 Words FREEBIE

Do you ever shop at the Dollar Store?  I have to say that I rarely do so, but my sister shops there a lot and gets some of the most amazing bargains.  Recently she picked up some lovely gift bags, greeting cards, and even some baby socks for my soon-to-arrive grandson.  Hmmm, I may have to schedule a trip soon.  

In the meantime, her shopping foray made me think about $1 Words.  If you teach intermediate students and/or G/T students, you HAVE to do these with your students!  What??? You don't know what $1 Words are!!!!!

Settle in while I educate you, because it's about time you teach it.  

A $1 Word is any word that has a value of exactly $1 when its letters are added together using the following chart of values:

There is a book by Marilyn Burns about $1 words available on Amazon for $11.92.  It has gone out of print from time to time, so if you are interested, there are currently 8 available.

As the title indicates, it is a riddle book that leads children to $1 words through pictures and riddles.  I love that because too often teachers assign their students to find $1 words without any hints.  Please don't do that to your students.  It completely overwhelms them and makes them frustrated.  How exactly would YOU approach an assignment like that?

Ahh, but I have a solution to offer.  I have composed over 400 clues that can be copied and distributed to your students.  

Try to solve these:

Undoubtedly, you reached for a calculator.  Did you use a thesaurus or dictionary?  Perhaps not; it is the 21st century, after all.  But, those are options you will want to offer your students.  It's a great way to get them to learn about a thesaurus!

In the spirit of the 21st century, however, you can introduce them to thesauri on the computer.  My personal favorite resource is a Reverse Dictionary.  It allows the students to type their clue and then receive a list of words that satisfy that clue.   [Please be aware that the Reverse Dictionary is a dynamic site.  You will get different lists each time you try it with the same clue.  My warning is that, as a dynamic site, it will, rarely, give an inappropriate word.  I have not yet found a way to prevent this.  So, you may wish to preview the list before you set your student free to peruse it.]  

Try the Reverse Dictionary yourself here.  Now, arm your students with a calculator (excellent practice) and their list of possible words.  Then sit back and watch.  It is soooo very rewarding when the 1st $1 word is found!  The successful detective is bound to spring up shouting, "I found one!  I found one!"  Now all the other students will be doubly determined to find one for themselves.

These clues would make a great math center.  They could also be given out as a sponge activity.  In my school, however, I use them as a grade level challenge.  (I'm the enrichment teacher who runs a pull-out program.)  My 3rd graders can hardly wait for the annual challenge to begin!  I think it may be the highlight of their year.  :o)

Pitting each class of 3rd grade enrichment students against the others brings out a flurry of activity that makes the entire rest of the school stand back in awe.  Enrichment students  beg their classroom teacher to allow them to come to me to get another clue as soon as they solve one.  This is spurred on, of course, by my public display of each team's score on a daily basis.  

You are probably curious about the Bonus Buck above.  Quite simply, that clue has 2 possible answers.  I reward the students with 2 points if s/he can find both answers.  Check back tomorrow for the answers to the clues.

In the meantime, if you are intrigued by $1 words, you may wish to check out my $1 Word products.  Begin with the freebie:

You can find it at my TpT Store or in my TN Shop.  It will give you a much more complete understanding of the competition I run and 45 FREE clues!

Before I close, I found the following linky parties that you may be interested in checking out:

Donna at Math Coach's Corner is having a math linky party.  She has it divided into grade levels for your convenience.










Jeannie at Kindergarten Lifestyle is having a K - 2 linky party.  Check it out, too!