12 Days of Christmas -- Day 4

It's day 4 of my --

Today's gift is Friendly Frog's Holiday Syllable Sort. In this CCSS aligned activity, the kiddos will determine the number of syllables in each holiday related word as portrayed on the sorting cards. Here's a sneak peek:

If you are looking for a literacy center perfect for this holiday season, this is it!  Head on over to my store and get your free copy.  But don't waste time; it's only free for 48 hours.

Stop by again tomorrow for another 12 Days of Giveaways.

Have you checked out these products that also feature Friendly Frog?

Columbus Day Poem

I have a poem to share with you, as well as some possibilities for teaching with it.

This poem and its possibilities are from my Poetry Possibilities - Fall Edition.  There are 25 more poems and custom designed possibilities for each one in the unit.

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Fractions Task Cards

It's about time, teachers, for some fraction task cards.

Because I'm obsessed with my forest friends classroom theme, these task cards are adorned with woodland elements.

The task cards are aligned with these CCSS:

• CCSS.Math.Content.3.NF.A.1 Understand a fraction 1/b as the quantity formed by 1 part when a whole is partitioned into b equal parts; understand a fraction a/b as the quantity formed by a parts of size 1/b. 
• CCSS.Math.Content.3.NF.A.3 Explain equivalence of fractions in special cases, and compare fractions by reasoning about their size. 
• CCSS.Math.Content.3.NF.A.3b Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions, e.g., 1/2 = 2/4, 4/6 = 2/3. Explain why the fractions are equivalent, e.g., by using a visual fraction model.

This product is 50% off today, May 9, 2016, only.  Grab a great bargain.

You can check out my other forest friends products here.

Farm Centers for Your Classroom

In the spring, farms come to life as crops are planted and baby animals are born.  It's an exciting time down on the farm!  Bring some of that excitement to your classroom with these farm centers...

• Down on the Farm Syllable Sort Literacy Center is perfect for K-2 classrooms. 18 word/ picture cards can be sorted by the number of syllables. All of the words are farm related, thereby increasing your students' vocabularies. This center also includes a recording sheet and labels for your center folder.
  
  
  

• Ducks in a Row is a literacy center that gives Pre-K - 1st grade students practice with print concepts and phonological awareness.  Each duck puzzle has 3 parts: 1 with a picture, 1 bearing the upper case letter with which the picture starts, and 1 with the corresponding lower case letter.
  
  There is 1 duck for each letter of the alphabet. Consonant bearing ducks are white and utilize the primary sound of that letter (no soft consonant sounds are used). Yellow ducks present the vowels and utilize the long sound of the vowel.

• Tractor Races Math Center provides practice with number sense and 1-to-1 correspon-dence for Pre-K-1 students. Increase the difficulty by providing a pair of dice.  Students will then move their game pieces according to the sum of the dice.

• Egg Equations are CCSS aligned for grade K-3. Students will make true equations in their quest to master basic addition and subtraction facts. Gather plastic eggs and fill each one with the equation components. Students will use the components to construct equations appropriate to their abilities. Thus, differentiation is inherent.
  

• Barnyard Tangrams provide 10 farm animal puzzles in 2 formats. These puzzles are great for visual discrimination and developing spatial relationships. They also provide experience with geometric shapes and improve problem solving skills. 
  

• Farm Animal Idioms provide 31 idioms about farm animals. These cards are lovely in literacy centers, super for small group instruction, perfect for partners, ideal for individuals, and great for a variety of games. They are also excellent for ELL and speech therapy students. These idiom cards are aligned with CCSS for grades 3 - 5.
  

• Egg Idioms Book challenges your 3rd - 5th grade students to create a booklet about 17 egg idioms. (BTW, these idioms have no references to Easter or Easter eggs.) After discussing the meanings of idioms, challenge your students to create illustrations of the literal meanings. Their efforts can be compiled into a booklet.
  

Happy spring, y'all. I hope you find some center seeds to grow in your classroom.

Emergent Readers for Spring

The Nia Readers are a set of 4 emergent level books for beginning readers. As is typical of emergent readers, these books have consistent print placement and simple, supportive illustrations. The subject matter is familiar to young children; the language structure is natural. Each book features a set of high frequency words in predictable, repetitive sentence patterns. One or two changes are included in each book to ensure that students are attending to the text; not just repeating a memorized pattern.

• Nia’s Toys focuses on these high frequency words: has, a, & no. The text pattern is “Nia has a [toy name supported by picture]."  The last two pages break the pattern. Simple, black and white pictures are attractive and inviting for the children to color.

• Nia Colors the Easter Eggs is a book of seasonal interest. It is a counting book that provides practice with color words. The text pattern is “Nia colors [number] eggs [color word]."  The last page provides a change in the pattern. I recommend inviting the children to color the eggs as described by the text before reading the book independently.

• Nia Goes to the Park tells about her activities at a park and provides a focus on high frequency prepositions (on, in, and with). Other high frequency words include: plays, the, her, & a. The text pattern is “Nia plays [preposition] [article] [noun supported by picture]."  The last two pages break the pattern.

• Nia’s Cupcakes is the most difficult of The Nia Readers. Predictable text is supported by the illustrations. High frequency words include: she, put, on, made, some & color words. The text pattern is “Nia/she put [numeral] [color word] jelly bean(s) on [numeral] cupcake(s).” The numbers are not in sequential order, thus requiring the reader to attend to the text. Similarly, the initial noun varies between “Nia” and “She,” providing additional opportunities for the teacher to determine the student’s attention to the text. Again, you may wish to direct the children to color the illustrations in compliance with the text, thereby offering additional support.  Nia's Cupcakes also invites cross curricular extensions, such as: How many cupcakes did Nia decorate? How many jelly beans did she use altogether? Count, tally, and graph the colors of jelly beans used.

The Nia Readers make great take-home books.  My students are always thrilled by that reality.

BTW, these books are named after my adorable granddaughter. Love her to the moon and back 10,000 times!

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Freebie February and Egg Equations

It's day 27 of Freebie February! Here in the midwest, the temperatures are miserably cold.  So, I'm warming myself by thinking about spring. (That and wearing lots of layers!)  

In the spirit of spring thoughts, today's freebie is Egg Equations. It's a cute little math center that fits well with spring themes, Easter (although it is holiday neutral), and farm themes.

Here's a preview of this center...  

My students get really eggs-cited about this yolk center.  Give it a crack!

You may also wish to gather these egg-tivities: