Search This Blog

Showing posts with label February. Show all posts
Showing posts with label February. Show all posts

Friday, February 27, 2015

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:

   



Thursday, February 26, 2015

Teachers are Heroes TPT Sale + Freebie February

It's the last day of the Teachers are Heroes sale on TPT.   


There are lots of awesome resources on sale.

Today's also day 26 of Freebie February. Lunchbox Literacy Center is a fun activity about compound words and it's free just for 1 day.



Using the 30 word cards, your students will find pairs that make compound words associated with school. They can simply match cards to make up to 15 words. Or, for an extra challenge, have them arrange the cards face down in a 5 x 6 array in order to play Memory.


I like to use this center early in the school year.  It's great for back to school as the kiddos are getting focused on all things related to school.  Plus, they are likely to have a new lunchbox. Grab your copy now and you'll have plenty of time to get it ready for next year.


Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Freebie February and Teachers are Heroes Sale

It just doesn't get any better than this!  It's Freebie February AND TpT is having a site sale. Hopefully this combination will help assuage my cabin fever.


TpT's sale is called, "Teachers are Heroes!" The sale is Wednesday, 2/25, and Thursday, 2/26.  You can score great resources for up to 28% off when you use code HEROES. Everything in my store is on sale. Go there now for some great deals. 

Today's FREEBIE for February is Score! This bingo game challenges students to recognize diverse representations of whole numbers within 20.  


Illustrations include bundles of sticks, dominoes, tally marks, and blocks.  Students will also solve addition and subtraction equations within 20.  It's CCSS aligned for K-2.  It includes 10 bingo boards, 100 callout cards, and 5 different sets of sports icons to cover the bingo spaces.  Hurry on over to my store and SCORE this FREEBIE!


Monday, February 23, 2015

Freebie February Day 23

Now that the popular holidays of February are over (Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day, Fat Tuesday, ...), 

it's about time to give some attention to Dental Health Month.

I love to use graphs for an anchor activity, so naturally, my students are asked to graph their responses to some dental health questions.


Other questions I use include:
  • What brand of toothpaste do you use?
  • How many times did you brush your teeth yesterday?
  • Have you been to the dentist since your last birthday?
  • How many teeth have you lost?

During our morning meeting, we discuss math concepts inherent in the graph, as well as the obvious dental health topics.

The teeth are laminated card stock.  I write their names with a Vis-a-Vis marker so that I can erase them and use them again next year.  There is a small piece of magnetic tape on the back so the students can easily attach them to my white board.  Try some dental health graphing.  I think you'll like it.




Today's FREEBIE is Hink Pinks for Kinders III.


These cards are the perfect introduction to hink pinks because they do not require reading. Each card has an image that evokes the 2 rhyming words of the hink pink. (Remember, hink pinks are 1 syllable words.) 



Did you get the answer to this one?  It's best vest. Young learners love these riddles once they get the hang of them.  They are also great for speech & language specialists.  Lots of ESL teachers use them for their English language learners.  

Enjoy!

You may also like:



Saturday, February 21, 2015

Freebie February Day 21

In honor of my granddaughter's birthday, today's freebie is a biggie!  



And, it's a secret!  

Here are a few hints:
  • it's one of my best sellers
  • it's timely
  • it covers multiple disciplines
  • it's appropriate to grades 2-5
  • it's CCSS aligned


Curious?  Click here to see what it is.


Friday, February 20, 2015

Freebie February and Chinese New Year

Gung Hay Fat Choy!
"Best wishes and Congratulations. Have a prosperous and good year."




It's Chinese New Year and in celebration, I have a poem for you.


And some possibilities for teaching with it.





These are samples from Poetry Possibilities for Winter.

It's day 20 of Freebie February.  Today's offering is St. Patrick's Day Square Puzzlers. Challenging enough for G/T; fun for everyone.


Have a great weekend!


Thursday, February 19, 2015

Freebie February Day 19

Do you love Pinterest? Is that a silly question? Would you like to join some collaborative boards on Pinterest?

I would love to have you join us in collaborating on my boards. If you are interested, email me at itsabouttimeteachers@gmail.com. You have to follow the boards you wish to join. Then send me your Pinterest info.











It's about time for today's February Freebie:


There are 16 poems.  Each poem has a teaching point related to poetic forms, devices, or structures.  There are also several possibilities for skill lessons and activities that are custom designed for each poem.  This product provides a great way to integrate your curricula.


Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Petunia, the Silly Goose

Have you ever read Petunia, by Roger Duvoisin? 


This book is an oldie, but a goodie! When I was teaching 1st grade, I shared the Petunia series with my students every year. If you can find a copy, try reading it to your students. It provides a great launchpad for...

WORDPLAY: The author always refers to Petunia as a "silly goose." Then he proceeds to prove that description with the story.  In this book, Petunia finds a book. She knows that reading is associated with intelligent beings, so she picks up the book and carries it with her. The other farm animals seek her wise counsel with disastrous results. I was always delighted when my students started referring to themselves as a "silly goose" when they did something foolish. It's so much more benign than some of the terms they bring from home.

GREATER THAN/LESS THAN CONCEPTS: When Petunia tries to help Mother Hen count her chicks, she miscounts and then declares that 6 is more than 9. Timing this book to that point in your math curriculum when you introduce (or review) < and >, will help implant the concepts firmly in your students' brains. You just have to help Petunia count those chicks. And, you just have to talk about the math concepts.  Then add some Petunia problems to your math journals or morning meeting.  For example: 
  • 5 pigs are ___ than 3 pigs.
  • 8 sheep are ___ than 4 sheep.
  • 2 turkeys are ___ than 6 turkeys.
  • 7 ducklings are ___ than 9 ducklings.
Let your students illustrate one or more of these math sentences. They will love it. 

Invariably, some clever child suggested that we do "Petunia math" wherein we would purposely choose the wrong symbol. Thus began some great discussions about whether a given answer was according to Petunia (i.e. incorrect) or according to us (i.e. correct). I just love first graders!


MORAL OF THE STORY: One of the most endearing parts of any Petunia story is that she finally realizes the error of her ways and corrects her behavior.  Oh the possibilities her lessons bring to a group of 6 year olds.

Other books in the Petunia series:



 

In keeping with farm animals, Ducks in a Row Literacy Center provides practice with letter sounds and phonological awareness.






Get your Ducks in a Row!