Winter Break Readiness

Before you start your winter break, though, make it a true break from your teaching duties by planning for January now.  You want to start the new year refreshed and prepared.  I'd like to help you do that. 

For years, I've been creating and utilizing centers for elementary students.  Let my work make your life easier. You need literacy centers.  Check these out:

Whether you teach The Mitten or not, this center is perfect for primary classrooms.  It's foci are initial consonant blends and rhyming words.  Your students will manipulate the 18 mitten cards to find 9 pairs of mittens.  Naturally, you can choose to use fewer cards if that is more appropriate to your class.  This center also has a recording sheet for your convenience.  

 

For older students, try Friendly Frog's Leap Frog Game.  

This center requires students to determine the number of syllables in words that pertain to frogs, bogs, and logs. They move their game pieces as many places as their word has syllables.  The center has a game board, 54 word or action cards, 6 game pieces, file folder labels. 

In the spirit of the season, I am planning several FLASH FREEBIES this week.  The above centers might be among the gifts I offer.  Check my facebook page for announcements of the flash freebies.  

What the Teacher Said

Having been a teacher for more than 30 years, I've said a lot.  But that's not what this post is about.  This post is about what teachers have said about my products.

My teaching passions are many, but chief among them are materials that promote critical thinking and problem solving.  My appetite for this was first whetted wwwaaaaayyyyy back in my second year of teaching when I attended a state conference on gifted education.  It was there that I was first introduced to the  critical thinking activity, Hink Pinks, and their cousins, Hinky Pinkies and Hinkity Pinkities.  

 My enthusiasm for Hink Pinks et al. has never waned.  Indeed, I have used them with every class from 1st grade to 5th. It takes a little more prompting to get 1st graders to combine syllable constraints with synonyms, but there is nothing more rewarding than seeing that "lightbulb moment" when a little one gets it.

You can see examples of my Hink Pinks et al. by going here.  Several of them are free! If you try them, I think you will like them. But, you don't have to take my word for it.  Here's what the teachers said:

If you would like to check out my Hink Pink et al. products, click here.  By the way, they are CCSS aligned.

April Fools' FREEBIE

It's about time, teachers, for April Fools' Day.  Are you bummed that it's not on a school day? Never fear, it will be on Monday next year to start the week off on a celebratory note.  In the meantime, enjoy an April Fools' poem and some teaching suggestions to go with it. 

If you like this poem and the teaching possibilities that accompany it, you may like my product, Poetry Possibilities for Spring.  The poem above comes from that unit.

You can find it at my TpT Store or in my TN Shop.

You can find many more spring units at Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives' linky party.

Check it out!  You'll be glad you did.

Many, many thanks to Heather at Beg Borrow & Teach for giving me the One Lovely Blog Award.  You have made this newbie blogger feel very special!  

The rules for this award are to:

1. Link back to the blogger who gave you the award.  
2. Pass the award on to 15 other lovely bloggers.
3. Follow the person who sent it to you.

If you haven't discovered Heather's blog, go there now.  Her blog title surely speaks to teachers everywhere.  We're all beggars, borrowers & underpaid teachers.   (I only crossed out the "underpaid" to be p.c.)   Her blog is filled with wonderful ideas and, right now, she is offering a FREE Reading Comprehension bookmark. 


It gives me pleasure to pass this award on to:

1. Ms Emily @  My Crazy Life in Kindergarten
2. Delighted @ First Grade Delight
3. Ashlyn @ The Creative Classroom
4. Roaming Around 4th Grade
5. Katie @ Queen of the First Grade Jungle
6. Wendy @ One Happy Teacher
7. Katherine @ Third Grade Teacher Files
8. Ms Winstead @ Fabulous Fourth Grade
9. Mark Lyons @ readingwarmupsandmore
10. Susan Hardin @ 3rd Grade Grapevine
11. Mrs. K @ The Teacher Garden
12. HoJo @ HoJos Teaching Adventure
13. Mary Bauer @ The Artistry of Education
14. Mrs. McCumbee @ Mrs. McCumbee's Class
15. Felicia @ Adventures in Teaching: Learning as I Go

Many of these blogs are new, like mine.  Do them a favor and check them out.  They represent a treasure trove of new ideas.

Easter Hink Pinks

Are you egg-cited about checking your answers for the Easter Hink Pinks and Hinky Pinkies?  Or are you egg-ravated that you had to wait?  Are you cracking up at my egg humor or do you just want to yolk choke me?  Before I reveal the answers, I have to share the following egg humor:

This cracked me up, no yolk-ing!  (I think the season has me deviled.)  

Egg-nuff already!  Here are the answers:
     9. Twin rabbits = hare pair
    10. Royal leader of the season = spring king
    11. Egg coloring belongs to me = my dye
    13. Chocolate bunnies by the ocean = sandy candy

    14. Tall building made of lilies = flower tower

    15. Bunny's routines = rabbit's habits

How did you do?  Did you find them to be hard boiled and frustrating?  Or were they over easy?  

One of the things I love most about Hink Pinks, Hinky Pinkies, and Hinkity Pinkities is that they require ALL students to really think.  Even "Gavin Gifted" can't produce the answer before you finish reading the clue.  That alone makes them worth their weight in gold! However, I will admit that the more of them you present to the class, the quicker the response time.  I like to think they are building new neural pathways in their brains.  

If you are intrigued by these riddles, you may be interested in:  

      

These are FREEBIES:

As you can see, I'm really into Hink Pinks.  This is just a fraction of what I have in my files.  Do you think I need an intervention?

Easter Hink Pinks Freebie

Eggs-actly what you need for spring -- a fun, challenging, activity that develops vocabulary, practices parts of speech, eggs-ercises synonyms and rimes, all while using Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS).  I'm not eggs-aggerating; I'm talking about Easter Hink Pinks & Hinky Pinkies.   

If you're not familiar with Hink Pinks, you are in for some egg-citement! Hink Pinks are riddles for which the answer must be a pair of rhyming words with just 1 syllable in each word (hink & pink each have just 1 syllable).  Similarly, Hinky Pinkies are riddles with rhyming word pair answers, but each answer word must have 2 syllables (Hinky & Pinky have 2 syllables each).  For example:      

 

                      

Hink Pink clue: superior bird home  

Hink Pink answer: best nest             

Both you and your students will be egg-cited about learning when it’s this fun!  

These riddles and their cousins, Hinkity Pinkities, have been staples in G/T education for decades.  They eggs-ercise  brain muscles your students didn't know they had.  As a teacher, I eggs-perience great satisfaction when I witness that "AHA!" moment in a student.  

The best way to understand Hink Pinks & Hinky Pinkies is to try them for yourself.  So, try these:

                                            

                                           

   

If you're not eggs-actly sure if you solved them, check back tomorrow for the answers. Until then, I hope you have an egg-cellent weekend.

                     

Mad about March unit FREEBIE

It's about time, teachers....for spring!  At least we can hope.  Yesterday there was snow on the ground; today it's 66.  Gotta love March weather in the heartland!

Speaking of March, I have launched my thematic unit, Mad about March, for primary grades. You can find it on TpT and, now, on Teachers' Notebook.  The unit includes ELA, Math, HOTS, and music curricula.  The ELA activities are:

And here's a FREEBIE from the ELA portion of the unit:

The math portion of the unit includes:

If you like what you see, blow on over to my TpT store or  my Teachers' Notebook store.  

Valentine's Day Hink Pinks, ... Freebie

Another holiday, another set of Hink Pinks, Hinky Pinkies, and Hinkity Pinkities.  Ever since I attended my 1st state conference for Gifted and Talented Education, I have seen, heard and read about Hink Pinks.  These vocabulary building, problem solving, critical thinking riddles are staples  in GATE.  Perhaps my decades long connection with Hink Pinks, et al, is best explained by the fact that my students absolutely love them!  They loved them when I was in the classroom and when I became an enrichment resource teacher, my pull-out students literally begged for more of them.

If you are new to the land of Hink Pinks, here's how they work:

• Hink Pinks are riddles wherein the clues lead you to a 2 word answer.  Each answer word must have just 1 syllable and the 2 answer words must rhyme.
• Hinky Pinkies are riddles seeking answers with 2 syllables in each word.  The 2 words must rhyme.
• Hinkity Pinkities are rhyming answer words with 3 syllables each.

Some teachers like to distribute these clues on a work sheet, but I continually strive to eliminate worksheets from my teaching. About 20 years ago, I started putting the clues on 1/4 sheet cards.  By doing so, I was able to create a resource that was ready to use year after year.  

Armed with my Hink Pink, et al cards, I was able to use them as an anchor activity when students were arriving each morning. They also work well as a sponge activity or at a center.  When working as a pull-out enrichment specialist, I used these cards as a warm-up activity.  Without a doubt, G/T students are enthralled with these riddles.  But, I also found that "average" students were intrigued and set their caps to solve them.   

In my TpT store, I am offering a FREE set of Valentine's Day Hink Pinks, Hinky Pinkies, and Hinkity Pinkities.  Here's a preview:

The answer to this Hink Pink is sweet treat.

The answer to this Hinky Pinky is sandy candy.  

The answer to the Hinkity Pinkity below is valentine turpentine.

There are 24 cards in this FREE set.  Naturally, there is an answer key.  Did I mention that it is FREE?  You can retrieve your copy here.

If you like this product, you may like these, as well:

  Find it here.

 Find it here.

 

Find it here.

Groundhog Day 4.0

This is the last post about Groundhog Day, I promise.  Words and word play are really my thing.  I love enticing and intriguing my students to increase their vocabulary through fun activities.  My students and I just love Hink Pinks, Hinky Pinkies, & Hinkity Pinkities.

If you've never encountered Hink Pinks, etc., you are in for a treat. Hink Pinks are rhyming answers to riddles. The answer is a Hink Pink if both answer words are supposed to be just one syllable. If the riddle calls for 2 syllables in each answer word, it's called a Hinky Pinky. You've probably already figured out that 3 syllable answers are Hinkity Pinkities. Several years ago, my enrichment students begged to know what a 4 syllable answer would be called. Never having encountered one, I let them name such pairs. Voila! Hitinkity Pitinkities were born. Then, of course, I had to quickly create some riddles with 4 syllable answers. Good brain exercise for me!

I have created some Hink Pinks, etc. especially for Groundhog Day.  You are invited to try them with your class. Here are a few to get you started:

I've designed my clues to be on cards that I can use at a literacy center or at a large or small group meeting.  Note that the "Hink Pink" logo appears on the cards so that students know what number of syllables to be thinking about. In the above examples, the answer to #1 is deep sleep. #2 is bright light. Pretty fun, huh?

Now try Hinky Pinkies and Hinkity Pinkities. (Sorry, no 4 syllable answers for this holiday.)

The answer to #9 is rehide inside. Muddy buddy is the solution to #10.  

#17 is prediction description, although I would also accept prediction depiction. Furrow burrow is the answer to the last one.  

Your students will love working on vocabulary, parts of speech, synonyms, rimes, making inferences, and interpreting data when they are disguised as fun. Mine clamor for more everyday.  

You are welcome to download this freebie here. If you visit my store, you will see that I'm a bit obsessed with these word riddles. There are currently 24 more Hink Pink products listed here. All of these products bear the same logos on the cards and are print ready. I recommend copying them on card stock and laminating them before cutting them apart. Then you will have ready-made fun for years to come.  Enjoy!

For economy, you may be interested in these bundles: