Want to have some fun?

Anyone up for having some fun?

I found this cute little picture in my daughter's room.

The first 3 people who can tell me the author and title of the book that is pictured, will win my updated

Lucky Letters Literacy Pack!!

Jessica, Michelle, Kimberly, and Casey were all right!
It is from The Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon.
A favorite here in our house!
Thanks for playing along and please check your email ladies!  I'll be sending you the file!

Lucky Letter Literacy Pack UPDATED!

In getting ready for St. Patrick's Day, I updated my Lucky Letters Literacy Pack! 

This pack includes upper and lower case versions of:

Lucky Letter Finds (alphabet charts)

Lucky Letter Mix-Ups (letters are mixed up)

Color the Lucky Letters ABC Paths

Write the Lucky Letters

It also includes worksheets for the students to circle the

beginning, ending, and now middle sounds of the words pictured.

Teachers Notebook

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I realized that some of the original pictures did not align with the Common Core Learning Standards (a few pictures ended with "l" or "r"), so I went ahead and changed them.  

Here are some of the Kindergarten Common Core Learning Standards that can be addressed when using the Lucky Letters Literacy Pack:

RF.K.1d- Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
RF.K.2d- Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words.* (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.)
RF.K.3a- Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
RF.K.3b- Associate the long and short sounds with common spellings (graphemes) for the five major
vowels.
LS.K.1a- Print many upper- and lowercase letters.

New Student Reader-"I See"

Now that assessments are done and I have added new kinderkids to my caseload, new groups and routines are underway.

I really wanted to start reinforcing concept of word with some of my groups, so I wrote a new Emergent Student Reader called, "I See".

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I will be using it to reinforce:

~  concept of word, sentence, and space 

~  sight words:  I, see, the, a

~  1:1 correspondence when reading

~  use of picture clues when reading
~ onset-rime blending
~ rhyming

I start by writing out the sentences on sentence strips and placing them in the pocket chart.  I model how we point to one word at a time when reading.  Of course I make a mistake or two (I read "a" instead of "the" and insert the word "can") for the students to correct me.  This helps ensure they are focusing on the words.

I then have each student come up and read with a pointer.  Once done, they receive their own copy to begin their Student Reader folder.  (As we read additional Student Readers, they will be added to the folder.)  They will also be taking home the Home Reader to read to someone special.

 This reader is a bit more simplistic than the first one included in my Emergent Student Readers Set 1. If you want to learn more about the Student Readers I have created and use with my students, you can click on the pictures below:

Thanks and enjoy!

Snowman Letters and Sounds

At school, we just completed our AIMSweb Benchmarking.  
Most of the kiddos had a great deal of difficulty with Letter Sound Fluency (LSF).  If you are unfamiliar with AIMSweb, this is where the student is presented with a random series of upper and lower case letters and they need to produce as many sounds as they can in 1 minute.  

When I assessed them with my Letter-Sound Assessment to see exactly what letters and sounds they knew, I found that many of them simply didn't know many letter-sound correspondences.  So they really need a boost in this area.

One game that I like to play with my kiddos is the, 
"Hide/Find the ____" game.  
This game has been around for years and years, but I just love how you can make simple changes and the kids continue to love it each and every time they play it.

I didn't have any fun alphabet cards to use for the winter season (well, none that wasn't currently part of an activity I would be using), so I made these Snowman Alphabet cards to place into a pocket chart and play, "Hide the Penguin" to reinforce letters and sounds.

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How do I play, Hide the Penguin?

Well, do you see that little penguin above?

He is the little guy who I hide behind the cards.

I simply place the letters I want to reinforce  into my pocket chart, as seen below (I play this game with sight words too).

  I then hide the little penguin behind one of the cards.

The kiddos take turns naming a letter and/or producing a sound trying to find the penguin!

Have you played this game before?  Do your kids like it as much as mine?

If you are interested in my Letter-Sound Assessment, you can find it in both of my shops!

Teachers Notebook

Teachers Pay Teachers

Updated Snowman Letter Identification-LiPS

Hello there!

Completely unrelated to teaching, I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures from the past few weeks of my little ladies.  

Paige was an angel in her school Christmas play and she lost her first tooth (she pulled it out all by herself).  She has been loving the snow that has been falling for the last few days and is excited to celebrate her birthday just next week.  Saydie is also enjoying the snow and the Christmas season!  
She LOVES to open presents, too!

Do any of you have to complete an Evidence Binder?  In case you have no idea what I am talking about, it is now part of New York State's new teacher evaluation plan.  Since the beginning of the school year I have been shoving my "evidence" into the front of my binder.  I really need to sit down to sort through and organize what has been collected so far.  

I added some fun game cards to my Snowman Letter Identification!

Now in addition to using the letter cards with the alphabet charts, you can also use the letter cards with the new game cards to play a fun card game to reinforce letters and sounds.

You can find my Snowman Letter Identification in both of my shops, just click on one of the links below:

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Notebook

Last, but not least, before break I was able to attend a one-day training for the Lindamood-Bell Phoneme Sequencing program called LiPS.  Do any of you currently use the program?  I would like to start incorporating it into my instruction with some of my kinderkids who are REALLY struggling with letter identification, but would love some feedback from real teachers who are using it!  What are your thoughts?

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

God Bless!

Sleigh Full of Goodies-Presents!

Thanks for continuing along the

If you missed the two stops on the blog hop from Day 1,
make sure you click on the picture above!!

In my sleigh, you will find my 
Christmas Present Letter Identification pack 
This will be FREE, for the next 12 days!

In addition to the blog hop, I am also linking up with Day 1 of 

hosted by Amy of Teaching My 3.

Click on the picture below to hop over to The Lower Elementary Cottage to see what she has in her sleigh!

Thank you Beth from Thinking of Teaching for hosting this merry blog hop!!

Do you have something you would like to share?  

Please link up and join in the fun!!

Are You Ready for the Holiday Season?

Getting ready for the winter and holiday season?  
Well here are some products that I use with my little literacy learners to help reinforce letter, sound, and sight word identification.  

Here is my newest product:

This pack includes cute penguin versions of both upper and lower case versions of:
~  Letter Finds (alphabet charts)
~  Letter Mix-Ups (letters are mixed up)
~  Letter Cards
~  Brr... Game

I use the following for both letter and sound matching:

Here is a cute little FREEBIE:

I use this to reinforce letters, sounds, and sight words:

And don't forget the three sets of 
Winter Wonderland, 2 Games-in-1 Packs
to help reinfoce the first 300 Fry Sight Words:

Finally, don't forget to hop over to TBA to check out Freebie Friday!

Color a Turkey FREEBIE

When reviewing foundational skills with my students in my small groups, I like and need to hear responses from each student individually.  To give it an extra boost of fun, I reward my students for correct responses by having them do the following:

How do you use this?  

Simply print the document and cut it into the four strips.  

Have your kiddos write their names on the back.  

As you complete your planned activity, have the student color in a turkey for each correct response.  

So simple, but the kids love it!!

This could be used in so many ways, with any type of skill!!  What will you use it for?

And don't forget to head over to Teaching Blog Addict for some other great FREEBIES!

Hurricane Sandy-Teachers Help Teachers

Hurricane Sandy was nasty.  

She came and left a path of destruction in the Northeast that it has never seen before.  Some of my loved ones are still without power and/or are displaced from their homes.  It has been almost two long, and cold weeks.  Others lost every little thing they own.

Laurah over at The ESOL Odyssey is organizing a movement to help other teachers affected by Sandy, called:

She is reaching out to those who have create materials to share or own a store on TPT or TN, and would like to donate some products to help other teachers in need.  

Click on the picture above and then follow the directions on Laurah's page.  It is so easy and every little bit helps.  She will be working hard to gather the products and distribute them to schools and teachers in need.  Teachers of all grade levels are encouraged to participate.

Will you help out too?

Thank you Laurah for doing this!