language arts Archives | Lucky To Be In First

October 15, 2019 Leave a Comment

Master Skills with Shark Attack Review!

There is something about a countdown that really lights a little fire under little people! I wanted to use that motivation to create a game to help students review important Math skills.

Cue the Jaws music…it’s time for Shark Attack!

Shark Attack is a series of PowerPoint presentations that involve students actively working right along with the slideshow!

This no-prep activity is a fabulous way to review everything you cover in the first-grade {okay, well maybe not everything but all of the key Math skills are covered!

Getting Ready!

To get the activity ready, simply print out the desired Shark Attack recording sheet. I’ve included two versions, so pick what works best for your students.

This Shark Attack recording sheet is for students to simply write their answers as they answer.

And, this Shark Attack recording sheet version for students to check if their answers are right or wrong…once the answer is revealed!

Once you’ve printed out the Shark Attack recording sheet, it’s time to decide which game you’d like your students to play.

There are four options included:
10 seconds to answer the question {as the shark chases the fish}
15 seconds to answer the question {as the shark chases the fish}
20 seconds to answer the question {as the shark chases the fish}
Choose Your Time {the shark moves but the fish doesnt}

With the Choose Your Time option, I’ve included directions for you to adjust the timing of each question so you can increase or decrease the amount of time given for students to answer the questions.

I even had my computer illiterate mom follow the directions for adjusting the time so I promise you can do it!

Start Playing!

When all of the students are ready, turn the PowerPoint presentation on…and off they go! It’ll run on its own, so you can roam the classroom and check in on your little learners.

Some of the files {like the addition and subtraction file} can be edited so you can make the problems as hard or easy as you need for your class.

Go grab the Shark Attack Math Growing Bundle or the Shark Attack Language Arts Growing Bundle!

Stay tuned…Shark Attack for Language Arts is coming soon!

November 19, 2016 Leave a Comment

Mastering Short Vowels with Games

Phonics is probably my favorite subject to teach! English is SUCH a hard language and phonics gives children a chance to connect these tricky sounds to something! Because I teach phonics in some capacity each day, I like to mix it up!

You may have found some new Phonics Ideas over in my Short Vowel Savvy post!

Today, I’m sharing how I use phonics games to give students a chance to practice those sounds as much as possible!

Shutterfly Puzzles

Are you the Shutterfly’s email list? If you are, you’ll notice they send you emails all the time for free goodies! Well, one day I got an email for a FREE puzzle. I racked my brain for how I could turn this freebie offer into a classroom tool!

Ta-da! Short Vowel Puzzles! I did have to pay for the shipping {around $7, I think} but look how amazing it is!

The amazing thing about Shutterfly is that they always have sales! So even if you can’t score the puzzles for free…you can certainly get a great deal on it!

Click the picture to snag the high-resolution photos to add to Shutterfly. Then, you just simply drop the photo into your project! You can choose between a 60 and 252 piece puzzle. We don’t have all year to put them together, so I opted for the 60 piece 🙂

The kids L•O•V•E these puzzles!

Phonics Dominoes

I love these dominoes! Super easy to prep {just print, laminate, then cut – laminate first to save a step!} and pop into a Center or Daily 5 activity bucket!

As with any phonics activity, it’s important to review the pictures & words before you begin. Often, a lot of these words are new to your little people! If you review the words as you introduce the game, they will not bug you {as much!} during the activity!

Short Vowel Memory Games!

The latest craze to hit my classroom is our Short Vowel Memory games! Again, using the coupons Shutterfly sends me, I’ve created a Memory Game for each short vowel!

Using the “Upload Your Own” option, you can drop up to 12 pictures into the project. Since this game comes with 24 cards, you basically get two memory games for the price of one!
You have a few different options for the “back” of the game, so make sure to switch it up for each design so that you can easily keep track of game pieces!

Want to make your own? Grab the high-res pictures HERE!

Please note: these memory pieces were created with special permission from Sarah of Educlips. You may not use these high-resolution images for any purpose other than this memory game or you will be in violation of my Terms of Use.

Dice-Dice Baby Games

These games aren’t limited to vowels {the bundle includes ALL of the important phonics sounds!} but these are a huge hit around these parts. I love that kids can play on their own or with a group.

They’re also self-checking on the backside, so kids can be completely independent!

Want to learn more about Dice Dice Baby? Read all about it HERE!

A few other phonics games…

I keep these low-prep clip cards, puzzles, and short vowel spelling cards hanging in our Daily 5 area so kids can easily grab and get to work! You can find all of these activities inside these phonics packs!

I think the more you ~~shove in their face~~ expose students to words, they really do start to pick it up!

Slainte!

November 3, 2016 Leave a Comment

Short Vowel Ideas to Make Learning Fun!

I’m always looking for new ways to mix up how we practice our short vowel words. I get bored looking at their work sometimes, so I imagine they get bored doing the same activities all the time! {Tell me I’m not the only one!}
So today I’m sharing my favorite activities for working on short vowels!

Short Vowel Word Searches

Once in a while you need your kiddos to pick up their pencils {or crayons!} and prove what they know! Well, who says it doesn’t need to be fun? These Short Vowel Word Searches are an educational spin on what they’d find on a kid’s meal menu!

Short Vowel Word Mats

Each week during the school year we focus on a word family. At the beginning of the year, we spend a lot of time on short vowels! The kids “show what they know” about word families by completing these Word Up! Word Mats.

They need to make words using the letter tiles and determine if the words are real or nonsense words.

Short Vowel Poems

At some point in the day, we chant our short vowel poem. I have NO idea where these poems originated {please share the source if you know!} but I do have them as a FREEBIE over on the Lucky to Be in First Facebook page!

Make sure you’re looking at Facebook from a desktop computer. You’ll find them in the “Fan Freebies” tab {along with a few other goodies, too!}

Check out these helpful directions from Traci of Dragonflies in First for printing these posters larger!

Short Vowel Task Cards

I’m always changing up our activities during Daily 5 to make sure that my students don’t get bored! Recently, I added these Short Vowel Task Cards to the mix.

It includes two versions for each vowel sound so you can differentiate for your class. The top picture shows how students are asked to write the beginning and ending sound.

In the activity below, students are asked to write the vowel sound and the final sound.

As with any phonics activity, you hope your students can independently work on, it’s important to review the pictures so students become familiar with the words!

Word Family Workouts

The latest addition to our Phonics repertoire are these Word Family Workouts! This one paper covers a bunch of skills: word recognition in various fonts, ABC order, and sentence writing!