Math and Literacy Activities using Scraps of Wrapping Paper [Freebie]

Today I was wrapping presents and as much as I tried to measure the paper to fit the gift perfectly, I inevitably had to cut strips of the wrapping paper off to wrap them just right. I was cleaning up the table and this pile of wrapping paper strips was staring at me. I couldn't let this cute wrapping paper go to waste! So I thought of a few fun literacy and math activities using scrap pieces of wrapping paper you have lying around.

I wrote letters on these strips of wrapping paper to practice letter name and letter sound fluency. It's about that time of year for another round of DIBELS or AIMSweb assessments and this would make practice fun! I wrote letters on several strips of paper and put them in the cute Santa bag. During small group, my little scholars can pull out a strip and say the letter names or letter sounds as quickly as they can. 

I wrote numbers on the scrap wrapping paper strips to practice number identification fluency. As a warm-up before small group math, my little scholars can choose a wrapping paper strip from the bag and identify the numbers as quickly as possible. 

I also wanted to use the scrap of wrapping paper to make a center my little scholars could do independently. I wrote a series of letters on each small strip with a missing letter. My little scholars will say the letters, identify the letter that is missing, and record the series of letters on the recording sheet. I placed the strips in a stocking for a little novelty--I know they'll love it! 

I did the same thing except using numbers for this next center idea. My little scholars will pull a wrapping paper strip out of the stocking, says the numbers, identify the number that is missing, and write the series of numbers on the recording sheet. 

I love including a recording sheet for accountability and you can download one to use by clicking the picture below.

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Happy St. Patrick's Day and a Spring Freebie!

I'm spending this lovely day with my National Board portfolio. PTL the final submission date is May 31st. Lord knows this girl needs the extra time! How do you tackle large tasks? When are you most productive? I feel like every time I sit down to write I am daunted by the seemingly insurmountable task at hand. Please share your suggestions! :)

Anyway, I wanted to quickly pop in and tell you about the St. Patty's Day sale a bunch of bloggers are having...I have everything 20% off in my shop today!

I am super excited about my new Poppin' Pairs of 10 Packet1 I can't wait to introduce it to my little scholars tomorrow when I go back to school (sad face). Its 70 pages of Common Core fun and includes 4 center activities, 2 mini-books, posters, an original song (written by me!) to help your little scholars remember the pairs of 10, a chant, interactive posters to add to your calendar routine or math meeting and much more! Check it out :) And if you purchase it, I would LOVE LOVE to hear your feedback. 

You can also grab my Spring Math and Literacy Unit for $6.40. Its 149 pages of spring fun all aligned to Common Core!

Don't forget to download the Cracked Up! Sight Word Game for f-r-e-e! I have edited it to include blank cards so you can write your own words if you'd like!

Hope y'all have a lovely St. Patrick's Day! And don't forget to wear green :)

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So I didn't win Power Ball...

I had my ticket (or ten) and was sure that I was going to wake up a multi-millionaire. I even drove 35 miles across state lines to get said tickets..and no such luck! I still had something to look forward to today because....

Chillin' at the Overhead Station

our elf made his debut! I channeled my inner thespian and pulled out all the stops to make it a magical morning for my little scholars. After reading the book, we voted on our name for the little fellow. I pulled 5 popsicle sticks and each of them suggested a name. I wrote the names on chart paper and each kiddo voted on their favorite. I suppose I should explain the names...so the first suggestion was Tinker Bell and I explained to the sweetie that our elf was a boy so she shouted, "Well, Tinker Boy then!" Not sure where King came from. Obviously Diego and Boots are from Dora. And Cone? Well, my only guess is we've been learning about solid shapes. I may or may not have skewed the votes. An elf named Cone, really?! :) 

Moving on...I have been terrible at snapping pictures of centers/stations but I managed to get a few today! 

My assistant worked with our little scholars on segmenting CVC words. We start by just segmenting the sounds and then eventually graduate to moving the chips and writing the letter that makes the sound. Just like my Road to Reading: Phoneme Segmentation Fluency packet, we color-code the sounds. Green for the first sound, yellow for the medial, and red for the final sound. 

One of our literacy centers is working with cookie sheets. I whipped this little goodie up and my kiddos just loved it! There's something magical about magnetic letters I think. Notice the green border? Color-coded because students have to listen for the first sound and find that letter. The medial sound mats have a yellow border and the final sound have a red border. Make sense? Some of my kiddos are still working with identifying beginning sounds while others can decode the word after finding the letter that makes the beginning sound. 

I've been busy printing, laminating and cutting until my fingers bleed but I am just in LOVE with Caitlin Clabby's Yummy Batch of Literacy and Math Centers.

I'm read to roll them out on Monday but this week we've been practicing making sets using this little activity

Just some Christmas trees with a number in the star and colorful pom poms. 

Now off to work on next week's lesson plans...my favorite Thursday night activity! :) 

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Number Sort [Freebie!]

Quite an eventful day couple of days, y'all. It started last week when one of my most darling, helpful, kind, sweeties was abruptly withdrawn from school. My heart just broke because of the circumstances of it all. As I left the office after saying goodbye, I was told I'd have a new student joining my class the following day. Not knowing what to expect the following day, I informed my kiddos about our new student and reminded them to make smart choices so we can show our new friend how to act. Well, new student came and my classroom was turned upside down. We somehow managed to survive and had the most wonderful surprise yesterday. My sweetie who withdrew waltzed through the door announcing that she was coming back to our school. I nearly cried and my kiddos were so excited. There was all sorts of hugging and cheering...it was adorable! I am so thankful for the terrific group of kiddos I have this year, even my new little friend. :)

Moving on...we've been working on developing number sense and I created this number sort to use during math centers. There are 6 cards for each number: numeral, number word, tens and ones, objects, tallies, and ten frames. Just click the picture to grab it for F-R-E-E!

And one last thing, National Board Take One! scores will be released tomorrow morning... eeeeek! I may not be sleeping much tonight. Be on the lookout for more freebies :) 

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Spring Center Activities [and a Giveaway!]

Today we started my Spring Math and Literacy Activities and my kiddos had a ball! I didn't snap any pictures today (a surprise 45 minute observation from the superintendent will throw you a bit off track!) but I will post some tomorrow for sure. My packet is 149 pages with 7 Common Core aligned center or station activities, a bonus tally mark activity, and an emergent reader! You get...

...and an emergent reader and math facts within 5 fluency cards! You can grab it here! And for a little fun, leave a comment with your email address and I'll use random number generator tomorrow morning (around 6CST) to pick 5 friends who will receive a copy of this packet for f-r-e-e!  

Have a great evening y'all! 

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Joining the blogosphere!

After months of religiously following so many AMAZING blogs out there, I decided to start my own!  I plan to update frequently with the happenings of my classroom as well as share strategies, resources, and tips from one teacher to another. I will also post freebies for use in your classroom....speaking of, I've posted my first freebie to my TPT Store! It's a simple, engaging math center activity for teaching kiddos how to count backward. Be sure to check it out and leave feedback :) 

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