A ‘custom-made-kid-folder’ gets things done one row at a time. A paperclip holds the worksheet in the correct position, to line up with the sections of the folder.
Some Kids Just Need To Move
Pyramid Facts (you can read about them here):
Here’s an activity to practice pyramid facts that also gets a student moving:
To start working towards division, the student rearranged the numbers to show division:
More Interactive Math
One day with this activity and my student declared, “I get it!”
There is a brad with a piece of elastic, some packing tape across the top and the bottom, and sticky notes. Just an effort to be more kinesthetic.
Helping with Emotional Intelligence
I have been meeting with the second grade class, boys and girls separately (which is another topic all its own), about managing their feelings. This is the Five Point Anger Scale. We used it to discuss anger and stress and then brainstormed ideas of how to help yourself come down the scale.
It was funny to ask adults how they come down (I did not add all their answers 🙂 but my favourites were have a glass of wine and eat chocolate.
The Vowel Club
We decorated a banner for the vowel club (with washi tape 🙂
The best part was the amazement on the faces of my three kindergarteners when I told them that every word has at least one member of the club included! What fun to teach these little guys!
Early Intervention with Initial Sounds
I thought it would be great to let these “little guys” move while they practice the initial sounds of words. Â This idea is adapted from one of the many free activities at The Florida Center for Reading Research. Â Great stuff at that site.
Deck the Halls with Lots of Sight Words
This was a cooperative project with my small group of kindergarteners. Each part of the chain has one of their sight words on it. The idea came from Pinterest of course! (Sorry, the Pinterest link did not take me to a website).
Informal Reading Test
I have not written in awhile. Life pulls me along sometimes and I never want to feel pressure about a blog.
Speaking of pressure, we have reached the end of the term and I usually test each student’s reading level. The problem is, I don’t want to use the same test all the time or within a short time frame. This term I found an informal reading test for both oral and silent reading that was easy to use and FREE! I spent some time enlarging the reading passages for the students.
It is called the Jennings Informal Reading Inventory.
A Think ‘N Roll
One of my students really likes this thingy called a “Think ‘N Roll”. It is a tool for fidgeting feet.
It can make noise so I have cautioned students that when that happens it is no longer an effective tool helping them to listen and will be put away for a time.
This is discreet, keeps kids from tipping the chair, and it is simple to add or remove. It costs $9. at School Specialty Canada. Unfortunately shipping and handling can add a chunk but I was ordering a bunch of stuff since there are some neat tools available.
Anyone Have a Chromebook?
Our school now has a class set of chrome books in grade 8. This meant I wanted to figure out accessibility options. ChromeVox is a text to speech option on the Chromebook. It took awhile but I think I’ve finally figured out how to use it. I made a little laminated card that students can stick right to their Chromebook (although one student of mine does not want it visible and I respect that). Message me if you need a downloadable copy.
The Resourceful Resource Teacher 