Monday, 17 February 2014
Valentine's Day Find-A-Word
In keeping with the love season, here is a word search (made using word search maker) for Valentine's Day.
Friday, 14 February 2014
Jewelry Boxes
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
For a simple Valentine's Day gift, have your students make these jewelry boxes.
All you need is some cheap cardboard boxes, plastic jewels and wood glue.
How To Spell 'PIECE'
"PIECE" - such a tricky word for youngster to spell!
Display this poster and repeat the slogan to help students remember how to spell 'piece' correctly. Works every time!
Display this poster and repeat the slogan to help students remember how to spell 'piece' correctly. Works every time!
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Literacy Groups
Literacy Groups is an integral part of my English timetable: we undertake tasks three - four times weekly.
Groups are differentiated and run according to a schedule so that I can read with each weekly, and at other times, students work in small groups or individually.
Over the years I have made many games, but found Teach This to have the most valuable pre-made variety of games.
Games can include:
- Word Attack: spelling and reading
- Charades
- CVC
- Phonics/Sounds
- Sentence writing
- Grammar games
- Sound hunts
- Book hunts
- Scrabble
- Boggle
- Up Words
- Scategorries
- Bingo
- Rhyming games
- Sight words
- Spelling games
- Writing
- Magnetic lettering/words
Upon benchmarking each term, I formulate groups and have these displayed on posters for student's reference. Names are blu-tacked to laminated posters so that they can be moved around as the focus changes or as they move up the levels.
Grouping is flexible and dependent on the reading level/benchmark of the students, or the lesson's focus. I make tubs or boxes for each group and colour-code to match groups. Games, readers and worksheets are rotated on a weekly basis.
Readers are filed according to level and accessible for students for homework. They are allowed to swap as they need.
Interactive Technology
When I was in primary school, it was all chalk-and-talk; using a blackboard and copying notes into our books. Now we have interactive technology including whiteboards and these fabulous tables. They're excellent for individual and small group work, particularly during Literacy Group work.
Solid, Liquid, Gas Assignment
My Year 2 students had a science task - to research and conduct an experiment using one of the three forms of water: solid, liquid or gas.
They had to present their findings on a poster and prepare a speech for their classmates. Some even opted to conduct the experiment for their peers!
Here are some samples of the posters that were created:
And here is one of the experiments conducted by a student:
Materials:
1. Sprite
2. Plastic cup
3. Sultanas
They had to present their findings on a poster and prepare a speech for their classmates. Some even opted to conduct the experiment for their peers!
Here are some samples of the posters that were created:
And here is one of the experiments conducted by a student:
Materials:
1. Sprite
2. Plastic cup
3. Sultanas
Steps:
1. Fill the cup with Sprite
2. Drop some sultanas into the liquid
3. Watch the sultanas bob up and down in the liquid.
Saturday, 1 February 2014
Classroom Display Walls
The following images are some samples of classroom presentation for Prep - Stage 2, with ideas for a variety of elementary artwork wall and hanging displays: