Oldie But A Goodie: Simple Word Work Hack!

Ready to instantly jazz up your students with the simplest word work activity EVER?  I posted about this ages ago... just add a dry erase marker and a classroom window!  They can write their words on the window and they think it's amazing!

Word Sort of the Week

Oh.  My.  Gosh.

WORD SORTS.

They have added such a layer of independence, hands-on learning, and review to my Daily Five rotations!

We start each week with a "Word Sort of the Week".  This is one tied to our ELA learning for the week.

Last week, we were studying ir, er, ur and so our "Word Sort of the Week" was for those sounds.

On Monday, I introduced the sort and we worked through it together.  It stays hanging in the chart for the week, and we review it daily.  Students can also take the cards out and sort them again when they finish their "must dos" for Daily Five.

At the end of the week, it comes down and becomes one of the sorts students can access when their "must dos" are complete.

I love seeing them spread out around room, saying, sorting, and analyzing their work!

You can check out my GROWING BUNDLE of word sorts and matches on TpT.  Right now, it has over 40 different sorts and matches.  If you download the preview, you can get a short/long A sort for free!

Word Sorts in the Classroom

Do you word sort in your classroom?

If you don't, you totally should.

We do a "write the room"activity every week which is a sorting activity, since the kiddos are walking around the room and categorizing words as they write them on a recording sheet.

BUT- I recently started doing hands-on physical word sorts and it's amazing.

Like seriously.

There's just something about seeing the kiddos actually manipulate word cards, hearing them saying words aloud and figuring out where to categorize them based on sounds.  And, the sense of accomplishment they have when they have sorted the cards... well, they get so excited!

So, I've been making sorts like a crazy woman, as my kiddos can't get enough of them.

I have them at my "Word Work" center.  When students finish their "must do" each week, they can choose a word sort to complete.

I cut a laminate the cards and put them in here.  I got it at Michael's.  On sale.  And then used my teacher ID to get MORE money off!

I print out the "header cards" so students know the categories.  Then print and laminate the sorting cards.

My students seriously LOVE doing this.  They either lay them out on the floor or sort them in pocket charts.  We love these magnetic ones from Amazon:

And I'm so stoked to let you know that I have TWENTY of them done and ready to share on TpT!

I am going to continue to add to this pack until my school year ends in June, as my kiddos seriously can't get enough.  You can snag this pack on sale at TpT now!  The pack also includes recording sheets for each sort so you can check students' work or use as fun assessments!

How do you get your kiddos interacting with words and literacy skills?

We've had three snow days in the past week with a big snow coming Monday and then below zero temps on Wednesday... I will definitely be adding to this pack next week if we get more snow days!

Happy weekend, all!

Boogie Board... It's the COOLEST!!!!

I just had to show off what I just got, so I thought I'd make a quick little video!  I hope you'll check it out!

I'm super psyched about it and know my kiddos are going to LOVE it!  I'll be placing it at my "Work on Words" area for students to use to practice writing their spelling and vocabulary words.

Writing on the window is their usual favorite...

But I know they'll love this!

Click the pic to find it on Amazon!

Teachery Tips and Tricks- Got a Window? Instant Center!

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' today to share a trick that my students LOVE!

I shared this once before, but I think it's worth sharing again!

Do you have a window in your classroom?  Like in your door?  Or next to your door?  Do you have a dry erase marker to spare?

If you have both of those things, you have a recipe for an instant activity that your students will LOVE!

My kiddos write their spelling words on the window next to my door.  They use a dry erase marker and it wipes right off!

They love it!!!!!  It's so taboo, they just can't get enough!

You could use this for anything.  Word work, math facts- you write problems in one color and they solve in another, write notes or messages to your students, have them write facts they have learned about at topic... anything!

They love it so much, in fact, that a student who wasn't even in my class last year recently told an incoming 3rd grader during our summer school, "You'll love her.  She lets her kids write on her window!"

Monday Made-It: Don't Break the Ice... Classroom Edition! and a Few Re-Mades!

We had a board game day on the last day of school.  We played Dogopoly, Operation, Sorry, Battleship, and loads more.

One of my sweeties brought in the old game "Don't Break the Ice" and it was the hit of our 3rd grade classroom!  Everyone wanted to play... there was seriously a line to play this game.

It got me thinking about how I could use it in my classroom and this was born...

Don't Break the Ice: Classroom Edition!

You need... 1 "Don't Break the Ice" game, mailing labels, and Modge Podge.  I printed the numbers 1-20 (for our number of spelling words) on clear mailing labels as well as 4 "You Choose".

I printed two numbers per label and then cut them to be about 1"x1".  Then stuck and Modge Podged them on to the ice blocks.

You have to be careful because, the first one I did, I put too much Modge Podge on and the ink smeared off.

Then, I let them dry and... voila!

There are 32 ice block (I think!) and I put something on 24 of them.  So, it's an instant, fun word work activity.

I'm going to have it be independent, just because I don't allow kids to do word work together (Do you?  Should I change that?!).  The student will set up the game, use the mallet to hit out blocks of ice, and must look at their spelling list and spell whichever spelling word number matches the number on the block or blocks that fall.  "You Choose!" means the student can choose any word that is tricky to spell.

I'm thinking this would be great for math facts, sight words, vocabulary, put pictures on there and student identify beginning/middle/ending sounds or syllables or identify sounds, put prefixes and suffixes on and have students give words containing those prefixes and suffixes... so many things!

Here are some other things I've (re)made this week... four of my math centers got a graphics/font/and Common Core overhaul!

A few files have gotten Common Core Alignment Updates and some major updating of fonts, graphics, etc... These make me miss teaching math!  They're so fun! If you've purchased any of these, please re-download!  The tally one got TWO new activities including a classroom hunt!

Number Sense Math Workstation pack on TpT

2-D Shapes Math Workstation pack on TpT

Telling Time Math Workstation pack on TpT

Totally Tally Marks Math Workstation pack on TpT

You can click the Monday Made-It pic up above to check out what everyone else is doing too!

And... a newbie!

I just finished a CCSS aligned narrative writing pack!  We used these ideas when we did narratives in the spring and now I can finally share it with you too!

Narratives are Sweet! on TpT

Phew!  Another giveaway is coming tomorrow!

I got this box in the mail from my friends at Barker Creek Publishing and I'm going to show you what's inside AND let you win one too... starting tomorrow!  If you are an ELA geek like me, you're gonna want to see what's in there!

 

Our Favorite (Free!) Word Work Activity

It just occurred to me today that I should share my students' favorite word work activity.  It's virtually free... you just need space and dry erase markers... and they L-O-V-E it!

My kiddos scramble to be the first to the window during Daily Five so they can write their spelling words!  It just takes a dry erase marker, which I keep hung next to the window in a magnetic basket.

Fun, free, and different... we're on our 26th spelling list of the year and they are STILL excited about writing their words on the window!

What are your kids' favorite ways to practice their spelling words?  I'd love to hear from you!

Guest Blogger- Jen with an AMAZING DIY Project for Word Work Fun!

Thanks so much, Jen, for covering for me while I'm in Boston!  I am SO happy to have Jen here to share this AWESOME project with ya'll!  I've been wanting to make these for a while so I'm thrilled to have Jen posting about it here!

Hi, y'all!  I'm Jen from Hello Mrs Sykes, and I'll be sharing how to use colored rice to make word work fun.



Why colored rice?  It's fun!  So often we forget to make things hands-on for our upper elementary students. Colored rice is great for tactile learners and much easier to clean up than sand.  In the past, I've used colored rice in baby wipe containers (easy storage) for younger students to practice writing letters or words in the rice.  They love the feel of the rice, and if some falls on the floor, they use the whisk broom and sweep it up in a jiffy.  With my older learners, I use colored rice to make word work fun with Shake It Up!



Colored rice is also cheap.  You can make a ton at a time, and it just needs to dry for a day or two before you are ready to go.  It stores easily in zip-lock bags, and can be color-coordinated.

Let's get started!  To make colored rice you'll need: Ziplock bags, food coloring, rubbing alcohol, uncooked white rice, and paper towels or newspaper to lay the rice to dry.

In a Ziplock bag, add several drop of food coloring and 1/2 teaspoon rubbing alcohol.  Add 1 cup of uncooked white rice and close the bag.  Shake the bag until the rice is evenly colored.  If needed, add another drop or 2 of food coloring.

Don't forget your little helpers!  Here's my littlest helper with a cheesy smile...

Pour each bag onto a paper-towel lined pan and let dry for a day or two.

Store the rice in Zip-lock bags until you are ready to use them.  Easy peasy!


If you'd like to use the rice to make Shake it Up, you'll need: a dry water bottle with  cap, colored rice, and the words or letters you are going to have the kiddos search for.  I also include a tag reminding them what they are looking for.  If you want a copy of the words I used, see the link at the bottom of the post.

I like to include a few little beads and erasers for added interest...

Add these to the bottle with the words...

No funnel, no problem... use scissors to cut a corner of your zip lock bag, and you can easily get the rice in the bottle.

 Add the tag, and Shake It Up!

If you want a copy of the Shake It Up! game, it is included in the free preview for one of my newer products.  Use the free preview in your class to Shake It Up!


Thanks for letting me ramble for a bit on Christina's blog!!  Enjoy!

Word Work Station- Picture and Explanation

Happy Sunday! I report back to school tomorrow for a meeting and then have a conference by Robert Marzano's group on Thursday and Friday on standards based reporting... I am ready to get back into "school mode" and really excited to see my teacher friends this week! We don't officially report back until the 29th to start a week of PD and then school's back in session on September 6!

Anyway, I have received a few e-mails lately about "Word Work" (or "Work on Words") and thought I would share how that looks in my classroom on my blog.

You know I use the Daily Five for my reading workshop structure in my classroom and "Word Work" is one of the stations my kiddos visit each week.

My kiddos have to complete 2 "Word Work" activities a week and choose an activity that allows them to practice their spelling words first before they do one of their other choices.

I have a small "cubby" bookshelf from Lakeshore Learning to store my "Word Work" stuff in. It has 20 bins and I have about 20 activities for them to choose from... it sounds like a lot, but not all of them are spelling word related so there are some things they can do when they finish practicing their spelling words.


If you click here you can view a list of all of the activities with a brief explanation. And if you keep reading this post, I'm going to tell you about some of my kiddos' favorites!

Top 5 Word Work picks in Mrs. Bainbridge's Class
5.) This one isn't on the list above... my kiddos go to ABCya.com and use the paint program to design their words.
4.) They loooove to do "Funky Words". I bought a bag of cardstock tiles that are very colorful and in many different fonts. The kids use the fonts to lay out the words. I like this because it helps them develop a general awareness about the "look" of letters. Sometimes they struggle to read a word if the font is unfamiliar because they don't recognize the letters... this gives them exposure to different styles of letters.
3.) "Twisty Words" is one I see them choosing often. They use Wikki Sticks or pipe cleaners to shape out their words.
2.) This one isn't on the list either (I really need to update that list!). They use their fingers to spell their words in a box of sand. I, in a fit of spending, paid waaaay too much money for four little boxes with sand inside of them so my kids could do this activity. Another teacher at my school got some free sand from her home and put it inside pencil boxes that she paid $0.50 for at Wal-Mart!

And... the top favorite activity my students choose at "Word Work" is...

1.) RAINBOW WORDS!!!!! My students use a black permanent marker to write their spelling words on a piece of scrap paper and then use Dot Markers to place a colored dot on each letter.

My kids don't turn in anything from "Word Work". I like them to have time for self-discovery of spelling rules and to get to do something tactile with their words. When they have completed the activity with their spelling words, they can continue it with vocabulary words or sight words or they can get a different activity. I have syllable games, sight word activities, and lots of "Hot Dots" pen and flashcard sets.

I would love to hear any suggestions on how you all make "Word Work" meaningful for your students and also how you keep your kids accountable for this time!