Phoneme Isolation Activities: Beginning, Middle and Ending Sounds

This packet includes six lessons to help students understand the concept of phoneme isolation and fulfill Common Core Standard RF.K.2d.

Contents Include:

Beginning Sound Bingo

The Leaf Pile

Making Friends

At the End

World Friends

Catch of the Day

Old Time School

Here are a few old schoolhouses that we drove by this summer on one of our road trips. I can't help but think that school must have been a lot simpler then. Children were taught at their developmental levels and no high stakes testing, CHEER!

But, on the downside. Didn't the teacher have to arrive early and make the fire? Weren't the wages about $12.00 a month? Didn't the teacher have to care for all of the schools' maintenance? Didn't the teacher have to haul in the water? And, on and on.

Hum. maybe the old days weren't that glorious after all. But, I do love to stop and take a photo each time I see one of these one room wonders and dream of what life was like for the teacher and student's inside.

Remembrance of Sandy Hook

As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School. We honor them each day in our classrooms in which we continue their dream of teaching our children. We honor their memory with our service. Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook.

The Elf Door

On Monday when we arrive at school, a little door had attached itself to the wall, right next to the 100 chart. For a full day we just wondered about the door. The next day, there was a note above the door. "Dear Boys and Girls: We are some little elves that have built this door in your classroom. It takes us directly from our home in the North Pole to your classroom. Don't worry though, you will never see us, because we are too smart for that."

Each day the elves have continued to leave us notes. Some are reminders about our classroom rules. Some are observations about activities in our classroom, and some are even a little mischievous.

Today during our "Friday Free Choice" time, The elves had lots of company!

The "Elf Door" is a great alternative to "Elf on a Shelf." I have done both and I way prefer the door as it provides endless opportunity for imagination, creativity, and play.

Elves Common Core Thematic Unit

Elves and More Elves is a 110 page thematic unit that is strategically aligned to the Common Core Standards. Contents Include:

Shared Reading Activities:

The Elves and The Shoemaker: Retelling Story and Story Cards, Thinking Map, Story Element Page, Venn Diagram

The Little Elves Poem: Five Day Activity Plan

Literacy Lessons With Independent Options:

Back to the Pole: Blending and Segmenting

The Elf Dance: Alphabet Fluency or High Frequency Word Fluency

Santa’s List: Reading Nonsense Words or Naming Sounds

Elf Inventory: Writing Letters for Sounds or Spelling Words

Independent Activities: 

Elf Hunt: Finding Letters in Alphabetical Order

My Little Alphabet Book: Matching Upper and Lowercase Letters

Scripted Math Lessons With Independent Options:

Elf Convention: Counting Forward From Numbers Other Than One.

Elf Roll Call: Adding a Number to Make Ten

The Elves’ Tree: Matching Quantity to Numbers

Independent Activities: 

Find the Elves: Writing Numbers

The Elf Friends: Comparing Written Numerals

Packing Presents: Ways to Make 10

Social Studies

Kindness Elf Activities

Guided Reading Books

The Little Elves

Writing

I Can:

Write A Story

Make A Card

Write A List

Write A Letter

Art

Elf Painting

Poetry

Santa’s Elves

The Friendly Elves

Christmas Units for Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st Grades

Look for some great December Units and Homework Packets while still teaching Common Core Standards? Check out our great teaching products that are time tested, effective, and just plain fun!

Speaking and Listening For Early Learners

Great for Preschoolers. Great for Kindergartners, Great for Second Language Learners, Great for Homeschoolers!

This unit, Speech and Language for the Early Learner provides lessons and activities for the Common Core Standards ELA Literacy. SL.K.1-6. 

Activities include:

Taking Turns: Participating in conversation

The Lost Ball: Understanding text

Silly Jill: Understanding text

Follow My Directions: Confirming understanding by asking questions for clarification

Ask and Answer: Asking and answering questions

Describe Me: Describing familiar people, places and things

Adding Visual Detail: Providing detail using drawings or visual displays

Talk to Me: Expressive Speaking

Holidays Around the World

This is a great companion piece to our Christmas Around the World PreK-1 or Christmas Worldwide 1-3 units. Or, this unit will stand perfectly alone as your class explore cultures and diversity.

Literacy Lessons 
Eid: Reading Sight Words
Eid Variation: Reading Alphabet letters
Happy Kwanzaa: Reading Nonsense Words
Spin the Dreidel: Naming Alphabet Letters
Spin the Dreidel Variation: Decoding CVC Words
Follow the Lamps: Blending and Segmenting Words

Art Projects
Eid: Crescent Moon
Kwanzaa: Kinara
Hanukkah: Star of David
Hanukkah: My Menorah
Diwali: Rangoli

Songs/FingerplaysWriting

Scrapbook Pages:
Eid
Kwanzaa
Hanukkah
Diwali

Eid
Kwanzaa
The Dreidel Song
Diwali is Here

Assessment Probes made Easy

We use these great assessment tools as our mid-term and end of trimester benchmarks. They work great! Their validity and reliability are without question.

However we were looking for a product to use as probes between assessments to compliment the Dibels we currently use; as its narrow benchmark does not fully meet our needs.

And what did we find? The perfect benchmark assessment tool!

Check it out. Add promo code B7227 at check out to receive $40.00 off of the already low price.

Top 50 Early Childhood Education Blogs

Kindergarten Kiosk has been named as one of the 

"Top 50 Early Childhood Education Blogs!"

Click on the picture above to view the entire list. 

Bears in Kindergarten

We have been studying bears this week, and will continue into next week. Bears is a great unit to study fiction and non-fiction and make comparisons.

The non-fiction study easily lends itself to studying key details in text. The fiction study is a great way to make the elements of a story come alive!

Story Elements

Key Details in Text

Bringing Story Elements to Life

Lite Bright Letters

Do you have access to an old Lite Brite? 

These “vintage” toys can be a great tool for introducing or reviewing letters or sight words. Just lift the screen off the Lite Brite and put it on a desk or other flat surface. Next, place a black piece of construction paper on the screen. Write the desired letter(s) or sight word on the paper using a white crayon. Place the screen and black page back on the Lite Brite and turn it on. Instruct students to push in pegs only on the white lines - the hole placements will usually be apparent. Your students will enjoy this activity for days!

The Three Bears

Who doesn't love The Three Bears! This thematic includes fun and engaging common core based activities.

Contents include: 

Shared Reading Lessons

Three Brown Bears: Analyzing Directionality and Word Spelling
Story Element Cards: Analyzing Key Details

Literacy Lessons:
A Bowl of Porridge: Naming Letters (Alternate: Decoding Words)
Rhyming Friends: Matching Rhymes
Goldie Comes to Visit: Blending Phonemes into Words
Bear School: Speaking Complete Sentences

Math Lessons:

Bear Play: Decomposing Numbers less than 10
Porridge Yum Plus One: Adding one to create a sum that is one larger
Race in the Woods: Comparing Numbers
Sweet Baby Bear: Counting Forward

Independent Activities
Three Bear Number Hunt: Writing Numerals to match quantity.
Goldilocks Goes to School: Identifying quantity using Ten-Frames and writing numerals

Art Projects
Three Bear Construct
Goldilocks
Three Bear Puppets

Writing

Three Bear Word Wall
I Can Label It
I Can Write a Story
Writing Prompts: 
The Three Bears
Goldilocks

Social Studies

My Family: A Family Home-Connection Sheet

Guided Reading Books

The Three Bears (Two Levels)

Songs/Fingerplays
Goldilocks
Three Brown Bears

Bear Unit for Early Learners

We have a "Beary" Fun week in store!

Here are the jpgs.

Hopefully the links to google docs works below.

I have linked with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten as her Peek and my Week inspires all.

Kindergarten Halloween Play

Our Halloween Play was a great success!

Family Learning Night

Learning Nights are a great way to introduce your curriculum to your students’ parents. Your night can center around a theme...bears, Mother Goose, snowmen, dinosaurs, or Dr. Seuss to name a few. You can present a variety of subjects or highlight math, science or language arts. One or two classes can participate or you can turn the learning night into a school-wide event. Activities can be set up in classrooms, hallways, and/or the gymnasium.

An Alphabet Fair is an ideal learning night for kindergarten students. Give every game or activity an alphabet twist. Play Alphabet Bingo, ABC Ball Toss, Alphabet Beanbag Toss, ABC Bowling, and ABC Fishing. Adapt directions for a Cake Walk to be a Letter Walk. Decorate giant letters of the alphabet with markers, colors and even glitter. Use your alphabet materials from your classroom or give a classic game an alphabet twist! Check out our Alphabet Fair unit if you need additional games or activities.

The students love showing parents what they can do and parents enjoy seeing their kids in action! If you have room for the entire family, you’ll find that brothers and sisters enjoy participating, too. 

Make plans now for an Alphabet Fair or other Learning Night. It’s sure to be a hit!

Following are some of our great thematic units than can be just the jumping point to create a great night of learning.