Leaving Center Games at Your Tables for the Early Finishers!

Leaving Center Games at Your Tables for the Early Finishers!

Hello everyone,

Fern from Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas here again to share a little tip or two to help make your job easier. Today I want to share how leaving center games at each groups' tables helped me with those students that finish their work early and might need a challenge or two before the next transition. 

The picture above is one of my freebies from TPT, so you can download it too. I like making multiple copies of the center, placing them on colored file folders and then leaving them in the center of the group table. 

If, like above, you have a red group, a blue group and a purple group, etc. using your groups' colors for the file folder center makes it easier for the students to know where to return the center and easier for you to file them away, and take them out again when you want to spiral that skill.

By keeping the games at the table, there is no movement, no interruption of the teacher's small group time, no "Where do I go?" What do I do?" When the student is done working, they know to pick a center, usually one of five skills, from the center of the table. I do spend a few weeks at the beginning of the year teaching the expectations of the THOSE center games. 

1. All work MUST be done before you select a file folder.

2. Two people may work together if they are both done and use a low whisper.

3. Everything must be cleaned up and placed back into the file folder center before the next transition.

I love having all these hands-on center games in my classroom. During parent conferences, I love to show the parents of my higher level children what I'm doing to differentiate and motivate my earlier finishers. Right there...right on the table, sometimes having the parents ask the child if they've finished all the ones currently on the table....perfect, instant, immediate feedback for both the parent and the teacher!

If you are new to teaching, or maybe just to reading our Owl-Ways blog, and you need to acquire some center games, click here to see all my freebies at TeacherspayTeachers.

Click here if you would like to visit my blog to download many more center games and teaching resources!

Follow me to be notified of when I publish new resources and freebies!

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Hi!  This is Jenn from Teacher's Open House!

I know that it is the middle of September, but I know teachers like to look ahead.  So, I want to share my new Halloween packet with you!  I put a lot of work into it these past few weeks as we were waiting on therapists and doctors, so I hope you like it.  I even created some of the graphics!  There are 103 pages of fun in there!

My favorite activity is the Pseudo-Hangman games which I call 'Draw Me's'.  I never have liked the term 'hangman'...but anyway...kids can use definitions of vocabulary and the sizes of the letter boxes to try to figure out the word.  All you need is a Vis-a-Vis marker that can wipe off easily and wallah!  Instant fun. Answers are included!

Next, I included one of my Rainbow Paragraphs.  Sometimes I call them Rainbow Stories.  My kids LOVE these!  The 'lead' sentence and conclusion sentences are both done in black which leads to a discussion of which is which!  The other sentences have to be put together in the correct word order and then you just glue or tape them onto bulletin board paper or chart paper to show indentions, how to fill up a line with text, etc.  The 'guts' of the story are done in the colors of the rainbow so that the order of the sentences in the story is already known.  Last, you just include that conclusion sentence and you have a great little story!  LOVE these!

Here are the directions for the Rainbow Stories.

Here is an example of a page of the rainbow sentences.

I also included an inference matching game.  My kids have been working on inferencing so I thought they might enjoy these little riddles!

And of course...I can't do a packet without my sight word phrases.  Both of the sight word phrase matchables use Frye's List 1-5 (first 500 words) and I tried making the phrases longer or used multiple phrases to make them a little tougher.  One of the things I do is use a vis-a-vis marker to show the kids how the phrases work...I 'swoop' a line under the phrase and show them how to increase their fluency as they read.  I also use these as a way to have students write a complete sentence...they just fill in the missing info and write the sentence to include the phrase on the card.  You can also use the picture as a journal prompt.

 I just love these frames here...I had to use them!

If you want to start printing any of these activities, just click here and go grab it! Have a great week!

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What Is Our Global Position? {anchor chart and journal/notebook activity}

Hi, Owlies!  It's Dana from Prepping for the Primary 

Gridiron!  I wanted to share a global position activity 

I did with my kiddos.  I am hoping it can help yours 

just as much as it did mine!

Global position is one of our 1st grade Social 

Studies AKS.  It's always a tricky concept 

because of how abstract it is.

I decided to make something visual to try 

and help them better understand the size 

concepts of each location/position.

We started with this anchor chart:

We labeled it together using a 

PPT we had previously used.

Then it was their turn!  I printed out

the same type of circles (but small enough

for their journals).  They had to glue them

in their journals and then label them.  

Here are some pics of the finished product:

If you teach global position and think

this activity could help your kiddos,

you can snag it for free at my shop!

Click {HERE} to download it!

I hope it helps your kids get a better

understanding of global position!

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September Desktop Calendar

Hey hey! It’s Megan from I Teach. What’s Your Superpower? Happy fall, y’all!  That’s pushing it a little here in the Houston area.  Here’s our forecast for next week:

BUT, my little corner in the school is like the Arctic tundra, so I am definitely getting to layer up and play fall.  And that put me in the mood to make something beautiful and fallish.

There’s something about sitting down at the computer after a day of insanity and seeing something pretty waiting there to greet you.  It doesn’t make the crazy go away, but it does make me feel a better about it.

Here’s a little September beauty for your computer screen that I hope will give you a little peace in the middle of this wild and crazy back to school time!

These beautiful graphics are from Fishscraps.  You can visit her Etsy shop to see more of her art work.  When it’s this pretty, I don’t think you can call it clipart.

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