Since it is beautiful and warm here in Australia today, I have been inspired to write about some of my favorite ocean activities. In Prep/1 (aka Kindergarten and 1st Grade) we did a huge “Under the Sea” unit. And with all units, the aim was to integrate as much math, literacy, science, and FUN into […]
We are studying measurement this term. My students have loved exploring different types of measurements, include length, mass, volume, and area. We have done lots of exploration with non-standard measurements using objects such as cubes. This week we moved on to using standard measurements. I began this lesson by asking the kids to tell me […]
I am gearing up to start my second year teaching in Australia, and phonics is the discussion du jour. We used the Soundwaves program to teach letter sounds and spelling in the past (for me only one year, but others used it for several), and we have decided to look for something new. Of course, […]
Last year my students had a great time playing a pumpkin concentration game in October. I copied the cards on to orange card stock and had kids work in pairs to cut them out. They were essentially prepping their own set of cards to play with. The cards I had at the time were also […]
One of our social studies objectives is for the kids to understand the passage of time, and how this is reflected through life events. We usually accomplish this both through daily calendar activities and investigations of timelines. One thing that has made a huge impact in terms of helping my students understand timelines is our […]
One of our current math objectives is for kids to be able to recognize and name common 3D objects, and for them to be able to relate them to everyday objects. My kids are getting pretty good at this after a variety of activities. I want to share about what we did today. About once […]
This year I learned about one of the most fantastic technology resources I have used in ages – Kidblog! Kidblog.org is a secure blogging service designed specifically for teachers and students. It allows teachers to create a classroom network of student blogs. Students can write their own blogs, read their classmates’ blogs, and write and […]
We are working on our “small moments” writing unit right now. We have done some extensive work with writing personal narratives (stories about our own lives.) At this time of year the focus is on getting kids to “zoom in” on really interesting moments in their lives, and then share rich details about those moments. […]
By this time in kindergarten, my readers have come so far! While they are, of course, each on their own journey as readers, I am seeing them choose and read books independently, talk about books with partners, ask deep and interesting questions, and solve difficult words in books! This is all wonderfully exciting, as I […]
** Post Edited!! I have now created all of the signs and forms needed to play this game at a wide variety of levels! You can work on number identification, place value, patterns on the hundreds chart, addition, subtraction, and measurement. This pack has signs you can print as well as a complete set that […]
