New Product!

I don't know about you, but it seems like I am always trying to get my first graders to strengthen their sentence-writing skills!  We work on sentence editing a lot, but in addition, I require them to practice writing their own sentences once a week.  I have them practice during our Phonics instruction.  Most days, we play a Phonics game and/or do some sort of word attack activity with the word chunks we're learning, but I always devote one day to sentence writing practice!  My favorite activity to use for this are my "Cut, Glue, and Write" sentence writing packs.  Here's how they work:  Choose a specific word chunk or vowel that you are working on.  Print the page{s} to go with it.  Students will select three words/pictures to cut and glue onto their papers.  They will then use the words to write sentences, with the provided sentence rubric as their guide.  I like these because you're getting two for one: kids are decoding words with chunks we are working on in Phonics AND they are practicing sentence structure.  Win-Win!

So far, I have blends/digraphs, magic e, bossy-r, and vowel teams created.  Each blend/digraph/vowel team has more than one page to go with it, which is nice if you want/need to do this activity more than once with the same blend/digraph/vowel team.

Coming soon is short vowels.  I've created a growing bundle for you if you'd like to save money! Check them out below!  What do you do to help your kids practice sentence writing?

SAVE THAT MONEY!  BUNDLE PRICE WILL INCREASE WITH OTHER TWO PACKS ARE ADDED, WHICH WILL BE SOON!!!

xo
Megan

NEW Word Work Activities

I love magnetic letter centers.  They are novelty and they require minimal prep!  This is especially helpful for my sanity during the beginning and end of the year!  I created a few new phonics magnetic letter mats for students to use during literacy centers, guided reading, or as early finisher activities.  So far, I have mats for: blends, cvc words, magic e, and vowel teams.  I also have sight words but they have been in my store for several years.  What I love about my new phonics mats is the fact that they are differentiated!  Below grade level and/or on grade level students can work on adding just the missing blend/vowel team/vowel & magic e while advanced students can work on spelling the whole word.  I also included both color AND black and white versions of all mats, just in case colored ink is not an option for you.  These mats are a great investment to have on hand! Take a look below!

What other mats would you like to see?

xo

Megan 

Vowel Teams

It's that time of year!  We are knee-deep in vowel teams.  If you saw my post from earlier in the week, you saw that I typically teach vowel teams in late January/early February.  So far we have learned:  ee/ea/y as e, ay/ai, ow/oa.  Next week we will move on to ui/ew followed by igh/y as i.

We always begin each week brainstorming words for our 3-way sort.  The kids come up with words that they hear "the sounds in."  We do this together and then the kids use a matching recording sheet.

As the week progresses on, we practice our words with our dry erase boards and play games.  I try not to do too many worksheets...I am all about a good game.   I'm anxious to get all vowel teams introduced so we can play Vowel Team Jeopardy!

In addition to our daily practice/games, we also have a poem that matches one of the vowel teams we are learning each week.

Having daily practice and a routine always helps my kids become secure with long vowels and vowel teams.  To see any of the activities shown above, check out the following:

xo
Megan

Vowel Teams

A few weeks ago, I introduced vowel teams to my kids!  They were definitely ready, as the books they are reading are now harder to decode!  I always start out my unit with this Between the Lions video clip, "When Two Vowels Go Walking."  The kids think it's hilarious!  It really does help the concept stick in their heads!   I introduce vowel teams by the sounds they make.  I began with ai, ay, and an a_e review.  When introducing them, I teach my kids a song that I wrote about them.  On the first day, we brainstorm words and write them in a 3-way sort.  We then read a poem and some word cards of our vowel teams.

As the week progresses, we read a poem that has the same vowel team{s} in it, do some writing, work on our slates, and play some games.  We end the week with our Spelling test, which is composed of the word patterns we've studied all week.  We also end with "Open Mic Friday."  

I use everything included in my "Long Vowel and Vowel Team Phonics Mega-Pack" as well as the vowel team activities/cards from my "Chunking Words Phonics Pack."

xo
Megan

Long Vowels and Vowel Teams!!

We've been working hard learning the long vowel/vowel team spelling patterns in my first grade classroom!  Next week, I want to really spend some time reviewing them.  I created my "Long Vowel and Vowel Teams Mega-Pack" to do just that.  This set is loaded with engaging and hands-on activities and games that will keep your early learners busy learning!  My kids are LOVING it!  Please click the picture to check it out!

xo
Megan