Items filtered by date: January 2012

60 pages. Common Core State Standard RF:K1d and L.1.1a These goofy feather brains are all the rage, so why not capitalize on your students' enthusiasm to help teach some skills. Here are some games and activities all help with an Angry Bird theme sur

Angry Birds Activities

Are your children/students crazy over the game Angry Birds?

Sometimes you can harness that enthusiasm and have it overflow into school lessons, by incorporating those goofy characters into their skill sheets and activities.

I remember when Pokemon was all the rage.  My second graders were so addicted, that the principal had to put a ban on card collecting at recess.

To motivate them to study spelling, I drew the characters on their spelling lists and gave bookmarks to anyone who got a 100 on their test.

I couldn’t believe how they improved.

I was reading another teacher’s blog yesterday and a kindergarten teacher was asking others if they had any ideas for letter and number help with an Angry Bird theme, as one of her struggling students really enjoyed the game.

Even my 4-year-old grandson loves to play it.  I thought why not design some activities that will hopefully help this child, as well as others who might also enjoy those crazy little birds and that adorable pig.

Thanks to the free clipart of Melysa Gonzalez at squidoo.com’s party ideas, I was able to make traceable upper and lowercase alphabet cards, as well as number cards. These make great Itty Bitty booklets as well as games.

Make the alphabet cards into Memory Match games, or pass a card out to students and play “I Have-Who Has?”

Sprinkle them on the floor and have students who have an uppercase letter find their lowercase partner.

Play with a partner and put the cards in alphabetical order.  See which team does it the quickest.

Make a bird bag like the one pictured at Squidoo. 

 The template for the bags and the balloons pictured below are at this link. Angry Birds bags & balloon patterns.

Students reach in and pull out a card and identify it.  If they do, they stay in the circle, if they can’t, they are out of the game.

Make the game even more exciting by playing Kaboom.

Pass around the Angry Birds bag.  Instead of showing their card as they choose it, students keep their card a secret.

Teacher chooses a student to start the game.  They show and identify  their card and then call on someone.

That person shows and identifies their card.  If it is a red-bird Kaboom card, they are both out, and everyone yells KABOOM!

Another really fun whole-group game is “SWAT!”  The Dollar Store is currently selling two fly swatters for a dollar. Ironically they are lime green and yellow!

Make 2 balloon birds and tape them to the top of each one of the flyswatters.

Print off my piggy alphabet cards and sprinkle them on the floor face up.

Choose 2 children who have 30 - 60 seconds to swat piggy cards with their angry bird swatters.

Teacher calls out the letter that they should swat. The first bird to swat the card gets the point.

If they don’t slap the correct piggy their turn ends.   I’ve designed "Super Swatter" certificates of praise for the "slap happy' students who participated.

Dabble with Dawn's blog inspired my next game idea. 

She had an Angry Bird birthday party for her son.  Click on the link to view her creative ideas.

Make a Dixie cup tower like Dawn did in this photo, only make one with 26 cups; one for each letter of the alphabet.

Print my piggy letter cards and tape one around each cup.

Give students a small red rubber ball that you have drawn bird features on.

Each child gets one chance to toss the ball at the piggy letter-cup tower.

Children get to score a point for whatever pig letter cups that topple, but only if  they can identify the letter on the cup.

The student with the most points wins the game.

My Y5’s always enjoyed wearing masks, and it truly helped the shyer students come out of their shells, so I designed an Angry Bird “I Spy!” mask for more fun activities.

Run off the bird mask on red, yellow, white, black, and blue construction paper. These are the colors of the Angry Birds.

Students choose a color and cut  out their bird.  You can add that bit of extra pizzazz by adding a feather to the top with a glue dot.

To expedite things, run off and pre-cut the beaks using yellow construction paper.

Students glue their beaks on.

Little ones will need help cutting  the eyeholes.  Tape a Popsicle to the bottom.

Students can now go around the room spying letters and numbers “tweeting” out their success when they find something starting with the letter A, or actually see that letter etc.

Dawn also made a cute piggy mask out of a paper plate.

You can do these same “I Spy” games by making my piggy magnifying glass. Have students use it when they are reading.

Being able to catch and toss a beanbag is a Y5 report card standard, so I designed this activity:

Section off a lime green sheet of tag board into 26 squares.

Write a letter of the alphabet in each square.  Buy a slingshot at The Dollar Store or a novelty shop.

Give each child a chance to sling a red, yellow, blue, or black beanbag onto the tag board.   You can easily make a beanbag by sewing up squares of felt and filling them with rice.

To make the game more Angry Bird appropriate, draw a bird face onto the beanbags, and draw piggy faces in the corner of each square on the tag board.

Whatever letter their beanbag bird lands on, the student identifies.  If they can’t, they are out of the game.

You could also put the Dixie cup letters on the tag board and see how many pig letter cups their beanbag bird knocks down.

Students accumulate points by how many letters they can identify.

After playing games, reward students with pencils topped with an Angry Bird or a piggy.  Add a colored feather to the birds for that finishing touch.

The piggy and bird number and letter sliders are also a fun way to spy and review numbers and letters.

I’ve also included 7 Angry Bird skill sheets including 3 “I Spy” tabletop skill sheets.  Teacher starts by calling out a letter/number.

Students trace the piggy letter/number with a green marker or crayon.  The first child with their hand raised gets to spy the next letter/number ‘til everyone has had a turn.

Finally, I created Piggy Puzzles as a fun way to reinforce upper and lowercase letter recognition and matching. 

Students match the uppercase letter helmet to the lowercase letter pig. Run off my templates on lime green construction paper, laminate and cut the pieces apart. 

This is a fun way to partner children for a game or activity too!

As an incentive, I’ve created Angry Birds certificates of praise + students can keep track of which letters they know by tracing them on their Angry Birds' Letter Logs.

Parents can use playing the real game as an incentive for learning as well.  For each letter/number recognized, their child earns a minute of time on the computer.

Click on the link to view/download the 60-page Angry Birds Learning Activities

If you're looking for some coloring pages, click on the links. Angry Bird Coloring page 1.  Angry Bird Coloring page 2.

I hope these activities are fun for your students and help them blast through those learning blockades!

Be sure and pop back tomorrow for more fun tips!

12 pages. Common Core State Standard RF:K1d and L.1.1a Students mend the broken hearts by matching the uppercase letters with the lowercase ones. This is a great way to choose a partner for a game or lesson as well. Play "I Have-Who Has? or Memory

First Aid For the Alphabet!

 Are some of your students still struggling with a few of their letters?

Is identifying body parts a problem for some of your little ones too?  It’s a Y5 report card standard that some struggle with.

Boo-Boo Alphabet to the rescue!

This is a fun ABC booklet that I made out of Band-Aids!

Students trace the various words that start with that letter of the alphabet.

For added fine motor fun, make a trip to The Dollar Store, buy a few boxes of Band-Aids and have your students design their own boo-boo initial.

You could also make a boo-boo number line.  It’s currently on my long “To Do” list!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, have students cut a heart on the fold, tear it in half and then “mend” it with a Band-Aid.

Get the “wiggles” out by doing the Band-Aid Pokey with their hearts or Band-Aid initials.  Click on the link to view/print the Band-Aid Pokey.

You can also review and whole-group assess their body parts, by having students place their heart/Band-Aid initial on various parts of their body.

Reveiw spatial directions as well.  Have students place their Band-Aid behind, above, between, on, beside, to the left, to the right, under etc.

Click on the link to view/download The Band-Aid Alphabet Book

I hope this little booklet is the first aid that does the trick in getting your students over that learning hump!

You might find these Animal ABC cards helpful as well.  There are two different sets.

Print off a double set of each one; laminate them and make Memory Match games, or run off copies so that your students can make Itty Bitty Booklets that they will enjoy sequencing and sharing with their families.

You can also play: "I Have, Who Has?" with your students. 

You hold a letter card and show it to your students and then ask for a letter.  The child holding the "asked for" card shows that letter and then asks for another card, until you have gone through all the letters of the alphabet. 

This is a quick, easy and fun way to review letters that your little ones will enjoy. 

Click on the links to view/download the neon animal alphabet cards and/or the realistic animal alphabet cards.

Don't Break My Heart by not knowing your letters, is perfect for February too!

Sprinkle the puzzle hearts on the floor to match the number of students you have in class for the day. 

Students with the uppercase letter find the matching lowercase letter to mend their "broken heart."

This is a great way to partner off students for a game or lesson. 

You can also play Memory Match and I Have-Who Has? with these cards as well.  Run off a set for struggling students to take home to play with their families.

Click on the link to view/download Mend My Heart ABC Matching game.

Do you have a teaching tip you could share with us?  I'd enjoy hearing from you: diane@teachwithme.com OR... feel free to leave a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas.  I so enjoy and appreciate feedback.  Thanks in advance and...

please pop in tomorrow for more fun ideas!

3 pages. Make a duplicate set, laminate and make into a Memory Match game. Make copies and have students make Itty Bitty booklets that they will enjoy sequencing and sharing with their families.

14 pages. Sign language is a great fine motor skill to teach young children. Students will enjoy making an alphabet book as well as learning how to spell their name and making a matching booklet too.

3 pages. 26 uppercase letter animal alphabet cards. Make double sets and laminate for a Memory Match game. Run off for students to sequence and make Itty Bitty booklets to take home and share with their families.

I'm Wild About You!

I love zebra’s; they are fun to draw and easily recognizable by little ones, who seem to quickly associate them with the letter Z

I was in Big Lots the other day and picked up some things for my poodle pup Chloe.

Do you know they have designer doo-doo bags for dogs?

Well the nice thing about that, is they are sturdy, come in packs of 60 to 100 for around $3.

This is way less expensive than the designer treat bags for kids, that are smaller, flimsier, and come in packs of 12 – 18, which forces teachers and parents to buy multiple packs.

Now if you can just get past the idea of what their initial purpose is for, you’ll be fine.

Anyway…I bought some with a zebra print, because I wanted to make some “Wild about you” valentines and well…you be the judge, I think they turned out really cute.

It seems that animal prints are quite the rage, as you can buy zebra, leopard and giraffe prints in scrap paper as well as tissue paper. Give students several options for an extra wild February bulletin board, then send the valentines home on party day.

I also made a copy of my doo-doo bag for you to print off, in case you can’t find anything, but I really like the see-through affect that the bag or tissue make.

Run off my heart template on red construction paper and fold.

Remind students to keep their paper folded and cut on the lines. Tell them that if they listen and follow directions they will come up with a special “February shape”.

Your students can make these as a special valentine for their family and/or you can surprise them with a treat bag and use the “Wild about you.” as a hangtag.

Click on the link to view/download the Wild About You Valentine.

Follow this activity up by singing my Z-E-B-R-A song to the tune of Bingo. Click on the link to view/download my Bingo song cards. 

They are a great way to teach clap patterns, letters, spelling and simple subtraction! I have one for each month which will review every letter of the alphabet except X.  The H-E-A-R-T one is a February favorite.

Students can also color this adorable letter Z or turn it into a pinch and poke or dot-to-dot.

Click on the link for the Zebra Z or education.com's entire animal alphabet. It's a terrific site for kids.

Whatever you’re planning for Valentine’s Day, I hope you have a wildly wonderful time!

Do you have any ideas you'd like to share with us?  I'd really enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com OR... feel free to leave a comment, especially if you use an activity.  Thanks in advance.

Be sure and gallop on over tomorrow for some more fun!

I'm So Glad You Swim In My School!

I really enjoy my Y5’s exclamations of surprise, when they listen and follow directions, keeping their papers folded and cut on the lines. 

I don’t tell students that they are going to make a heart, I inform them that they will be making a special “February shape” then let it be a “surprise”.

They are amazed when they open their papers to see a heart, and can’t wait to cut the rest of their fish parts out. This is a great opportunity to review symmetry with your students too.

Show a finished sample to your students so they know how to glue Lovie together.

You can add a wiggle eye and even some glitter for that extra bit of pizzazz.

I ran mine through a crinkle press that my students fondly call Mr. Cruncher Muncher.

Turning the crank is a great fine motor skill for them. 

It’s one of my favorite “must have” classroom tools and sells for $18.  Buy it with a half-off coupon for any of the major craft stores.  It's perfect to add that finishing touch to any Ellison die-cut and adds pizzazz to patterning. 

Reading the original Rainbow Fish story, is a nice follow up activity. 

Because the Rainbow Fish stories are a fun favorite for Y5's, giving students a color choice for their Lovie heart fish, is nice and makes for a more dramatic and colorful bulletin board. 

Even though they are board books, the Rainbow Fish Colors, Counting, and ABC books, are a great review and popular with little ones too.

Captions:

“We LOVE swimming in our school!”

Include a student’s photo on each fish.

You could glue their pix on an aluminum foil heart or sparkly piece of scrapbook paper, in keeping with the Rainbow Fish's “scale” idea.

Only glue the pointy tip to the middle of the fish so that the fin pops out for a 3-D effect.

 OR… another caption could be:

We’re Fishing For Facts! Turn the fact b. board into a writing prompt.

Have the students write 3-5 facts about themselves, a topic you’re studying, or do some math equations.

Use a separate sheet of paper, or write on the backs of the fish and suspend them from fish line in front of the board.

Click on the link to view/download Lovie, the Valentine-Heart Fish

After your students complete Lovie, have them transition to a game and play: Fishing For Facts with Goldfish crackers!

Younger students roll one dice and cover numbers 1-6, older students write out equations and cover goldfish 2-12.  The child to cover all of their fish first, wins the game.  Combine snack and math for extra timesaving learning fun!

Click on the link to view/download the Fishing For Facts games, which include number and number word flashcards + several skill sheets.

Fitting right in with my valentine fish-theme are these cute Valentine treats. Click on the link to zoom over to Juliann's site for more creative ideas. 

 Do you have any ideas you’d like to share with us?  I’d enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com or feel free to post a comment here.

They are very much appreciated, especially if you use an idea.  Thanks in advance.

Since Valentine's Day is coming up fast,  I wrote another article with a quick and easy valentine.  Scroll down for the "I'm Wild About You!"valentine.