1-2-3 Come Do Some More Spider Stuff With Me!

The spider shape activities are popular downloads, so I decided to do a few more spider-themed things.  All of these lessons will help your kiddo's practice upper and lowercase letters.  (To see the spider shape activities, scroll down for that blog article.)

Since the apple and pumpin clothespin "craftivities" were also very popular, I thought it would be fun to design a spider one too.  I named him Alphie.  Use my patterns to make templates; and then trace, cut and glue your spider together.  I added wiggle eyes and black pipe cleaner legs for that extra pizzazz. 

So that students can self-check, I've included a spider ABC chart.  For more letter practice, I designed a match the uppercase letter to the lowercase letter worksheet as well.

Alphie makes a wonderful independent center, or something for early-finishers to do.   You may want to make a few extra spiders to send home with children who are struggling.  I've included a note home, + a reminder note incase a family "forgets" to send Alphie back.  Click on the link to view/download the spider alphabet matching game.

I had a request for some spider alphabet cards.  If you collect ABC cards so you can change them each month, I have lots of themes available, and am always open to any requests visitors have for others. (diane@teachwithme.com). 

I've also included a BLANK color, as well as a black and white set of cards, for you to program with whatever + a 3-page tip sheet of ideas for games and other activities that you can do with the cards.   Click on the link to view/download the spider alphabet cards.

Because assessing can be overwhelming for little ones, I like to dream up fun ways I can do that.  Assessing is time consuming too, so I did a lot of whole-group assessment to weed out the strugglers.  

Playing "I Spy" is a fun game that enables you to see at a glance who is having difficulty.  I designed a spider upper and lowercase letter bookmark that's perfect for an "I Spy" game. 

Run off the spider bookmarks and give each child a spider ring or piece of candy corn to use as a manipulative.  Whenever I'm using candy as a marker, I always allow students to eat one at the beginning of the activity. 

It saves a lot of time reminding students that they cannot eat the candy 'til the game is done, and helps them enjoy the game and stay focussed better. 

The teacher starts by calling out a letter, children move their marker to that letter and raise their hand to signal that they have "spied" it.  The teacher then calls on a child to choose the next letter.  Play continues 'til all of the letters are called.  If you don't want to reuse the bookmarks each year, students can also circle the letters and then take their bookmarks home.  

If you are doing an individual assessment, circle the letters the student does not know, write a note on the back asking parents to work on those letters and send it home with the child.  There are also 6 alphabet worksheets for even more practice.  Click on the link to view/download the spider alphabet activities.

Finally, if you're looking for a bit more, you may enjoy an older Spider packet that has a few alphabet activities in it, as well as lots of math fun.  My kiddos especially enjoyed working with the paper flies and spider web sorting mats. 

If you want to see all of the other spider freebies I offer, click on the link.

Thanks for visiting today.  I hope you found something you can use for your spider studies.  I'm off to check the basement after a ton of rain.  Hopefully there are no disasterous puddles down there, or spiders for that matter. :-)

"Children don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Make A Puppy Pal With Me

This puppy "craftivity" is really versatile. 

You can use the slider template and review upper or lowercase letters, 2D flat shapes, counting to 30, or skip counting by 2's, 3's 5's, or 10's, by cutting slits and inserting the appropriate strip of paper (slider).

These make a nice end-of-the-year activity, to send home with students as a fun way to review and practice over the summer, so they don't forget what they've learned.

Likewise, they are a terrific way to introduce your new students to these concepts at the beginning of the year as well.

Sliders are an easy way to whole-group assess and a fun way to review standards via playing "I spy" games.

Children can also make a keepsake card for Father's Day or Mother's Day, or to give to anyone else, by simply writing the recipient's name on the bone.

What makes this puppy extra special, is that you trace a student's foot with their shoe on, to make the puppy's ears.

Add a school photo for even more pizzazz.

I made the card on the right for my daughter, from baby Kaiden.

Finally, you can also use the Puppy Pal as a topper for a variety of writing prompts.

I've made writing prompt "bones" for the beginning of the year as well as the end. i.e. "I'll have a dog-gone great school year because ..." or I had a dog-gone good school year because..."

Click on the link to view/download the Puppy Pal Writing Prompt Card

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything that you think others may find helpful.

"The best teachers teach from the heart, not the book." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Review Upper and Lowercase Letters With Me!

I liked to make up a summer fun packet for my students to take home at the end of the year.  It was a nice review of everything we had learned.

This packet was also handy for parents to have their child work on, if they complained of being bored, or an easy thing to give children when they wanted to play "school," while on vacation.

I designed this KnOWLedge Owl "craftivity" with that in mind. You could also make it at the beginning of the year, so that students can practice their letters, with their families at home.

Here's How To Make Them:

 Run off masters on a variety of construction paper. I chose funky color combinations, but you could also do more realistic owls in various shades of brown.

 Rough cut so that students can get their pieces and trim.

 You may want a room helper to cut the beaks and feet, just to expedite things.

 If you’re having someone cut these for you, it’s easier to trace a template on an old file folder. The helper traces once and then cuts 3-6 at a time.

 Pre-cut long envelopes so that students have a pocket to put their extra letter wheels in.

 Set up this “craftivity” as a center. When students are done with other work, they can come up and get the color owl pieces of their choice.

 Students glue the wings to either side of the owl. They can add some crayon details for more pizzazz.

 Student glue the feet to the bottom of their owl so that the tops are glued to the back. I also added crayon details here and then traced the belly of the owl with a white crayon so that the writing “popped.”

 Students cut out their white alphabet wheels. Older students can cut and poke their own holes in the eyes; younger students will need this done for them.

 To expedite things, I used a circle paper punch to make the letter “windows.”

Poke a hole through the owl’s head and attach whatever wheel you want your students to work on; fasten with brass brads.

 Students glue their beak on, after their eyes are in place.

 If you want the beaks to be 3D, simply cut a 4-inch wide strip of yellow construction paper, and fold it in half. Trace the triangle template so that it butts up against the fold, then cut the triangles out

Students glue their envelope half to the back of their owl and write their name on it.

 Close the open side with a piece of Scotch tape.

 This is a safe place where students can keep their extra wheels, so that they don’t lose them.

 There are lots of activities you can do with the KnOWLedge owl.

 Use as a review game. Choose a quiet child to call out a letter from a-j, k-t, or u-z.

 Students spin the top eye wheel ‘til they find those letters. You can also have students partner up and play this game with each other.

 You can play “I’m Thinking Of A Letter.” Give clues about the letter and students spin the wheels ‘til they find it. i.e. “I’m thinking of a letter that is a vowel. It comes after the letter N and before the letter P.”

 Play “Speed.” You call out a letter and see who can find the upper and lowercase letters the quickest.

 Use as an alternative or additional fun way to assess upper and lowercase letters.

 These are terrific sent home at the beginning of the year, so that students can practice with their parents.

 They also make a nice end of the year activity, so that students don’t forget what they learned over the summer, or preschoolers can practice before they come to kindergarten in the fall.

Ollie, the "Owl-phabet Owl" will be FREE for an entire year, after which time, he'll be up-dated and put in Diane's Dollar Deals in my TpT shop.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn." -Unknown