TpT Seller Challenge: Week 3

I am joining up with Sparkling in Second, Third in Hollywood, Teach Create Motivate, and Peppy Zesty Teacherista for the third challenge in the weekly TpT Seller Challenge.  This week's challenge is called "Make Your Masterpiece" and it asks us to create a 'masterpiece' to add to our store on Teachers Pay Teachers. 

 I was very excited (and overwhelmed) by this challenge.  I did not have any products that needed to be finished, which left me having to start from scratch.  I have had somewhat of a TpT writer's block lately.  After thinking long and hard I decided to create something that I could use next year as the Reading Teacher for K-2.  I know that short vowels are something that all of the grade levels will be working with - whether as a review or as a new skill.  So I created a few worksheets for each short vowel and came up with this:

Yay!  I feel like I may have taken the first step to overcoming this TpT writer's block issue that I have been dealing with.  I am so glad that this was one of the challenges because it forced me to create something that I will be able to use next year (because what is the point of putting all of that time and effort into a product if you can't use it in your own classroom!).  Now I am in the right mindset to continue creating materials and hopefully have a head start on what I will need for next year :)

So enough of my blabbering...here is a preview of the different pages within the set.

The activities are all the same for the five different short vowels.  

• One of the pages asks that students to sort pictures by different word families.  I love to try and incorporate cutting and pasting into as many of the worksheets as I can because these are skills that my students always seem to struggle with.

• Another page has the students use the code to color each picture based on the word family it belongs in.  (There are two versions of this page - one of the options asks the students to then write the word underneath the picture while the other does not).          *Only one of the options is shown in the preview

• On another page the students are asked to read the words and paste the matching picture in the box (There are also two versions of this page - on the first option the pictures are glued on top of the word and on the second option the pictures are glued above the word).
• The final page asks the students to sort pictures by the medial sound (does it have the short vowel sound or not?).

So there it is, my "masterpiece" :)  I hope that this will help you in your classroom.  Click on the preview (or this link) to grab it for 20% off - today and tomorrow only.

TpT Seller Challenge: Week 1

I am starting a little late, but I have finally gotten my butt in gear so that I can participate in the TPT Seller Challenge hosted by Emily from Third in Hollywood, Ashley from Teach Create Motivate, Jen from Sparkling in Second and Amber from Peppy Zesty Teacherista!

                       

The first challenge is MAKEOVER MADNESS. This week is all about updating an old product to make it better.  When I was going through my products, one in particular jumped right out at me.  What in the world was I thinking when I posted this as the cover for my product?

This is one of the first products that I posted.  And while the product itself was good, the cover was...unacceptable.  

So for MAKEOVER MADNESS I spruced up the product itself by adding a few different levels of some of the worksheets, fixed the assessment so that it actually aligned with the worksheets in the set and updated the font.  And then I gave the cover a complete overhaul.

I am much happier with how this looks.  And I think that it looks more appealing to buyers.  What do you think?

Click on the picture above to grab the product for 20% off - today only!

Interactive Short Vowel Books

Hip Hip Hooray!!!  I finished all of the interactive short vowel phonics books (finally!)  -  I missed my deadline of the end of October by one day, but at least I made it before we change the clocks back.  I can't wait to share these with you so that you can share them with your students.  So here is the big reveal ;)

There is a book for each short vowel (CVC) and they all have the same layout.  They are also in an easy to construct layout - you just copy, staple and cut.  There are two books to a page - the pictures in this post show a constructed book.  Each book has a cover page:

On the first page (although the pages can be put in any order) the students are asked to sort cards by the word families.  There are three options for this sort: all pictures, mixed pictures and words or all words.  In the picture below, I used the mixed pictures and words option:

Then, the students are asked to sort cards by whether they have the short vowel sound or not.  There are also three options for this sort: all pictures, mixed pictures and words or all words - as you can see, I am a fan of the mixed option (:

Thoughts so far?  My students loved these two pages because they were cutting and gluing right into their little book!
On the next page, the students are asked to draw a line matching the picture to the word.  I like this page because it shows that they can read the word and that they understand what that word is.

 

The next page is similar to the previous one...this time the students paste the matching word underneath each picture.

 This next page was my students favorite page.  One sweet student said that it was 'tricky for her brain'... I love first graders!  The students have to unscramble the letters to make a word, then they have to color the picture that matches the word that they just unscrambled.

Are you still with me?  I know it is a lot but this book can be completed over the course of a few days or all in one sitting...it's up to you!
On the next page, the students read each sentence and draw a line to the matching picture.  The students colored their pictures after they matched...but I was a little lazy in my sample (:

The next page is similar, this time the students read the sentence and add details to the picture so that it matches the sentence.  My students got a real kick out of my fan - I guess drawing is not my thing!

Phew!  There are still more --the next page is a simple page in which the students fill in the blank with a word to finish the sentence so that it matches the picture.

This next page is one of my favorites - my students can always use extra practice on rhyming words!  The students read the word in the top of the box and color the pictures that rhyme with that word.

We made it to the last page!!  This one really puts the students' understanding of the phonics skill to the test because they have to read a short passage and show understanding of the passage by coloring parts of the picture.

Voila!  And those are the pages in each interactive short vowel phonics books.  The answer keys are included at the end of the file.  My students absolutely loved this little book - especially since they were able to take it home when they were finished with it.  There are many different ways to use it in the classroom - I used it as a brief review of the skill at the beginning of my small groups.

I would love to hear your thoughts!!  Based on the response to these I have hopes of making interactive phonics books for blends and long vowels (CVCe).

Hooray!  Now I am going to sit back and cuddle up with some hot chocolate - I feel like this cold weather came out of nowhere!!  Click on the picture below if you would like to grab the file - it's on sale for this weekend only.

Have a great weekend (:

Reading Centers

Reading is one of my favorite things to teach in first grade.  I love the 90 minute reading block that we have everyday and I love how independent the students are during this time.  One of the things that helps reading run so smoothly is that the students have a strong understanding of the routine and the centers.  Another thing that I love about the centers that I use is that it takes about 2 minutes to set each one up.  I absolutely adore all of the cute centers that people use in their classrooms, but where do they find the time to prep all of those centers?  I wanted to take the time today to tell you about three of the centers that we use at the beginning of the year that the students are able to complete independently and that are easy for teachers to prepare.

Chalkboard Center
Yep, all of our first grade classrooms have a chalkboard.  We have all the upgrades in our rooms: whiteboards, document cameras, projectors, desktops, wireless internet, laptops for each teacher...and a chalkboard.  For the first two years I was there I never knew what to do with it, so I just covered it with paper and used it as another bulletin board.  Then, I decided to use it as a center - and it has been my students' favorite center every year since!  You would not need a chalkboard to use this center - just any magnetic surface (or even a small pocket chart would work).

I use the chalkboard center as a phonics/spelling center.  If the phonics/spelling skill for the week is short a, that is what the students will work on at the center.  In the demographic that I work with, many of the students do not practice their spelling words at home.  This center gives the students practice reading the words, spelling the words, writing the words and discovering patterns between the words.

At the center the students need four things:
1) the pictures
2) the words
3) magnetic letters
4) chalk (or any writing material that would work for the board you are using)

The students put up the pictures, put the matching word next to each picture, spell the word using magnetic letters and then write each word using chalk.  Here is what the finished product looks like:

Isn't it precious?
The students love this center!

I also have an accountability sheet that they complete afterwards.  I put it in a sheet protector and the students use a dry erase marker to fill it out - this just helps me save paper.

Here is what the center looked like when he was all finished:

 

You can grab this center by clicking on the link at the end of this post.

Right now I only have it made for short vowels and blends, but I will update it as I finish the others!

Writing Center 

At the beginning of the year many of our students struggle with writing a sentence.  Because of that, it makes it hard to have a successful writing center where students can work independently for 20-25 minutes.  So for the first few weeks of writing center I use it as a handwriting practice center.  

 The students love this center and it helps with their handwriting!  They trace the word three times and then write it by themselves in the box.  Then, they trace a sentence that uses the word and write it independently in the box.  The words on these pages are all high frequency words from our reading series.  This center is the same every week, all that changes are the words and the sentences.

I let the students use one marker for this center - it helps them stay interested, it helps them to slow down and it helps them see what they are writing.

You can grab these centers (for free!) by clicking on the link below:

Pocket Chart Center

I love this center!  It really helps the students listen to the patterns in the words.  I use this center as a review center - so if we worked on short a last week, that is what the students will be working with at the pocket chart center this week.  

Here is how it works:

The students put up the header cards.  Then, they sort the pictures under the corresponding header.  For their accountability sheet (which I also put in a sheet protector), they have to use what they know about the patterns to spell the words and use three of the words in a sentence.

Of course I forgot to take a picture of this center...so here it is on my living room floor:

Click on the picture below to grab the pack with the chalkboard center and pocket chart center.  

Again, at this point I only have the short vowels and blends made, but I will update it when I finish the others.

What centers do you use in your classroom that your students love?  I would love to hear about them!

Back to School

I was able to get back into my classroom this week and I feel like everything has been a blur ever since I got my key!  Before I start posting about my classroom set-up (don't worry, I have LOTS of pictures to share), I wanted to try to get my phonics packs finished up.  So I have good news!  I have finished the beginning letter sound picture sort and it is on sale (for today only!).
Click on the picture to grab it while it is on sale :)

I will post my short vowel phonics pack the first week of August (I just have a few finishing touches left on that one).

 I can't wait to share all of my classroom pictures with you - here is the before and after picture of the counter area in my room:

It's all coming together!  I will post all of the pictures soon :)

Sneak Peek...and a Freebie!

I just wanted to give you a sneak peek at a phonics packet that I am working on.
I finally gave in and purchased some clipart from Pink Cat Studio...and I am loving every.single.piece.   Wow!  She is so talented!

I've used the clipart to create a few different phonics packets for the beginning of the year.  In each packet are different levels of the same worksheet.  The basis for each packet is that the kids look at the picture, match the word to each picture (showing that they can actually read the word) and then color the picture based on the color code (to help them see patterns in the words).

Hmm...That sounds confusing.  How about a freebie to show you what I am talking about????
Click on the picture below to grab the packet for short a.

Check my TpT Store near the end of the summer - I'll have all of the short vowel packets finished and hopefully the long vowel packets too!