kindergarten survival Archives - Page 7 of 8

Writing Prompts For Early Elementary Students

January 15, 2021 teachersbrain kindergarten survival, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Writing

Do your early elementary students need help getting their creative writing juices flowing? Writing prompts can help!

When faced with a blank page, many kids can feel overwhelmed by writing assignments. They’re not sure where to start, and some students can even shut down when faced with writing activities. Other students might be comfortable with writing, but just don’t get excited about “boring” writing assignments in the classroom.

writing prompts

Writing prompt journals are the answer for these challenges!

Journals filled with writing prompts give a clear assignment each and every day. Your students will know exactly what to write rather than spending time deciding about a topic.

With daily assignments students will approach their writing with more confidence. As they become more comfortable with responding to prompts they will lose their feelings of overwhelm.

In addition, journals are a great way to monitor students’ growth in their writing skills. By keeping each month’s journals you will be able to see their content and conventions grow over time. You can also identify problem areas for particular students or the whole class and address those skills with specialized lessons.

As your students become more familiar with daily writing, they will take more chances with creativity. Writing as a daily routine will help you address all of these skills regularly without extra planning. You can even add in word banks with vocabulary words for them to use and teach them how to check their work with self check-offs.

If you’re ready to incorporate daily writing prompts in your classroom, my Writing Prompts with Word Banks Bundle is just the print-and-go material you need.

Simply print the pages out for the month, staple, and you’re ready!

Students will love the fun writing tasks as well as the word banks. They can easily spell words they may need in their writing and feel more confident in their ideas. There are also checklists at the bottom of each day’s prompt so students can check their own work for writing expectations. Each month includes a writing rubric you can use to assess students’ writing.

In addition to journals for all twelve months, I’ve also included silly writing prompts to really get your students excited! Reluctant writers will enjoy using their skills for a fun writing assignment.

I hope these writing prompts get your students excited to use their creativity with writing!

Kindergarten Morning Work Ideas

January 8, 2021 teachersbrain kindergarten survival, Teacher's Pay Teachers

Morning work is a necessary part of most classrooms, especially in the early grades. As students enter the room, teachers often need to deal with lunch choices, parent notes, stuck zippers, and plenty of other things that require their attention. Morning work is the perfect way to get kids learning independently as soon as they arrive!

Kindergarten students who have morning work daily learn how to follow a routine.

This is an invaluable skill to help the classroom run smoothly and effectively. Once the routine is introduced and practiced, your students can jump right in each morning without any help!

Not only can this improve your mornings as a teacher, but in the event of having a substitute teacher the students will know what to do as soon as they arrive. Those first few minutes of time to review lesson plans and acclimate to the class will be so appreciated by any substitute.

Morning work is also the perfect opportunity for kindergarten students to practice foundational skills daily.

They can practice letter formation, finger spacing, colors, reading, and math skills each and every day. Teachers can provide direct instruction at the beginning of the year on how to complete the tasks, and soon students will be able to work on their own.

Worksheets that are predictable in its presentation helps students know what to do, and they can immediately start practicing when they sit down. As they use these skills daily, they will become more confident and comfortable. They will also feel independent as they walk in and successfully begin their own work like bigger kids!

I know it can sometimes seem overwhelming to have a fresh morning work assignment for each and every day. So I created my no- prep Kindergarten Morning Work Packets to give you one less thing on your to-do list.

These packets have been carefully created for the kindergarten classroom as an easy, organized, YEAR-LONG resource. Simply print the packets for each day, week, or month, and you are ready to welcome your students!

Students will get practice with:

Handwriting Uppercase and Lowercase Letters
Sight Word Practice
Beginning Letter Sounds
Months of the Year
Days of the Week
Handwriting Sentences
Word Families
Silent /e/
Digraphs
Number Sense
Ten Frames
Counting
Number Lines
Writing Numbers
Counting On
Shapes
More and Less Than
3D Shapes
Graphs
Place Value

In addition, each page has an extension activity that early finishers can complete on the back!

Compiling morning work is also a great way to see your students’ growth in their skills as the year progresses.

Here’s what teachers are saying about these Kindergarten Morning Work Packets:

“I love this!!! My kids did the sampler and they really enjoyed it! I love that it has literacy and math skills together. Thanks!”

Was looking for something for my students to have has practice work for all their skills. This looks fabulous covers all areas and is something they might be able to do independently. Can’t wait to use it!”

“The best morning work! Perfect for so many levels!”

Here’s to scramble-free mornings for the entire school year!

For more kindergarten tips, check out my post here!

Fun Ways To Practice Sight Words In Kindergarten

January 1, 2021 teachersbrain education, kindergarten survival, Reading, Teacher's Pay Teachers

Students learn so many valuable things in elementary school. We set the foundation for their education for the rest of their lives. Among all of the important things they learn in school, it all starts in their kindergarten classroom when we teach them the building blocks of reading, writing, and math.

Aside from letters, and numbers, a huge focus is on learning sight words. Sight words are generally words that students will see the most often while reading. Little learners should have them memorized to help them continue to learn to read and write. They help them produce meaning and skip difficult decoding skills as beginning readers.

When deciding on what activities to do to practice sight words in kindergarten, the sky’s the limit! They are young and excited to learn new things. There are a number of fun and engaging activities you can do to practice sight words with them.

Here are some of my favorite sight words activities for my students

Have a sight word hunt while reading. Choose your sight word for the day and have your students hunt for the word in their book.
Get some yummy treats involved. Make a big bowl of pudding. Students can dip their fingers in the pudding and write their sight word on a pan with the pudding. If they get the word right, they get to lick their fingers! This one is guaranteed to be a hit.
Do some task cards. Task cards are a fun alternative to worksheets. Task cards feel more like a game than work!
Use magnetic letters. Get some cheap cookie sheets and some magnetic letters and have your students spell out the words.
Make sight word necklaces. This resource includes 88 sight words that your students can use to make fun sight word necklaces. Everytime your student looks at their necklace, they will be reminded of their sight word. It is also great for getting parents involved in your students learning!

Use shaving cream. Spray shaving cream on the students desks and let them use their fingers to write out their sight words in the shaving cream. Fun and messy!
If you are distance learning, try out these Sight Words Google Slides activities. These reading comprehension passages and questions are a fun and engaging way to improve comprehension and fluency while practicing sight words.

Learning can be so fun when you are working with kindergarten aged students. Everything is new and exciting so just have fun with it!

What are your favorite ways to work on reading with your students? Let me know in the comments!

For more kindergarten ideas, check out these free winter activity ideas!

Kindergarten Google Slides and Escape Room Freebies!

December 4, 2020 teachersbrain Distance Learning, Free Teaching Resources, kindergarten survival

When working with kindergarten students, it’s important to use interactive activities that get students involved and excited. Young students need the chance to work with subject matter rather than just receiving direct instruction. On the other hand, it can be difficult to have the time and materials to make every lesson hands-on.

Luckily, technology can help in this area.

With distance learning being practiced widely around the world now, there are many digital activity options available to use in your classroom. Google Slides are a perfect way to help students interact with material in the classroom or during distance learning. They can be used in all subject areas, and are easily added to Google Classroom so students can learn from any location.

Google Slides are very user friendly, and kindergarten students can quickly learn how to manipulate the materials on their screens. Just be sure to teach your students how to use the “Undo” button and how to hold the mouse button to drag items.

I love digital resources because with just a little practice your kiddos will be able to complete tasks independently while having fun. Digital activities completed in Google Slides (or Docs and Sheets) are easy to add to Seesaw portfolios. You’ll be ready to show your students’ growth in no time!

Ready to try out some Kindergarten Google Slides activities?

Check out my completely free Google Slides Name Activity resource here.

Using this Google Slides activity, students will practice their names, colors, and shapes. They will have a great time personalizing their names, and will get important practice manipulating images with their mouse. Using this activity will add even more Google Slides activities to your plans.

Digital Escape Rooms

Another one of my favorite activities for kindergarten students are digital escape rooms. These exciting tasks are guaranteed to get students 100% engaged in learning, and are easy for you to implement! The best escape rooms for kindergarten students are those that don’t have real locks- so these are a perfect fit.

Escape rooms help students learn problem solving skills, cooperation, and perseverance. They can work as individuals or as teams to solve the rooms. Digital escape rooms can be used during distance learning, letting students participate in fun challenges even while at home. For more info on why escape rooms are so great for elementary, check out my post here.

You can download and try out a mini escape room activity for FREE by clicking here!

Are you using digital activities in your kindergarten classroom? Let me know in the comments!