activities Archives - Page 4 of 8

Letter Work Activities for Kindergarten

July 21, 2023 teachersbrain Back to School, kindergarten survival, Teaching Tips

We all know that teaching letters to our little ones can be an exciting and crucial milestone. If you’re looking for a delightful collection of interactive and engaging letter work activities for kindergarten learners, you’re in the right place! From letter hunts to multi-sensory creations, you’ll love these ways to make letter learning a joyous experience for our little learners.

Here are some letter work activities your students will love:

Letter of the Week

Introduce one letter each week, and make it super exciting! Decorate the classroom with pictures of things that start with that letter, read books featuring the letter, and encourage kids to bring in items from home that begin with the letter of the week.

Multi-Sensory Activities

Engage your kiddos in hands-on activities involving different senses. Use materials like sand or shaving cream for letter writing, have them mold letters out of playdough, or use finger paint to create letter art (more exciting alphabet activities here!)

Letter Hunts

Turn letter recognition into an adventure! Organize letter hunts around the classroom or school. Give them a list of letters to find, and when they spot one, they can call it out with excitement.

Letter Sounds Practice

Once they get a good grasp of individual letter names, introduce letter sounds. You can do this through playful activities like “What Sound Does it Make?” where you show them pictures of objects and ask which letter sound they hear at the beginning.

Letter Writing Practice

Provide them with plenty of opportunities to practice writing the letters. Start with large-sized letters on paper or whiteboards, and as they improve, gradually move to smaller ones.

If you’re looking for a resource that has everything you need to make letter work fun and easy and more, I have you covered!

This Kindergarten Everything Mega Bundle will have you set for the year!

I have you covered with this huge endless curriculum bundle of bundles with a MASSIVE AMOUNT of materials made with kindergarten in mind! Even assessments are included.

YEAR-LONG SUBJECTS

Guided Reading
Monthly Writing Themed Journals
Morning Work Journals
Kindergarten Math Centers
Science
Social Studies

Check out the YouTube Tutorial!

Reading Curriculum includes activities, lesson plans and assessments for:

Phonics
Phonemic awareness
Comprehension
Vocabulary
Fluency

Kindergarten Math Centers includes activities, lesson plans and assessments for:

SCIENCE includes activities, lesson plans and assessments for:

Social Studies includes activities, lesson plans and assessments for:

BONUS – Butterfly Life Cycle Flip Book

Writing Journals Included: (with word banks and rubrics)

BONUS: Silly Story Starters

Kindergarten Morning Work Included:

• August and September Morning Work

• October and November Morning Work

• December and January Morning Work

• February and March Morning Work

• April and May Morning Work

When I say this has everything, I mean it! Check it out here!

I hope you found these tips and resources helpful! Remember to celebrate progress! Be generous with praise and encouragement. Positive reinforcement goes a long way in building kindergarten students confidence and love for learning!

Introducing Constitution Day to Kids

September 16, 2022 teachersbrain Teaching Tips

Constitution Day is here and this is an excellent time to teach our elementary students about what this holiday is and why it is important to our nation’s history.

Why do we celebrate Constitution Day?

In September of 1787, our founding fathers signed the constitution which has become the most important and influential document in our country. To commemorate it, we now celebrate this day as a national holiday on September 17th.

This is a new concept to most of our early elementary students, so this is an excellent time of year to introduce the topic in a way that is engaging and fun for them so that they remember why this document is so important.

Constitution Day activities for elementary students

When teaching this subject, you want to start by explaining to students what this day means, why it’s so important, and who some of the founding fathers are that created and signed the constitution. This will give them the foundational knowledge they need to understand your Constitution Day lesson plans.

After covering the basics, make it fun! You can pull out some craft supplies or Constitution Day worksheets that students can use to better grasp the concept.

I created my interactive flip book to make it easy to incorporate learning about this important holiday in a way that students will enjoy.

These Constitution Day activities for kindergarten and first grade students include 15 printables, writing prompts, posters, a mini book, and more.

Here’s what’s included:

Pg. 1 Cover

Pg. 2 Lesson Plan

Pg. 3 Poster

Pg. 4 Instructions with a visual

Pg. 5- 7 Flip Book Pages where the student writes the word on the side of the flipbook

Pg. 8 – 15 Writing Prompts (primary or intermediate lined with self-check at the bottom)

Pg. 16 Mini Book

Pg. 17 Credits

Check it out here!

Students will love this engaging activity! If you want more social studies fun, make sure to check out my post here for tips on how to teach social studies to kindergarten and first grade students!

Everything You Need To Know To Teach Community Helpers

April 22, 2022 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

Let’s talk about community helpers! This is one of my favorite topics to teach because you can tell it just opens up a whole new world to little learners. They learn about all of these professions and sometimes they decide what they want to be when they grow up. If you are looking for some community helpers crafts and activities, you’re in the right place!

This is an important lesson because, among many other reasons, it helps students learn how a community works and the importance of working together.

So what is the role of community helpers?

Generally, this is anyone who helps our community function. They perform the day-to-day activities that we need in order to live our lives. They are incredibly important!

What are some examples of community helpers?

When making your community helpers list, think about professions like police officers, firefighters, teachers, doctors, nurses, grocery store clerks, and mailmen.

Here are some lesson ideas, community helpers activities, and community helpers printables to get you started!

Bring in guest speakers. This is an easy and fun one! Reach out to parents to see if they are a community helper. If so, invite them into your classroom to talk to your students about what it’s like. If not, you can reach out to local police officers, or fire stations and see if anyone would be interested in talking to the class.
Keep a journal. As students are learning about the different types of helpers, encourage them to keep a journal. They can write down what they have learned, draw pictures, store any community helpers crafts, etc.
Find places that help the community. You can sit with your students and brainstorm places where these helpers might work and take a virtual field trip! Search online for a video tour of one of these places for students to explore.
Discuss long ago vs. today. This is a great opportunity to explain to students how things have evolved and changed in our community.
Read some books about helpers in the community. This can be any book about doctors, teachers, police, mailmen, etc.

Don’t have time to plan? I have you covered. Check out my Community Helpers Worksheets resource! This download is nine weeks of lessons designed to easily create a journal for students to use, interactive notebook pages, posters, and so much more!

Here’s everything included

Weekly Detailed Lesson Plans for 9 Weeks
Home connection parent letter
Journal cover
Word Bank for the Journal
KWL
Printables to insert as a journal or use individually covering different helpers, tools and equipment, and today & long ago
Rubric for the journal
Nine interactive notebook pages (suggested to do once a week on Fridays)
Classroom posters

➜EXTRAS:

Poem/songs
Dial 911
Cut and label the police officer
Cut and label the firefighter
Volunteer art handprint gift
Sample of how to make the gift
Police officer hat/headband craft
Police badges
Firefighter hat

My biggest tip for teaching community helpers for kindergarten or first grade is to have fun! Students love exploring and learning about these different professions. For more tips on teaching this unit, check out my post here!

What are your favorite ways to teach this unit? Let me know in the comments!

Earth Day Activities For Elementary Students

March 25, 2022 teachersbrain Science, Teaching Tips

A very special and important holiday is quickly approaching- Earth Day!

Earth Day 2022 is coming up on April 22nd, and it is the perfect time to teach students about our planet and the importance of conservation efforts. We need our planet and it is more important than ever to take whatever steps we can to improve our environment.

So what can students do for Earth Day?

To celebrate Earth Day in your classroom, it’s important that we start by explaining why this holiday is so important. When I was in the classroom, I would begin by teaching students about our planet and what it needs from us. I explained to them that no matter how small their actions are, they are making a difference. It’s a great way to inspire students to be an Earth hero!

Here are some lessons and Earth Day activities for kids to learn about protecting our environment

Take a walk around the school or playground and pick up any trash. Take this as an opportunity to teach students how this harms our environment.
Teach students why it is so important to always turn off water when you aren’t using it and making sure it is completely off
We need trees in order to have oxygen! Teach your students how they can care for the environment by planting a tree. This is a hands-on activity that has a big impact.
Read books about protecting our planet and caring for the environment or watch movies and have a discussion about it after about how students can be more eco-friendly in their own lives.
Teach students about the importance of recycling. Explain landfills and how recycling reusable materials can help our planet. Don’t forget to tell them about what materials can be recycled and how they can do it. You can help them practice by going around the school and identifying recyclable materials.

Looking for virtual Earth Day activities? Take your recycling lesson to the next level with a virtual field trip!

This fun and engaging digital resource lets your students “visit” a recycling center!

Use these interactive, editable Google Slides to easily have students copy and paste movable parts, learn about Earth Day, recycling, what to bring on a trip and so much more! This is perfect if you’re looking to do Earth Day activities at home while distance learning or in the classroom.

Here’s what’s included:

KWL Chart
Packing A Suitcase for the Trip
1 Minute Take OFF Flight Video
7 minute Field Trip Video (Earth Day, Car Ride to different Recycling Centers, Train Ride)
Sequencing Events, 2 Writing Prompts, Counting Objects (under 10), Labeling Parts, Recycling Song, and Comprehension Questions
One extra slide for you to add anything you would like to the lesson. (videos or an assignment)
Home Connection Optional Assignment for students to build something with recycled materials.
Black and white ink-saving Writing Pages and Home Connection Page for in-person teaching.

Easily share through Google Classroom to collect information or share from your computer to Zoom or Meets. Students move images, add text, and moving parts to get plenty of writing and computer practice!

What are your favorite Earth Day activities for elementary? Let me know in the comments!