Tried It Tuesday: Spelling Sorts

Today I changed up our spelling activity.  This is the 3rd spelling week of school - the past 2 we have sorted the patterns in our spelling spiral notebook.  Because it is a short week, I decided to combine some spelling activities this week and pulled these sorts out for my class to do full group.

  

They worked with a partner, cutting the sorts, gluing them onto the paper (front and back), then cutting out our spelling patterns, and identifying them.

Usually on Mondays we sort the patterns, then take a little practice test as they write the words in their agendas.  After the practice test, they check over their words, and practice writing them in cursive.  In past years I put these sorts into a workshop/Word Work station - but we just aren't there yet.

What spelling activities do you complete at school in your intermediate classrooms?  

Head on over to visit other ideas with Holly over at Fourth Grade Flipper!  

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Game Board Templates = End of Unit Fun!

We finished up the end of Unit 4 this week in reading - so it was time to review vocabulary. I gave the kids the option of how to review by letting them choose what game template they wanted to use. Everyone had the same 15 vocabulary words (we did this over 2 days - so 30 words total).

The options I gave them were playing GNOME (like bingo), 

scrabbling the words, 

creating a hide the word drawing, 

making a board game, and creating a word search. 

They chose their specific activities and after they created their templates, worked with others (switched papers to complete the activities) to review the meanings of the specific words in the templates. They had fun!

This is over in my store if you are interested.

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January Monday Made It

It's that time again!  Monday Made It with Tara.  I enjoyed it so much this past summer - those Mondays that I could just blog hop from one website to another pinning all those fabulous ideas.  Then school started and I can't just relax in my pj's anymore - yes, I'm still sad about that - Christmas break was wonderful!

Well this past month I have been filling up my little store on Teachers Pay Teachers.  That's mainly what I've made.  I've created quite a few things for my kiddos - and they seem to be appreciative.  The other day we were playing Scoot with our Mid Year Math Review and they asked me where I got the game from.  I told them that I made it myself (since for the majority of the fall my answer was from other fabulous teachers).  They actually thanked me!  After I picked up my jaw off the floor, I decided that I WAS a creative type of person who really does enjoy making things.  Yes, I finally convinced myself. 

Okay, so here is some of the stuff I've been making:

  

Banners for Whole Class Incentives - They spell the words on those special weeks to earn a class prize.  

 

Math Review - Double Digit Multiplication, Long Division, Math Facts, Mid Year (Factors, Rounding, Place Value, Division, Multiplication)

There are other things that I've uploaded too over at the store.  

Thank you for your support and encouragement!  

The other big thing that I did for school was changing around a wall and creating a brand new word wall.  In the past 2 1/2 years that I have been in this classroom I have despised this section of the wall.  They moved my TV over to this area 2 years ago and it has always been a weird set up as some of it is tucked behind it.  Not to fear though - what a difference it has made with bright paper.  The ABC cards on it are actually Tonya's Portable Word Wall from TPT.  I had bought it planning on making it portable, but then they were the perfect size. 

I hope you have a wonderful day!   

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Blending Up Blends and Day 6 of Vacation

I'm sure you have those students in your classroom that need a little bit of extra support with spelling.  I can relate.  My students have a hard time using blends and digraphs, so I "blended" up this activity for them.  30 different blends and digraph ice cubes with 2 sets of alphabet ice cubes for them to manipulate.  I'm going to add this to the spelling station coming back from Winter vacation.

I posted it over at TPT where I added to it my very first SALE going on...

In other vacation news... it is so nice to just relax! Thursday was spent recleaning (it says recleaning is not a word - autocorrects to reclining - I wish!) my house since my boys decided to build a fort and pull out all their toys, I made pancakes for dinner, we took the boys for "real" bowling to help them earn a belt loop for Cub Scouts, and then I took my middle son to his pack meeting to decorate gingerbread houses - to which he said it wasn't a gingerbread house since they used graham crackers instead of gingerbread...  I also filled out the registration forms for my toddler since he will "graduate" to the district's SDC Preschool for their speech program when he turns 3 next month and we filled out the ADHD screening forms for one of my older boys... trying to figure out the best way to help him...learning is tough!

Maybe it was a tad busy after all... tomorrow is date night though!

Hope you had a wonderful day!

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Upper Grade Spelling Patterns

I've been busy, but today I don't have much to say...and I'm running out the door to my son's winter choir concert, so I'll just show off what I made.  :)
Last night I was thinking about all those fun games that I know the kids get a kick out of doing.  It's those word sorts that they really enjoy!  So, I made up some that have to do with our spelling patterns - 20 words for each to sort.  I posted them at TPT if you are interested in checking them out.  

 The /ch/ one is a freebie - it's the preview for any of the other ones.  

Grab it if you need. 

If for some reason you don't need ALL of the ones in the bundle pack, 

I also posted them individually.

 All the above pictures are links to the specific sorts.  I also made up ones for the Long vowels, BUT I'm not quite done with them yet... they will be going up soon.

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Spelling City

I always thought that Spelling City was a paid subscription type of thing...  it's NOT!
Yesterday after school we had a grade level collaboration time and my dear sweet team set me straight on how wonderful it is.  
You see, every trimester I update my students' homework options for spelling on their homework reminder sheet.
For Monday through Wednesday homework this past trimester it was the normal...*3 times each*ABC order*Definitions*Sentences, Story, or a Poem*If they had an option they asked me first to see if it would count.
I give choices because I want them to want to practice spelling.
Thursday is ALWAYS a practice test.
The main thing was to work with the words to "hopefully" get it into their brains so it showed in their everyday writing.  
Enter Spelling City...
I created a free account and copy/pasted my spelling lists for the coming unit onto my homepage.  It wasn't hard, the lists were already on my computer.
Now my students will be able to choose one of those games or activities to work with their words.  Click the image above to head on over to the site to check them out.
I love how easy life really can be when I let others help me out. :)
Hope you had a good day!

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