Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Winter Wonders Blog Hop




 
Welcome! One year ago today, literacy loving teachers launched the website, Adventures in Literacy Land, to share tips and tools for effective literacy instruction. In honor of reaching our first year, we are hosting a Winter Wonders Blog Hop and Birthday Celebration.
 

Today, I will share with you a few tried and tested tips for easy literacy games to make when time is short.
 

My first idea includes a deck of cards :

  

 
My favorite places to find inexpensive $1 decks of cards in cute themes or shapers are Target, Walgreens (Toy Department) or other unexpected places such as specialty stores.
 
If I need a quick review game in the morning for a group of students, I simply use a Black Sharpie to write the phonics words, alphabet letters, word families, synonyms, or other area of need at the top of the card. If we are playing Go Fish, one card will match the other so there are two cards with the same word on it. War, Memory or Concentration can also be played with these cute cards.
 
 

My second idea includes a set of plain white or colored index cards:

 

My favorite places to find inexpensive index cards are back to school sales, the school supply closet, and sometimes parent donations.
 
If I want to make a word sort quickly, I choose a set of stickers to apply to each card. Stickers can be found almost anywhere. I find the larger sets at Michael's Arts and Crafts store. I simply write the words with bright colored markers or after laminating with a Sharpie. (If you use a Sharpie afterwards, you can use a bit or rubbing alcohol to erase one skill  and use the set again).
Afterwards, add a generic sorting sheet for word sorts and you are ready to go.
 
 

My third idea includes a set of tic-tac-toe boards:

 

My favorite place to find items would include Target or dollar stores. This set I found at a little variety shop in my neighborhood.
 
Perfect for using for alphabet letters, sight words, word families, synonyms, antonyms, and more.
 
I would give each pair of students a tic-tac-toe board with the playing pieces. In order to put a playing piece down, the student must answer a question, say a word or alphabet letter correctly, and more.
 
First one to get three in the row---wins the game !
 
 

My Winter Wonders freebie is a fun activity reviewing vowel teams.

It is a SCOOT game for the vowel team (ai,ay).
 

It can be found in my TpT store at the following link:


 
 
 
 
It will be FREE for this BLOG HOP only.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Now, it is time for a little more Winter Wonders Fun !  Follow the Penguin to Curious Firsties !
 
 
 
http://curiousfirsties.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-winter-wonders-celebration.html