Tag Archives: high frequency words

November Morning Exploring Tubs

Though the month of November is quickly coming to a close, I wanted to share with you the November Morning Exploring tubs and the concepts they cover. The students could not get enough of these tubs…all of the little manipulatives were very exciting to them! The explanations for each tub are above the images.

Tub 1: Students choose a number from 0-20. The then link together the three different ways to show the value of that number. These ways include a ten or double-ten frame, tally marks, and pictures.

 

 

Tub 2: Using playdough, students fill in a ten frame to make a number. Then students must figure out how to complete the equation…who says kindergarteners can’t do algebra?!

 

Tub 3: Students use tweezers to choose a pumpkin. On the bottom of the pumpkin is a two digit number greater than 20. One student then spins the spinner, deciding on “greater than” or “less than.” Students must compare their numbers, and the student whose number matches the spinner gets to keep the pumpkins.

 

Tub 4: Students choose a High-frequency word and spell it using letter cards. They link the letters together to spell the words.

 

Tub 5: Students chose a number card and build the number using sunflower seeds.

 

Tub 6: Students follow the outline of the acorn with small stickers and then count up the total number of stickers used. The children LOVE using stickers and peeling and sticking is great for fine motor development!

 

Tub 7: Students choose a turkey container and count the number of glass beads inside. They record the two-digit number.

 

Tub 8: Students dig through a small sensory bin to find leaves. On the leaves are high-frequency words. Students read the word and match the leaves to their play mat.

I can not believe that in three short days, December will be here! It’s time to switch out the Morning Exploring Tubs!

Sensory Table Silliness

Have you ever had an idea that you thought was amazing until you actually tried it? I have….and it’s the November sensory table filler! Last summer as I was ordering supplies for the school year, I compiled a list of items to purchase that would fill the sensory bin each month. Pasta, puff balls, sensory sand, shredded paper, dried beans, rice, and FEATHERS. How wonderful would it be for the children to dig through mountains of feathers to find the items I had hidden in the sensory table?! The feathers would add a colorful and festive touch to the classroom learning environment. Students would feel the softness, smoothness, and pokey edges.

 

Well…..that all sounds great, but once the sweet students began moving the feathers around in search of the bats and spiders I had hidden beneath, they became covered with feather fluff! Feathers went everywhere….on the floor, on their clothes in their eyes….what a mess!!

Thankfully, these students have really great senses of humor! They completed the high-frequency word matching activity with positive attitudes.

See how excited they were?!

 

A mess is a sign of fun learning, right?

Needless to say, the feathers have been put away and the new, and hopefully less invasive, sensory table filler is ready to be explored.

Sight Word Scavenger Hunt

We like to move in Kindergarten! One activity that I use often are scavenger hunts. I have adapted these scavenger hunts to include high frequency words, math concepts, and long vowel words. Today, students went on a Stegosaurus hunt, searching the room for twelve hidden Stegosauruses with a high frequency word on each. Armed with a clipboard and a pencil, the students’ job was to find a brightly colored Stegosaurus, read the high frequency word aloud, record the word on their recording sheet, and color the Stegosaurus to match.

I try to hide the words in tricky spots where they are camouflaged.

This was one of the more challenging spots today!

What I love most about this activity is connecting learning to movement. (I also love to find new, tricky places to hide the words!) The students look forward to these scavenger hunts and always cheer when I announce it as an activity. Go active learning!