My first year teaching in first grade, there was no way I was trying turn and talks. I was just trying to survive! When I moved to kindergarten, I literally laughed at the idea of trying turn and talks in my Kindergarten classroom. They can’t do that!
Boy, was I wrong!
Done right, turn and talks can me a powerfully effective tool.
Here are my best tips for teaching turn and talks in Kindergarten and 1st Grade.
Do You Want Turn and Talk Partners?
First, you will want to decide if ...
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Free Bee Activities for Kindergarten and 1st Grade
Spring is the perfect time for all the honey bee activities for both kindergarten and 1st grade! Students get such a kick out of learning about these buzzy creatures.
These free bee activities include options for differentiation, so they are perfect for both kindergarten and first grade!
This blog post contains Amazon affiliate links. Rest assured, I only recommend products I truly love!
The Very Greedy Bee Activities
The Very Greedy Bee is one of those books that never fails to ...
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Kindergarten Phonics Scope and Sequence
We know how important teaching phonics in Kindergarten is, but too often, this is an area teachers are not given enough resources for. You know you need a Kindergarten phonics scope and sequence, but where do you even begin?
When planning for your Kindergarten phonics instruction, a scope and sequence will help guide your planning and instruction.
Think of your scope and sequence like a map for your phonics instruction. You can look at where you are and see where you need to go ...
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3 Easy Easter Egg Activities for Centers
I love Easter egg activities for April sensory bins and centers, because they are so easy but kids love them! These Easter egg activities don’t require much prep, but they are super hands on.
For all of these Easter egg centers, you will need 12 plastic eggs and a permanent marker to label them 1-12. I grabbed a bag at The Dollar Tree and still had some left over!
If you want to make this an Easter sensory bin station, just add crinkle paper! I also found that at The Dollar Tree.
Easter ...
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The Trick to Teaching Digraphs You NEED To Hear!
I don’t know why, but teaching digraphs in Kindergarten and 1st grade has always been my favorite phonics skill to focus on. There is just something about those tricky digraph h brothers!
When I first began teaching digraphs in first grade, I noticed that my students struggled to hear the difference in the sounds, particularly digraphs ch and sh.
When I moved to Kindergarten, I came up with a trick to teach digraphs that my students don’t forget!
What Are Digraphs?
If you’re asking ...
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How to Teach Writing Pattern Books in Kindergarten
Do you teach pattern book writing in kindergarten? If you don’t already, you need to start! When I began teaching writing pattern books in Kindergarten, I saw my students’ writing confidence SOAR!
What Is Pattern Book Writing?
In our Kindergarten Writer’s Workshop, we teach our students to write a pattern book. Pattern books are books that have a sentence with the same sight word pattern on each page. These books are usually about one topic, and each page features a different part of that ...
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The Easiest Kindergarten Math Game for Comparing Numbers
One of the biggest Kindergarten math standards we work on all year long is building number sense. My absolute favorite way to do this is by playing comparing numbers math games!
We play partner games regularly as a part of our kindergarten math block. It helps give students extra scaffolded support practicing a skill before their independent practice.
This partner math game is seriously the easiest math activity you’ll ever prep, but your students will be INSTANTLY engaged in comparing ...
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FREE Sight Word Fluency Practice Your Kindergarten Students Will LOVE!
It is so important that our Kindergarten students learn to read sight words quickly and fluently. If we want our students to have the brain space needed to decode harder words while reading, then sight word fluency is a must.
These FREE sight word fluency passages are the perfect way to practice sight word fluency in Kindergarten. They are no prep and allow students to practice sight words in context.
What Are Sight Words?
Sight words and high frequency words are commonly occurring ...
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Why You Need to Be Using Boom Cards in Kindergarten
If you haven’t been using Boom Cards in Kindergarten yet, you’re missing out! Boom Cards are amazing for both in the classroom and Kindergarten distance learning. They are interactive, digital, and self-correcting - perfect for a technology center or just for fun!
What Are Boom Cards?
Boom Cards are digital task cards that act like interactive math and literacy centers. Boom Cards are different from other digital centers because they are self-checking. When your students get an answer ...
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Why You Need To Be Using Decodable Books in K-1
Decodable books have been a big buzzword in education lately. But how do you know the most effective ways to use decodable readers in your classroom?
Maybe you aren’t sure how to choose the best decodable books - or what they even are!
In this post, I’ll explain how I use decodable books in Kindergarten and First Grade effectively - and no, that doesn’t mean just tossing all of your leveled texts and replacing them with decodables.
What Are Decodable Books?
Decodable books are ...
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