Monday, 23 May 2016

Sight Word HEADBANDS

The end of the year is quickly approaching, the weather is gorgeous and my students are antsy. My little munchkins are staring out the window at the playground, talking about baseball and soccer practices and not so enthused about another whole month of school. I can't blame them either! I am just as excited about summer as my 7 year old students. 

With this in mind, I try and keep as many ROUTINES as possible until the end of the year. Keeping up with routines allows my kiddos to know what to expect, how they are to behave and they can participate independently

Part of our weekly routines are Sight Word Centres. These are a huge hit for my students! Over the year I have implemented many different centres for my kids to practice their sight word fluency. I love this time of year because the students have worked through the Pre-Primer, Primer and First Grade Dolch lists and can independently participate in many different centres. 

My latest and greatest centre is Sight Word HEADBANDS! Think of the game Hedbanz you loved as a child...now think instead of guessing what picture is on your headband, students guess which sight word in on their headband using hints from other players. My kids LOVE this game! They hardly realize they are practicing their words!

Click here to check out the full Sight Word HEADBANDS package! 

How to Play

Each player must have a headband.
To begin, each player chooses are Sight Word card from the pile and slide it into their headband to face the group. It is important they DO NOT look at the card they choose!
Once everyone has a card in their headband, they will begin.
The group will start by giving the person three hints for their word. If they guess it, they take the card out and choose a new one. If they do not guess correctly, their turn is over and it is the next persons turn.
Hint examples: This word has 3 letters. It is part of the "-an" word family. It rhymes with ran.
Students continue this until there are no cards left or the time is up!
The person with the most cards collected (guessed correctly) is the winner!)



This game is a favourite in my class. The kids can all participate at once and can take turns giving helpful hints to each other to guess their words. I LOVE to see my students using our Word Wall as a reference during this game!

I will be keeping this game a part of my weekly routine up until the last week of school! Click any of the pictures above to check out the full package! 

Only 26 more school days until summer! What are you doing to maintain a little normalcy in your class this time of year?

Wednesday, 18 May 2016

How much fun is one?

I am SO excited to say welcome to More Fun in 1! My name is Danielle and I am a first grade teacher from Alberta. I graduated university with a Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Education in December 2014. This is my second year teaching grade one and let me tell you, I LOVE IT! I'm loving it so much that I have to share what is happening in my classroom. 

Check out my class - at the end of a loooong, hot day!

I might be extremely a bit biased but I think grade ones have the most fun. The progress and growth I have seen in my students this year blows my mind on a daily basis. They entered in September working on the alphabet and printing their name. Now, it's almost the end of the year and they are READING and WRITING! And all the while we have had so much fun. 

My class is a busy place with many different centers and activities happening at the same time. Right now we are jumping into a unit on the needs of PLANTS! This is one of my favorite units as there are so many fun, hands-on activities for my kiddos to delve into their learning with. 

My student's amazing greenhouses! Find the template here.

I will be posting about all the crazy, fun and engaging activities that are happening in my class. I can't wait to share my classroom and all of our adventures with you! 

Thanks for stopping by!!