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PreK-1st grade SmartBoard activities. First Grade Garden: Daily 5 and Writer's Workshop {freebies} Alright, I am finally back with some writing ideas and freebies I promised!

First Grade Garden: Daily 5 and Writer's Workshop {freebies}

Be prepared for the longest. post. ever! In February, my teaching partner forced coerced asked me nicely to present a half-day session with her for our divisional P.D. day. I get so nervous talking in front of peers, but we had a lot of fun! StudyJams. Spelling Practice with Dolch Sight Words. ABCya is the leader in free educational computer games and mobile apps for kids.

Spelling Practice with Dolch Sight Words

The innovation of a grade school teacher, ABCya is an award-winning destination for elementary students that offers hundreds of fun, engaging learning activities. Millions of kids, parents, and teachers visit ABCya.com each month, playing over 1 billion games last year. Apple, The New York Times, USA Today, Parents Magazine and Scholastic, to name just a few, have featured ABCya’s popular educational games. The Benefits of Music Education . Music & Arts . Education. Whether your child is the next Beyonce or more likely to sing her solos in the shower, she is bound to benefit from some form of music education.

The Benefits of Music Education . Music & Arts . Education

62 First Grade Websites That Tie into Classroom Lessons. These are my 62 favorite first grade websites.

62 First Grade Websites That Tie into Classroom Lessons

I sprinkle them in throughout the year, adding several each week to the class internet start page, deleting others. I make sure I have 3-4 each week that integrate with classroom lesson plans, 3-4 that deal with technology skills and a few that simply excite students about tech in education. K-3 Links. Tips and tricks for kindergarten teachers lesson plan ideas. You join a special club when you become a kindergarten teacher.

tips and tricks for kindergarten teachers lesson plan ideas

There are only a few of us who have what it takes to manage these littlest students who are often still moving in ​a hundred directions all at once when they arrive in our classrooms. We’ve scoured our WeAreTeachers ​​Helpline and brought together 50 of the very best ideas for kindergarten teachers. 1. Start at the very beginning. “Don't assume they know how to do anything. 2. “Be ready for kids who are readers, kids who have never seen letters, and everything in between. 3. Low maintenance​, high fun! FUN Critical Thinking Activities. For Students in Any Subject The experts on STAAR, such as the Texas Education Agency, the Lead4Ward team and Regional Service Centers tell us that there are some very specific things that we need to do, and other things we should let go of in order to prepare our students for the state assessment.

FUN Critical Thinking Activities

In addition, these strategies can also deepen and broaden their knowledge. Allow for more collaboration on rich content between students (student-centered)Provide higher level thinking questionsGive ample wait timeIncrease critical thinking through authentic instructionFollow the DETAILS of your TEKSKnow the vertical alignment of your TEKS and collaborate with other grade levels. Teaching Kids to Move Beyond One-Word Questions. “Does anyone have any questions?”

Teaching Kids to Move Beyond One-Word Questions

It’s the dreaded question of early childhood educators everywhere. This can-of-worms question often leads to non sequitur statements that range from “I like your pants” to long-winded stories that start with “Once my grandma gave me a . . .” These responses often resemble anything but a question. To avoid these tangents, teachers can turn the question “Does anyone have any questions?” Into a match that, once struck, will ignite purposeful inquiries and investigations. What’s a Dollar Question? According to an anecdote from my parents, as a young child I would always ask, “Why?” I shared this personal story with my kindergarten students, who were eager to learn how to ask dollar questions themselves. Dollar questions have four main features. Penny questions can, however, be changed into dollar questions. Creative Drawing Ideas for Kids. As one way to encourage creative drawing and the continued use of our chalkboard, I occasionally add a drawing prompt and wait for the kids to find it.

Creative Drawing Ideas for Kids

(And by kids, I mean Maia and possibly any friend she has over. Daphne is yet oblivious to such suggestion.) It almost always results in a thoughtful and unique drawing that veers from the usual drawings that I see them make. Drawing prompts are one of many creative drawing ideas for kids that get them thinking and creating differently. The drawing prompts idea is something I’ve borrowed from Susan Striker’s Anti-Coloring Book series —I had one as a child! (By the way, you can find several printable pages from the Anti-Coloring Books as well as examples of what children have drawn on her website.)

What I do is begin a simple drawing on the chalkboard, and add an invitation —in this case, the question, “What is inside this house?” For example, Maia has drawn lots of houses, but always the exterior. Preschool and Kindergarten Games. Top 10 Classroom Games - Quizalize Blog. Academic studies naturally coincide with rote teaching styles and textbook work.

Top 10 Classroom Games - Quizalize Blog

However, it is important to make learning exciting for students with interactive activities. Incorporating fun classroom games into your lesson plan offers a simple way to motivate your students, and encourage them to draw on their creativity and imagination. These top 10 classroom games provide fun ways to engage your students in academic learning, without them even realising!

1. Charades This simple but classic game is a great way to encourage your student to get out of their seats and participate in the lesson. Resources: a list of people, actions or concepts related to the subject you are teaching. Game: Select a student to stand at the front of the room and act out a word from your list (no speaking allowed). 2. A traditional but interactive game which improves students’ spelling and subject knowledge, but is also enjoyable. 10 Great Apps for Early Childhood Development. Education is on shifting ground as technology has made it possible to connect, record and educate children with more and more exciting tools.

10 Great Apps for Early Childhood Development

With so many tools and apps available, it’s hard to know where to begin. Many “educational” apps offer little in the way of education and there are many “entertainment” apps that can be quite educational. So how do you decide which tools are appropriate and can work with your pedogogy? We wanted to know which apps offer a best practice experience so we have asked our Storypark community of teachers, ECE experts, parents and children about their favorite apps. How to Use iPads in Early Childhood Education.