I’m so thrilled to be blogging over at We Are Teachers! They’ve got tons of great ideas over there. My third post was an onomatopoeia game for grades K-2. It’s a really simple idea, but your kids will love it!
Onomatopoeia Game for K-2
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Tag Archives: language arts
Is it a Sentence? Valentine Freebie
Understanding what a sentence is can be difficult for young children to grasp. They speak in sentences, but it takes lots of practice to be able to recognize them in writing. Here’s a super simple, Valentine’s Day themed worksheet to help your kindergartners learn to identify complete sentences. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Click here for the free PDF: Is it a Sentence – Valentine
Holiday Synonyms and Antonyms Worksheet
Christmas is almost here!!! Yay! Check out this new page I made, using some of my favorite Squarehead cartoons from my dad. This one deals with one of my favorite language arts topics: synonyms and antonyms. Let me know what you think by commenting below!
Click here for the FREE PDF: Holiday Synonyms-Antonyms
Write On Plastic Pocket Charts
Check out this cool idea a reader submitted. It’s simple, but genius!
If you use a pocket chart to hold vocabulary words, you can diagram them right on the pocket! Use an overhead marker or a whiteboard marker to diagram words onto the clear front pocket of the chart! This way, you can leave it up for the week while you’re focusing on a specific principle, and you don’t have to write on the word strip.
Have any other great ideas? Send them to me (squareheadteachers at gmail dot com) and I’ll post them on this blog! Thanks!
Reading Groups Named After Pets
I’ve heard all kinds of debate about whether to name leveled groups using colors, animals, etc. One year, my guided reading groups were all animals, which I didn’t think would be a problem. But I had a fellow teacher criticize my naming of groups because “6th graders are too old for animal groups.”
A friend showed me this idea that I really like. The reading groups were named after pets that the teacher had owned over the years. One of the pets was a dog named coco. The group wasn’t called “the Cocos”, but were called “Coco’s Team” or “Team Coco” so that the students were team members rather than animals. (Since the theme was pets, the teacher also chose a weekly “Top Dog Reader” to spotlight good work or improvement.)
I thought this would be a clever way to help your students get to know you while helping with the group naming situation. I’m definitely trying this in the future.
Have a great idea? Send it to me (squareheadteachers at gmail dot com) and I’ll post it so other teachers can benefit. Thanks!
Thanksgiving Word Sort
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Here’s another freebie for you (since I’m all about free!). This parts of speech worksheet can be modified for upper grades, by designating one of the “noun” sail sections as a proper noun section. That way, older kids have four categories rather than the standard three. Enjoy!
Click here for the free PDF: Thanksgiving Parts of Speech Sort
Halloween Adjectives Worksheet
Hello everyone! I’ve finally figured out a way to add candy corn to a worksheet! (I do love me some candy corn in October!) Anyway, here’s a simple adjectives activity for your students. Have them come up with two adjectives about each Halloween noun, and then color the candy corn (built-in “fast finisher” for your speedy students). Have a great Halloween!
Click here for the free PDF: Halloween Adjectives
Halloween Memories Writing Project
Kids love telling stories about fun memories. Especially when it’s something they’re proud of (like a Halloween costume)! So here’s my opportunity to let my students tell me about a fun Halloween memory they have. They must write their story first, and then they get to walk around and read their story to 2 friends. Their friends must sign the back indicating they shared their writing. I made 2 versions of this worksheet, so you can choose whether or not you’d like to let your class draw a picture with their writing. Click the links below to see the free worksheets (PDF):
Halloween Memories – draw own picture
Halloween Memories – with picture
Squarehead Teachers 