Sight Word Dominoes - First Grade Dolch List

My students enjoyed my first sight word dominoes game so much I decided to create one with the First Grade Dolch list (check last week's post for the Primer list).  My students know that I use task cards for computer centers and other math and literacy centers. After forgetting one week, I had a student remind me. "Next week please don't forget the task cards." I was thrilled to hear that they actually used them! So, I have included a task card for playing with a partner, in a small group, or individually.

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Sight Word Dominoes (Primer Dolch Words)

I created these sight word dominoes for my students to practice reading high frequency words. They can be used in a small group or individually.

Small Group: After cutting out the domino sight word cards, deal them out to students. Place one in the center, face up. Students can put a domino down if they have a sight word that matches one side. They must read the sight word first.

Individually: Lay dominoes down in a pattern so that the same sight words touch. Say each word as you put it down.

Click here for a free copy.

Ten Less - Subtract 10

My students still need opportunities to practice subtracting ten from a 2 digit number. I have put together a couple of worksheets and a game to help students with this skill. Some students needed to use a hundred's chart (included) to help them. Other students were more strategic. When they rolled a 5 and 1 they could make 15 and then subtract 10 to get 5 or they could make the number 51 and subtract 10 to get 41. Love games that incorporate both skill and strategy work!

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My Top Ten Interactive Fraction Websites

Fraction Websites for First, Second, and Third Grade

These are some of my favorite fraction websites to  introduce or review basic fraction concepts including identifying, naming, and comparing fractions. 

Pizza Fraction
http://www.infoplease.com/math/knowledgebox/player.html?movie=sfw42848
Enter the cafe and decide whether the pizza is divided into fair shares.

Fraction Shoot

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/earlymath/fractions_shoot.htm

This site does have ads on either side of the game (I don’t usually like these), but it does have student decide whether shapes are divided into equal or unequal parts. 

Fraction Bowling

 http://www.hbschool.com/activity/bowling_for_fractions/bowling_fractions_new.swf

Students click to color in part of a shape. and then write the fraction. If they are correct a bowling pin appears. When they get all their bowling pins, the ball knocks them down.  Shapes are divided into up to 12 parts, but a nice site to review naming fractions. 

Cross the River

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/cross_the_river/cross_the_river.swf

Given a fraction (parts of a whole) student select the correct fraction so that the boy can cross the river. I love the little music that plays when he crosses the river, get ready to boogie. 

Fraction Concentration
Match the fraction to the picture.
http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=73


Fraction Flags

http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/fractionflags/fractionflags.html
Create colorful flags by coloring the fractional part.

Hatchin Fractions

http://www.pearsonschool.com/live/images/custom/envisionmath_ca/games/hatchin.swf

Select easy and each problem has the same denominator. This shows fraction on a number line (actually a telephone line). If the answer is correct, a bird lands and lays an egg. Feedback is given if the answer is incorrect. Nice as a linear mode.

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/fractions/index.htm
This site has four different levels and can used whole group or individually. It starts very basic starting with selecting the number of slices of pieces needed. The highest level has students find equivalent fractions (with picture support).

Mendall’s Magic Math Market

http://e-learningforkids.org/Courses/EN/M0901/index.html. It does move into decimals quickly – but I would use the first section to demonstrate to students just learning about fractions. 

Cookies for Grampy
http://www.visualfractions.com/CookiesF.html
Make cookies for Grampy by selecting the correct fractional parts. No bells and whistles but nice to compare equivalent  fractional parts of a circle. 

Virtual Manipulatives:

http://enlvm.usu.edu/ma/nav/activity.jsp?sid=nlvm&cid=2_1&lid=274
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_104_g_2_t_1.html

Inferring in First Grade - Good Books to Teach Making Inferences

I found a good book to help my students learn how good readers make inferences. I used it to reinforce the idea that pictures can help us infer meaning and text can help us infer meaning.  I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen is a wonderfully unique book with a surprise ending (spoiler alert - the rabbit does not make it).

One reason that I like it is that it appeals to certain students that may not be engaged in other books. To be honest the first time that I read it, I was a little troubled by the ending. There is not too much text in this book, so many first graders can read it. The author did an amazing job of conveying his message with simple yet precise text.

When I heard that Jon Klassen's book, This Is Not My Hat, won the Caldecott, I had to get it.  In this slightly dark tale, a tiny fish steals a hat knowing that it is wrong. My students started making inferences about the ending right away! They even were making inferences about the author's message.


Click Here for a free copy of the graphic organizer.

Snow Buddies - First Grade Fun

 To celebrate 100 days of learning, and because we haven't had any snowball making snow, my first graders (with some help from two awesome parents) made these snow buddies. They are just too cute (my first graders and the snow buddies)!

Supplies Needed:
One sock for each student (crew sock with no heel lines either women's small or boy's large)
Batting for stuffing
Buttons
Scrap material and felt or fleece ( I just used left over materials)
Rice (uncooked to give the Snow Buddy some stability) 
String or Yarn

Directions:
Put about 1/2 cup of rice in the bottom of each sock  (parents helped with this).
Have students stuff their socks with batting. They really need to stuff it in to make it look more snowman like.
Tie a string around the middle to give it a belly.
Tie another string to the top, leaving enough to fold over the cuff to make the hat. 
Decorate with buttons, felt, etc.
I have parents help using a low-temp glue gun. Students design and adults glue. If you hot glue gun the hat (cuff) down, it won't flip over.

This year I forgot pom poms for the hat (cuff). My parents quickly whipped up the adorable pom poms by wrapping yarn around a card, pulling it off, tying it off, and then cutting the folded ends.

More Place Value - Ten More Game

We are winding down our place value unit. I am a firm believer in giving students multiple opportunities to practice a skill.. While worksheets have a place, I prefer to use games to reinforce math skills; it also is a great way to build fluency/automaticity. Here are some simple games to practice ten more. All you need is the game board, dice, and a partner. For first graders that can already add ten more to a number, use the last game board with 3 dice (for more of a challenge use number cubes) and encourage them to organize the cubes in a way to add the numbers more efficiently.     Click Here for a free copy.

Place Value - Ten More and Ten Less

My students are amazing. They are making such great progress in math. As part of my place value unit, I'm working on the concept of one more and one less. We played a variation of a game I have seen in many forms. Each child had a hundred's chart, one game piece (I used bears), and a spinner card. Students put their game pieces on number one to start. On each turn, the child would spin and either add or subtract 1 or 10. If the child couln't subtract the number he or she would lose a turn.

To assist some students, I had them count by using a finger to point to each number on the hundred's chart. Doing this before moving the game piece helped. Other students didn't need to do this. I loved seeing the Aha! moment when some realized how easy it was to add 10. I was thrilled when one commented, "Oh, you just add one to the ten's place." Others aren't there yet, but getting close.

 Click Here for a free copy.