Little Literacy Learners

Summer Early Literacy Calendars

2013-05-28T20:08:00.002-04:00

The school year will be coming to a close for me next month! As I look at the progress my students have made, I can't help but think about how important it is for them to continue to engage in daily practice of what they have learned to help prevent summer regression. So to help provide parents with some quick and easy activities to reinforce important early literacy skills, I will be sending home a calendar for the summer months. This will provide them with fun ways to help the kiddos maintain what they have learned!

Although I know that some of you have already completed your school year (yes I am a bit envious, but HAPPY SUMMER!! I still get to go through three full weeks of June with my little ones). I created two sets of calendars. The activities are the same on each set, but one set goes from June-July, and the other from July-August!

Some of the activities include:
reciting the alphabet
rhyming
syllable segmentation
phoneme isolation (beginning and ending sounds)
alliteration
letter sounds
writing
sight words
reading (student readers)

Click on the picture below to view the June-July calendar.

Click on the picture below to view the July-August calendar.

Enjoy!

Can Do! Phonemic Awareness Game Show

2013-05-04T15:05:00.002-04:00

I am excited to be able to share my thoughts with you about Lakeshore's Can Do! Phonemic Awareness Game Show!

Although it is indicated for students in Grades 1-2, I played this with my kinderkids, who had so much fun practicing identifying and matching initial, final, and medial sounds.

I was able to put the software right into my computer and guided the student through the game.

I liked that the
Can Do! Phonemic Awareness Game Show
allows you to choose:
~ up to 4 different teams teams.
~ a futuristic player for each team.
~ the length of the game. There are options to play up to 4, 6, or 8 points.
~ whether or not you want instructions to play throughout the game or not.
~ to print out a score report at the end of the game. This report is broken down by each category (beginning, middle, and ending sounds).
~ to print out a pre and/or post assessment.

My students had fun selecting a player to represent themselves. When it was their turn, the robotic host told them to spin the wheel and answer a question to earn points. Each time a question is answered correctly, something fun happens to the avatars of the other players (the Ice Device is activated, the Super Gooper pours cheese, ketchup, dish soap, or some other goopy material on the players, etc...)

Thank you Lakeshore for allowing me to review the

Can Do! Phonemic Awareness Game Show!

It was definitely a hit and will be a great addition to help build my students' phonemic awareness! I keep hearing, "Can we play that robot game again?"

Letter and Sound Assessment

2013-04-27T19:24:00.000-04:00

I have been updating some of my products here and there throughout the year. Today I want to share with you, the updates to my Letter and Sound Assessment! I use this as a means to monitor the progress of my students' letter and sound knowledge.

Teachers Notebook

Teachers Pay Teachers

I begin by showing the students the upper case letters. I ask them to tell me the name of each letter and what sound it makes. I then move on to the lower case letters. Although this isn't a "timed" test, I only give the child credit if they are able to name the letter or sound automatically (within 3 seconds). They do not get credit if they need to employ some type of strategy in order to recall the letter name or sound (i.e., they have to recite the alphabet, spell their name, etc...).

Because I use this informal assessment multiple times throughout the school year, I make sure to mark the letters and sounds in a different way and with a different color each time I assess. There is a space to assess the child three times on one form (6 times total if you print front-to-back). This is an update from my previous assessment, where you could track up to 6 times on each side. I made this change because I was finding that it was hard to read if I monitored more than three times. (Using different colors is great, but the colors don't come through when it is photocopied.)

I also added a box to write notes each time the child is assessed. (I tend to take a lot of notes on my students, do you?) I like to keep track of what letters/sounds they did not know, especially if they demonstrate inconsistencies between assessment periods. Another thing I like to note is if the letter or sound seems to be emerging and I note the strategy the student is using to identify it (i.e., they had to spell their name, recite the alphabet, state the letter-keyword-sound in order to produce the sound). Here is a picture of the assessment with one of my students for some of the year:

I do suggest that you print pages 2-3 front-to-back. Then you are able to see the child's growth and have the data for six different assessment periods on one sheet of paper!

Remember that this is an update! If you have previously purchased this product, you should be able to sign in and download the update!
Thanks for stopping by!!

Ladybugs Letters and Sounds Game

2013-04-20T22:14:00.000-04:00

Need some new games to help your students practice letters and sounds? Many of my students are still working to master them, so I created these cute upper and lower case ladybug letter cards and currently use them with my students in two different games.

Teachers Notebook
Teachers Pay Teachers

One of the games is called, "Ladybugs". It is a simple card game where you mix up the letter cards and additional playing cards into a pile and place facedown (or put them in a cute Spring themed container). The students take turns selecting a card and naming the letter and/or sound, or follow the directions written on the card. Once all of the cards are selected, I flip through each student's pile of letters and have them name the letters or sounds to practice fluency.

The second game is "Find the Ladybug". This can be played on the tabletop or in a pocket chart. I use a pocket chart and play this game if I have a few moments to spare before our group time ends. The kids love it! This is the same game that I posted about here. Head over to that post for directions and pictures!

What are some things you do to help your students master their letters and sounds?

I Have, Who Has Blending and Rhyming

2013-04-06T16:04:00.001-04:00

Hi all!
Do your students like "I have, Who has" games? Well, since I work with small groups of children, I wanted a quick activity where they could practice blending their sounds and also reinforce their rhyming skills at the same time, so I created these two games.

The two games are identified by the color of their borders, one yellow and the other pink, with eight rhyming pairs each. Each game creates a loop, so the last question is answered by the first answer set on the table. The students are encouraged to work together to determine the correct answers. Directions are included!

Click on the picture to download.

I also have another "I have, Who has" game to help reinforce rhyming. This game is much longer and includes 24 rhyming pairs. In this game, there is no text for the students to read. They match the rhyming pairs using only pictures.

You can find the game in both of my shops:

Teachers Notebook

Teachers Pay Teachers

Have you ever heard of LoopWriter? It is a program you can buy/download that can create looping games just like these. They also have a FREE "I have, Who has" rhyming game with pictures. You can access that here.

Thank you!

Ultimate FREEBIE Collection-HAPPY BIRTHDAY TBA!

2013-04-06T05:25:00.000-04:00

Have you been over to Teaching Blog Addict (TBA) in the last few days? If you haven't, you really need to stop by!
We are hosting an ultimate FREEBIE celebration to celebrate filled with FREEBIES for different grade levels!

Click on the picture below to head to the

PreK and Kindergarten FREEBIES:

Once you are there, you will find 8 or more pages of 50 FREEBIES to each page!

And that is just for PreK-Kindergarten!

Click on the links below to find the other grade levels:

1st-2nd Grade

3rd-4th Grade

5th-6th Grade

So get your printer ready and stop by to grab some amazing FREEBIES!

You are also invited to link up your own FREEBIES!

How amazing is that?

I feel so blessed to be an author for TBA and can't believe it has already been 2 years! I look forward to celebrating many, many more!!

HAPPY, HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TBA!

Zippin Down the Freebie Trail

2013-03-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to be part of the FREEBIE trail!
I hope you have found some great activities to add to your toolbox!

I would like to share a fun game called
The Bunny Trail

This game can be used to reinforce so many different skills. I use it to reinforce fluency with letters, sounds, and sight words.

To play, write whatever needs to be reinforced on the included flash cards and also in the empty boxes on The Bunny Trail game board. Mix up the cards and have the child read through each card until they get to the first target on the trail. You then continue the same routine until the bunny gets to the end of the trail!
Enjoy!!

Now, click on the egg below to zip on down to our next stop and see
Learn With Me in Grade Three

And if you are just starting with us, click on the egg below to head to beginning of the trail!

Winner!!

2013-03-16T20:09:00.001-04:00

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway for the
2 DVDs of 26 A-Z Letter Videos by ABC Mouse

Congratulations go out to
Kelly B.
and
Louise Z.
for both winning a copy of their own DVD!

Please check your email ladies!

Now if you didn't win, but did not check out the FREE apps by ABC Mouse, click on the picture below:

Photo courtesy of ABCmouse.com

OR if you have an iTunes account, you can click here.

Thank you for this opportunity ABC Mouse!

St. Patrick's Day Literacy Activities

2013-03-11T19:57:00.000-04:00

Here are some St. Patrick's Day themed activities that I will be using in the next few weeks to reinforce some foundational literacy skills. Click on the pictures to learn more about each activity.

To help practice isolating and segmenting sounds, we will be using plastic gold coins to complete

St. Patty's Day Phoneme Segmentation:

To help practice letter and sound identification, letter writing, and phoneme isolation, my kinderkids will be completing activities from my newly updated
Lucky Letters Literacy Pack:

And to informally assess correct responses to various phonological skills, I have my students
Color a Lucky Clover:

Finally, just wanted to remind you about the giveaway I am doing for not 1 but 2 DVDs made by ABC Mouse for their 26 A-Z Letter Videos!

ABC Mouse App & GIVEAWAY!!

2013-03-09T07:02:00.004-05:00

I previously wrote a review for the website ABCmouse.com.

Since then, this site has become a favorite in my house with my little lady.
BUT, have you seen the free apps from ABC Mouse on iTunes?
They have interactive stories, beginning readers, and an interactive zoo!

Their newest app is 26 A-Z Music Videos!

These music videos are great!! The graphics are cute and colorful and all of the songs are fun and catchy! They are designed to help reinforce letters and sounds.

Did I mention that it is FREE??

Now, when you download the app, you start with 3 videos for the letters A, B, and C, along with 100 tickets. Each time a short video is watched, 1-3 tickets are earned! Once in awhile, there is a cute little wheel to spin to earn additional tickets. The tickets earned can then be used to unlock additional videos for free! (You also have the option to purchase the videos if you choose.)

The videos are fantastic, and guess what? I have 2 DVDs of all 26 A-Z Music Videos to give away to not only one, but TWO WINNERS!
These DVDs are perfect to reinforce letters and sounds with little ones!!
Enter via the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!!

Now, if you want to check out their other apps, click on the picture below:

Photo courtesy of ABCmouse.com
OR if you have an iTunes account, you can also click here.

And finally, if you wanted to read the review I wrote back in August for the ABC Mouse website, click here.
(You can learn how to set up a FREE classroom account!!)

Want to have some fun?

2013-02-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

Anyone up for having some fun?

I found this cute little picture in my daughter's room.

~~The first 3 people who can tell me the author and title of the book that is pictured, will win my updated~~

~~Lucky Letters Literacy Pack!!~~

Jessica, Michelle, Kimberly, and Casey were all right!
It is from The Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon.
A favorite here in our house!
Thanks for playing along and please check your email ladies! I'll be sending you the file!

Lucky Letter Literacy Pack UPDATED!

2013-02-20T21:58:00.002-05:00

In getting ready for St. Patrick's Day, I updated my Lucky Letters Literacy Pack!

This pack includes upper and lower case versions of:

Lucky Letter Finds (alphabet charts)

Lucky Letter Mix-Ups (letters are mixed up)

Color the Lucky Letters ABC Paths

Write the Lucky Letters

It also includes worksheets for the students to circle the

beginning, ending, and now middle sounds of the words pictured.

Teachers Notebook

Teachers Pay Teachers

I realized that some of the original pictures did not align with the Common Core Learning Standards (a few pictures ended with "l" or "r"), so I went ahead and changed them.

Here are some of the Kindergarten Common Core Learning Standards that can be addressed when using the Lucky Letters Literacy Pack:

RF.K.1d- Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
RF.K.2d- Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words.* (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.)
RF.K.3a- Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
RF.K.3b- Associate the long and short sounds with common spellings (graphemes) for the five major
vowels.
LS.K.1a- Print many upper- and lowercase letters.

The Valentine Update

2013-02-13T20:47:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to let you know that I updated my Student Reader called, "The Valentine" to include a Home Reader.

So if you have already purchased it from TPT, head over there to download it again!

Or, if you haven't yet purchased it and would like to do so through Teachers Notebook, you can do so by clicking on the link below:

Teachers Notebook

Are you in need of a quick activity for Valentine's Day?

Head over to a previous post to see what activities I have available!

www.mycutegraphics.com

Finally, I found this adorable blog called,

She shares amazing little treats for each holiday! Instead of giving my little ones sugary treats, I am going to give each one a cute little bookmark that she created! They will love them!

Photo courtesy of itswrittenonthewalls.blogspot.com.

Hope you have a

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

New Student Reader-"I See"

2013-01-28T16:35:00.002-05:00

Now that assessments are done and I have added new kinderkids to my caseload, new groups and routines are underway.

I really wanted to start reinforcing concept of word with some of my groups, so I wrote a new Emergent Student Reader called, "I See".

Teachers Notebook
Teachers Pay Teachers

I will be using it to reinforce:

~ concept of word, sentence, and space

~ sight words: I, see, the, a

~ 1:1 correspondence when reading

~ use of picture clues when reading
~ onset-rime blending
~ rhyming

I start by writing out the sentences on sentence strips and placing them in the pocket chart. I model how we point to one word at a time when reading. Of course I make a mistake or two (I read "a" instead of "the" and insert the word "can") for the students to correct me. This helps ensure they are focusing on the words.

I then have each student come up and read with a pointer. Once done, they receive their own copy to begin their Student Reader folder. (As we read additional Student Readers, they will be added to the folder.) They will also be taking home the Home Reader to read to someone special.

This reader is a bit more simplistic than the first one included in my Emergent Student Readers Set 1. If you want to learn more about the Student Readers I have created and use with my students, you can click on the pictures below:

Thanks and enjoy!

Snowman Letters and Sounds

2013-01-20T20:01:00.004-05:00

At school, we just completed our AIMSweb Benchmarking.
Most of the kiddos had a great deal of difficulty with Letter Sound Fluency (LSF). If you are unfamiliar with AIMSweb, this is where the student is presented with a random series of upper and lower case letters and they need to produce as many sounds as they can in 1 minute.

When I assessed them with my Letter-Sound Assessment to see exactly what letters and sounds they knew, I found that many of them simply didn't know many letter-sound correspondences. So they really need a boost in this area.

One game that I like to play with my kiddos is the,
"Hide/Find the ____" game.
This game has been around for years and years, but I just love how you can make simple changes and the kids continue to love it each and every time they play it.

I didn't have any fun alphabet cards to use for the winter season (well, none that wasn't currently part of an activity I would be using), so I made these Snowman Alphabet cards to place into a pocket chart and play, "Hide the Penguin" to reinforce letters and sounds.

Teachers Notebook
Teachers Pay Teachers

How do I play, Hide the Penguin?

Well, do you see that little penguin above?

He is the little guy who I hide behind the cards.

I simply place the letters I want to reinforce into my pocket chart, as seen below (I play this game with sight words too).

I then hide the little penguin behind one of the cards.

The kiddos take turns naming a letter and/or producing a sound trying to find the penguin!

Have you played this game before? Do your kids like it as much as mine?

If you are interested in my Letter-Sound Assessment, you can find it in both of my shops!

Teachers Notebook

Teachers Pay Teachers

Updated Snowman Letter Identification-LiPS

2012-12-30T08:18:00.000-05:00

Hello there!

Completely unrelated to teaching, I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures from the past few weeks of my little ladies.

Paige was an angel in her school Christmas play and she lost her first tooth (she pulled it out all by herself). She has been loving the snow that has been falling for the last few days and is excited to celebrate her birthday just next week. Saydie is also enjoying the snow and the Christmas season!
She LOVES to open presents, too!

Do any of you have to complete an Evidence Binder? In case you have no idea what I am talking about, it is now part of New York State's new teacher evaluation plan. Since the beginning of the school year I have been shoving my "evidence" into the front of my binder. I really need to sit down to sort through and organize what has been collected so far.

I added some fun game cards to my Snowman Letter Identification!

Now in addition to using the letter cards with the alphabet charts, you can also use the letter cards with the new game cards to play a fun card game to reinforce letters and sounds.

You can find my Snowman Letter Identification in both of my shops, just click on one of the links below:

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Notebook

Last, but not least, before break I was able to attend a one-day training for the Lindamood-Bell Phoneme Sequencing program called LiPS. Do any of you currently use the program? I would like to start incorporating it into my instruction with some of my kinderkids who are REALLY struggling with letter identification, but would love some feedback from real teachers who are using it! What are your thoughts?

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

2012-12-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

God Bless!

Sleigh Full of Goodies-Presents!

2012-12-02T05:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks for continuing along the

If you missed the two stops on the blog hop from Day 1,
make sure you click on the picture above!!

In my sleigh, you will find my
Christmas Present Letter Identification pack
This will be FREE, for the next 12 days!

In addition to the blog hop, I am also linking up with Day 1 of

hosted by Amy of Teaching My 3.

Click on the picture below to hop over to The Lower Elementary Cottage to see what she has in her sleigh!

Thank you Beth from Thinking of Teaching for hosting this merry blog hop!!

Do you have something you would like to share?

Please link up and join in the fun!!

Are You Ready for the Holiday Season?

2012-11-25T05:53:00.000-05:00

Getting ready for the winter and holiday season?
Well here are some products that I use with my little literacy learners to help reinforce letter, sound, and sight word identification.

Here is my newest product:

This pack includes cute penguin versions of both upper and lower case versions of:
~ Letter Finds (alphabet charts)
~ Letter Mix-Ups (letters are mixed up)
~ Letter Cards
~ Brr... Game

I use the following for both letter and sound matching:

Here is a cute little FREEBIE:

I use this to reinforce letters, sounds, and sight words:

And don't forget the three sets of
Winter Wonderland, 2 Games-in-1 Packs
to help reinfoce the first 300 Fry Sight Words:

Finally, don't forget to hop over to TBA to check out Freebie Friday!

Did you save any money?

2012-11-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

Did you head out to the stores yesterday or do some shopping online? Well I hope you saved some money because Teachers Notebook is having an amazing sale!

Teachers Notebook is "giving back" to all of its members! Make a purchase from a shop and Teachers Notebook will take an additional percentage off your ENTIRE ORDER!

You could get up to 55% off from each shop!

To thank YOU for all of your support, comments, and feedback, I have listed all of my products for 50% off, so that means you would be able to get my products for the 55% off!

THANK YOU for all of your support!

Color a Turkey FREEBIE

2012-11-16T05:51:00.000-05:00

When reviewing foundational skills with my students in my small groups, I like and need to hear responses from each student individually. To give it an extra boost of fun, I reward my students for correct responses by having them do the following:

How do you use this?

Simply print the document and cut it into the four strips.

Have your kiddos write their names on the back.

As you complete your planned activity, have the student color in a turkey for each correct response.

So simple, but the kids love it!!

This could be used in so many ways, with any type of skill!! What will you use it for?

And don't forget to head over to Teaching Blog Addict for some other great FREEBIES!

Hurricane Sandy-Teachers Help Teachers

2012-11-10T05:27:00.002-05:00

Hurricane Sandy was nasty.

She came and left a path of destruction in the Northeast that it has never seen before. Some of my loved ones are still without power and/or are displaced from their homes. It has been almost two long, and cold weeks. Others lost every little thing they own.

Laurah over at The ESOL Odyssey is organizing a movement to help other teachers affected by Sandy, called:

She is reaching out to those who have create materials to share or own a store on TPT or TN, and would like to donate some products to help other teachers in need.

Click on the picture above and then follow the directions on Laurah's page. It is so easy and every little bit helps. She will be working hard to gather the products and distribute them to schools and teachers in need. Teachers of all grade levels are encouraged to participate.

Will you help out too?

Thank you Laurah for doing this!

Turkey Letters and Sounds

2012-11-09T20:56:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite holidays happens to be just around the corner!

Thanksgiving of course!

I love gathering with family and eating delicious food!!
What can be better than that?!

Are you working on introducing and reinforcing letters and sounds? I created a Turkey Letters and Sounds Pack just for Thanksgiving, with cute little turkeys!

Don't forget that I also included some cute Thanksgiving pages in the Roll and Say activity to help promote fluency with letters and sounds.

Finally, I have a game board that could be used when reinforcing almost anything. It is available for FREE!!

Gobble! Gobble!!

Fluency with Letters and Sounds

2012-10-29T21:55:00.002-04:00

Today was a short day at school. We were dismissed early and will not have school tomorrow due to Sandy. Being in the northeast, we luckily we have emergency days built into our school year for snowstorms and other emergencies. Who knew we would use the some of those days for hurricanes two years in a row? Good news is that it has given me time to let you know what I've been up to!!

I have mentioned in previous posts that my district has adopted and implemented AIMSweb for the first time this year. Through this assessment, many of my firsties showed weaknesses in both Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) and Letter Sound Fluency (LSF). For those of you who are not familiar with the assessment, the students are presented with rows of random upper and lower case letters and are asked to name as many letters as they can in one minute for LNF, or as many sounds as they can in one minute for LSF.

LNF and LSF does not tell me what letters and sounds my students know or continue to need more practice with. To help learn more about this, I also assessed them with my

I found that they did know most of their letters and sounds. When I put the results of the two assessments together, it showed me that they need extra practice naming their letters and producing their sounds automatically and fluently.

As a reading teacher, my time with students is limited. So in addition to providing instruction to my firsties, I also want to provide them with some time for extra fluency practice. The first few minutes of my intervention time is devoted to practicing this fluency through a quick activity, depending on the day of the week.
Here is what I have started to do:

Here are some examples of quick activities I do each day:

On Move it Monday, I generally play a quick game where the students are moving game pieces or their bodies. For example, games like

and

On Time it Tuesday I have been using my

I just updated this pack to include a combination of upper and lower case letters.

For One Breath Wednesday, a wonderful colleague and I created several little ticket-sized boxes with two rows of letters. My students select their "ticket" and then read each line in one breath.

Totally unrelated to letters and sounds, I wanted to share with you that we created these tickets after downloading and using Donna Coleman's fabulous "One Breath Boxes" for sight words!

For Throw it Thursday we will play

This is a brand new pack that I just uploaded to TPT. I included two versions for the months of October, November December.

Flip it Friday is usually done with some type of alphabet letter cards. I have many different sets with different themes, so they are "new" to the kiddos almost each and every time. I quickly flip through the pile for my students to name the letters or produce the sounds as quickly as they can.

Hopefully these quick daily speed drills will help my firsties increase their automaticity and fluency with their letters and sounds! What are some activities you do to help promote these skills?

And for those of you who are also affected by Sandy, my thoughts and prayers are with you! Stay safe!

Student Learning Survey

2012-10-13T20:03:00.000-04:00

It has been entirely way too long since my last post! Things have been hectic with the new New York State APPR, SLO assessments, AIMSweb assessments, additional assessments, writing my SLO, etc...

I think things will begin to start settling down soon....(I sure hope so at least)!

I am happy to say that I FINALLY know what grade levels I will be working with and have my caseload! I get to work with kindergarten, first grade, and fourth grade! So be prepared for me to share some activities to address all of those grade levels. I have been out of the upper grades for a few years and wish I had the summer to prepare myself, but am excited!

I sent a little survey home to the parents to gather some information about the kiddos, but I also want to survey the kiddos themselves to find out their interests. There are some great surveys out there for free, but I wasn't completely happy with any of them for my fourth graders, so I decided to go ahead and create my own. The questions on my survey discuss favorite things they do at school, at home, interests when it comes to reading, what they do when they read and write, etc... Click on the picture below to take a look because I just uploaded it as a FREEBIE!

I found a great one for FREE right on TPT for my kinders and firsties! I am planning to do the first page of

"Things That Interest Me!"

from TheTeacherOrganizer.com.

These surveys will be a great way to learn more about my kiddos! And they will be a wonderful addition to my Evidence Binder for my APPR!!

So how many of you are involved in the new APPR process?