Raki's Rad Resources: Educational Connect 4 Games

I think I love using board games in the classroom as much as Heidi Raki does!  This is a great idea for using Connect Four to add up numbers.  She even has a recording sheet to download!

Other ways you could use this game would be...

1. Record the 4 numbers that won.  
• Put them in order from greatest to least/least to greatest
• Sort them by odd and even
2. Upper grades-Record the 4 numbers that won.  
• Write word form, expanded form, etc.
• Multiply by 4
• Write a story problem using the 4 numbers

Raki's Rad Resources: Educational Connect 4 Games: I LOVE to play board games at home, but I also enjoying using them in my classroom. In addition to encouraging cooperation, turn taking and ...

How else could we play this game?

Positively Learning: Sorting It All Out

Okay...so I've been on a shout-out kick lately.  I'm finding so many awesome ideas out there from my fellow bloggers that I feel that I must share them.  My brain has on a bit of a hiatus this summer, but surely by August I'll get back in the groove!

This is a great idea for ordering numbers from Positively Learning!

She has the mat and numbers to download.  Check it out!

Positively Learning: Sorting It All Out: TGIF!!! This week has been uber-productive! I finished giving EVERY product in my TPT store a fancy make-over! I've been working...

The Three Billy Goats Gruff mini-unit

Reading:


Characters
Setting
Retelling 
Sequencing
Sight Words


After reading the story, we recreated the setting and characters.  The river looks black, but it's really dark blue.  The kiddos got to draw their versions of the three goats and the troll and create the river and bridge. Then we made our characters into finger puppets and took turns retelling the story with friends.  Later, we use our setting and characters to solve math problems (see below).

 

 

Sight Word Game-Over the Troll Bridge!!

(bridge and playing cards below)

Object:  Cross the bridge before the troll gets you!!

In a bag place all the sight word cards, 3 trolls, and 3 billy goats.

Players take turns pulling a card.

If you get a sight word card, read it and place it on a plank.

If you don't know it, put it back in the bag and lose a turn.

Billy goats are lucky!  

If you pull a billy goat, he goes onto the next plank, and you take another card.

Look out for the Troll!!!  

If you pull a troll, he takes all your cards and puts them back into the bag!

Math:

Problem Solving

When we created our setting, we made sure that we had 8 planks on our bridge to use for the math problems.  Students use their goats, troll, and counters to solve the math problems on their bridge.

Billy Goats Problem Solving

3 Billy Goats Game High Frequency Word Cards


Copy of Sight Word Bridge 3 Billy Goats



Enjoy!!

Patterning Station

Here's a patterning station we started this week!  It's easy-peasy, but the kids love being able to add their own touches to the patterns.

I insist that they label the pattern units.

Well done!

The basket for this station has many pattern cards from which to choose!

Eric Carle Week

A few weeks ago, we had a mini Eric Carle unit in our Kindergarten classrooms.  Our science focus was objects in the sky:  clouds, the sun and stars, the moon.  

The Grouchy Ladybug

We put words that begin with /g/ on one side and end with /g/ on the other.  

Draw Me A Star

We had a mini lesson about drawing a star using dry erase boards.


Then we cut triangles out of yellow and orange paper.  We counted each color and found the total!

Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me

We watched the video of the story.

Then we practiced making stars, and had a great following directions lesson!

Little Cloud

and

It Looked Like Spilt Milk

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

We watched Eric Carle read the book (here) and later in the week we watched the animated version.

How Eric Carle made The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Then we created The Very Hungry Student book from a template found at Teaching Heart.

Enjoy!

Texas!

We are starting our Texas activities this week!  Our school hosts a chili cook off and celebrates Go Texan Day on Friday!


This is a Shared Writing activity from Room 36.  These boots were made for....

Here is a great labeling idea, also from Room 36.  Draw a cowboy/cowgirl and label him.

Here's one that we labeled as a whole class.

Here are some examples that the cowpokes drew!

Everything's Bigger in Texas book to make with your class.

Room 36! and Chalk Talk

We made pepper patterns from the idea I got at Chalk Talk.

We also made a cowboy glyph using the key from Chalk Talk's Texas Unit!

We ate pecans and graphed whether we liked them or not.  Lots and lots of LIKES!

We were learning about area in math, so we covered the area of a Texas flag!

On Friday, all the we had Texas Rotations.  All the teachers in Kindergarten read a book or song and did an activity with each class.

The book I read was The Cowboy and the Black-Eyed Pea.

We compared the story to The Princess and the Pea.  Then we covered the area of saddle blankets with black eyed peas.  

Finally we had a black eyed pea relay!

Go Texan!