Short Vowel CVC Word Activities

Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers know students need a lot of practice working with short vowel CVC words. This includes real words like mug, hop, bat, jet, as well as nonsense words like mux, zeg, and wim. One of my favorite ways to build CVC words is with Unifix® letter cubes. 

This activity is easy to set up and the possibilities are endless! Another fun way to practice blending and reading CVC words is using a bingo marker. Dab each letter as you say the sound. Then blend/read the word and write it.

 Working with nonsense words is important because it eliminates guessing when students are decoding. It also demonstrates a strong mastery of the alphabetic principal and letter/sound correspondence.

Using a  hands-on approach to reading with a variety of manipulatives keeps learning fun for little learners! Have you ever used magnetic tiles (like MagnaTiles or Picasso Tiles) for phonics activities?

Use a dry erase marker to write on your magnetic tiles. They wipe off easily! Have students use the magnetic tiles to build CVC words. Connecting the magnetic tiles allows the brain to make a connection and blend the sounds into a word.

You can grab all 18 CVC activities and printables on TpT. This resource is packed full of games, activities, and worksheets to use in your literacy centers, small groups, or homeschool.

What's your favorite phonics/word work activity? 

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Summer Math Packet

Are you a parent of a Kindergarten, 1st grade, or 2nd grade student who needs practice with addition and subtraction math facts? Don't let your kiddo fall behind this summer. Math "homework" a few days a week will help your child prepare for the new school year.

I just posted this summer math packet, and it's perfect for outgoing Kindergarten students, as well as first and second graders. Students will practice basic addition and subtraction and build fluency and automaticity with math facts. Skills include sums to 12, sums to 20, missing addends, equivalent sums, part-part-whole, story problems/word problems, doubles, doubles plus one/two, and more. 

Review, practice, and reinforce math concepts taught all year so your kiddo will be ready for Back to School! Here are a few samples of what you will see inside:

Head on over to TheHappyTeacher on TpT to download it today!

Building Sight Words: Activities and Printables

Sight words don't have to be boring and repetitive! Two of my favorite manipulatives to use with sight words are magnetic tiles (such as MagnaTiles or Picasso Tiles) and Unifix® letter cubes. When kids are using their hands to physically move and manipulate the letters to create the word, it has more meaning. Keep it novel and FUN!

Use a dry erase marker to write on magnetic tiles. I love our Expo® markers with fuzzy eraser on the cap! They write well on the magnets and wipe off easily. 

Another hands-on activity for building sight words is using snap cubes. If you don't have the large Unifix® letter cubes, you can create your own using basic snap cubes, Mega blocks, or Duplo Legos.

Building sight words is the perfect activity to incorporate into your word work center or station. Just rotate the list of words students are working on each week and switch out the manipulatives periodically.

Need sight word flash cards and sight word lists by grade level? Check this out...

12 more sight word activities here...

Race to 100 - Hundreds Chart Game

Race to 100 is a fun and simple game to play with a Hundreds Chart. You can also use a 120 Chart! This game builds number sense for preschool, Kindergarten, and first graders. Students will work on number recognition, counting, counting on, numbers to 100, basic addition, and mental math. Watch us play:

To play the game, you will need a Hundreds Chart, dice, and a game piece for each player. You can use snap cubes, a piece of candy, or any small toy as a game piece. Need a Hundreds Chart or 120 Chart? Download one for free here.

Players start next to the 1 and take turns rolling the dice and moving their game piece forward. To make the game more challenging, players can roll 2 or 3 dice on each turn. In this version, players add the sum of the dice and then move their game piece forward. The goal is to make it to 100! 

Another variation of the game is to start at 100 and move backward to 1.

This is a great game to play on the 100th Day of School or to incorporate into your daily math centers. Visit TheHappyTeacher store to get your free 100 Chart, 120 Chart, and missing number fill-ins.