Announcing an Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue Sale

The New Year seems like the perfect time for a sale. An Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue sale probably makes it sound like I am confusing weddings with New Year's, but really I just wanted to share some of my favorite products and give you an opportunity to get them at a discounted price.

The Old

One of my first Teachers Pay Teachers creations was my Math Challenge Task Cards. This is actually more like a bundle of 9 task card activities. Each activity has a different skill: counting on by 1s, counting on by 10s, writing your own story problems, multi-step adding and subtracting, open-ended problem solving, and more! 

The half-page recording sheet is for 1 card.

Most cards require quite a bit of work. My students usually do just one card a day. With 130 cards, this will definitely keep them busy! This product has always been one of my favorites, and it has been through a massive update since it was originally published. It's something you'll be able to use for years to come.

The New

Making Sense out of Non-Sense is one of my newest activities. I am really proud of this one! I think it  makes the idea of reading nonsense words seem much more sensible. For lots of the required testing we do, first graders need to read nonsense words with short vowels. 

It is pretty hard to think of real words to make using only short vowels, but my students just aren't ready for some of the more advanced phonics. For weeks I actually felt I was being haunted by the task of finding two-syllable words made entirely out of short vowels! I was jotting down words on scraps of paper by my bed and making lists on my phone. Once I had tons of words, I crossed out all the words the average first grader wouldn't know. What was left I turned into 5 unique sets of 12 words for students to build and record. I suggest introducing this in whole group or small group. 

 The Borrowed

I'm not exactly borrowing anyone's product to put on sale, but I do want you to know about the #happy2016 code. Lots of wonderful first grade teachers will be having wonderful sales to celebrate the New Year. You can easily find these sales by typing  #happy2016 into the search bar on Teachers Pay Teachers. This sale will go until January 4.

 

The Blue

January is usually when we get really serious about the silent e rule. If you follow a systematic phonics program, you probably spend a week on a_e, then a week on i_e, etc. I created these I have, who has? silent e games to follow this sequence. The first set only uses the a_e spelling pattern. The next set reviews a_e, but adds i_e, so the sets get gradually more difficult. Since classes are different sizes, you can print a 24 card or a 30 card set. I find it best to play this game in small groups (giving each student several cards). That way students don't get bored waiting for their turn or tune out as soon as their turn is over. 

 I LOVE this clipart from Teacher's Gumbo and Teaching in the Tongass

May your 2016 be filled with joy.

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