Time in the schedule is like money, there is less of it each year. You have to spend time and money wisely. When I began teaching - long ago when there was more time and money - teachers had more time to include activities that were creative and thought outside the box. As more expectations were added to my plate, I found myself doing fewer of these lessons.
One inside recess day, I gave my kindergarten students die cut letters. I told them that they could flip, arrange, move the letter on the piece of paper that I gave them to create something new. They would finish the sentence "This used to be the letter __, but now it is ___". This activity turned on the switch for one of my students. He had trouble learning his letters with the traditional methods. Once he began to see letters as pictures in his mind, he was able to quickly identify the letters. This thinking outside the box lesson was exactly what he was needing.
Time is an issue. Punching out letters with a die cut is not doable for teachers. I made some lessons using some seasonal things, which is much more time friendly than punching out letters. Collect the seasonal items and use them year after year. I found the mini stockings at Dollar Tree.
You can set this up as a early finisher center or activity. Students love the lessons. You will love how the lessons make your students dig deeper in their thinking.
Want to differentiate the lessons? There are task cards included that you use to differentiate your expectations.
You can set this up as a early finisher center or activity. Students love the lessons. You will love how the lessons make your students dig deeper in their thinking.
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