Join a Mailring at the
Teacher Mailring Center
http://www.teachers.net/mailrings/
Melissa/1 - hello..anyone out there?
1Gr - yes
1Gr - so you also teach grade 1..any game ideas?
TANK - I teach 4th grade in an Edison shcool. We use Everyday Math which has fantastic games
thechild - This is the first time for me. What kind of games do you do in your first grade classroom?
thechild - I teach first grade.
Smiley - I teach 2nd grade
Ann/1st - hello
Ann/1st - first grade here
Smiley - So how does it work in here?
Ann/1st - tank i aught at an Edison school last year
Ann/1st - how is it going for you?
TANK - Ann, I am outside of San Antonio. Where are you?
Ann/1st - Michigan near detroit
Smiley - So how does it work in here?
TANK - Ann, we are devastated that our district has decided not to renew the Edison contract.
Ann/1st - smiley this is my first time in a live chat so i dont know
thechild - The kind of games that I use in my room are Bingo and Going fishing. I use them to reinforce our sight vocabulary.
Ann/1st - oh no..we went through that last year
Ann/1st - is it official
TANK - We love the program and our parents think it is the greatest thing in the world. Unfortunately it is official.
Ann/1st - geez...so will you still teach in the district?
Julie - Hi, how do you use the go fishing game for sight word practice?
TANK - It makes so little sense. We were a four star school last year in the Edison system. We were "recognized" (the second highest rating given) by the state of Texas for our state test scores.
Julie - We use a bingo game for body parts vocabulary. Drew a simple figure, dupicated on cards, with circles on various body parts/areas. On smaller cards the names of the body parts. draw a card, put button on that body part. every one wins.
Ann/1st - wow!
TANK - Yes, I will stay in the district. I live 1 mile from the school.
Ann/1st - tank what grade do you teach?
thechild - I have used a fish pattern for the word cards and glued on the words. I punched a hole in each fish and attached a paper clip. The children use a dowl that has a magnet attached to it.
Julie - Aren't we talking about learning games?
TANK - Did you leave your district when Edison ended?
Julie - How do they figure out the word if they don't know it when they fish it out? Ask a friend?
Ann/1st - no...Ediosn is till there at least for another year
Ann/1st - I got a job offer in a better school district
TANK - You have to understand the Edison thing. We live and die by our great curriculum. It is going to be tough to lose it.
Ann/1st - yeah it was a great curriculum
Julie - Ann, do you have any game ideas?
Ann/1st - excpet im unsure about SFA
Ann/1st - for what subject julie?
Julie - Is the topic learning games or did I come on the wrong night?
thechild - The children in the group take turns 'fishing ' for words. When they catch a fish they must tell their group members the word. If they are correct, then they get to keep it. If not they have to put it back.
TANK - The games that I use are for 4th and 5th grades, but most of them can be simplified for younger students
Julie - I guess learning games for any subject, that's what I understood the topic is for tonight
Julie - Oh, I see, thanks, the child. That's a good one.
Julie - TANK, what are some favorites?
TANK - Today the kids played
TANK - Sorry, I forgot the name and hit the send button at the same time.
thechild - Yes, you're right they are supposed to ask their group the word if they don't recognize it before they put it back.
thechild - Right now, I'm using it to review the kindergarten words that they were supposed to learn last year.
TANK - Anyway, it can be played ay 1, 2, or 3. Use an Everyday Math Deck or a standard deck of playing card. Suffle, deal 5 cards face up to each player. Turn up one target card from the remaining deck. Each player attempts to match the target card by doing one or more operations with the five cards available to him/her.
Julie - i think kindergartners forget many of the sight words over the summer.
Julie - TANK, good idea
thechild - Yes. They had a list of 15 to learn.
TANK - Cards used to form the target number are set aside to be counted for points, unless the child is playing alone. They are then replaced from the stack and a new target number is turned up.
Julie - It's not all that natural for many k kids to remember abstract words like dolch words
thechild - Tank, how would this game look for first graders. I might try this with addition facts to 10.
thechild - You're right Julie. I know it's off topic, but I also emphasis these words on a word wall to be used with our 'kidwriting journals'.
TANK - I would remove the face cards from a standard deck, or the large cards from the Everyday Math deck. Have them use just zero through ten. Then your target number would never be more than ten. They could use the game to practice addition or subtraction facts. That is all that some of my 4th graders can do.
thechild - Does anyone else besides Ann and 1 gr.teach first graders?
subonthego - I used to teach 1st grade, now I sub in mostly primary levels
Julie - any oral or action games used for curric material?
Julie - or bean bag games?
TANK - thechild: try accessing the Everyday Math site. or SRA K-8 which published the curriculum. They feature games that are easy to use. Good luck
Julie - does anyone use commercial board games in the classroom? They're good for math and language at primary level.
Julie - Scrabble, yahtzee, boggle
thechild - A math game that I do a little later in the year involves money. They use i die, a container of pennies, nickels, and 1 dime. Each player rolls the die and takes the number of pennies to match the number. When they have 5 pennies they need to trade up to a nickel on their turn. The first person to get 2 nickels to trade for the dime, wins.
subonthego - one of the commercial board games I remember learning in school that worked in the classroom was Guess Who? It's a really good game for identification.
subonthego - and discrimination
Julie - I remember using graph paper to set up and play battleship,
subonthego - What I have heard is whoever makes Guess Who will send you blank gameboards if you write to them
thechild - Tank, do you know the web address?
Julie - I like that money game, thechild, good idea
subonthego - and tell them your purpose
subonthego - thechild - Money game is a great idea
Julie - good tip, subonthego, thanks
subonthego - No problem
thechild - Later I build them up to 15 cents and then a quarter.
subonthego - Has anyone taught 6th grade before?
subonthego - Any ideas for good games with them?
thechild - A commercial game that I used in my class last year was the 'memory game'. My students really loved it!! I was thinking of making a memory game with sight word cards this year. Haven't done it yet,LOL!
subonthego - I have to go and be Homework Ogre Mom. Talk to all of you later on
thechild - Tank, are you still on?
thechild - Julie, it looks like we are the only ones left.
thechild - What grade do you teach Gary?
Gary - Year 5- 10 year old's
thechild - How about you, blue eyes?
blue eyes - Hi, I teach a muiltage class,1st and 2nd graders.
thechild - I teach first grade. What kinds of games do you use with your students?
blue eyes - I just read your idea about a sight word game. Have you ever tried go fish with sight words?
thechild - Yes, I use bingo and fishing for sight word word review. I'm thinking of creating a memory game this year.
blue eyes - Looks like we're the only two left, and I just got here. Tell me more about your memory game idea.
thechild - Nothing special. I figured that I would just make up two sets of word cards, have them mix them up, and play it like the commercial game. I was planning to update the word cards and remove well known words so that there wouldn't be too many to deal with at a time.
blue eyes - That's a good idea. I've been playing with this idea about a Twister game. I thought I would use an old shower curtain, and mark it off, and use velcero to put the words on with. That way I could change out the words when ever needed.
thechild - Right now, I'm trying to review the 15 kindergarten words and I have already sent home 15 first grade words.
blue eyes - I use the four blocks method, so I've got about 30-40 words on my word wall so far.
thechild - I bought a shower curtain last year with the intention of making a 'twister' like game. Thanks, you just reminded me. It's terrible getting old!!
blue eyes - I understand. I am to old yet, but it seemed like I lost the memory part of my brain, when I started to teach.
thechild - How long have you beeen using Four Blocks? I was thinking of trying it a couple of years ago, but decided that I needed to stick with Fountas and Pinell for a while.
blue eyes - I been using it now for about four years. I love it, because it makes my job a lot easier with a multiage class.
blue eyes - Hi Eric, what do you teach?
thechild - Eric, what grade do you teach?
thechild - Blue eyes, do you teach your guided reading groups while the rest of your students are reading independently?
blue eyes - I have this year so far, because I'm still trying to train my 1st graders how to do centers. But normally, I do GR during my work stations time. And I have about 4 different reading groups going on.
thechild - I haven't started guided groups yet, I'm still teaching them the procedures for the centers.
blue eyes - thechild, how do you like Fountas and Pinell? I've read a lot about them, but my school won't comment.
blue eyes - My 1st graders are catching on pretty well to centers, but having 2nd graders to help teach is a blessing.
thechild - I have been using F& P for the last three years, with the first year in kindergarten. I like it so far. I am still trying to 'perfect' the process.
blue eyes - I don't believe we will ever get anything 'perfect'.
thechild - One of the centers I am using is games. This is when I want to teach them a variet of ways to learn their words in a 'fun' way. When do you use games?
thechild - You're right!! When I have totally figured it out, it will be time to retire!!
blue eyes - I do my games also during my center time. One of the things my kids love is making their words with play dough. I know it's not a game, but they love it. At first, I thought they might just play in the center, but no, they really work in there.
thechild - I know mine love playdough. I was thinking the same thing!! How often do you have to replace it? Are you making it?
blue eyes - I replace it about every other month, because my kids take pretty good care of it. I was thinking this year though, I might have the kids make it in one of their math centers. I don't know how well it will go, but you never know until you try.
thechild - I have made it with kindergarteners. I was thinking of doing it with my first graders. I have time now, because I'm not doing GR. Are you doing this as an independent center.? You're lucky to have role models.
thechild - Last year, I had my students 'write' their words in a rice box. It got kind of messy though.
blue eyes - I thinking about doing it in an independent center when my high school helper is in the classroom. My district offers a class for our juniors and seniors interested in going into a career working with children. The students come into the classroom every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for about 2 hours. The helper I have this year is really great. She wants to be a teacher, and she is really good.
thechild - Hi, bh. What grade do you teach?
bh - Hi. I just got on and I haven't read anything yet. I'm a slow typist. =0) I teach kinder.
thechild - My student teacher will be coming at the end of October. Maybe she can monitor it.
blue eyes - I started a new thing this year. I realize it's proably a very old idea, but I have never tried it. I have put my students sight words, word wall words, and words from their readers on a ring. And my kids take them home each night to practice. I have always sent words home as a list, but my kids really like this. I'm not sure what the difference is, but this is really working.
bh - I play the jumping game with my children. I say "We are going to jump 20 times counting by 10s. Then we jump that many times. If they jump over that number, then they have to sit down. They love it. I hope I have explained it well enough.
thechild - I have used a ring in the past to hold words that they learned to be kept at school. I was thinking of 'revisiting 'this idea this year. The past two years though, I have sent 5 words home in a word card format. I send home suggestions to parents to try at home to help their students. Perhaps I can send home more playdough for this purpose along with an easy recipe .
blue eyes - bh, I could use that for counting by a number, or any counting activity I do. I had never thought about that. It's a great simply idea.
bh - Thank you, blue eyes. Sometimes I whisper the number. They really work on their listening skills.
thechild - Bh, are your kinders good at jumping rope?
bh - We count by ones, twos, fives, and tens.
blue eyes - Well, I hate to say good-bye, but I need to go. It was nice talking with you two. Have a great week.
bh - They jump rope a little in PE but they really aren't. Maybe two or three can.
bh - The child can I ask you a question that isn't game related?
thechild - So are they just jumping up and down in place?
bh - Right. We jump together.
thechild - Sure, go ahead. Blue eyes and I got off topic for awhile.
bh - A friend of mine is having her evaluation tomorrow. We were wondering the correct words you would use to explain why it is important to learn rhyming words in kindergarten?
bh - I mean to explain it where the kids would understand it.
thechild - I don't know. Is it important for kinders to learn this? I taught K for only one year. I never really explicitly taught this. Even now as a first grader, when I taught about rhyming, I remind them that rhyming words ending part souns the same. Doesn't this sound awkward!
thechild - I guess it's all part of this 'push' for phonemic awareness.
bh - I know and I understand it as an adult but I'm having a hard time explaining it in 5 year old language. Nursery rhymes are taught early.
thechild - I know I reinforce this when we create word family lists together.
bh - I have asked the question on the bb mailring but haven't received any answers. We are required to teach them. They even have to make rhyming words. They can be nonsense words.
bh - I don't know where to go to ask. Do you?
thechild - What is the bb mailring? I am on a couple of first grade lists.
bh - building block
thechild - Is this the K version of four blocks?
bh - I am also on an early childhood mail ring. Yes it is the k. version of 4 blocks.
thechild - I wish I could help. I consider it a auditory thing.
bh - I guess I better get off now. My daughter came over from San Antonio and she says this is her time...not the computers. Ha. Thanks anyway. Take care and nice emailing ya! Bye
thechild - Bye. I'm off too. Thanks for the chat.
