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Simple Strategies to Teach Alphabet Letter Writing In Elementary

July 14, 2023 teachersbrain Teaching Tips, Writing

As teachers to little learners, we know the crucial role that letter writing plays in developing strong literacy skills. Kindergarten is an exciting time for the kiddos to embark on their journey of reading and writing, and mastering the ABCs is a foundational step!

If you’re wondering how to teach alphabet writing, you’re in the right place.

In this blog post, I’ll share some friendly tips and engaging activities that will help your kindergartners practice and perfect their alphabet letter writing skills. So, grab your favorite marker and let’s dive in!

Introduce Letter Writing Gradually

Begin by introducing the letters of the alphabet one by one, focusing on both uppercase and lowercase forms. Each week, dedicate time to a specific letter, allowing ample practice before moving on to the next. Encourage students to trace the letters using their fingers or with tactile materials, fostering familiarity with the shapes and strokes.

Multisensory Approach

Engage your students’ senses and make it FUN by incorporating a variety of activities to reinforce letter writing. Use playdough to shape letters, allowing them to experience the tactile sensation. Draw letters in sand or shaving cream for a sensory experience that reinforces muscle memory. This multisensory approach not only makes learning enjoyable but also supports their kinesthetic and visual learning styles.

Letter Formation Songs and Rhymes

What kiddo doesn’t love music and rhymes?! Use catchy tunes or create your own letter formation songs to help children remember the proper formation of each letter. Singing and dancing along to the songs not only makes learning fun but also helps reinforce the visual and auditory aspects of letter recognition and writing.

Letter Tracing Activities

Provide your students with tracing worksheets that guide them in forming letters correctly. Just make sure that the worksheets have large, clear letters, and ample space for practice. You can encourage them to use a variety of writing tools, such as markers, crayons, or colored pencils, to keep their interest high. You can also laminate the worksheets to create reusable surfaces, allowing for repetitive practice.

Hands-on Manipulatives

Incorporate hands-on manipulatives to make letter writing interactive. Use magnetic letters, foam letters, or letter tiles for children to arrange and build words. This not only reinforces letter recognition but also helps students associate sounds with symbols, building phonemic awareness alongside letter writing skills.

Letter Writing Crafts and Art Projects

Combine creativity with letter writing by incorporating alphabet crafts and art projects. Encourage children to create collages using magazine cut-outs of objects that begin with the letter they are learning. They can also form letters using various materials like pipe cleaners, yarn, or clay. You can even get some finger-paint out and allow them to create art by painting letters! These activities not only reinforce letter formation but also foster fine motor skills.

If you are looking for the perfect resource for alphabet letter writing or letter writing activities, I have you covered!

Grab the Alphabet Writing Practice Pages, Tracing Worksheets & Crafts Bundle!

Letter recognition and sounds are so important for students to grasp quickly and what better way than to practice! Use these printables and crafts in centers, whole group, small group, or for homework. This is an A-Z bundle!

These provide hands-on options as well as worksheets to help with busy mornings. Students will learn how to work independently after the first couple of letter sets are used because every unit follows the same pattern. There are plenty of things to choose from for the week if you are doing a letter a week. Students will practice fine motor skills with writing, cutting, and tracing.

What is the download?

Letter A (16 printables which includes 3 crafts, a spinning game, letter identification, forming letters, playdough letters, BINGO daubing, tracing letters (upper and lowercase), letter sounds, and beginning sounds of words.)
Letter B (16 printables which includes 3 crafts, a spinning game, letter identification, forming letters, playdough letters, BINGO daubing, tracing letters, letter sounds, and beginning sounds of words.) See Previews
Letters C-Z (These will follow the same format as units for letters A & B, but with different crafts.)
Over 450 Print & Go pages

Want to try it out first? No problem! Grab the freebie here!

If you love these ideas, I share even more alphabet practice activities here!

How to Help Students Avoid the Summer Slide

May 12, 2023 teachersbrain Teaching Tips

With summer fast approaching, it’s time to start thinking about how you can prevent your students from experiencing the dreaded “summer slide.”

What is the summer slide in education?

Summer slide is that phenomenon where kids lose some of the academic skills they gained during the school year when they’re away from the classroom for too long. Yikes!

Is summer slide a real thing?

Unfortunately yes, it is. According to research by the National Summer Learning Association, students can lose up to two months of academic progress over the summer months!

The National Summer Learning Association also reports that teachers spend between four and six weeks re-teaching material at the beginning of each school year due to summer learning loss.

So how do you beat the summer slide?

Don’t worry, there are plenty of things you can do to help your students avoid the summer slide and keep their brains engaged all summer long. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Encourage Reading

As you know, reading is a great way to keep your students’ minds active and engaged over the summer. Encourage them to pick up books that interest them and make sure they have plenty of opportunities to read. You might consider hosting a summer reading program or creating a reading challenge to keep kids motivated. You can also suggest that they check out their local library for similar programs!

Make Learning Fun

Summer is the perfect time to get creative with your lesson plans. Try to find ways to make learning fun and engaging, whether that’s through hands-on activities, group projects, or field trips. The more enjoyable the learning experience, the more likely your students will be to stay engaged and motivated.

Utilize Online Resources

Thanks to the internet, there are plenty of online resources available that can help keep your students engaged over the summer. Whether it’s educational videos, interactive games, or virtual field trips, there’s something out there for everyone. Consider creating a list of resources for your students to explore over the summer.

Keep It Balanced

While it’s important to keep students engaged academically over the summer, it’s also important to give them a break and allow them to enjoy their summer vacation. Make sure your students have plenty of time for rest, relaxation, and fun activities that don’t involve schoolwork. Balance is key!

If you want the perfect resource to help minimize summer slide in your students, you should check out these Summer Packets! I created them with education, fun, and balance in mind so that your students can keep their brains engaged all summer long.

These packets are math and literacy-focused Google Ready digital activities that make it easy to do them at home with parents.

Here’s how to use it:

This is designed with Google Slides. It includes a parent letter, physical and oral suggestions, a reading log, and a review of math and language arts activities. Download and TpT will force a copy of it on your Google Drive. Students do not need to have Google Classroom to participate.

Here’s what’s included:

Pg. 1 Cover

pg. 2. How to use this packet and Parent Tips

pg.3 Oral and physical activity suggestions

pg. 4 Reading Log

Pg. 5 & 6 Sight Word List

Pg. 7-12 Sight Word Sort Review Activities

pg. 13-18 Word Families

pg. 19- 23 ABC Order Printables

pg. 24-25 Correcting Sentences

pg. 26-29 (Nouns, Verbs, Proper Nouns, Long and Short Vowels)

pg. 30-38 WRITING – Narrative, Opinion, Creative (Some printable to encourage handwriting)

pg. 39-41 Comprehension & Fluency

pg. 42- 59 Math Number Bonds, Addition, Subtraction, Shapes, measurement, 10 More 10 Less

Check out the video tutorial!

Love this but need it for a different grade? Check out other grades or get the bundle!

By implementing these strategies, you can help your students avoid the summer slide and start the next school year on the right foot. Remember, summer should be a time of fun and exploration, but that doesn’t mean learning has to take a backseat. With a little creativity and planning, you can help your students keep their minds active and engaged all summer long.

For more reasons to keep learning going all summer, check out my post here!

Simple Tips for Teaching Scissor Skills

March 31, 2023 teachersbrain Teaching Tips

Have you ever stopped to think about just how important scissor skills are for our early elementary students? While it may seem like such a tiny part of their education, the ability to cut with scissors is actually a critical life skill that can have a significant impact on their overall development!

What skills do scissors develop?

Not only does it help our little ones develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, but it can also:

Boost their creativity
Increase bilateral coordination
Boost self-esteem
Increase academic performance

If you’re wondering how exactly to teach this crucial fine motor skill to your elementary students, I have you covered. Get ready to snip, snip, snip your way to success!

Choose the right scissors: It’s important to choose the right type of scissors for your students based on their age and skill level. With our younger elementary-level students, it’s best to aim for scissors with blunt tips and smaller handles.
Demonstrate proper technique: Before your students start cutting, make sure to demonstrate the proper technique by holding the scissors correctly, showing them where to put their thumb and finger, and using a smooth, controlled motion. Spend some time on this topic and encourage students to ask questions if they’re unsure about what to do. Don’t forget to clearly demonstrate how to hold scissors while walking! This is an important safety step you don’t want to forget. Also, make sure to explain that we don’t cut anything that isn’t paper.
Practice, practice, practice: Like any skill, learning to use scissors takes practice. Provide plenty of opportunities for your students to practice cutting different shapes and lines, and be sure to offer positive feedback and encouragement along the way!
Start with simple shapes: To help build confidence and avoid frustration, start with simple shapes like straight lines or basic curves. As your students become more comfortable, you can gradually increase the difficulty level by introducing more complex shapes and designs.
Incorporate scissors skills into other activities: You can help your students build their cutting skills by incorporating them into other activities like crafts, art projects, and even math activities.
Move into more advanced cutting strategies. You can allow them to cut out more complex shapes or teach them new techniques for cutting like folding a paper in half to cut a hole in the center.

If you’re looking for a simple and fun scissors activity for kids that will help your students practice and perfect this important fine motor skill, I have you covered!

This Fine Motor Cutting Practice with Scissors resource is just what you need!

This download starts out with simple straight lines and moves into more advanced cutting skills. It is a perfect way to get students to increase their hand and eye coordination using scissors.

What’s in this download?

22 pages of cutting skills that include straight lines, zigzags, shapes, spirals, and interior cutting. Each page gradually gets more difficult.

Some can be colored and added to construction paper as artwork, but the main purpose of these printables is to practice cutting skills!

Check it out here!

Have any tips for teaching about using scissors? Let me know in the comments!

For more fun classroom ideas, check out this post to learn how you can create a positive affirmation station!

Introducing Constitution Day to Kids

September 16, 2022 teachersbrain Teaching Tips

Constitution Day is here and this is an excellent time to teach our elementary students about what this holiday is and why it is important to our nation’s history.

Why do we celebrate Constitution Day?

In September of 1787, our founding fathers signed the constitution which has become the most important and influential document in our country. To commemorate it, we now celebrate this day as a national holiday on September 17th.

This is a new concept to most of our early elementary students, so this is an excellent time of year to introduce the topic in a way that is engaging and fun for them so that they remember why this document is so important.

Constitution Day activities for elementary students

When teaching this subject, you want to start by explaining to students what this day means, why it’s so important, and who some of the founding fathers are that created and signed the constitution. This will give them the foundational knowledge they need to understand your Constitution Day lesson plans.

After covering the basics, make it fun! You can pull out some craft supplies or Constitution Day worksheets that students can use to better grasp the concept.

I created my interactive flip book to make it easy to incorporate learning about this important holiday in a way that students will enjoy.

These Constitution Day activities for kindergarten and first grade students include 15 printables, writing prompts, posters, a mini book, and more.

Here’s what’s included:

Pg. 1 Cover

Pg. 2 Lesson Plan

Pg. 3 Poster

Pg. 4 Instructions with a visual

Pg. 5- 7 Flip Book Pages where the student writes the word on the side of the flipbook

Pg. 8 – 15 Writing Prompts (primary or intermediate lined with self-check at the bottom)

Pg. 16 Mini Book

Pg. 17 Credits

Check it out here!

Students will love this engaging activity! If you want more social studies fun, make sure to check out my post here for tips on how to teach social studies to kindergarten and first grade students!