Teacher’s Brain

Spring Break Packets For Elementary

We all know how important it is for our students to get a break from school. To relax and take their mind off of it and just enjoy being kids. Spring break is a great time to do this! 

As important as the downtime is, it wouldn’t hurt for students to also get a little practice with those skills we’ve been working so hard on in class. In fact, parents are often asking for something for their children to work on while they’re out of school. 

spring break packets pin image

Naturally, with any break from school, there is a degree of regression. Studies actually show that students are more likely to score lower on tests after being on break than they are during school. 

Assigning light but engaging activities during spring break can be the perfect way to keep their brains active while not in school and prevent that learning regression as much as possible. 

The key is to assign work that is engaging and will get your students thinking, but won’t take up too much of their time. 

When I was in the classroom, I would let the students know that it’s not mandatory, but if they complete it, they will get some sort of reward or prize when they return it to school. This could be a homework pass, treat, pizza party, or something similar. 

I created Spring Break Packets for each elementary grade to help make it easy for you! 

These packets have a spring theme to make it fun for students. You can buy them as a bundle or individually for the grade you need! No prep required, just print these out and go! 

spring break packet preview

Here’s what you can expect for each grade level: 

Pre-K

Spring break word bank, reading log, sight word lists and progress monitoring sheet, handwriting, trace lines, find the letter, color the crayon, writing, upper and lowercase letter work, patterns, sight word find, coloring, comprehension sequencing cards, math printables (adding, counting, shapes, number charts, number line, counting on)

spring break packets preview

Kindergarten

Spring break word bank, reading log, sight word lists, progress monitoring sheet, narrative writing, printables on CVC word families, reading comprehension, rhyming word crossword puzzle, handwriting practice, ABC order, rewrite the sentence, adjectives and nouns,  math printables (addition, subtraction, counting on, adding single digit numbers, shapes, fill in the number chart, number bonds, 10 more, 10 less and 1 MORE 1 Less)

First Grade

Spring break word bank, reading log, sight word lists, narrative writing, printables on CVC word families, reading comprehension, , ABC order, rewrite the sentence, adjectives and nouns, Math Printables ( Addition, subtraction, mental math, adding 2 digit numbers, shapes, measurement, number bonds, 10 more, 10 less and 1 MORE 1 Less)

Second Grade

Word bank, reading log, sight word list, opinion writing, printables on adjectives, nouns , plural and singular nouns, collective nouns, reading comprehension, suffixes, ABC order, rewrite the sentence and word sorts, math printables ( expanded form addition, subtraction, mental math, adding 3 numbers, shapes, measurement, 10 more, 10 less)

Third Grade

Word bank, reading log, sight word list, opinion & narrative writing, printables on context clues, abbreviations, prepositions, verbs reading comprehension, suffixes, ABC order, and rewriting the sentence, math printables (bar graph, addition and subtraction 3 digits, rounding, perimeter and area, fractions, multiplication, division and comparing numbers)

Fourth Grade

Word bank, reading log, suggested sight word list, biography reporting, opinion & narrative writing, printables on context clues, to too two, there they’re their, a an, prefixes, root words, suffixes, relative pronouns, comprehension, past tenses, ABC order, and rewriting the sentence, Math Printables (factoring, 3-digit addition, rounding, multiping using the area model, greater than less than, rounding, fractions, multiplication and comparing numbers)

Fifth Grade

Word bank, reading log, 5th grade suggested sight word list, biography reporting, opinion, informative & narrative writing, printables on context clues, fluency, there they’re their, inference, main Idea, prefixes, root words, suffixes, relative pronouns, comprehension, past tenses, ABC order, and correcting sentences, math printables (graphing points, coordinate patterns, adding subtracting and multiplying decimals, order of operation, factoring, 3-digit addition, rounding, multiping using the area model, greater than less than, rounding, fractions, multiplication and comparing numbers)

spring break packets preview

Do you assign school work during spring break? Let me know in the comments!

 

Digital Sight Word Puzzles for Practice

We know how important sight words are in those early grades. They are crucial to developing reading fluency and expanding reading comprehension. It’s also a nice little confidence boost for beginning readers when they come across words they know! 

To do this, we generally work on them in class and hand out our sight word lists for students to practice at home and they get them checked off as they master them. This is a simple and effective way to make sure your students are getting the practice they need! However, it’s not the most engaging or fun thing to do. 

How can we make sight word practice fun and engaging? 

I have lots of ideas on this topic including this cute and fun sight word teacher dress, sight word escape rooms, plus all of these fun, hands-on activities listed here.

You could say making sight word practice fun is a passion of mine! 

Today I wanted to share another sight word practice activity that is a unique and engaging way for kindergarten and first grade students to master those sight words. 

These digital Sight Word Puzzles are guaranteed to get your students excited to practice! 

sight word puzzles

Created using interactive Google Slides, students will get to solve a puzzle using picture clues. They’ll locate the sight words and write them in the text box. 

Two types are included 3×3 and 5×5 so you can differentiate and choose the difficulty level appropriate for your students. 

sight word puzzles

This resource comes with 11 unique puzzles for students to work through at once or spread out. Plus, it comes with a fun bonus puzzle for those who need a little extra work for a real challenge. 

I love this activity because it is completely digital. This means that it is perfect for students in the classroom or who are doing virtual school. So no matter the status of the pandemic or the weather, you can reach for these digital puzzles. 

Here’s what’s included

Eleven total puzzles. Ten puzzles are 3×3 (easy version) and ten are 5×5 (more difficult to put together.) One puzzle is the bonus challenge. It is 5×5 and has 12 sight words instead of 6. 

Students drag the puzzle pieces over the image area (picture cue) to solve the puzzle and see the sight words. Then, they will type the sight words into the corresponding area. When they are done you can have them send them back to you to check.

sight word puzzles

Wondering what sight words are used in this resource? 

I, like, the, and, see, we, a, to come, me, with, my, you, what, are, now, is, how, of, so, many, where find, this, from, came, on, will, be, into, that, your, who, go, for, here, they, soon, up, make, play, them, give, say, new, said, good, was, then, ate, could, she, all, over, her, when, some he, no, must, saw, down, there, day, too, take, off, put, saw, their, very, look, ask every, one, walk

Learn more about these sight word puzzles in my video here! 

What are your favorite ways to practice sight words? Let me know in the comments!

sight word puzzles

 

Beginner Sight Words | DRESS or T-Shirt Idea

Wearable Sight Words? Why not! Sight word and shape templates can easily be used to create your own sight word dress or t-shirt. Buy a white dress or t-shirt.  I found mine at Amazon. Use the templates to plan how you want your dress to look. Place the templates under the dress or shirt to trace the words and/or shapes.

sight Word Dress

sight word dress 5

Some ideas for students:

  • Let them pick a sight word to color.
  • Give verbal directions to students color the word to improve listening skills.
  • Play the Go Fish game to build a sight word. That word is theirs to color on the dress.
  • Design their own dress.
  • Design their own t-shirt.
  • Get a fly swatter. Place the words on the floor. Call out a word and have students swat the word.
  • Use the Sight Word Journals to write about the daily or weekly sight words.

Sight Word Journal

Last, wear the dress or shirt to school on a special day.  See if students remember which words they colored. You will impress the principal as well as remind students of valuable sight words.

sight word dress idea

I decided not to place any words on the back or top so I could call out a sight word or shape and have students try to find it without touching inappropriate places.

Sight Word Dress

You can add just 5 words a week and make it a reward to color a sight word, then wear it on a special day.

-OR-

Make the whole dress and have a volunteer work with one student at a time to color their sight word.

sight word dress

Students LOVE seeing their teacher all dressed up in something they helped create! It makes learning new concepts a breeze!

sight word dress idea

HAVE FUN! Grab the templates HERE.

 

Sight Words Made FUN In Elementary

Learning to read is one of the biggest goals in the early grades. It sets the foundation for their entire education experience! To do this, we start with the basics, letter recognition, letter sounds, blending sounds, etc. Then we move on to a crucial step- sight words!

These words are words that students practice and become so familiar with that they recognize them instantly and don’t need to sound out. This helps them become more comfortable and fluent readers in less time.

But how do we teach students sight words in a way that they will remember?

We practice every day! The more students practice them, the better readers they will become. This can be done by practicing reading them in class, writing them out, creating sight word chants “T-H-E THE” to get stuck in their head, sending home sight word lists for students to go over as homework, and assigning books with sight words in them for students to read.

These are all great ways to practice them on a daily basis. However, if you are looking for something to really take it up a notch, I have you covered. Get students so engaged in learning their sight words that they won’t even realize they are learning because they are having so much fun with my Sight Word Escape Room! 

sight words

This Mystery Sight Words Escape Room is perfect for kindergarten and first-grade students.

sight words

Use these step-by-step instructions to guarantee student engagement while they learn about sight words to solve a classroom mystery. With little prep, your students will work as a team to break into a box, which breaks them out of the classroom as they beat the clock!

Included in this resource you get one PDF file with step-by-step instructions, a link to incorporate a video to hook your students into the mystery, and 3 pre-made clues for your class to solve. The other file is an editable PowerPoint to make it easy for you to add your own team names to personalize the experience and allow the students to take ownership of the lesson. You can also change the mystery letters to create your own sight words, sentences, and riddles.

This escape room is guaranteed to be a hit with your students!

Looking for more fun ways to practice sight words? Check out my post here! 

 What are your favorite sight word activities? Let me know in the comments!