Thursday, July 18, 2013

Who Goes First? 40 Ways for Kids to Decide

It's time for your kids to break out into small groups and begin working on a task.  Or they are about to start a game.  The first question I always anticipate is, "Who goes first?"  Here's something that will get your kids engaged in deciding who will start the activity or game.

There are 40 cards in all.  You can put these on a ring and just pick one randomly to call out to groups.  You can also randomly pick one to give to each group so that each group has a different way to find who goes first.  Of course, at the beginning of the year when you are setting your routines, you'll teach your students what to do if they need to have a tie breaker or if no one in the group satisfies the criteria.

I've also created 5 spinners that can be used in the same way.  Kids use a paperclip and a pencil to spin the spinner.  These spinners can be put on a ring and hung in a convenient location.  They could also have a magnet applied to the back and put in a handy dandy spot so your students can get to them.



I've also created a teacher card that has all 40 ways on one card so it's at your fingertips; you'll see it in the download.


Enjoy!

Monday, July 15, 2013

ZABINGA! Telling Time Game with 5 Levels

Zabinga!  It's a new twist that I've put on an old game.  And I'm using telling time as the skill for this super easy-to-play and super fun game.  Your students can play this game in pairs or in small groups.  All they need is a set of leveled playing cards with some ZABINGA cards sprinkled in.  (Teacher directions for what to put in each game bag is included in download.)

Everything fits nicely inside a sandwich-size Ziploc bag.  So easy!

I've designed five levels:




  • Level 1: to the hour
  • Level 2: to the hour and half-hour
  • Level 3: to the hour, half hour, and quarter hour
  • Level 4: five-minute intervals
  • Level 5: one-minute intervals 
These are available individually in black and white clocks as well as colored clocks.  Just click on the images above to hop on over to my TpT store.  If you'd like to grab all five sets, just click below.  You'll get a lot more and have some more flexibility too.


In this PDF file, each level has different printable versions because everyone has different capabilities.  Some of us have access to color printers, and others of us don't.  So each level is provided in a black and white version as well as a color version.  I usually print in black and white onto bright card stock, and I use a different color of card stock for each of my sets.  It really helps keeps my sets together.

I've also created each set in business card format using Avery Business Cards (2" x 3.5").  Can you say EASY?  You can grab a set of these business cards at the store for $11-$13 for 250 cards.  They are durable and so stinkin' easy to pop out.  NO MORE CUTTING ON THE PAPER CUTTER!!!  For those of us who don't have the means to get business cards, then each set is provided in a regular format.  Just print, laminate and cut out.

ALL of this (actually 26 documents) is included in your download.  Woo hoo!

So how do you play ZABINGA?  Cards (leveled playing cards with 4 ZABINGA cards mixed in) are placed in the middle of the group.  On each player’s turn, she or he will take a card from the top of the pile and answer the question on the card.  If the answer given is correct (answer keys are included in sets), the player gets to keep the card.  If the answer given is incorrect, the card is placed at the bottom of the pile.  If a ZABINGA card is drawn, the player must put all of the playing cards she or he has collected so far back to the bottom of the pile.  The ZABINGA card is then put aside in a different stack.  It is the next player’s turn.  Students will continue playing until all of the playing cards from the pile are gone.  The player with the most playing cards is the ZABINGA winner. Woo hoo!  I've made an instructions card that fits nicely inside a sandwich-size Ziploc bag along with the playing cards.  So, all your kids will need to do is grab a bag, pop a squat on the floor, and play!  Yes!

Here's what the cards look like:

This is the business card format provided in color as well as black & white formats.
This version is the regular format (not for business cards).  It's available with color clocks or black & white.

For each game, just use 4 ZABINGA cards.  Don't worry!  The teacher directions tell you how to make game sets.
Visit my TpT store to scoop up a copy of this telling time version of ZABINGA!

But wait...there's more!  As I was making this game, I thought these cards would be PERFECT for a game of Scoot!  So, I've included some instructions for how you can play this whole class review game along with a game board.  Consider this your GIFT WITH PURCHASE.  If you have not played Scoot with your class, I cannot encourage you enough to give it a try!  It is so much fun!

Enjoy!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Jazzed Up Memo Books {Freebie}

Happy July! It's been a busy summer so far. Lots of fun training opportunities which means lots of reasons to appreciate the people I've been hanging out with. I have a tutorial to share with you that is super cute and super inexpensive.

But first I wanted to let you know some exciting news. By spending time with so many of my friends this summer, I've had a lot of time to talk to them about my blog and all of the things I want to accomplish. One of the questions I'm always asked is, "Why do you always give your stuff away?" Well, I have always wanted to share what I use in my classroom with other people and if someone else can use it, then great. The more I blog and the more that people download my freebies, the more I realize that I would like to do more. I've decided in order to do more, I need a few more resources. Therefore, I've decided to open a TpT store so that I can continue to provide as many free resources as possible.  In fact, this free tutorial is my first "product."


I'd love for you to follow me on Bloglovin & my TpT store as well as grab this tutorial.  And please let me know how you appreciate the team members in your life.

 Have a blessed week and enjoy!


Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

Freebie Fridays

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...