My kids have got synonyms down. They can even say "synonyms" and not "cinnamon." But when it comes to antonyms, a lot of their brains still aren't remembering that it means "opposites." On quizzes, when a question asks for an antonym for a word, many will still choose the synonym instead. So, to help them out with some repetitive practice, I have created Icy Hot Antonyms.
It is a card matching game. Some of the words have a picture of ice cream, and some of the words have a picture of hot chocolate. The ice cream and hot chocolate cards match up with each other (icy hot). So the kids need to match the correct antonym pairs. I'm hoping that the visual will help the kids form a lasting connection about what antonyms are. The good news is, this product is a FREE product in my store. Click the picture to go get it for yourself...and if you think it looks good, please leave a rating :) I plan on sharing a lot more freebies on here, and the feedback would really motivate me!
Now, for all of you who have ever been as frustrated with pencil sharpening as I have, I found a great solution to share. Those "sharpened" and "needs sharpened" bucket labels just never quite worked for me. Several of my kids were just so disrespectful toward the pencils and would leave them sitting around on the floor, broken, or just completely lose them every day. Not to mention, somehow we would still run out of pencils every day and they would be wandering over there to sharpen pencils throughout the day. I tried "closing" the pencil sharpener by a certain time, but realistically it wasn't enough time for everyone to get theirs sharpened. I even tried providing personal pencil sharpeners for kids to use, but they quickly became lost or broken. Enter this amazing freebie I found - Winning the Pencil War:
I have been trying this out for a few weeks just to make sure I liked if before I shared it with you all. And I really have to say it's been great. It's solved all my pencil problems! I just need to do about 15-20 extra minutes of work on Friday afternoons to get the pencils ready. Check out the freebie by clicking the link, and try it if you are tired of your pencil system.
Now, off to work on those 100th day plans. Do any of you have any suggestions for 3rd graders?
Ha! I saw this same pencil war freebie and loved it :) I'm glad to hear it worked - I haven't quite got around to doing it yet but will have to try. The pencil situation is REALLY getting to me now. I also downloaded your antonyms (CUTE title) and will get back to you shortly. I'll try it out this week :)
ReplyDeleteLynn
Fun in the Fours
Love the antonym freebie! See work on synonyms and antonyms every week in my class!
ReplyDeleteChristina :)
Apples, Books, and Crayons
applesbooksandcrayons@gmail.com
Yes Lynn, definitely make the new pencil plan a top goal for yourself to get set up. It is now one less thing that stresses me out throughout the day :) I'm so excited you will be trying my antonyms freebie this week - thank you!! I love your blog and the creative art ideas on there. Luckily, we also still have an art class the kids get to go to.
ReplyDeleteThank you Christina! Yes, I need to start working on it every week too. My kids' vocabularies are so small!
Rebecca
Hi!!! Kate here from the Wise Owl! Thanks so much for blogging about my pencil system. I'm so thrilled that it has worked in your classroom and that you have shared your experience with your followers. Thanks again!!!
ReplyDeleteKate
Hi!!! Kate here from the Wise Owl! Thanks so much for blogging about my pencil system. I'm so thrilled that it has worked in your classroom and that you have shared your experience with your followers. Thanks again!!!
ReplyDeleteKate
Definitely! Thank you for sharing your great idea!
DeleteRebecca