SCOOT!

Here's a game that can be played in so many ways!  If you go on Pinterest or any teacher's blog out there, chances are you'll find SCOOT games!  It is such a common but awesome game that so many are playing and using it in A LOT of ways!

For this last time of playing, I set it up to review telling time to the hour and half hour.  My kiddos struggled with telling time to the half hour, so I thought moving around (I mean, when is movement a bad thing in first grade world....right?!)  would be good to help master this skill.  Anyways, I set up different analog clocks in the hallway.  Every other time I've played this, I've set it up in the classrooms on the desks.  For something different, we used our lockers.

Each locker had a different time: hour or half hour.  When every student got a sheet (sort of a grid style) they picked a clock to sit by.  Each clock had a corresponding letter with it.  The sheet each student had, listed the letters from the cards.   When I said, "GO" they had to write down the digital time that the clock showed. So, if a kiddo was sitting by card "A" then he/she wrote down the time in BOX A...then when I said "SCOOT" he/she would move to card "B."  If a firstie started at card "J" then after I said "SCOOT" they would move to card "K."

Like I mentioned earlier, I have played this in the classroom.  Rather than a card on each locker, each desk had a card.  The kiddos would move around to each desk answering the problem.  Listed below are different skills you can practice by playing SCOOT:

• Addition Facts
• Subtraction Facts
• Write the Missing Number ( ex: 12, 13, ____, 15, 16)
• 10 More/10 Less 
• Place Value
• Skip counting (ex: 2, 4, 6, ___)
• Write the Fraction
• Greater Than/Less Than/Equal To
• Patterns (ex: A, B, A, B, ___)
• Unscramble the Sight Word
• Rhyming Words (ex: What word rhymes with fan?  hop or can)

 I hope this game can come in handy in your classroom!  It truly is such an engaging and fun way to practice math or literacy skills!  Each time we play, my kiddos LOVE it and are so excited!  If you have any questions about the game or need ideas, please leave a comment below! 

Read the Room

The day after the Superbowl was a little slow going!  That game lasted later than most little first graders should have been up, but I understand that it was an event and knew that many of them were out with their families watching the game.  As Monday went on, we were on the struggle bus to get going and focus.  At the last minute I changed my plans and rather than doing a pocket chart sort, I created a "Read the Room" to introduce "or" and "ore" words.  Many of us have probably done Read the Room or Write the Room activities.  My firsties have been accustomed to doing these for word practice, math facts, or problem solving.  Plus, seeing them use their clipboards and being so involved is cute to watch too!

So with that said, I knew they enjoyed this, so I had to do something that would get them up and moving, but of course, also making sure they were learning at the same time!  Adding a little movement helped!  They were engaged and did well at reading the words found around the room!