January Reset

Things that I did in my classroom the week after winter break...

Sprinkled in a few New Year's Activities:

- One Word

Students create a Google Slide with a word that describes their year, goals, etc.

- New Year's Resolutions

Students think ahead to 2026 and the things they would like to accomplish.

- Vision Board

Students use Google Slides or Canva to create a vision board for the upcoming year.

- Winter Break Mood Check

I assigned this slide deck in Google Classroom for students to complete during the first week back. It gave them a safe place to let me know how their break was and how they are currently feeling about being back at school. You will be surprised what they will tell you!

Classroom Routine Reset:

Most things stayed the same, but I took this opportunity to change a few things for the second half of the school year and review the routines that were the most important to our classroom.

I also introduce a one rule classroom at this point in the year. It's simple and something that I can use to easily redirect as needed. Is what you are doing interrupting the learning of others? Then don't do it.

While I sprinkled in the activities above, we most importantly dove right back into learning. The middle of the year is 2 weeks away upon our return. That means mid-year testing will be quickly approaching and it is time to get their brains back on track. Kids also thrive off of routine, so establishing the schedule on day 1 is important.

Lastly, have some grace. Remember that the break was different for everyone. Some students may be excited to get back to school so that they have hot meals for breakfast and lunch. Some may be excited to see friends that they haven't seen in 2 weeks. Some may be tired because they were off their usual schedule (teachers included!). Some would rather be at home with their families. All of these things are completely acceptable. When jumping back into the schedule and routines, it is important to understand that some students may need some time to adjust and a few extra reminders.

Hope the rest of your school year goes well!

Ambiguous Vowel Digital Activities

I've got another word work activity ready to go. These two activities practice the ambiguous vowel patterns. I enjoyed making the basketball theme on a previous activity, so these two follow the same setup, just using a soccer theme instead.

One activity focuses on the vowel patterns: aw, au, al, and ou. 

The other one focuses on the vowel patterns: oi, oy, oo, ou, and ow.

This set of activities have a soccer theme, where students will pick a soccer on the main slide. It will take them to a new slide with an image. Students must identify which vowel pattern the word in the image follows.

If the student gets the vowel pattern correct, they add 1 point to their score. Students will double-click on the scoreboard and change the number. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. Students can choose to play until someone gets to 5-8 points. There are 16 slides with images in each of the activities. The last slide contains an answer key in case the students are unsure of what an image is or what the spelling pattern is for a word.

Here are some sample images:

Get your free copy here:

Vowel Pattern Soccer Activity - oi, oy, oo, ou, ow

Vowel Pattern Soccer Activity - aw, au, al, ou

 https://sites.google.com/view/amberpotter/home

Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730

Primary Math Activities

As you all know by now, my daughter has an extremely long break during the day. She absolutely loves math and it is something that she can do on her own. So I decided to put my primary hat on and create some digital math activities that she can do on her own.

I have 5 activities created so far...

Counting Objects:

In this activity, there are two parts. Part 1, students count the amount of objects in the jar, then drag and drop the numbers on the side to the box. Part 2, there is a number in the box, and the students drag the objects into the jar to model that number.

More or Less:

In this activity, students drag the alligator so that his mouth is facing the jar that has more objects.

Adding with Ten Frames:

In this activity, there are two parts. Part 1, students drag and drop the numbers on the side to create the addition equation modeled with the red and yellow counters. Part 2, students are given an equation and they have to drag and drop the red and yellow counters to model the equation.

Counting by 2's:

This activity can be used two ways. Students can be view the activity in Present mode. They then click on the number that would come next when counting by 2's. This is self-correcting, so if they choose the wrong answer, it will take them to a page that says oops, try again. You will not be able to see what they click on, so this would be given as an independent math center task. There is also an option for students to drag the red circle to cover the correct number. In this format, they can turn it into the teacher to be scored.

Counting Using a Hundred Chart:

This activity allows students to practice counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's. They drag the circle to cover the number that would come next. They can then see a visual and practice counting aloud.

I had fun making these since I teach 5th grade. I definitely see more in my future! Stay tuned.

https://sites.google.com/view/amberpotter/home

Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730

Clip and Cover Activities

When making my busy boxes for my daughter I realized there were certain things I wanted her to work on with the clip and cover box. She loves the idea of using the clothespins, but she also likes using the computer or tablet to do some of the activities as well.

I decided to make my own clip and cover activities that can be used 3 ways.

1. Printable - all of my clip and cover activities can be printed on computer paper and laminated or on card stock. I recommend printing them with 4 slides per page so that it does not use up as much paper, but they could also be printed 1 or 2 per page as well. When you go to File, click on Print settings and preview, and then change where it says 1 slide per page to Handout - 4 slides per page. It prints best in landscape.

2. Digital activity - if you would like for your child/student to complete the activity and then submit it so that you can grade it, you can assign them a copy of the presentation. There is a clothespin image on the right side in the grey area that they can drag and drop to the correct match.

3. Self-checking Digital activity - this version allows your child/student to work independently on the activity. If they click on the wrong match, it will take them to a page that says oops, try again. If they click on the correct match, then it will take them to the next slide. Students should use this in Present mode, so they do not need editing access to the presentation. The one downside, is the teacher will not know what the students click on, so this would be more of a center activity where the students are just practicing.

Each activity linked below has all 3 of these version already built into the one Google Slides presentation.

I myself making more of these in the future, but I started off with ones that my daughter can use to practice for school.

1. Letter Matching

Match the uppercase letter to the lowercase letter.

2. Rhyming Words

Match the image on the right that rhymes with the larger image on the left.

3. Beginning Letter Sounds

Choose the letter that begins the word in the image.

4. Ending Letter Sounds

Choose the letter that ends the word in the image.

Click on the links above to get your free copy!

https://sites.google.com/view/amberpotter/home

Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730