SEASONAL WORD SEARCH

Word Skills, making a line plot


To begin, write a phrase such as "Happy Saint Patrick's Day!" on the board. Then challenge each student to list on a sheet of paper as many words as he can make using the letters in the featured phrase. After a predetermined amount of time, have each student count the number of letters in each of the words he made. Then have him make a line plot to display his results.

BREAKING NEWS

Spelling

Here's an activity for Newspaper in Education Week, the first full week in March. Give each child a sheet of construction paper and have him add a title similar to the one shown. Then have him look for examples of his spelling words in various newspapers. When he finds a spelling work, have him cut it out and glue it to the construction paper. For an alternative version, direct students to look for examples of vocabulary words or high-frequency words.

100th DAY SNACK BAGS

Problem-solving strategies

For a tasty activity for the 100th day of school, give each small group a 100-calorie snack package and a sheet of construction paper. Direct each group to count the number of pieces inside the package, guiding students to combine broken pieces as needed to equal one piece. Post the question, "If each package had the same number of snack pieces, how many bags would you need to have 100 pieces?" Next, have each group fold its paper in half and record on the left side the steps they followed to answer the question. Challenge students to check their work by showing a different strategy on the right side of the paper. Provide time for groups to share their answers and compare strategies used.