I'm Blogging From Kauai?!?

Seriously, I am!  I just finished watching an amazing sunset from our rented beach house and I thought, "Why not blog?"  Guess I'm addicted to blogging!

One of my favorite things to start off my year with is our Letter-Name Book.

This 27 page book is great for PRE-K, TK, K or 1st GRADE.

Here is why I LoVe tHiS bOoK:

It's so much fun to make with your class!

It starts off the first 26 days of school with a routine.

 There are some great Common Core skills incorporated in it.

 It will become a favorite part of your classroom library.  

So what's not to like?  

You can get it by clicking HERE or as part of our BEGINNING OF THE YEAR BUNDLE HERE.

Click the image.

Click the image.

This is how it works:

~Print a copy of the download.

~Glue the cover page to piece of 9" X 12" construction paper and laminate it.  Also make a back cover by just laminating an additional piece of 9" X 12" construction paper.

~Make a large name tag for each students (3" X 12" lined sentence strip works great)
For Pre-K, TK, or K,  I write just the students' first names.  For 1st grade, I write both first and last names.

~Beginning on the 1st day of school, look for the letter "A" or "a" in each child's name by holding up the name cards and letting the class tell you if they see an "A" or an "a" in each name.

~Write the names of students who have names that contain an "A" or an "a" and circle the A's and a's.

~Count, with the class, the number of A's and a's your class has and write that number in the square at the top of the page.

~Continue the next day with the letters "B" and "b" and compare the number of B's you have with yesterday's A's.

~Continue for the next 24 school days until you get to Z, always flipping back to each previous page to see if you have more, less, or an equal number of each letter.

Common Core extension:  As you compare the number of each letter that you have in your class, use words like more, less, and equal and encourage your students to use their oral language to compare with you.  Example:  "We had more A's than B's.  We had less B's than A's.  We had an equal number of C's and G's.  Also introduce the concept of "zero" when your class doesn't have a particular letter in their name.

Bonus:  Students will learn the names of every child in your class and they will get so excited when a student has doubles:  like two b's in Debbie!  If you have a child with very few letters or a child whose name doesn't get called for over a week, they may need a little encouragement like, "Zoe, you are going to be the only one who has a "Z" in their name!"  :)

When the book is complete, place it in your classroom library.  Students will love looking for their name and their friends' names on the pages!   :)

Have fun with this one and remember:  Keep the FUN in the FUNdamentals!  :)