the Take Home Teacher: Blends

...at least for some of my products.

Truth be told, I'd quit making New Year's resolutions because

I NEVER STICK TO THEM!

On average, my resolutions (in the past) have latest all of about 3-5 days before I quit whatever it was that I had resolved to do. I think the reason I've failed so much in the past is because my goals were never really that realistic.

Not this year! I've made a pact with myself to follow through with a

VERY MANAGEABLE resolution -

giving my current TPT products the upgrades they so desperately need.

When I began this TPT journey a couple years back, I didn't really know what I was doing. I wasn't wise to the ways of amazing clipart, copyright laws, and stretching my creative limits. As I've journeyed with other ah-inspiring teacher-bloggers, I've learned so much and knew that I needed to go back to the beginning and breath new life into some of my first attempts at being a teacher-author.

In 2014, I gave this little number a facelift by adding B/W versions

of the original practice pages.

This year, it's undergone a COMPLETE OVERHAUL .

(Click on image or here to purchase)

I kept the original game (Let's Get Speedy) but revamped it by changing the name (See-Read-Repeat) and dressing up the flashcards with color and clipart. The effective method is still the same (don't worry), but the colorfulness adds an attention-grabbing element.

To beef up the variety of the cards, I added corresponding picture cards to create a fun game called Pick(ture) the Sound. This listening game can be played in pairs or in whole group, with or without the blend/digraph/trigraph cards, as a literacy center or a time-filler/exit slip...the possibilities are endless.

My sweet boy and his buddies LOVE the guessing game

HedBandz by SpinMaster.

Sound Crowns is a play on that great game!

Students slip on easy-to-assemble crowns and insert

BDT (Blend/Digraph/Trigraph) Art Cards.

In small groups or whole groups, students ask describing questions about the image on their crown before guessing what picture they may be wearing.

Additional paper strips are provided to insure crowns fit students' heads.

However, I love this idea of attaching (2-3 staples) elastic headbands so crowns can be fitted to several students without readjusting.

OR you could use extra large rubber bands.

This same crown fit perfectly on several heads in my house and never ripped.

In the classroom, I'd definitely laminate the crown first before stapling the elastic headbands/rubber bands .

To wrap up the renovation, I reworked the practice pages (Write & Highlight) to include simple borders, better spacing, and cleaner fonts. Additionally, I added 2 extra pages (This or That? and Creative with Consonant Combos) to extend the versatility of the practice pages.

For Write & Highlight, students fill in the missing blend/digraph/trigaph to complete the word associated with each picture. I have students use their highlighters to identify each consonant cluster.

This or That? is a great way for students to demonstrate understanding of the difference between blends and digraphs/trigraphs. There is some confusion as to which consonant pairs are which so this helps my friends clarify what constitutes a blend and what the letters need to do in order to be a digraph/trigraph.

And to appease my authors and illustrators, I enjoy including an activity (Creative with Consonant Combos) where their creative minds can come to life on paper.

Upgrading the first of many products in my TPT store was so gratifying and I'm feeling accomplished! I think I'll stick with this year's resolution...

Up Next:

Have you ever wanted to create something, but time and life got in the way?

You know, like that wreath you've been wanting to

make every Christmas since 2004.

Or that chair you thought you'd have reupholstered by now.

That's literally the story of my life.

Grand plans, but extremely delayed execution.

This is just another example of that.

I've been wanting to make this product since 2009! (don't judge)

So I bought the clipart this past summer and finally put my nose to the computer these past few weeks. A little here and a little there and TA DA...

Please let me introduce you to

{Click on image or here to buy)

This colorful, not-so-little thing (100+ pages) is packed full of games that

could take literacy centers by storm!

Six (L) blends (bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, and sl) are covered in 3 game formats:

{MEND THE BLENDS 3-PIECE PUZZLES}

{CLIPBOARD CLUE}

{BLEND MONOPOLY}

After initial instruction, these games could provide hours of practice and challenge for students to put that new learning to use.

Plus, I threw in some opportunities for extended learning through

blend creation and writing.

Since consonant blends are mostly covered in First and Second Grades, you'll find four 1st grade CCSS and six 2nd grade CCSS, in addition to one Anchor Standard. Standards are either covered directly or indirectly through game play.

Want to see these games in action, keep reading...

I gathered up some sweet friends (K-2) from my neighborhood to take these games for a spin-around-the-block. They did great and genuinely loved playing. I don't even think they knew they were practicing (L) Blends...and I didn't break it to them either.

We started with the Mend the Blend 3-Piece Puzzles.

There are 12 self-correcting puzzles per blend (72 total).

For the sake of time, I only provided the BL blend puzzles.

These are simple cut, laminate, & cut again.

Just spread these bad-boys out and let the kids reassemble.

This little cutie was great at recognizing the self-correcting designs.

Additionally, the 5 other blend puzzles are varying colors to help students correctly assemble puzzles if multiple blends are played at the same time.

See how blueberries and blackboard have slightly different shaped pieces?

To add an extra layer of extension or challenge, have your students fill out the My Mended Blends Puzzle sheet. You can have students simply list the words in the appropriate blend category. Or bump up the difficulty by having them put words in ABC order under each blend category.

Additionally, if you're looking to really challenge your kiddos, print off a few blank templates and have students create their own blend words and pictures to add to the game.

Moving on. . .

Clipboard Clue requires students to carefully listen to 3 hints and make logical guesses about what blend word is being described. Blend picture cards can help students narrow down choices, but difficulty can be added by removing them from the game.

An answer sheet is provided in case blend picture cards are removed from game-play or if students are not in agreement on what is being described. Colors coordinate with the clipboard colors for ease of finding answers.

To start the game, blend picture cards are shuffled and divided equally among all players. A student-reader selects a Clipboard Clue card from the top of the downward-facing pile.

He/she reads the 3 clues aloud to the group.

Students use the inferences to guess which blend picture card is being described. If a student has a picture that matches the clues, he/she can offer up their blend picture card.

!!!WATCH OUT!!!

Students sometimes like to jump to a conclusion before all 3 clues have been read. I had to remind these lovelies to listen to all the clues first.

If guessed correctly, a student wins the Clipboard Clue card and pairs it up with their blend picture card.

That student selects the next Clipboard Clue card.

Person with the most pairs, at the end, wins!

Great activity for individual and/or partner teams.

With 72 (12 words per blend) Clipboard Clue and blend picture card pairs, the game could last a long time!

To round out your L blend focus, give students Blend Monopoly to practice all 6 L blends! Very similar to traditional Monopoly with a few slight changes to make the game easy to play. This was a HUGE hit with everyone and if time wasn't limited, they would have played well into the night.