Busy Bee Learning Tools

11 Games in one!Short Vowel SoundsLong E Vowel TeamsLong A Vowel PatternsVC-E (Long Vowels)Closed Exceptions (ild, old, ind, olt, ost)R-Controlled VowelsWelded Sounds (am, an, all)Ending Blends (ng)Ending Blends (nk)OI vs. OYOU vs. OWDescription: While students are playing Memory Match, they have to recognize spelling patterns within printed words, read words that contain learned spelling patterns, group words by spelling pattern, and write words using correct spelling. You may decided to lamina

Description: Students will hold the snowmen up to the light (up to a window or in front of a flashlight) to view the word and the melting snowmen! Students will have fun identifying words containing ending blends and sorting them.  Uses: Have students read the words out loud, identify the blend and write the word on the graphic organizer. You could use this as a center activity, small group activity, partner activity, or even an independent activity for the whole-class if you have a class set of

Description: Target students’ fiction reading skills with these Story Element Bookmarks! Each bookmark is filled with targeted questions to support independent growth within a skillset. Students can check off each prompt as they use them until they have had a great range of practice. Story elements included: problem/solution, characters, summary, and setting. Uses: Use this bookmark as a supplement to your small group work or whole class lessons. Give to individual students as a way for them to

Description: Printable, reusable discussion dice are meant to get students talking about their texts in an interactive, engaging way. Discussion dice come with both fiction and nonfiction specific questions that align to reading skills and match student reading levels.  Uses: For use in reading partnerships, book clubs, and small group settings. Partnerships can use this tool with independence to discuss their fiction and nonfiction reading in an engaging and interactive way. Simply print, cut,

Description: This product includes various printable clock templates to support student learning of telling time: simple clock, clock with minutes labeled, clock with every 5 minutes labeled, two side-by-side clock pages to support visualizing elapsed time. Uses: When introducing clocks, start by having students fill in the minutes on a black clock. They can refer to this clock to check their accuracy when telling time to the minute. When supporting more automaticity, have students graduate to u

Description & Uses: These book “tasting” menus can be used when previewing fiction and nonfiction books. As students are looking through books to get an idea of what they might be interested in, they can use these pamphlets to record important information: title, author, determine if the book is “just right”, interest rating, and name what interests them about the book/topic, etcetera. This is usually done at the start of a reading unit to get students familiar with titles within the genre and c

Description: Get students practicing reading, writing, and matching within spelling patterns. These games are meant to be played within 10 minutes. In my classroom, I have a file bin setup with these gameboard choices during partner practice. If you happen to be using Words Their Way, the word cards fit perfectly within the frames of each game. If not, students can easily write their words on paper and cut into slips on day 1 of learning their sort (slips of paper should be about 1”x2”). Games i

Description: Target students’ nonfiction reading skills with these Story Element Bookmarks! Each bookmark is filled with targeted questions to support independent growth within a skillset. Students can check off each prompt as they use them until they have had a great range of practice. Story elements included: text structure, vocabulary, main ideas and supporting details, author’s craft. Uses: Use this bookmark as a supplement to your small group work or whole class lessons. Give to individual

Description: Target students’ fiction reading skills with these Story Element Bookmarks! Each bookmark is filled with targeted questions to support independent growth within a skillset. Students can check off each prompt as they use them until they have had a great range of practice. Story elements included: plot, character development, theme, author’s craft. Uses: Use this bookmark as a supplement to your small group work or whole class lessons. Give to individual students as a way for them to

Description & Uses: This series-study book “tasting” menu can be used when previewing series books. As students are looking through books to get an idea of what series and characters they might be interested in, they can use this pamphlet to record the most important information: series title, book title, author, identify what they like the book, and provide an interest rating. This is usually done at the start of a reading unit to get students familiar with titles within the genre and create a

Description & Uses: This fantasy-fiction book “tasting” menu can be used when previewing fantasy books. As students are looking through books to get an idea of what titles and characters they might be interested in, they can use this pamphlet to record the most important information: book title,  author, identify the fantasy elements, identify what they like the book, and provide an interest rating. This is usually done at the start of a reading unit to get students familiar with titles within t

Description: Print and distribute for student use. Fiction and nonfiction questions are tailored to the reading level, grouped in reading “bands” of complexity. Reading range: Guided Reading Levels K-Z; Lexile Levels 620-1000. Uses: This tool can be used a few different ways. Some like to use this as a homework tool where students respond to a number of questions each week. You could even assign it as a bi-weekly homework assignment and have students answer all questions across a 2-week span. So

Description: Target students’ nonfiction reading skills with these Story Element Bookmarks! Each bookmark is filled with targeted questions to support independent growth within a skillset. Students can check off each prompt as they use them until they have had a great range of practice. Story elements included: text structure, vocabulary, main ideas and supporting details, and text features. Uses: Use this bookmark as a supplement to your small group work or whole class lessons. Give to individu

Description & Uses: Get your students ready to read mysteries with the Mystery Book Tasting Menu and Suspect Tracking files. Students will orient to the mystery genre while previewing classroom books within the genre. As they read, they will track characters and clues to determine who the culprit is, even before the main character does. These products can also support conferences, small group discussions, or book club discussions.

Description: Printable, reusable discussion dice are meant to get students talking about their texts in an interactive, engaging way. Discussion dice come with both fiction and nonfiction specific questions that align to reading skills and match student reading levels.  Uses: For use in reading partnerships, book clubs, and small group settings. Partnerships can use this tool with independence to discuss their fiction and nonfiction reading in an engaging and interactive way. Simply print, cut,

Description & Uses: Use these suspect tracking organizers to help engage students in tracking clues across a mystery book. These can be used a bookmarks, foldables, or can even be cut into flaps where students can write the clues they find for each suspect. As a bonus, the last two pages are a Sleuth Book as a one-page organizer for more detailed notes/clues. If you choose to use bookmark #1, it is recommended to print it on thicker paper so it lasts through the duration of the book and doesn’t

Description: Printable, reusable discussion dice are meant to get students talking about their texts in an interactive, engaging way. Discussion dice come with both fiction and nonfiction specific questions that align to reading skills and match student reading levels.  Uses: For use in reading partnerships, book clubs, and small group settings. Partnerships can use this tool with independence to discuss their fiction and nonfiction reading in an engaging and interactive way. Simply print, cut,

Description: Printable, reusable discussion dice are meant to get students talking about their texts in an interactive, engaging way. Discussion dice come with both fiction and nonfiction specific questions that align to reading skills and match student reading levels.  Uses: For use in reading partnerships, book clubs, and small group settings. Partnerships can use this tool with independence to discuss their fiction and nonfiction reading in an engaging and interactive way. Simply print, cut,

Description & Uses: This book “tasting” menu can be used when previewing fiction books. As students are looking through books to get an idea of what they might be interested in, they can use this pamphlet to record the most important information: title, author, determine if the book is “just right”, interest rating, and name what interests them about the book. This is usually done at the start of a reading unit to get students familiar with titles within the genre and create a broad reading plan

Description & Uses: This nonfiction book “tasting” menu can be used when previewing informational books. As students are looking through books to get an idea of what texts and topics they might be interested in, they can use this pamphlet to record the most important information: title, author, topic, tell what they want to learn about the topic, and interest rating. This is usually done at the start of a reading unit to get students familiar with titles within the genre and create a broad readi