Last Post of 2013...Snow Globes Word Work!

I ran into my friend Kelly over the holidays and she told me that she wished like crazy that I would post again since it has really been ages since I've posted anything of substance on this blog.

She's right, of course.

The start of the school year really kicked my behind...new grade level, new partner, lots of changes at my school and in the district...I'm still not sure about my bearings, but I was able to pull myself together at least enough to fool the masses into believing that my head was screwed on straight.

So here's to 2013...and here's to Word Work and what you can do with your Word Work in 2014!

Enter...Snow Globes Word Work Stations!

These were super fun to make and share with my kiddos...and they turned out to be much tougher to work with than I thought.  (For the students that is.  For me, not so much!)

Finally, a Word Work station that can challenge your intermediates!  (Seriously, my kids had a great time with this, but they did find it challenging and it does require a medium-level attention span, so this would be a great station for your 3rd-5th graders.)

Dollar Tree had some of these great "craft organizers" hanging at the end of the craft aisle.  The larger containers have 6 in a package and the smaller ones have 8.  I purchased a gob of the 6-packs because I figured I might do something with these.  (After filling these up, I think that the smaller containers might not work well if you go the snow globe route...if you don't fill these with water, who knows?)

Anywho...I filled the containers with small letter beads that spelled out each word (i.e. r-e-i-n-d-e-e-r) and added some Dollar Tree Glitter and some holiday confetti that I picked up at Michaels.  Then I added water.  I numbered the top of the container so that I knew which word I had put in the Snow Globe so that I could create an answer key for the activity.

Storing the Snow Globes is really easy.  I picked up a small container (also at Dollar Tree) and was able to fit 12 Snow Globes in quite nicely.  (A little over $3.00 per kit.  Not a bad investment!)

I can totally see "pimping" these babies out to match your theme...winter...summer...spring...fall...holidays...ANY days!  There's always great metallic confetti, tons of different colors of glitter...lots of flotsam and jetsam...

I can also see possibilities for doing these with colored rice instead of water.  You'll just have to play with how much space you'll need in order to move the beads around in such tiny containers.

Baby food jars would also work, but I'm always a bit nervous when glass is handled by my kiddos.  Steve Spangler has these great little plastic test tubes (Baby Soda Bottles) that are a bit more spendy, but would also work well.  You can check these out on Steve's site by clicking here.  (Note:  I have a major "teacher crush" on Steve, so for me to even share him is, well, a little tough!  Be good to him...buy his stuff!)

I'm also including the Snow Globe Word Work sheet here.  Run copies for your kiddos and make sure to have them available at the station.  The kids can write the letters they find in the small snow globes on the page and then unscramble them to find the correct words.  (I use spelling words for this station.  You could use vocabulary from something you are reading, science words, math words, etc.)

I made two sets of the Snow Globes, one for me and one for my new partner, the Marvelous Megan.  Remember, sharing is caring, so why not make a set for you and one to share with your teaching partner, a new teacher, or someone who just needs a lift?  If you aren't feeling that lovey dovey, than why not send a link to this entry on to a colleague or friend and inspire them?  (I'd totally love you forever if you did that!)

Have fun playing in the "snow" with your kiddos and let me know how you plan to use these!  I love hearing from you!

Happy New Year to Kelly in Sheboygan and to all!

Nikki