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I don’t know about you, but it seems like I blinked twice and here we are in November. November is such a fun month with some big accomplishments and some super fun themes. Keep reading to find out about all the fun and learning we do in November.
It’s November and we are a solid 2 months into our school year. Our procedures that we worked so hard on in those first two months are really solid. Now is the time that I really start to see that hard work paying off because our classroom is running pretty efficiently. With that big hurdle crossed we really start pressing forward with the academics.
Phonics in November
This month we finish up our alphabet instruction and review. We have been learning about 2 or 3 letters each week since the beginning of the year. And this month . . . we finish up! The students really love learning their letters, sound and letter formation. For every letter we have created these amazing anchor charts.
Each anchor chart allows us to work on the letter name, the letter sound, the concept of beginning sounds and handwriting. The students reference these charts on a daily basis and it has helped them to learn to use the things around them as learning tools.
We have also done a lot of alphabet review during center time. Here are a few of our favorites!
These play dough alphabet mars are a fun way to practice letter formation, letter sounds and beginning sounds.
The students also love these snap cube letter mats. Using snap cubes they create the letter, then mark all the pictures that begin with the letter sound. Both of these are wonderful review centers that allow the students to continue practicing letters in a fun and engaging way.
This Roll and Color alphabet activity is a great way to work on uppercase and lowercase letter recognition. Not only is it a fun center activity, but I also love this activity when I do intervention with students who are struggling with letter recognition.
We also love using our brain break time for a little Pop Up Practice! The perfect way to add some movement and learning into our routine while practicing beginning sounds.
Math in November
November is a busy month in math. We have been working very hard to master numbers to 20 and the kids are doing so well. This month we start working on the concepts of addition. We do a lot of practice as a group and individually.
Using manipulative is always where we start. The kids learn to count out sets to represent each addend and then we combine them. We do this action over and over. Here’s some of the fun ways that we practice addition.
This fun activity not only helps us practice addition but it is also a great connection to our science studies this month too.
We also love playing BINGO to practice addition. I use the editable bingo cards to make a game that perfectly matches the level of addition we are working at. Starting out I put numbers on the bingo cards and I call out the addition problem. I put a bucket of manipulative on each table and the students work at building the addition problems before marking their answer.
Later on, we will switch it around and I will call out the answer and the students will find an addition problem that results in the correct answer.
These editable bingo games are great for more than just math, too!
These shape building puzzles are one of my favorite math centers because they work on so many important math skills. After students create the puzzle with pattern blocks, they count the number of each shape. Then they use the coordinating practice sheet to work on addition. The great part is that with the pattern blocks the students have the manipulative they need to build the problem. This makes it great for differentiation too. The students that need manipulative have them readily available, and the students who are ready to move forward can do that too.
Science and Social Studies in November
This month in science is all about plants! We learn about the plant life cycle and different parts of plants. Then we learn about food that comes from plants. One of our favorite science experiments combines all of these things. Using seeds for plants that we eat, we create a Garden in a Glove!
The students love watching their seeds sprout and seeing the life cycle in action. They also learn to make observations in their Garden in a Glove Journal.
As part of this science unit we take a fun field trip to the local grocery store. This is a great way for the students to learn about the concepts of farm to table.
We finish off our unit making Stone Soup! After reading this wonderful story we work together to make a great soup.
Holiday Fun
November would not be complete without some holiday activities too. Every year we spend time talking about what it means to be thankful and have gratitude. The students love making these turkeys to show what they are thankful for.
These turkeys make a great starting for a writing prompt. Using the words on the turkey and the feathers the students are ready to write their own sentences using the sentence stem “I am thankful for . . .” These thankful turkeys also make a super cute bulletin board too!
Well, that is what this November has in store in my classroom. What are your favorite November activities? Leave me a comment here or pop over to social media and connect with me there.