20 ways to Ditch That Textbook in K-2 (with templates!)

G Suite

G Suite | Tuesday, August 13, 2019

20 ways to Ditch That Textbook in K-2 (with templates!)

If you’re looking for tons of great resources for primary students then you have hit the jackpot. Here are more than 20 ready to use templates to use in your classroom.

This post is written by Kris Szajner, a tech integration specialist and former kindergarten teacher from Prior Lake, Minnesota. You can follow him on Twitter @kszajner and check out his website kszajner.com.

Are you a primary educator? Are you interested in Ditching but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry! This post will walk you through template after template of rich learning experiences you can provide your students today!

If you would like to use any of these activities with your class just click on the link and go to “File > Make a copy” and an editable version will be saved to your Google Drive!

20 activities to Ditch that Textbook in K-2

1. CVC Word Builder – Simply pull down either the consonant cards or the vowel card and read the word. Students love being able to create their own words and practice blending!

2. Base Ten Notebook – Type in a number in the top left and use the base ten blocks to create the number. Don’t worry, you won’t run out of block due to the “infinite cloner” trick.

3. Pocket Chart Word Builder – Take a classroom friendly activity and ditch it. Use this template to work on building words and word families.

4. Number Puzzle Problem solve your way through this number puzzle. Watch as student interchange cards or change the process to find the right answers.

5. Pocket Chart Sentence Builder – Using a similar template as above to build sentences instead of words. Listen as your little learners create their own stories right in front of you.

6. What is Under the Cloud – This problem-solving activity gets students thinking outside of the box immediately. Use the information you see to find out what is hiding under the cloud.

7. Letter Workbook – Students have access to a letter video, a letter eBook, a sorting activity, and the space to write their own sentences. This example can be a phenomenal station stop or a great way to engage families in homework.

8. Which One Doesn’t Belong – What do you see that does not belong? Don’t worry, there is no wrong answer. Listen as students justify which one doesn’t belong and enjoy their problem-solving skills from the start.

9. Blending CVC Words – This template embeds finger cues for early learners allowing them to sound out each letter before they try to blend out the word card.

10. Number of the Day – Type the number in the top left and fill out the whole card. Students have all the manipulatives they need on the card already.

11. Rhyming Train – Sort all of the cards on the left into the train they belong to. Your room will light up with sound as your students work on rhyming words.

12. Number Sense Card Sort – Numbers are far more than just words. Immerse them in an activity that stretches them to find quantities, words, and tallies to match each number.

13. What is the First Sound – Just like the title says, get students to discover the first sound. A letter bank is on the left of the screen and students can pull them to match the cards.

14. How Many Ways Can You Make – Type in a quantity in the top right and let students go. Watch as they work to find as many possibilities as they can and stretch their math property thinking.

15. Sentence Builder – Emphasise any element of a sentence with this simple card game. The example highlights adjectives and how it impacts a sentence and noun.

16. Dice Fact Fluency Partner Game– Grab some dice and start rolling. This fun partner game get kids mastering facts in no time.

17. Punctuation Sort – What is the ending of each sentence card? Students can share how they justify the difference between ending with a period or ending with an exclamation point.

18. Fact Fluency Flipping Game – Solve the problem, mark the hexagon, and change the card. Make fact fluency work fun by giving this game to each student.

19. Word Sort – Simple game for students to differentiate between two sets of words. Change the example to be anything you like.

20. Activity Library* This activity library has almost 700 pages of activities you can use. It was originally built for Seesaw, however, you can take any of these templates and use them with G Suite or MicrosoftEDU tools.
*Add this file to your drive rather than make a copy as we update this often.


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  • Michelle Collins says:

    Are there instructions for these? It’s a template, but what do I DO with it to make it usable?

  • Cathy says:

    Your FREE templates for class tomorrow form that requests you to submit an email and name does not download free templates once information is entered into form.

  • S.Lev says:

    On the Number Sense Card Sort, some of the tally pictures come apart. They don’t seem to group together. As you drag them, they come apart…hope this makes sense.

  • Jessica says:

    I can view these but can’t interact with any of the slides. Am I missing something that I need to do to use them or are these just examples and I have to create them myself to interact?

    • Matt Miller says:

      If you would like to use any of these activities with your class just click on the link and go to “File > Make a copy” and an editable version will be saved to your Google Drive.

  • rida says:

    excellent

  • Mindy says:

    I feel like this is dumb, but should these be put in the “present mode” for students? On the fact fluency game should the cards ‘flip’ or do you have to drag them off.

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