St. Patrick's Day Activities (freebie) & Diphthongs

Well, St. Patty's Day and Diphthongs is an unusual combination, but that's what we'll be working on in the next few weeks.

My Kindergarten and 1st grade students continue to work on learning their sight words.  I just got a new 1st grade student who has really been struggling with committing sight words to his long term memory.  I've decided that I need to revamp how we practice sight words.  I'll be breaking out my Heidi Songs DVDs and my Snap Words Sight Word Cards this week along with continuing to play our sight word games.  I hope that this combination of all 3 will help him learn those sight words!

I've revamped a St. Patrick's Day game I made last year (before I even blogged) into this new and improved version.  Click on the picture to get yours from my TPT store.

While I was thinking about St. Patrick's Day, I thought my 3rd graders might be challenged by this Making Words activity, which also happens to be a FREEBIE for you!  Click on the picture to get your free copy from my TPT store.

My 3rd graders have started learning how to read and spell diphthongs.  I made these 2 games for them to practice reading these words.  Click on the pictures to be taken to my TPT store.

When Pigs Fly - An 'oi' & 'oy' Game

Clowning Around - An 'ow' & 'oy' Game

For those resource teachers out here in blog land, can you tell me what you use to as grades for your 1st grade students?  I'm now teaching reading and language arts to a group of 1st graders, and I am responsible for their grades.  I can't use the gen ed basal tests with them since their reading skills are so low.  I am doing SRA Reading Mastery with them, but there is nothing to pull grades from as an assessment.  I need something, but I just don't know what to use yet.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Graphics from: Scrappin Doodles, Digital Bake Shop, and Goodness and Fun.