The Best For The Best!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!!  You are the best of the best.  I may be biased, but I think teachers are some of the most amazing people on the planet.  You give your all everyday to shape and nurture children.  I got together with an amazing group of teacher bloggers to give back to you!!  You deserve to be appreciated and nurtured.  You are amazing!!

I joined up with an amazing number of teacher bloggers to donate our "best" products to a huge set of giveaways!  This huge endeavor has been set up by the amazing Amy of Teaching in Blue Jeans!

There are 106 teachers participating in this giveaway event!

I donated my Long and Short Vowel Sorts: Sorting Mats, Word Cards, Flip Books, and Printables pack!

This is one of my absolute favorites, because you can get as creative as you want!  I am a sucker for turning recyclables and trash into fun creations for learning.  I love hot glue!!

This product allowed me to create my two friends "Abby the Alligator" and "Jake the Snake" out of Cascade dish detergent containers.  We used these containers to sort long and short vowel cards.  

I have included a variety of cards in this pack.  There are short and long vowel words with a picture to aid students that need additional assistance, as well, as cards with only the short and long vowel words.  You can tailor the activity to each student's needs.  It is very easy to differentiate.  Below a student is sorting long and short "o" words.  The students will record the words and write a sentence using some long and short "o" words.  There are tons of different recording sheets, so you can use exactly what you need!

If you aren't the crafty type, I have provided long and short vowel mats.  All you need to do is print and use!  They are available in both color and black and white.

The thing I love most about these mats is that each long or short vowel is paired with an animal (or robot) with a specific name.  I find that it helps some students to pair the image and name with a vowel sound.  It seems to "stick" in their minds, because of the novelty.  

Short vowel characters include: Abby the Alligator, Ellie the Elephant, Izzy the Iguana, Ollie the Octopus, and Umberto the Duck.

Long vowel characters include:  Jake the Snake, Ethan the Eagle, Ivan the Lion, Opal the Robot, and Unity the Unicorn.

 I was lucky enough to swap products with Stephany from Primary Possibilities.  You can see her review of this product and her great ideas, too!  Click here!

I also swapped with Tiffany from KTeacherTiff.  She made her own Abby and Jake!  You can read how easy it was here.

Another fun part of this pack is the flip books that kids can make.  They are able to apply the knowledge that they gained to create flip books.  Just cut, glue, and assess!

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my long and short vowel pack!  Hopefully, you found some great ideas for your own classroom.  I wanted to share a freebie with you, because I do appreciate everything that you do!  I know that your job is hard and often not appreciated.  Know that there are many in the world that DO appreciate everything you do!!

Click here to get a sample of Abby and Jake!

If you just can't wait to see if you won, you can click here to get your own copy of Abby and Jake!

Another surprise FREEBIE!  Here is one of my free long and short vowel sorts.  Frog and Toad: Sort Long and Short Vowel Words.   I would love to hear your feedback!  I think it's useful and fun!  

Don't forget to enter the awesome giveaways!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Continue on The Best for the Best Teacher Appreciation Blog Hop by clicking the picture below.