Student Made Parent Christmas Gift - Crayon Picture Frame Ornament

Every year I like to look for a new craft idea that I can use as a student-made parent gift for Christmas.  I like to look for crafts that are inexpensive to make and a great keepsake item for parents.  This year I decided on these crayon picture frame ornaments!

These picture frames turn out so cute and are super easy for students to make on their own!

For this craft you will need crayons, foam sheets, cardstock, ribbon, glue, and each student's picture.  You also will need the printable rectangle template and the editable name tags found HERE for FREE!

Here are the steps on how to make the picture frame crayon ornaments:

Step 1:

Using the printable rectangle template have your students cut out a small rectangle on any color foam sheet.

Step 2:

Hole punch two holes at the top of the rectangle.

Step 3:

Tie string or ribbon through the two holes.

Step 4:

Using regular bottle glue, have your students glue crayons onto their foam rectangle.  They will first glue the two crayons on each side.

They can choose if they want their two crayons on each side to go the same or opposite directions.

Step 5:

Next, have your students glue the top and bottom two crayons.

(Crayons glued going the same direction.)

(Crayons glued going difference directions.)

Let the glue completely dry before moving on to the next step.  If the glue is not completely dry the crayons will slide out of place on the next step.

Step 6:

After the glue has dried have your students paint the crayons with Mod Podge.

Step 7:

Add glitter to the wet Mod Podge and then let it dry.

Step 8:

Next, have your students glue their picture in the middle of their frame.  I printed my student's pictures from my computer and then laminated them for extra durability.

Step 9:

Using the editable tag templates found HERE, make each student's name tag.  Print the tags on cardstock paper.  Your students can keep the tags white or they can color their tag with any color marker.

Step 10:

Have your students glue their name tag and a small ribbon bow onto their picture frame.

Step 11:

Finally, have your students wrap their parent gift.

You can grab this printable snowman gift bag HERE!

Step 12:

Now your parent gifts are ready to send home!

You can grab the FREE printables and teacher directions on how to make this craft HERE!

Amazon Gift Tag for Teacher Christmas Gift and/or Teacher Appreciation Gift

 Looking for Christmas gift ideas for your child's teacher?  These Amazon gift card tags make the perfect teacher gifts!!

Print the gift tags for FREE by clicking HERE and simply attach an Amazon gift card to it!

Here's the 4 simple steps on how to make these Amazon gifts for teachers:

1.  Print these gift tags on cardstock paper.

2.  Hold punch two holes at the top of the card.

3.  Add ribbon through the holes and tie a bow.

4.  Finally, tape an Amazon gift card to the tag.

Your gift is now ready to give to a teacher!

There are two versions of the tag options.

Version #1 is great to use for a teacher appreciation gift.

Version #2 is great to use for a teacher Christmas gift!

Click HERE to download the Amazon gift tags for FREE from my TpT store!

Sight Word Assessments for RTI/Progress Monitoring

After a couple years of trial and error on different assessments and things I could do for my RTI kids I finally found one that was easy to implement and very successful for my RTI students.

For most of my first grade RTI kids they struggle mainly in the area of reading fluency.  Therefore, the primary focus of their interventions are with sight words.

For each of my RTI kids I assess them once a week (usually on Monday) using these sight word assessments I created.

I call them over to my table one-by-one during center time and have them read the words off of the assessment list.

  

While they are reading the words off of the list I record how they did on my data sheet.  I record which words they read correctly with a check mark and which words they miss with an X.

After giving the assessment I then take five words that they missed on the assessment and create a rapid word recognition chart.

The chart takes those five sight words and mixes them up in a different order on each line.

Then during the week I have each of my RTI kids practice that chart with me one-on-one.  I usually pull them at least 3-4 times a week during center time or computer lab time to run through the rapid recognition chart with me.  

I can easily see progress being made each day as they get better and better at reading the words and also faster and faster.

I follow this same routine every week.  Usually by the next assessment the student has mastered those five sight words they had been working on through the week and I add five new words for them to practice after their new assessment.

Through the weekly assessments you are able to see progress as the number of sight words they have mastered increases and increases.

As they continue to master more and more sight words they can move up to a different set of words.

Click HERE to download my sight word assessments for Fry word lists 100-600 from my TpT store!

Click HERE to download my sight word assessments for Fry word lists 700-1000 from my TpT store!

*For my really low students I have letter sound and CVC blending assessments that I created that I follow basically the same routine with.  I only use those assessments on my really low kids that need to master those skills before being able to practice sight words.

I also have these sight word flash cards (that align with the sight word assessments) that I have my students practice with.

These sight word phrases and short sentences flash cards are also great for my students that are a little more advanced.