Dollar Store Deals

I'm a sucker for bargains.  I can't help it.  I'm always on the lookout for something inexpensive I can use in my classroom.  The dollar store is a great place to find some deals.  So when I found a bag of clear glass stones, I snatched them up knowing there just had to be something I could use them for.

I decided my students could make words with them.  I used a permanent marker to write the letters of the alphabet on the back of each one (I quickly realized I had to write the letters backwards).  I made sure to include 3 or 4 of each vowel as well as some of the other more common letters so my kiddos would have enough letters to spell all kinds of words.  I put the stones in a fabric softener container with a flip top lid that I was getting ready to recycle and voila!  I had an instant literacy center.

Here's what I have my students do with the stones: they sprinkle out a few at a time and try to form words with what they have. If the letters they have don't spell anything, then they sprinkle out a few more.  As they build, the kids make a list of  the words they create and then turn it in to me when they're done.  It's a fun, self directed center that takes no time at all to set up.

Now, if only I could figure out what to do with the giant fly swatter I bought...