Are your students hooked on Toothy yet? If not, have you tried this engaging printable & digital resource in your classroom? Answer no to both questions? It is time to introduce Toothy into your schedule! Not sure how to fit it in? Check out these 5 perfect ways to fit it in! (Plus a FREE sample of Reading Toothy to try with your students!) Check out THESE posts to learn more about Toothy.

Where Does Toothy Fit into your Schedule?

1. Morning Work

Toothy is PERFECT for morning work time! Once students are introduced to any version of Toothy, they can play any set they are given without teacher help since the rules of the game don't change! This allows the teacher to get all their morning tasks done uninterrupted! Why is Toothy so perfect for morning work? It is super engaging which equals quiet, independent work time! Students love Toothy and will stay on task! Lastly, NO TEACHER CORRECTION NEEDED. Toothy is self-correcting! Students will be engaged, quiet and complete the correcting on their own. Win for all!

2. Early (or Fast) Finisher Activity

“What do I do when I am done?” The dreaded words from any teacher who is trying to work with small groups or individual students! Toothy is a great early finisher task. Why? They know how to use the game, they won't be wandering the room interrupting the students still working, and it is academically and skill-focused.

And, why not differentiate the Toothy skillset assigned to fit what each student needs?! Or, have a few early finisher Toothy sets available for students to choose from. This empowers students and lets them take the lead in their learning.

3. Buddy Classes

Before Covid, many teachers buddied up with a different grade level class. There is SO much benefit from partnering up students! One idea is having reading or math buddies between the buddy classes. The older student in the group takes on a leadership/teacher role. Both students will be learning AND the skills they are working on can be hand-picked by the buddy teachers to best fit each pairing. Toothy is available in Kindergarten-3rd grade skill bundles which makes differentiation easy! Check out all the Toothy skill sets available below!

All Toothy Sets in ONE Place

Kindergarten Toothy

1st Grade Toothy

2nd Grade Toothy

3rd Grade Toothy

4. Stations /Centers

Station time is a love/hate time for many teachers. While they know students usually love this time of the day, it can be a TON of work for teachers to find, prep, cut, and teach each station activity. Good news! Toothy is LOW prep. Print, copy double-sided, and cut on a few straight lines! (Or if you are using digital copies, NO PREP!) Also, Toothy can be taught ONE time and students will know how to play it for each new skill set! Since students know how to play it, all teachers need to do is assign the new skill, and students are off! No more wasting station time explaining each activity!

5. Interventions

Many schools have intervention (or RTI) times scheduled throughout the day. Toothy can fit perfectly into these explicit instruction formats. One way is Toothy works great with manipulatives. Teachers can incorporate base ten blocks, alphabet blocks or any hands-on tools to help students gain more understanding of the targeted skill. Teachers can use visual aids like anchor charts to review a skill. Next, use the Toothy activity to cement learning.

Also, Toothy is great for tracking progress during the intervention. While students are going through their Toothy activity, the teacher could make a pile of “does know” and “doesn't know” skills. The “doesn't know” pile can drive instruction!

Best part? All Toothy sets are standards based!

If you'd love to learn more, read this post to find out how Toothy can be a game-changer for engagement in your classroom!

Hopefully Toothy will be a big part of your class schedule – hitting the desks (or screens) very soon! Want more Toothy tips? Head to our Facebook group Lucky 2nd Grade Teachers, where the creativity is always flowing!