Last Day

Kindergarten

2008

Back: Hunter, Gabriel J, Caitlinn, Clayton, Rory, Sydney, Ozzy, Torre

Middle: David, Jimmy, Mea, Quinn, Will, Acelyn, MaKayla

Bottom: Trent, Skylar, Cale, Hanna, Dominic, Keyton

[sadly not pictured: Gabriel H. & Cloman]

Week 16!

A view from the back of the classroom once again...

Mrs. Swann is shown here taking her classroom back!

Trent, Torre, Gabriel, and Keyton

Working on Christmas Crafts

I found Hanna reading to Cale like this...

I am going to really miss these little ones.

I cannot believe my time with Mrs. Swann in Kindergarten is over. It has been a challenging, yet rewarding time. Over the first few days we realized we had several children who did not know the letters beyond the ones in their name (even have one who couldnt write his own name), and now these children are readers! They can read "She is at the rug with Kim." I am so proud! They know the signs are sounds for the letters, they know that bat says /b//a//t/ and that it belongs in the -at word family. They can give me many, many words that start with /g/, not to be confused with /j/ - an easy one to confuse when you are five years old. They can write their names with ease, some even their last names. They are learning how to be students in a classroom, still with frequent reminders of how to treat their friends. :) And some still working on writing "b" with the stick on the right side.

While my students have learned so much over the past 16 weeks, I may have learned more. First of all, I have learned what it means to "manage" a classroom of 23 five year olds. I have learned that these little guys really do need 3-4 group bathroom breaks a day, and how to carfully arrange this among the busy curriculum and instruction time. I have learned about differentiated instruction and recognizing the needs of individual students. I have learned that some studentsjust need a hug and a gentle push to success.

The greatest thing I learned was to set my expectations clearly to my students. For example, in the beginning of the day, I would usually ask my students how we can stay on green light all day. We would set the goal to all "go green" throughout the day. When I set my expectations and give them the challenge of all "going green," they work hard to prove they can do it.

I have also gained experience in proactive verses reactive classroom management. If I could sense trouble between two students, I would address it by moving one of the students before it became an issue. Once I got to know my students, I was able to read the room well and be proactive in discipline.

I have learned alot of useful tools from Mrs. Swann, my host teacher. I loved watching her move around the classroom and keep the students' attention. "You have to do everything but stand on your head, to keep these kid's attention!" I believe I remember her saying that once in the beginning of our time together. I can now say, after these 16 weeks, that is very much true!

A Little Thank You Speech :)

I am very thankful and grateful for:

Mrs. Swann and her maddess with Bob the Builder and those crazy signs and sounds! These kids are readers because of the things you do! I love every minute of it.

Mrs. Furgeson for her constant encouragment and for just getting all those worksheets printed off and torn out of books! What would we do without you?! You make my smile!

Mrs. Morris for dealing with my tears of joy, frustration, exhaustion, etc. You are the one who got me through this program and I am sooo so grateful for your patience and encouragement. I can't thank you enough.

Jill and Lynette for keeping me smiling and laughing down in the Kindergarten cage.

All of Rivesville School for being so supportive of us Benedum girls. I couldn't have asked for a better place to spend my three years!

Week 15

Christmas Cookies

In this week's math groups, my group made cookies. The number of the week was 10/ten. The students made the number out of yarn and cut out 10 cookies to put on their Christmas Cookie Plate. Most of the children also added chocolate chips! MMMM!

Week 14

Completion of the Pumpkin Unit

I read this information book to the class before we discussed the life cycle of a pumpkin.

The Pumpkin Circle

Students placed the phases of the pumpkin life cycle in the correct order.

23 Pumpkin Circles!

The Pumpkin Circle Read Aloud

Overall, the Pumpkin Unit went well. We ended up continuing the pumpkin unit unit almost Thanksgiving. There is just not enough time in the day to get everything done! That is one things I have learned this internship, be flexible! Almost everyday I have too much I want to get done. I always have to remember, tomorrow is another day. During the Pumpkin Unit I incorported art, science, math, and reading. The students loved counting the seeds! Our classroom pumpkin, who we named "Paul the Pumpkin" had 537 seeds. Each child had a handful they were responsible for counting. They were surprised when I secretly turned Paul the Pumpkin into a jack-o-jantern! The students seemed to enjoy this cooperative learning with their peers. They all had to do their part to get the grand total.

Kristin,
One more week! Unbelievable! Reflect on this semester and what you have learned. I know you are ready for your own classroom and will create a welcoming environment and set high expectations for your students and for yourself. Enjoy the last few days with your students!
Thanks for all your hard work this semester and your sense of humor!
Mrs. Morris

Week 13

Sequence Mural

In reading this week we have been reading "A Bed for the Winter." A dormouse goes to several different places (10 to be exact) to find a home for the winter. We have been discussing First, Next, and Last in the story to understand sequence. In math we learned the ordinal numbers, first through tenth. This was a perfect way to integrate reading into math. We created a Sequence Mural to show where the dormouse went first, second, third...etc. Each student had a "mural partner" and collaborated together to make the animal that happened in that position, (ex. the dormouse went to see the snake ninth.)

Ozzy creating a brown bear for eighth position.

Students working with their "mural partners"

The next we had a cutout dormouse visit all the places on the mural to discuss each position. The students had to opportunity to tell the class which animal they drew and what position it was in on the mural. The students really surprised me and were very proud of their work!
Red + Yellow = Pumpkin Orange!

We have been continuing our Pumpkin Unit. We mixed red and yellow, and to the students surprise they made orange! Each of the pumpkins were unique just like each of the students. Later they cut out the pumpkins and added a stem and curly ribbon vines and added them to the classroom pumpkin patch.

Week 12

PlayDoh Eights

Here is a video from our math group time. This is my group. We make numbers with the playdoh. Making the numbers with playdoh helps the kinesthetic learners feel how to write the numbers. The children love making numbers with the playdoh. Sometimes I will have the students make a certain number of balls with their playdoh. They must then point to each ball and count for me. This helps them learn one to one correspondence.

Week 11 - 100%

A Week in Pictures

Spiders have 8 legs.

First, we glued on 8 legs.... Then wrote#1-#8 on the legs..

Then, we glued on googly eyes. Finally, we counted the legs aloud.

Ordinal Numbers aren't easy. But we can do it! First, Second, Third...

Here Mea and Acelyn are using thier -at word family slider.

cat, mat, pat, sat, hat...

We learn about setting in "Armadillo Orange." The students drew the setting around the Armadillo. Look for the BIG orange and the green trees!

We hung them to show everyone that we know "Where Armadillo is..."

Week 10

Graphing Fall

I feel as though I am getting classroom management down for kindergarten students. I have been learning that smooth transitions from one activity to another are important. I have also been learning that you must be prepared for anything in kindergarten. The students will always keep you on your toes.

This week Neal observed a math lesson on Thursday. We worked on graphing to answer the question "What do we like to do the most in Fall?" They had to options: carving pumpkings, playing football, or playing in the leaves. (See above picture) Students did a great job making this picture graph to determine most and fewest. Thanks for your constructive feedback and encouragement Neal!

One thing I am contonually learning and working on it having meaningful discussion about the concepts that we are learning. I want to be able to ask the students questions about the concepts to challenge their thinking. I like to use "What if..." questions. What if we had one more here.. or one less there.. would the outcome still be the same? These kinds of questions help with the students Depth of Knowledge.

Thanks Mrs. Swann and Mrs. Morris for helping me through this learning process. You are inspiring me to be a teacher who is well prepared!

Week 9

Week was my first full week of teaching reading. I am now at 75% teaching. Teaching reading has been a challenge for me. I try to really mentally prepare the night before for our 90 minute reading block. The Basal Reader is very structured and I think I really like it. It tells me exactly what I have to teach that day. When I am preparing, I mostly think of how I can keep the class activly involved in learning.


Here are some of the questions that I am constantly thinking about:
How am I going to teaching blending of cvc words?

What is my classroom management going to be like during each section of our morning?

How will I transition from one activity to the next?

How will I make sure my lower level students are paying attention and comprehending the concept?

Do I have to be sure to ask them comprehension questions throughout the morning?

What about motivation?

What is going to be a "treasure chest" question?

How will I keep the students attention?

What activity can I do to help these concepts stick in my students heads?


These are all things I have to think about to ensure a productive and positive morning.


This is really a learning process for me. I feel more confident teaching Reading now than I did 2 weeks ago, although everyday is a new challenge. There are some things I am still figuring out and I am constantly reflecting on how I can improve my teaching strategies and classroom management.


I cannot believe there are just 6 weeks left!

CVC sliders I made for our class.

We are working on the -am and -at word families.

Here is one component of our Reading Series:

The trade book "Armadillo Orange" and the song Orange Grove

to the tune of Here Come Peter Cottontail.

Kristin,
I can see you are learning a lot about kindergarten. Your AR research activities sound great - I especially liked the activities you used with Where the Wild Things Dance. I'm sure the kids loved it! Even after your official AR time is complete, do you still plan to do similar activities?
I also like how you add pictures to your blog. They make it interesting to read and give you a feel of what is happening.
I noticed in your blogs you mentioned classroom management. It gets easier given experience -- at least most days. Don't get discouraged and remember they are just five years old.
Mrs. Morris

Week 8

Pattern, Patterns Everywhere

Week 8 was a week of patterns in math class. Above are pictures of my students creating Pattern Placemats. The students were to create their own pattern using color strips. Some made ABAB patterns, others made ABCABC patterns. A few of the students even created AABAAB patterns. I was very impressed with the results. I even laminated them, so they can be used for many years to come on the kitchen table!
The students took their math test at the end of the week. Many did very, very well. The test included patterns and graphing. Many had more trouble with the graphing. But in all, I was very impressed with the scores.

This week I picked up Reading on Wednesday. I was a little nervous to start teaching Reading, because Mrs. Swann does such a good job with it. I felt like I did okay for the first time teaching it. I am still wworking on gaining confidence while I am up front and other teachers are around the room, watching as I teach. I am also still gaining confidence with using "sign and sound" for the phonics part of the lesson. We are blending sounds already! /b/ /a/ /t/. BAT.
I am also still working on the best techniques for classroom management and for keeping the students attention and keeping them involved in learning.
This coming week I am continuing at 75% teaching. I am teaching everything now except afternoon phonics and the unit (Mrs. Swann is doing an Apple Unit). I will be full time by the end of October.

Week 7

Week seven was a hard week. On top of being sick, I was exhausted (physically and emotionally). We had a rough beginning of the week with one of the students. Mrs. Cummingham, the guidence counselor, said to me "Honestly, if you can do kindergarten, you can do anything!" I laughed and replied, "Seriously."

I was at 50% this week, teaching Morning Circle time and Math, while also doing my Action Research 3 times a week. Everyday is very different from the day before, and I am starting to understand that anything that I expect will always be different! I have to go into the day prepared for anything and try to keep positive (and to remember they are 5 years old). Mrs. Swann and I chatted a bit about my strenths and areas of improvement thus far, which I appreciated. Classroom management will always be an area to develop, especially at this age level.

This week in math we have been working on patterns. One of the concepts the book wants to the students to understand is where the pattern repeats. It has proven to be a hard concept for kindergarten students to comprehend. I started to question if I was teaching the lesson well enough, and Mrs. Swann was supportive and reminded me that it is very hard for these children to understand and to give them time. That was comforting and I didnt feel like a failure.

Next week, Week 8, I will be starting to teach Reading from Mrs. Swann's plans. Just to "get my feet wet." This will take me to 75%. I will be 100%, starting the last week in October.

I am hoping for a good week. Only 4 days this week :)

Week 6

Small Group Reading Instruction

I cannot believe I am nearing the end of week 6 in kindergarten. Wow, how time flies.

The past week has been great so far. The students are really starting to develop and are starting to feel comfortable in kindergarten. Mrs. Swann decided this week would be a great review week, I agree. There is a very wide range of ability levels in our classroom. This week was designated to review and assess, review and assess.

The key componets of this week have included: Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, I, am, little, the (in reading) and one, 1, two, 2, three, 3, blue, red, and green (in math). The students not only need to know the letter but the sign and sound for each letter in phonics. Some of the lower level students are still struggling with some of the concepts, but are progressing. It is very exciting to see one of those children really get it and know those letters!

I am still doing math time with the students. This week we are working on graphing (picture graphs, real graphs, bar graphs) and patterns. I am still working on the best teaching methods and ways to teach the material. I do have a hard time with the large group instruction, and I am considering better ways for classroom management during that time. I also want to be better at allowing the students to be actively involved in the large group instruction, but also be able to keep the students under control. They tend to get out of hand quickely, especially in the afternoon. Math is always before or after a specialist, so the students are always pretty wound up during math time. :)

I am excited to be taking on Morning Circle time next week. I am also excited to have my Action Research under way starting this week! (See Action Reasearch posting for more info).

Our Word Wall

Kristin,
I enjoyed reading your blog and can tell you are learning a lot about classroom management and kindergarten! Let me know how your first week of AR goes. Mrs. Morris

Action Research

9/16/08
I sat with Mrs. Swann today and discussed my project that I will be doing in her classroom. Be discussed areas of which I need to change a bit to make it fit four our classroom and specific children.

Over the weekend I will be considering the following areas:
the 6 students I will collect data on (2 low, 2 middle, 2 high)

• the timeline of the project



• the time of day in which we will work on the project (3 times a week?)



• the 6 books I will be using
  


• comprehension questions (setting, characters, beginning, middle, end, etc)



• motivation?



• project ideas?

9/24/08

This week I started my action research project which asks the question:

How does the use of integrated arts instructional activities affect comprehension detail use in stories used in Kindergarten?

This week I began with "Caps for Sale" as the storybook that will be assessed for reading comprehension detail. I created a rubric and data scoring sheets for the 6 children that I chose for the study. The schedule is as follows:

Monday: Reading of story (ask 6 students questions individually)

Wednesday: Reading of Story and do arts project

Friday: Reading of Story and complete arts project (ask 6 students questions again

Here are some pictures from todays project. We made "caps."

Sept 29-Oct. 3

This week for Action Research we read the book, "The Giant Jam Sandwich." For the arts activity we listened to violin music and did "bee' movements....first sloooow, then FAST! Each student had a di-cut bee and moved the bee to the music and listen to my directions. The students loved it! Afterward, we had Jam Sandwichs for snack time. Inside there was a little surprise....smashed bees (raisinettes). They thought it was funny they were eating "bees."

October 10

"Make Way for Ducklings"

This week for Action Research we read the book, "Make Way for Ducklings." The students really loved this story and fell in love with the cute little Ducklings in Boston. For our Arts integration activity we created fancy "city ducks." I made a di-cut duck for each student and they were able to decorate their duck with feathers and sequeins and gems. They were very excited to use these different materials. Then we used the ducks to decorate our classroom door. (See above)

October 13-17

WHERE THE WILD THINGS DANCE

Week four of Action Research, we read "Where the Wild Things Are." Following the story, I instructed and directed the students to do a pantomime to retell the story. First we put on our "wolf suit" then our room grew and grew and GREW! The we sailed off to land of the Wild Things. We did the wild rumpus and we were crowned kings (and queens) of the Wild Things. We said goodbye to our monster friends and got back into our boat and bend back home and ate our dinner, that was waiting for us...and it was still hot!

The kids did a great job using their imaginations as we acted out scences from the book. Afterward we danced to a song called "Monster Boogie" by children's singer/songwriter Laurie Berkner. The song was perfect for the book. Mean monsters with a playful side that liked to dance! This was such a fun activity.

The students seem to really like the art activities we have been doing from week to week. Just 2 weeks left of Action Research.

Oct. 20-24

"The Dot"

This week was week 5 for Action Research. We read the story called "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds. THis is a story about a little girl, Vashti, who thought she couldnt draw anything. She was very down and frustrated with her art work. She has an inspiration teacher who helped her to use her imagination to let her artwork come to life. The teacher made sure that Vashti always signed her work.

This week the students painted dots! We used potatoes which were cut in half. They made perfect sized dots. When students were finished making their dot project, I instructed them to sign it with a black marker. The students felt very proud of their artwork. The really liked painting with potatoes!