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!

Week 1

Rivesville Elementary/Middle School

Ahhh.. the start of a new school year. I have always loved the first day of school as a child. The smell of a clean classroom, the new bulletin boards, excited teachers, that really cool "trapper keeper."

As I entered Rivesville Elementary yesterday, I was just as excited. Instead this time I would help create the clean classroom and newly created bulletin boards.

I felt like such a "teacher" as I attended Faculty Senate and the Faculty Meeting with the veteran teachers of Rivesville. My favorite part of the morning was Principal Stutler's congratulations to the teachers as Rivesville met the AYP for the school year and the students did unexpectedly well on the WESTEST. :) We celebrated with lunch and cake!

During the afternoon, I helped my host teacher, Mrs. Swann, prepare our kindergarten classroom. We worked on several bulletin boards and organized flashcards into plastic baggies.

Mmmm.. what an exciting time of the year!

Week 5 - Tuesday

Mrs. Swann's

Classroom Management Plan

Classroom Rules
PRAISE, ACCEPTANCE, RESPECT, AND RESPONSIBILITY will be the primary traits for creating the desired school behavior.
Good manners will always be expected.
Listening and following directions will be stressed.
Raising a hand to share or ask a question will be utilized.
Quiet working and completing all work will be expected.
Respecting others’ space and property will be stressed.
Assuming responsibility for actions and returning things to their proper places will be developed.
In keeping with the school-wide-K-4 Discipline Policy, we will remind the students of expected behavior. A verbal warning will be given and if necessary their behavior light will change from green to yellow or red. The time-out chair will be utilized if necessary.

Grades
In kindergarten, the children will not receive a report card until January. We are spending much time getting into the school routine and doing an inventory of skills. Much of our work is done as a whole group and the children are gaining readiness skills in all areas of the curriculum.

Class work/Homework
Finishing class work is a classroom rule and must be followed. Ample time is given to each student for completing the assigned work. Homework assignments will be given each evening. The homework should be completed and returned the following school day. The homework will be an extension or practice of a lesson we have worked on in the classroom. This will give you an opportunity to see what your child is working on, and helps the children practice skills as well as develop the responsibility of getting it to school the next day. These organizational skills will carry over for all their lives.

Closing Thoughts
This will be a great time of learning for all, and we hope you are aware of the vast amount of development that will occur this year. We are looking forward to the rest of the school year. As the class gets to know each other, they discover the individual strengths and weaknesses that create their own uniqueness. The Specialist teachers (Mr. Wagner, Ms. Moore, and Mr. Himes) are assisting the students in the self-discovery of their special interests and talents. As we learn songs, poems, shapes, colors, letters, numbers, words, organization skills and routines, the students have the important task of doing their very best and being responsible for their work and behavior.

Please take a little time to discuss these points with your child.
Always try and eventually you will be successful.
Talk differences, problems, or misunderstandings out.
Walking, not running, inside the building is for safety.
Listen to directions and follow them carefully.
Speak quietly at all times during learning activities.
Listening when others speak is respectful and necessary.
Waiting in line for drinks and restroom breaks develops patience and self-control.
If you take it off the shelf, please return it to the proper place.
A single file on the right side of the hallways and holding onto the stair railing insures safety.
On the playground, children must sit on the swings and slide. They must hold on with both hands and always practice safety on the equipment.

Never leave the classroom or school property without the teacher’s permission!

Thanks Mrs. Swann for creating an encouraging and safe atmosphere for our students. I am soaking it all in and making notes on things that will work well in my future classroom!

The treasure chest is a great motivator for students!

Week 4

Kindergarten Math

Helping students with math
Our Math Textbook

Last week I started teaching one subject a day, math. So far I have taught about 4-5 lessons based on the topic of sorting. The students sorted many things like attribute blocks by color, shape, and size. We also sorted the class. I sorted the class by gender. Boys on one side and girls on the other. Then I made it a little harder and sorted the class by hair color. The students had to figure out which attribute in which I sorted them. The class did a great job sorting, and understanding the concept of it.

I believe a stength I have had during math time was classroom management. I worked hard to keep the kids involved. I really appreciate Mrs. Swann's treasure chest, it is a huge motivator for the students to pay attention and answer questions correctly. I also use the thumbs up or thumbs down technique to see who and getting it and who isn't. If anything, this technique helps to keep the students attention.

I want to continue to work on differentiating my instruction. Most of the lessons I taught were focuced on the on-level learner. I want to work to stretch the advanced students, but also work on interventions for the stretegic intervention students. I would also like to do more hands on activities with the students, maybe even get them outside while it is nice to learn different math concepts. I really want to work on my Depth of Knowledge. I want to work on asking level 4, 5, and 6 questions to get them thinking. This will come with time.

Question I want to continue to think about:

How do I help the Below-Level Readers with their sight words? What stretegies can we use for intervention with these non-readers?

Working on the following words/letters:

Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, 1, one, 2, two, green, red, blue, I, am, little, the

Week 3

Mrs. Morris asked in the last post,
"What will be my biggest challenge now that I have met my new class?"

The whole day is very challeging for me in Kindergarten. Coming from second semester third grade last semester, it is a HUGE leap backwards to first semester Kindergarten. I often find myself frustrated with the students, some of the students are defiant and don't know how to be a part of a large group. There are also several students who are great and want to be in school. This large range of 23 students makes the day very difficult right now. I feel like this is the biggest chellenge right now and will just take time for the children to adjust to being in school all day.

The week flew by. We worked on the Kindergarten Baseline assessment as a whole group over the course of the week, we finally finished it on Friday. I also took students one by one to assess their reading readiness. Asking questions such as, "Point to me the title of this book." and "Show me a capital letter." There weren't any students who got all of the questions correct. The item that seemed to stump all but 2 or 3 of the students was the concept of the period. I believe all could not point to me a sentence in the text. Many pointed to a picture when I asked them to find me a sentence.

I feel this was a good test to determine where these students starting point. I also worked on flashcards with each of the students individually with their words/letters for the week: 1, one, red, I, am, A, a, B, b. This was also a good assessment to gather information on the students progress throughout the week. I worked on these concepts all week. I ask myself the questions, "What can I do differently next week? How can I better help these students understand what we are teaching them?"

I will be starting to teach Math next Wednesday. I wil be covering the concept of sorting. Sorting by color, shape, size, etc. I am looking forward to this.