Friday, June 12, 2015

Large Group Literacy: Space

KWL Chart (Fill out Know and Want to Know)
This is an activity that happens at the beginning of this unit, theme, or whatever you call your Topic of Study/Interest.  KWL Charts stand for Know, Want to Know, and Learned.  Begin with a simple conversation about what they know about Space.  They only need to offer between three and five statements.  Write these under the K column of your paper.  Next, have students discuss what they want to know and write these statements under the W column of your paper.  Again, you only need between three and five statements of what they want to know.

Coffee Filter Planets
This is another creative writing activity.  Students give the students washable markers to write on coffee filters to hang out for hallway display.  Again, we're still in the beginning of the school year so many writing activities are focused on using writing utensils while the teachers continue demonstrating writing.

Rebus Twinkle Twinkle Little Star reading
Rebus is the art of using pictures to represent words.  As pre-k is filled with pre-readers, we do not expect for our students to come to us ready to read at the beginning of the school year.  We can start teaching them decoding skills with rebus charts.  Allow students to attempt deciphering the rebus chart before you read it to them, echo it with them, and read it together.

Twinkle Twinkle Story Change
Now it is time to shake things up with some creative writing prompts from our students now that they know the familiar nursery rhyme.  Start by writing the words "Twinkle twinkle" on the chart paper but allow the students to change the words to create a whole new rhyme while you model handwriting skills.

8 Spinning Planets retelling with planet props
8 Spinning Planets by Brian James is a fun book about the solar system that uses rhyming fun.  I have a set of planets on popsicle sticks that students use to be each planet as we read through the book together.  You could purchase a set of plush planets or make whatever suits your classroom budget.

Favorite Planet Graph
Here is where I begin introducing copying letters.  We have the planets arranged in a row across a chart paper.  I hold up a student name card and hand them the name card, a pencil, and a rocket cutout.  The student may return to their space on the carpet to attempt copying their name to their rocket before taping the rocket to their planet of choice.  I usually don't pass out these items to more than four students at a time to avoid from the graph area becoming too congested with traffic.

KWL Chart (Fill out Learned)
This is an activity for the last day of the unit, theme, Topic of Study/Interest.  Before you take charge into simply filling out your L column for what students have learned, review on the first two columns with the students.  Talk about what they knew coming in to the learning unit, what they wanted to know.  Ask them the questions from the W column and write their answers for L.  They will enjoy seeing how they have learned and acquired the answers to their own questions (research at work!).

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Large Group Literacy: Germs, Health, & Safety

By this point in the school year, students have either encountered illness or have noted friends that have been absent do to sickness.  If you're Quality Rated then you've probably been practicing hand-washing procedures with your students since they came for Meet and Greet.

KWL Chart (Fill out Know and Want to Know)
This is an activity that happens at the beginning of this unit, theme, or whatever you call your Topic of Study/Interest.  KWL Charts stand for Know, Want to Know, and Learned.  Begin with a simple conversation about what they know about Germs.  They only need to offer between three and five statements.  Write these under the K column of your paper.  Next, have students discuss what they want to know and write these statements under the W column of your paper.  Again, you only need between three and five statements of what they want to know.

Wash Your Hands Retelling
Wash Your Hands by Tony Ross is a short story about a princess who questions having to wash her hands until germs are explained to her by the castle maid.  Students can wear crowns and costumes as they pretend to be various roles in the book while learning about the importance of handwashing!

Class Rules Discussion
I'm sure that some of you see this learning activity and your eyes are popping out.  AGREE ON CLASS RULES THIS LATE INTO SCHOOL?!  Are you NUTS?!  Well, you have already established your classroom routines and procedures so you actually can survive without "rules" for this long.  Many pre-k consultants still request that classroom rules be decided upon as a class so here is your time to do it.  Most of this discussion is students repeating the routines and procedures that you have been teaching them since the beginning of the school year.  At each suggestion, write them up with a positive re-wording.  Example: "No punching!" "Thank you Sally, let's keep our bodies to ourselves." (write on chart paper: Bodies to ourselves)
Students now feel as though they had a say in agreeing to what the classroom expectations are for them behaviorally.

KWL Chart (Fill Out What We Have Leaned)
This is an activity for the last day of the unit, theme, Topic of Study/Interest.  Before you take charge into simply filling out your L column for what students have learned, review on the first two columns with the students.  Talk about what they knew coming in to the learning unit, what they wanted to know.  Ask them the questions from the W column and write their answers for L.  They will enjoy seeing how they have learned and acquired the answers to their own questions (research at work!),

Monday, June 8, 2015

Large Group Literacy: Feelings & Emotions

Remember that we are still at the beginning of the school year with these activities so let's have fun as we continue teaching the routines and procedures.  If you have had any number of classroom management training, it has been expressed how important it is to teach feelings and emotions to pre-kindergarten students.  Many behavioral issues are communication issues, students not knowing how to say that they feel a certain way or need something.  Here is your time to review emotions and how students might feel when they are acting that way.

Today I am feeling ... because ...
"Henry is feeling sleepy because he woke up too early" "Mrs. Pope is feeling hungry because she missed breakfast" "Susie is feeling happy" allow the students to say how they are feeling and, if they are able, why they are feeling that current emotion.  I've had a student tell me before on this chart that they were sad because their dad's football team lost their game.  Even parents get a giggle out of what children will share during this activity.  As they share these details, write them on giant chart paper to model handwriting.

Silly Sally big book reading
Big books are great for modeling tracking print and guided reading with class sets.  At the beginning of the school year, I focus on modeling the tracking skills with big books.  Silly Sally is a fun story for the beginning of the school year as it contains rhyming, repetitive phrases, and sequencing.

Silly Sally flannel retelling
This flannel set again is something that you can buy, make with felt, or print on paper with velcro fasteners.  You can either choose to simply read the story and use the props or allow the students to manipulate the flannel props as you read the story.

Three Little Pigs Blues
Three Little Pigs Blues is a song by Greg & Steve from the album Playing Favorites.  I took three privacy folders and decorated them to be a house of straw, sticks, and bricks.  Students take turns (about five times) being the pigs and the big bad wolf reenacting with the prompts from the song.  You can have your students act it out with masks, costumes, or however works for you and your budget.

Musical Writing
This activity can be done either with clipboards or again with butcher/bulletin/chart paper.  Students have a writing utensil and you play happy music as they move their writing utensil to how they feel.  Play sad music, angry music, music that takes them through emotional feeling.  Classical tracks without words are suggested for this.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Large Group Literacy: Getting to Know School

The beginning of the school year is a crucial time for establishing routines and procedures within the classroom.  I will be honest and admit, I plan for Large Group Literacy but it usually does not fully occur during that first week of school.  Some activities I have to put in the lesson plan more than once because we never actually did them during the first week.

Who's Who
This is a super simple "getting to know you" activity in which all students take turns answering questions such as their favorite food or color.  Each student has a piece of construction paper with their first name written at the bottom.  As they answer the questions, write their responses on a post-it for them to place on their paper.
This pulls students in as they discuss their individual preferences and see who might have similar interests within their setting.  It also prepares them for contributing to class discussions and other Large Group Literacy experiences that will occur throughout the school year.
This is a fun hallway display for the beginning of the school year.

Class Mural
Roll out some butcher paper, bulletin paper, chart paper, whatever it is as long as it is BIG.  Allow the students to draw or write whatever they feel.  The focus of these activities is pulling students into the expectations of Large Group Literacy at the beginning of the school year.

Pete the Cat flannel story telling
You can purchase the flannel set, make your own from felt, print photos with velcro patches...  However you have your flannel stories, this is a fun beginning of the school year tale.  With Eric Litwin providing the song to the story of Pete the Cat, this song pulls students into the excitement of learning making it choice for using at the beginning of the school year.

Favorite Pete the Cat book graph
Pete the Cat, His School Shoes, Groovy Buttons, T-Rex, Sunglasses, so many titles!  Grab what you can of Pete the Cat to read throughout that first week of school.  Only make the options for your graph whatever titles you actually read with your students.  Create boxes underneath each option.  As most students entering cannot write their name yet, allow them to color in a box with a marker, color pencil, or crayon for whichever book they are choosing.  This allows them to practice holding and using a writing tool before having them to begin copying letters.
You will note that many of my graphing opportunities will be students picking out their favorite something.  This goes again to their egocentric focus which pulls them into the activity.

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly Retelling with props
Go ahead and create your old lady prop however you need to.  My school has an Old Lady prop with a clear plastic bag beneath her apron to see what she has eaten.  I have an old helium tank box in my home that I painted over and transformed into an old lady to eat props.  However you make her, she is a story of repetitive phrases and sequencing that has many retellings to fit various holidays and themes throughout the school year.  And again, you can buy her props or make them yourself.  I prefer to find items in the classroom to reflect the props in her story.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Large Group Literacy

Last year I did a long focus on a majority of the GELDS from books and activities to songs as well. 
This summer, I will share with you all the various activities that I implement for Large Group Literacy.  
Large Group Literacy is a part of the pre-kindergarten day separate of large group, opening activity, or closing activity that focuses on reading, writing, and retelling.  The class as a whole participates in reading chart stories and large print books, practices activities allowing them to strengthen their writing skills, and retelling to display literary comprehension.  
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I will post up various Large Group Literacy activities for various learning units that I teach throughout the school year.  From Apples to Zoo Animals and everything in between!  Some units have as few as three activities while some have as many as ten.
I hope that these will help foster growth for your students in your classrooms!