Large Group Literacy: Fairy Tales

Fairy Tale is a unit that I like to work with when we come back from Christmas Break in January.  It's fun and inviting to help students get back into the swing of school again.  I like to focus on one Fairy Tale each day.  I have three story times in my day at this point of the year so each story time is a different rendition of the story allowing students to comment the similarities and differences in each retelling of these classic tales.

Three Little Pigs Retelling with Props
Yes, this is one of my beginning of the school year activities.  It's fun, engaging, and the students love it.  Makes it PERFECT for getting them back into the groove of school after weeks at home for Christmas.

There Was An Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly Big Book Reading
Our Favorite Old Woman to get us back into the school groove.  By now, your students should be loving school again and we can start with new activities tomorrow.
If you have enough copies of the book, make it a class reading where all students turn the page along with you and practice tracking print with their books.

Draw Your Own Gingerbread Person
Gingerbread Boy, Gingerbread Girl, Gingerbread Pirates and so many more stories!  Give students paper with a basic gingerbread outline, provide markers and see what kind of gingerbread person they create.  Another great exercise in using writing materials that gives a whole group result to post in the hallway or as a bulletin board.

Porridge Recipe Writing
The porridge was too hot, too cold, and just right.  How do you make porridge anyway?  I allow the students to tell me what they think it contains and the steps to make it while writing down what they say on chart paper.  Afterward we look up how it is really made and compare our written recipe to the actual one.

5 Little Monkeys Flannel Board Retelling
More of a nursery rhyme than a fairy tale but we also take time to do a nursery rhyme a day as our opening activities for this unit.  Students thoroughly enjoy it and again the focus of this unit is to return to school from break with a renewed love of learning.  I suggest flannel board to swap out your flannel board props in your learning environment but puppets, costumes, or other props are welcome for whatever works for you.

Little Red Riding Hood Rewrite 
We've been reading all of these fairy tales and each retelling has a bit of a different twist.  What if we made our own twist?  What if Riding Hood was a girl?  What if Riding Hood didn't wear red, but another color?  Pose these questions and see where your students take you.
I've had Blue Riding Hood get chased through the three little pigs homes by a T-Rex.  What will you get?

Favorite Nursery Rhyme Graph
As I mentioned with the 5 Little Monkeys, we've been introducing a nursery rhyme a day with this unit.  Time to vote for your favorite.  Exercise those writing skills and have them practice at writing their name to cast their vote.

Three Billy Goats Gruff retelling
This was my FAVORITE thing that I did at a daycare growing up.  They had a big balance beam in one of the classrooms and we'd reenact Three Billy Goats Gruff using that.  I use the hollow blocks in my classroom to make the bridge.  I've seen some teachers allow standing on their tables for this.  Whatever works for your classroom, your students, and your sanity.  If you don't feel the table is a safe bet, don't do it.  If you don't have a balance beam, don't fret.  Work with what works for you.

This Old Man Big Book Reading
Don't have This Old Man?  Try Big Fat Hen or any other Nursery Rhyme Big Book.  The fairy tales that I focus on the day we do this activity are a mix of things instead a one book focus.

Large Group Literacy: Winter Holidays Around the World

For Holidays Around the World, I sequence the holidays to be taught in the following order:
Advent, St. Nicholas Day, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Noche Buena, Christmas, Kwanzaa.

Advent Chain 
Many advent celebrations focus on counting down to Christmas.  This activity makes an advent chain using thin slips of paper.  Each student writes their name on a slip and we staple them into circles, looping them to make a paper chain.  At the end of each day, we remove a chain.  If we can read the student's name then they make take their chain home with them that day.

All I Want For Christmas Is...
Another language chart helping students to communicate preferences using complete sentences.  When I had a teacher website in one county, I would also type up this list for parents to know what their children were saying that they wanted for Christmas at school.

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bell retelling

Old Lady is BACK!  Remember those predictions and use whatever props work for you and your budget.

The Snowman Movie to Book Comparison

This is saved for the last day before Christmas Break.  We "read" The Snowman earlier that day.  There are no words in the book so have your students offer what they gather, strengthen their inferential abilities!  Later, we watch The Snowman and students offer what they saw that was the same and what was different.  "Why did they add Santa to the movie?  He wasn't in the book...."

Again, this is the time of year for Parent Conferences so my Large Group Literacy activities will vary to what I need for work samples or what my para would like guide the lesson with. 

Large Group Literacy: Snow Animals

There Was An Cold Lady Who Swallowed a Some Snow retelling
Didn't we just read an old lady?  Repetition is OKAY!Don't forget to give some time for student predictions of what will happen with the old lady THIS time.  And, of course, make your props from whatever works for you.

Mitten Versus Glove Graph
Would you prefer to wear mittens or gloves in the snowy weather?  Write their name on post-its to stick under their preference.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear Big Book Reading

If you did the Brown Bear, Brown Bear activities, pull off of that prior experience to allow students to make predictions of animals that will appear in this book.  Remember to demonstrate tracking print to students.  

About this time of year, I'm starting to wrap up for Parent Conferences so my Large Group Literacy activities will vary to what I need for work samples or what my para would like guide the lesson with. 

Large Group Literacy: Thanksgiving

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie retelling
Our favorite old lady!  Now we can add some predictions in as well.  We've seen the old lady and the books make a book bag, the old lady and the fly died, what will happen to this old lady?
Again, make your props from whatever works for you.

Writing Up a Thanksgiving Feast
This is one of my FAVORITE class lists and each year I always forget to take a picture of it.
On chart paper, I make a giant plate, cup, fork, spoon, knife, and napkin.  All of these objects are labeled.  Then, the students suggest what they would like to eat (or drink) for Thanksgiving.  I try to match the color of the food to the words they offer and organize them on the plate and in the glass where they fit.  Rolls are brown, salad is green, tomatoes and cucumbers and other salad fixing get written on top of the salad in their color.  Mashed potatoes are gray, gravy is brown and written on top of the mashed potatoes word.  The students have fun filling up the plate and cup with words and colors.

Thankful Tree
Students draw or write on a leaf what they are thankful for and we post them to a tree cutout placed outside of our classroom.

Large Group Literacy: Forest Animals

My unit on forest animals depends on how the week falls.  Usually I do a full five days and focus on Brown Bear Brown Bear during LGL.  This past year was a four day week so I did the following activities:

Forest Animals List
Students try to name as many animals as they can think of to be added to chart paper by the teacher.

Owl Babies Big Book Reading
Big Books are wonderful opportunities to demonstrate tracking print to students.  The repetitive statement by the youngest owlet will have them participating in the reading process.

Tree Observational Drawings
Using paper on clipboards, students will walk around the school and draw what they observe of the trees on campus.

Retelling of Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear poem
I enjoy celebrating the end of our time learning about forest animals with a Teddy Bear Picnic.  So with our teddy bears that we brought in, we act out the Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear poem.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear Picture Walk
Go through each page of the book from cover to end.  Allow students to take turns suggesting what they believe is happening on each page.  I recommend no more than three suggestions per page or students begin to get off track in the activity.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear Big Book Reading
Since yesterday we guessed what was happening on each page, today we read it!  What will the words tell us is happening this time?
Again, pointing to each word and tracking print demonstration for students.

Brown Bear retelling using props
There are many prop options for retelling; flannel board, puppets, different colored smocks for students to wear labeled with each animals' name.  Buy something, make something, create something new.. One year I was in a rush and wrote the animals' names on their matching color of construction paper for students to hold.  Whatever works for you, your students, and your budget.

Favorite Brown Bear Animal
This activity focuses on writing.  You can either make it a graph for students to write their name under the animal of choice OR you can give each student a sheet of paper to draw the animal themselves.  This gives you a whole group project that can be displayed in your hallway or on a bulletin board AND gives you an excellent work sample for "shows an appreciation for both books an reading" and other Language and Literacy indicators.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear/Bear Hunt Comparison Chart
This activity focuses on characters, setting, and plot of stories.  I make the chart on the board: Title, Characters, Setting, Plot.  I explain to the students what each word means before we attempt to fill in those sections for Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  Title, the name of the book.  Characters, WHO was in the story.  Setting, WHERE did the story happen.  Plot, WHAT happened.  Then I read Bear Hunt (you can replace for any other bear-focused title, I recommend a short tale).  We then go back to our chart and fill in for Bear Hunt to compare similarities and differences between the two books.

Large Group Literacy: Food & Nutrition

My Favorite Food Language Chart
Students take turn listing their favorite food using complete sentences.  Teachers write full dictation of each student's sentence.  Can also be altered to a class book in which students also draw a picture of their favorite food.

If You Give a Pig a Pancake Big Book Reading
Big Books are wonderful opportunities to demonstrate tracking print to students.  The if-then statements in the books can pose to opportunities to ask students what the pig will want to do next.  Don't have this title?  That's fine!  Gather up another title that has to do with food and roll.

Pizza Order Cards
Prior to this, we have been practicing with our fingers in the air Numeral Song by Dr. Jean Feldman.  Now we put the numeral song to practice here.  We have asked parents to donate ingredients to make pizza in the classroom this week.  Today, the students will make their pizza orders for making pizza the next day.  Each student has a sheet with pepperoni, cheese, black olives, and mushrooms with lines next to each image.  The students attempt to write the number (between 0-10) of each ingredient that they would like on their pizza.  Name at the top, first thing (no name, how will we make your pizza?).

Little Red Hen retelling using props
I prefer to use the flannel story as that is what I have in my classroom but again, whatever props you can make or find will work out well.

Large Group Literacy: Halloween

5 Senses Pumpkin Chart
To prepare for this graphic organizer, you can either use chart paper OR orange bulletin paper.  Cut your paper into the shape of a pumpkin, then split the pumpkin into five segments using markered lines.  Label each segment a sense; smell, touch, taste, sound, and sight.  Place a large pumpkin in the center of your carpet or discussion area.  I let students take turns approaching it and choose which sense they'd like to use to talk about the pumpkin before handling the pumpkin appropriately to judge sound or touch or the like.  I have a small container of pumpkin seeds and pumpkin guts with napkins for students to assess taste if they choose rather than licking the pumpkin.

5 Little Pumpkin Rebus 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.

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat retelling with props. 
The old lady is back!  Remember to allow students to take time and discuss what items they believe she will eat this time before reading the book title.  In the book about her swallowing leaves, she created a scarecrow with the items that she ate.  What will happen with the things that she eats this time?

Candy Corn Writing "Have a _____ Halloween"
Here's another fun graphic organizer that will take shape.  So create a large candy corn cut out.  The top reads "Have a", the second section remains empty, and the bottom reads "Halloween".  Students suggest various words to fill in the blank and you write them all in.

Large Group Literacy: Community Helpers

What I Want to Be When I Grow Up
This is a sentence chart activity.  Something that I use that I haven't talked about are turn sticks.  Turn sticks are craft sticks with a decorative top to them.  You can buy sets of these from teacher stores or you can make your own.  Some teachers choose to have a set with each student's name on a stick to pull, I prefer just to hand them out.  They give a great visual to you immediately of who has had a turn to speak, and who hasn't.  The decorative piece gives the students who have had a turn something to fidget with as they learn to wait politely for others to take their turn.
With this sentence chart, I do it the first day.  Bold, I know, some students aren't fully aware of different job types.  Our first book introducing the topic that morning is Community Helpers A to Z.  I place this book along with alphabet community helper flash cards placed on the floor for students to browse and identify jobs if they haven't already thought about what job that they'd like to have when they grow up.
During nap, I type up this list and post it on our classroom website for parents to review and feel involved in the learning process.

How Do I Look?
Using markers, stickers, fabric swatches, and more, students decorate a black and white print-out of their picture.  Students enjoy doing things that are all about them, and to decorate themselves pulls in those students who have been shying away from the art area, watch as they actively work on this project.

The House That Jack Built Big Book Reading
I use the copy illustrated by Pam Adams because it has each character hiding in the pictures for each page.  I have each student take a turn finding the characters as they're introduced on each page after we've read through the story as our transition to the next activity.

Write a Letter to Me!
I give students a full piece of paper to color, decorate, and more with color pencils.  Once they've finished with their paper, I place them into their corresponding pre-addressed envelope.  Take these envelopes to your front office and have them stamped to send off to the students.  Students love asking their parents if mail has come for them and it really makes an impact on them when they do get their letter from themselves at home.  This activity also helps the office staff to keep track of student addresses for zoning purposes so we know who we need to get in contact with when their letters are returned to the school.

Machines That Help Us

This is an activity that I use after we read Discovery Kids: Machines That Help.  I plan this last near the end of our time spent on Community Helpers.  We've talked about people and jobs, but we have technological tools that also support our daily lives from microwaves to car to dryers and more.  I enjoy this class chart because it is an easy way to grab assessment notes on the indicator of understanding technology and the affect it has on our daily lives.


This looks pretty sparing for the two weeks that I teach community helpers for but when I plan for guest speakers, I try to plan for them to come for Large Group Literacy.  It is usually later in the day making it easier for guests to plan to come to the school.  Also, guest speakers are times where students are required to exercise their listening skills and communication skills through discussions or dialogue.  You can send home a questionnaire towards the beginning of the school year to learn what jobs class parents have and if they'll be willing to come and discuss what they do with the class.  When scheduling guest speakers, contact potential guests two to four week prior to when you would like them to visit your classroom.  When booking, try to allow them to schedule which day and time will work.  Granted, you can let them know when nap time is because nobody wants to engage with cranky children.  When you plan these visits out around their schedule weeks prior to, it still gives you flexibility to write your lesson plans around their visits.
Can't get parents to come out to the classroom?  They're busy too and that's okay!  I send home this parent involvement sheet to give all parents the opportunity to share what it is that they do with the class.  Students enjoy reading the jobs of their parents and their peers in this parent-made book. 

Large Group Literacy: Autumn

I'm a Little Scarecrow Rebus 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.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves retelling with props
So you have already introduced the story of the old lady who swallowed a fly, bring her back out.  Be consistent to have the same old lady prop and where you store her.  Students will begin to recognize the old lady book series and they can retrieve the old lady prop as you discuss what items will be needed to perform the retelling.  Engage the students in critical thinking, what things will the old lady eat in this story.

Fall Word Web
A word web is a graphic organizer format.  In the center of your paper, draw a circle with the topic word inside of it.  In this case, we would write "FALL".  You can have some lines connecting the main topic word to smaller topic circles; I use "sports", "holidays", and "weather".  Around those smaller circles, students can suggest fall centered sports, holidays, and weather to write freely.  Anything that fits with fall but outside of those other topics can be freely written around the paper.  Try to use student suggestions but leave a book about fall, I recommend Who Loves the Fall by Bob Raczka, for students to turn through the pages and provide additional suggestions to offer for the word web.

Favorite Color Leaf Graph
You will note that graphs will be happening frequently in my Large Group Literacy planning.  This is a time for students to practice writing their name while expressing their opinions and preferences in a guided manner.  There are leaf cutouts on red, yellow, green, and brown paper glued across the top.  I hold up a student name card and hand them the name card, a pencil, and a post-it.  The student may return to their space on the carpet to attempt copying their name to their post-it before placing it under their preferred leaf color.  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.  Once this is finished, we can count to find the totals for each leaf color reviewing numerals before assessing which had most, least, or were the same.

Fall Word Journal Writing

This is an activity that I use to really introduce what my expectations are of using the word cards within our classroom writing area.  I use the word cards found at Pre-Kinders, there are cards for a variety of themes paired with images.  Students open their journals to any page, I never stress finding the "first blank page" within the pre-kindergarten environment.  I select the large word cards and display them on the interactive whiteboard for all students to view from their carpet.  I display one page for three minutes directing students to try and copy their favorite word or picture from the screen.  

Large Group Literacy: Pets

What Pet Should I Get?
This is what I title our graphing activity at the beginning of the week.  The entire week I spend building up towards what classroom pet we will have.  Monday, I read books such as What Pet Should I Get and general pet books.  I have three options that I get approved by administrators prior to this week; hermit crab, fish, and hamster.  Those are the options that are posted in this graph for students to choose as our class pet.

First Journal Entry
Pets is a new theme that I began in my classroom this past school year.  It falls after Friends & Family but before Space.  This is a time for students to again practice writing their name but I give them the prompt to draw which pet they hope to have as a classroom pet.

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake Big Book Reading
Big Books are important for demonstrating the idea of tracking print in reading.  At the beginning of the school year, I have students use "power pointers" which is a cue for them to extend their hands and attempt to track the print along with me as we read.

What Pet Should I Get Revisit
Monday we read general pet books and voted on three pet types.  Tuesday, we read all hermit crab books.  Wednesday, all fish books.  Thursday, all hamster books.  We now revisit the graph and go down each child's selection from Monday and ask if they would like to keep their choice or change now that they have new information about each animal.  The final counts determine which pet we get.

Class Pet Naming

Now we have our animal of choice!  I take four student suggestions and write them on sentence strips allowing the suggesting student to stand in a corner of the room with their name.  Once there is a student in each corner, we vote by moving.  I call out which student is holding which names and students stand by the child holding the name that they think most fits the animal.  If there is a tie for most, the other two are dropped and students move again between those names.  The name with the most students is placed near the cage to identify the name of our classroom pet.

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!).

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!),

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.

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.

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!

Patriotic Sight Words

Happy Independence Day!

Summer is a time for relaxing but many parents also worry about that brain drain that might happen. There are many articles about how it is important to keep working with your kids but also how important it is to relax.  How do you balance this?

With play.  You don't have to cram cram cram all day.  Chill, relax, and sneak that learning through games.  

Today, we started with my daughter reading a few sheets of sight words to me as I wrote them in red, white, and blue chalk all over the sidewalk.

As I would write the word she read; she would spell it and use it in a sentence for me.  Then, we switched!

I would call out the words and when she found them, she would get to throw a pop-it on it!  This was so much fun, she wanted more than one word at a time.

But we didn't stop there.  This is summer.  What's the fun of summer if there isn't water-play involved?

This was more independent.  Call the word, use it in a sentence, then throw the wet sponge all over it!  This was especially fun since we used glitter-chalk so most of the chalk would stay and the glitter would run off to the grass.  But that's okay, because now we get to grab our paintbrush...

...and practice handwriting as she painted over the chalked sight words! 

World Cup Learning Activities

After years of wait, it has returned again: FIFA World Cup has begun!

There are some exciting summer learning activities that you can do to involve your child or students passed cheering for your team.

Predictions

Predict who will win.  Compare your predictions to the final outcome.  

Greater Than/Less Than

Which team has the most points?  Who has the most?

Score Addition/Subtraction/Multiplication

Have your child take each team's score and add them together, subtract them from one another, multiply them together.  Don't just do this with the final score but throughout the game as goals are made.

Geography

Find the location of the country the teams are playing for.  Are they near where you live?  Far away from each other?

Cultural Awareness

After learning about where the teams are from, what languages do they speak?  What does their flag look like?  Create a chart to plug in all of this new information of other countries.  Refer to the chart when teams play again to review their country's information.

No Means No

When my daughter was younger, she didn't often like to pass out hugs.  I used to try and work with her on being more open to giving hugs when leaving people. Then I read this blog post.

But there's more to appreciating a child's desire.  Sometimes children want to play alone but a friend wishes to join.  Telling the friend "no" doesn't make them terrible.  Maybe they just don't want to play right now.  Maybe they want to finish what they are doing in solitary play before involving another friend.  Don't force, no means no.

If we can't teach our children that it is okay for them to set personal boundaries, that we support those boundaries, and that we expect others to respect those boundaries then what are we setting them up for?  

But I Want... a hug, a goodbye kiss, etc.

Kids can poke and prod and test their limits.  There will be many times in early childhood years where students will badger and press other adults and peers.  Those are prime opportunities to teach developing minds to respect the boundaries of others.  It's okay to want those things but if the person you want those from is not open to that, why should we force our children to do it?  

This weekend we saw a burst on twitter with the hashtag #yesallwomen in response to the shootings that took place Friday.  We can begin a change with our youth.  It isn't simply about letting our children know that if they don't want to hug or play that that is okay, but also to the child not receiving the hug that it is okay.  Hugs and kisses aren't something to steal from your kids, we don't want to teach stealing physical affection from others.

It's about teaching respect for each other and for boundaries.  About teaching comfort and confidence in announcing your boundaries.  Regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, and more.

Para of the Year

Yesterday was quite a treat for me.

I got up early and excited with my daughter for her field day.  

Hugs, kisses, bus stop, and then off to work for me.

I surprised my teacher with her teacher appreciation door.

You can tell that it was rushed quality work but I think for getting it done in secret while she was out that it looks pretty cool.  I wanted to make a hard hat on her but it was getting late in the day and I was still cutting out letters soooo.....

After that I went through the regular morning routine.  I started walking my students back to the classroom and people I passed were telling me congratulations.  Um, what am I missing?

Didn't you hear the morning announcements Mrs. Pope?  You're the paraprofessional of the year!

What what?  Oh neat!  Keep walking the kids back and get them settled in through their morning routine.

Mrs. Pope, what are you going to do to celebrate?  Um, work.  Yup, going to keep working.

Get in to class with the students and oh, there's the principal.  Must be our last TKEYS observation.  

Oh what?  Flowers?  Cupcakes?  Congratulations?  Oh don't cry, don't cry.  Hugs, wipe those tears away, submit attendance before it's 9:00.  

My parents got me roses and my daughter took me out to eat.  It's a good feeling and I'm happy to have been identified as this title but earning it doesn't mean that I stop doing it.  

Nothing to it but to do it and I'm going to celebrate this with still giving 300% to my work.

It's Not Summer Yet

The other day I found a great blog post about the importance of teaching to the last day of school.

I can't tell you enough how perfect the points are in the post.  From how important a positive attitude is to not letting other people who perform sub-par being you down to their level.  

I think this post is important for not only educators but any career field.  If you don't have the desire to give your all and do your best every day that you attend work, then you might need to rethink your work ethic.  In education this attitude is necessary for not only yourself but for every child blessed to enter your classroom. 

When you check out and focus on summer, your work suffers and in education that work is your students.  When we are contracted for 180 days of work with our students, that's what we need to put forth.  People who focus on "one month left so let's not even worry about it" have clocked out of their 180 days early.  But what stops them at one month?  Then it becomes as soon as they return from Spring Break.  Then after the 100th day of school.  Soon they enter the school year with that attitude.

End of the Year blues will happen.  It's a busy time and it is easy to become overwhelmed in it all.  The desire might be to stop caring but know that your students are worth more than that.  Never stop caring and never stop giving them your all.  They're worth it.

Don't do your students a disservice.  Teach them until the end.  Remain consistent and positive.  Carry that with you and you will easily reach End of the Year success!