In my experience as an interventionist I studied a lot of data and found that snow days can really have a negative impact on the progress of struggling and beginning readers. All too often kids just sit at home on these days in front of the TV or iPad. (Unless they have a mom like me who just made her kids turn off all technology and choose to read, write, or draw for an hour and a half... I'm so mean!)
So, how do we keep those kids from slumping when they return?
One way is to dive right back into a routine and schedule with lots of opportunities to read and write. So, I've gathered some resources here for when you have those odd 2-3 day weeks mixed with wintry weather.
Don't forget to check out my fun snow day freebie, too!
I tried to round up so tried and true as well as some new texts for this list.
Click the titles to link to Amazon and learn more about each book.
Make your first day back to school easy and differentiated with my set of printable leveled readers for beginning readers! THis set includes 3 different leveled readers (Levels A, B, and C) about winter snowmen. Resource bonuses include QR codes that link to online e-readers so that your students can read from home on any device! Be sure to check it out!
Marchis all about the Arts at my school. All students in the school are encouraged to create something involving one area of art (music, visual arts, drama, dance, and media art) to share with their class. Then, each class chooses a performance for a special school showcase assembly. This is a wonderful time for students to expressive themselves creatively and share their special talents. My favorite TpT resource for March:
April is at the height of spring time and new beginnings. We often study animals during literacy and science time which makes it the perfect month for a Vet's Office! Students are able to develop and solve problems, show care for animals, and role play. My favorite TpT resource for April:
May is my favorite month for play because it's the culmination of my yearlong plan! Through opening their own Pizza Parlor, students are invited to plan their play, collaborate, create, and execute their plan with organization, communication, and imaginative interaction. My favorite TpT resource for May:
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT PLANS FOR EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR!
Decemberis a wild and crazy time of year as students anticipate the holiday season. So, why not tap into their imaginations and incorporate engineering and science? With the gingerbread engineering theme students can collaborate, create, and problem solve while having lots of holiday fun! My favorite TpT resource for December:
January often brings cold weather and indoor recess. This is a great time to build on the engineering theme from December and incorporate force and motion concepts using marble runs, ramps and balls, and vehicles. Students learn about the effects of force and motion through exploration and experimenting. My favorite resources for January:
February is a time when we tend to think about relationships and letting our loved ones know how much they are loved. In spite of major advancements in modern technology, written communication remains a skill all students need to develop. With the theme Post Office students are encouraged to write, communication, and nurture relationships. My favorite TpT resources for February:
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT PLANS FOR EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR!
Septemberis all about providing opportunities for role playing and collaborative play. Using a restaurant theme students are able to plan for play, work together and take on familiar roles. My favorite TpT resource for September:
October is a time to begin to incorporate important 21st Century skills and appeal to students' need for an audience. Students today watch YouTube, make their own videos, and live their lives providing a step-be-step commentary. Using a news theme gives students the chance to learn about the ins and outs of media and communication and establish what it means to interact with an audience. My favorite resources for October:
November's travel theme helps students understand the bigger picture and realize there is a big world around them just waiting to be discovered just like the pilgrims and explored just like the Native Americans! My favorite TpT resources for November:
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT PLANS FOR EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR!
Play in the 21st Century Kindergarten classroom shouldn't just be an arbitrary assortment of toys. It needs to be well thought-out and planned, tied to the standards, and must include a wide variety of materials to maintain the engagement of 21st Century Learners. In this video we will explore what it takes to plan structured play for the 21st Century Kindergarten classroom and I will outline my yearlong plan for play.
Play themes in my 21st Century Kindergarten classroom align with academic themes and are meant to enhance learning in all areas by immersing students in real-world situations. Here's a quick glance at the yearlong plan:
What can you remember about Kindergarten (or first grade for those who didn't attend Kindergarten)? When I think about my Kindergarten experience I'm warmed with memories of playing in the leaves on a fall day, sitting on the carpet listening to my teacher play songs on her guitar, color with fat crayons and writing my name with a fat pencil, heading home after lunch, and lots of playtime. What will 21st Century Kindergarteners remember about their experience years from now? Will they remember taking standardized tests on the computer, learning perfect penmanship after practicing on worksheets, memorizing sight words from long lists, mastering math facts with a pencil and paper, and "Magic School Bus" videos watched from their desks?
As teachers and parents is this how we want our Kinders to remember their very first school experience? For me, I can answer that with a resounding, "NO!"
(Okay - except maybe the "Magic School Bus" part - I love that show!)
When I first started teaching Kindergarten a few years ago I believed that Kinders in the 21st Century didn't really need playtime with half-dressed baby dolls and a hodgepodge of wooden blocks and that if I were to focus on my standards I would not have time for such frivolities. After a year or so I started to realize that, although my students were learning at pretty high levels, something was missing in my Kindergarten classroom and I found myself asking,
"Why is P-L-A-Y a 4-Letter Word?"
Watch as I discuss how I came to the conclusion that play should NOT be a 4-letter word and should most definitely be included in the daily Kindergarten schedule.
Now that we have established the importance of play I know you are asking, "HOW IN THE WORLD DO I FIT IT IN?"
That's why I'm SO excited to be planning a new series of posts all about how to implement "structured and choreographed" play in the 21st Century Kindergarten Classroom.
Do you already make time for play? What are your favorite play themes? Do you have any questions about how to plan?
One of my most favorite parts of teaching Kindergarten and first grade is Calendar Time. It's a wonderful way to start the day with routine, a good time to review math skills, and go over the day's schedule. As a first grade teacher ten years ago, I prided myself on my calendar bulletin board. It was all-inclusive; covering topics from the days of the week to the changing seasons to classroom jobs and everything in between. It was expansive; filling an entire bulletin board! Above all, it was cute, color-coordinated and trendy. (Of course!) I loved that board and the time my students and I would spend every morning reviewing concepts, sharing, and prepping for the day ahead.
When I returned to the classroom from an intervention position to teach Kindergarten a few years ago I set up the board of all boards! I bought new date cards, learned new songs, created streamlined flip charts, added Velcro to my money chart, and re-bundled my straws for the tens/ones chart. I was determined to make my Calendar Time awesome! I just KNEW my students would LOVE it as much as I did!
BUT, I was SO disappointed!!
My students weren't engaged, weren't singing/playing along, and (worst of all) weren't learning!
I was stumped! What was keeping them from engaging?
In my few short years out of the classroom had Calendar Time become obsolete?!?
Calendar Time in the 21st Century
I knew my techniques, activities, routines were good. I consulted other teachers, read books and articles on the topic and came to only one conclusion...
Calendar Time was the SAME, but my students were DIFFERENT!
They engaged through technology and the lessons I planned that incorporated my SMART Board were quickly becoming their favorites(and my most successful). I knew there had to be a way to
bring my beloved Calendar Time into the 21st Century.
I searched for a program or product that would accomplish what I wanted, but there wasn't much out there. So, I started from scratch and created my first (very primitive) calendar file for the SMART Board. Once I saw how engaged my students were (with the same concepts I was trying to teach using my old-fashioned bulletin board, mind you)... I kicked my creative juices into overdrive, abandoned my bulletin board calendar, and NEVER LOOKED BACK!
I read recently that Calendar Time is a thing of the past and that it is among a list of "Old School" practices that should be stopped... Well, I couldn't disagree more! Since switching to an interactive, SMART Board version I found that my Calendar Time has become even more vital than before! Read all about why calendar is still essential today HERE!
My students learn SO MUCH MORE than the days of the week during Calendar Time now...
They learn calendar basics, weather and season characteristics, celebrate birthdays, and cheer every Friday!
They learn basic math skills and cover standards involving counting, base ten concepts, and graphing!
They learn to use technology to demonstrate what they know and interact with new content!
They work as teams to problem solve, use discussion to explain and communicate, encourage each other through collaboration, and develop leadership skills as they take their turn as calendar leader!
I love giving my students opportunities to WOW me with their ability to solve problems and explain their thinking. That's why every week we practice extended response questions for reading, math, and/or science. After grading the assessments I choose "Star" Work to hang in the hall on our Star Student displays. This holds students accountable for doing their best work, communicating their thinking well, and answering the question correctly.
(Pic of hall display to come tomorrow... Silly sinus infection has me couch-bound today.)
You can give your students opportunities to WOW you, too! Check out some FREE Extended Response items in my TPT store, 21st Century K (follow links on the FREEBIE tab above). Options for purchase included scaffold sets of questions for a single standard or sets of four themed for the month aligned to Kindergarten or First Grade Common Core.
This week we brought our News Project to a close with the final production of a news feature on our field trip to Fall on the Farm.
First we worked together to edit our photos and videos in Windows Movie Maker on the Smart Board.
Photo taken by student photographer.
The set crew set up the news desk and created a sign. The camera crew planned the positioning for the final videos. The reporters created their scripts. We filmed our last two segments from the news desk to open and close our news show.
At the end of our Books Alive Party we proudly played our News Project DVD for parents to culminate our project. The parents were impressed, the kids were eager to share, and I was so proud.
Through this project I learned as much as (or more than) my students! In the end this project wasn't even really about the news. It became about so much more! It was about technology and teamwork, imagination and creativity. It provided a way for ALL students to participate regardless of academic ability. This project embodied 21st Century Skills and covered Common Core while involving play and exploration.
I learned it IS possible to bring Kindergarten into the 21st Century while holding true to core beliefs about the developmental needs of Kindergarteners.
WOW! This opens so many doors for my instruction... "What's next?" you ask? TRAVEL! Whether it is "Over the River and Through the Woods," across the Atlantic to the New Land, or to a family dinner in the next town over, Thanksgiving is a time for travel. So, our dramatic play center will be transformed into a travel agency, the writing center will become a source for travel brochures, the housekeeping area will be the place to pack everything for a journey, and the block center will be a transportation factory. I can't wait!
To close our unit on 21st Century Students today my kinders and I reviewed 6 characteristics of 21st Century Learners:
Click to check out the entire unit!
After discussing each, students were given time to think of one area they would like to improve upon this school year. After sharing and helping each other choose just the right characteristic, students were given time to write and draw their own 21st Century learning target. The result was astonishing! Phrases like, "I can create new artwork," "I will collaborate with my friends," "I want to solve problems," and "My goals are to learn to read and play the piano!" floated around the classroom while students worked. Wow!
I can create!
I can solve problems!
I can set goals!
I can work independently!
I can collaborate!
This is proof it's NEVER TOO EARLY to let students in on our little secret...
It is our hope they reach their fullest potential!
Our field trip to Murray State was a great success! Our students saw so many more 21st Century sights than we could have offered in the classroom. At Waterfield Library we learned about how information and books are kept along with ways students can CREATE stories online. At the MSU TV-11 studio we saw firsthand how technology and COLLABORATION combine to produce a television show.
Kinder "B' became invisible when she put on her green jacket in front of the Green Screen.
Radio broadcasters at WKMS shared how they COMMUNICATE with the public as well as entertain. The newspaper editor spoke of COMMUNICATION in all forms and the importance of
