Search results matching tags 'literacy' and 'teaching'

Serious Fun at ASCD

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 22:19:00 GMT

Yes, I used the "F" word in my title...fun. Fun is a word that has been banned from many individual's vocabulary when speaking about education. People tend to feel that the word "fun" means that there is a free-for-all playground going on in the classroom with little to no learning occurring. That is unfortunate because fun, humor, cartoons, synectics, word play, analogies and true passion are all fun and foster creativity. This is one of my big take-aways from ASCD12 (more blogs to follow). There needs to be more fun in the learning process.

Now, let me be clear, if you asked one if my students if they had fun learning or being a member of our class, they would say "yes" without hesitation. However, there are aspects of this fun, creative thinking that I have overlooked in my classroom. By starting the day by putting up a cartoon or analogy for the students to reflect upon and respond to, they get another mode in which to become familiar. It reaches a different type of learner, sparks a different part of the brain. It helps them to really analyze (and perhaps get a good laugh) about a topic that they may not have taken the time to analyze.

With Rick Wormeli

By giving my students the opportunity to use synectics, where students compare two things that would not seem to have a relationship promotes creative thinking skills. If learners use these relationships, building metaphors, it takes learning that they are doing and puts it into their long term memory. It fosters learners who think outside the box and critical thinking skills that prepares them for their future. As Rick Wormeli said, "Novices think in pieces. Experts make connections." And don't we want our students to become those experts?

Reed Timmer

A true expert is someone who has a passion for their expertise and is so excited about their topic that they can't wait to share it with others. Anyone who was in the general session with Storm Chaser Reed Timmer knows what I'm talking about. He is so excited about storm chasing and the practical use of STEM in a real world application that it makes anyone listening tune in closely and care about what he's discussing. Passion is contagious. If we are passionate about learning and teaching, our students will be too. They will listen closely, become actively engaged, and strive harder to become those experts. We need to keep this in mind every day when we stand in front of our learners.

So I'd like to thank Rick Wormeli, Reed Timmer, Carolyn Hirst-Loucks and Kim P. Loucks for reminding me of the importance of fun in the classroom. Because (as I'm often reminded by my husband) if you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong.

Limitation of eReaders

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:41:15 GMT

Welcome to the age of electronic books infestation. You would think that book publishers are shaking in their boots by their threat. In my humble opinion, I believe that they pose a significant threat to the publishing industry. However, children picture books will remain “king” in the traditional paper form. Can you imagine being in […]

A tribute to Classic English Language Texts

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:46:00 GMT

Have you ever used this text? - A student's Companion... ??? My mother has a very old version in her library that she used as a child growing up even into her teens. I remember using that very same book when I was an eight year old primary school student (in the standard - three grade I think it was). Ah... memories! I've always been a junkie for odd facts or any insightful general knowledge. This book, to me, had it all. We used both the Caribbean and the International Version.

We still use The Students Companion in the Primary Schools here but of course they are the new versions - with illustrations and tiered levels for the different age categories.

Other classic English Text Books that I grew up on are (I can only remember the names but I'm sure that there are new versions of these now):

A First Aid in English
A Basic English Course

What are your favorite vintage texts? I'd be thrilled if you can share them as a comment (below)!

A tribute to Classic English Language Texts

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:46:00 GMT

We still use The Students Companion in the Primary Schools here but of course they are the new versions - with illustrations and tiered levels for the different age categories.

Other classic English Text Books that I grew up on are (I can only remember the names but I'm sure that there are new versions of these now):

A First Aid in English
A Basic English Course

What are your favorite vintage texts? I'd be thrilled if you can share them as a comment (below)!

Math Poems

treverreeh — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:51:00 GMT

In previous posts I have gone over incorporating literature in to mathematics. Here is another idea incorporating poems in your lessons. Below is a poem featured by Math Story there are also many sites that allow you to look and use poems in your classroom.

Cool as a circle,
Don't fool around,
Got somewhere to go,
Covering ground...
Yeah, I'm a circle,
3-60 degrees,
Rolling in circles,
Gliding with ease...

Having literature in your classroom not only increases literacy among your age group, but increases how much they like math. Having students that want to be in your class everyday makes teaching worthwhile. Happy Teaching!

Get Caught Reading Contest

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:00:30 GMT

I hope you will be joining us for the Literacy Beginnings book study blog party. Our party will kick-off here at Pre-K Pages on Monday, July 27th, there’s still time to get the book if you’re interested. So, you’re probably wondering why I’m talking about the party again if it hasn’t even started yet, right? Well hold on to your hats because I’ve added a little something to kick it up a notch!

I was thinking about lugging my book all over the US during the next four weeks (top secret locations- shhhh!) and I was reminded of the famous Flat Stanley project that we all know and love. Then it hit me, wouldn’t it be fun if I took pictures of myself with my book in interesting places too? That sounded a little too one-sided for me so I’m inviting you all to do the same thing! Can I get a little “Oprah’s Favorite Things” action here? That’s more like it!

Here’s how you can enter the Get Caught Reading Contest:

Take a picture of yourself reading your Literacy Beginnings book in an interesting or unusual location
Publish your picture in your book study blog party post
Link up via the link below
Vote for your favorite pictures

One winner will be announced on Monday, August 15. The winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. The contest should begin today (crossing my fingers- this is my first attempt at hosting a voting contest with InLinkz!) so start your cameras!

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Join the Literacy Beginnings Party

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:00:29 GMT

I’m so excited about the Literacy Beginnings book study blog party! We will kick off the party on Monday, June 27 with each chapter hosted by a different blogger. There’s still time to get the book if you want to join in the fun. I’m also planning for a fun contest to go along with the book study, stay tuned for more details!

Here is a list of the awesome blogs that will be hosting the chapter discussions:

Here’s how you can participate in the book study blog party:

Follow each of the blogs listed above.
Post your own chapter reflections on your blog, grab a linky party button (coming soon!), and link up your post to the linky party.
Don’t have a blog? No problem! You can join in by commenting on the blog posts.
Going on vacation? No worries! If you subscribe to the blogs above you can catch up on all the great discussions when you return.

Here’s a line-up of the topics and hosts:
Section One: Living and Learning week of June 27th
Pre-K Pages
Teach Preschool
Brick by Brick
Prekinders

Section Two: Foundation of Learning week of July 5th (no posts on July 4th)
Brick by Brick
No More Worksheets
Pre-K Pages

Section Three: Supporting Emergent Readers week of July 11-15
Look at My Happy Rainbow
Growing in Pre-K
Pre-K Pages

Section Four: Supporting Emergent Writers week of July 18-21
No More Worksheets
Prekinders
Growing in Pre-K

Section Five: Letters, Sounds, and Words week of July 25
Pre-K Pages
Teach Preschool
Prekinders

Section Six: Assessment of Literacy week of July 25 or August 1
The Seeds Network

I can’t wait to read all of your fantastic posts and comments! Happy Reading!

Want to let your friends know about the book study blog party? Click “Like” at the top of this page or choose from other social media options below.

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Kabongo Reading Games Review

Anonymous — Wed, 18 May 2011 11:00:24 GMT

Spring fever is in full-swing and both teachers and students alike are looking forward to summer vacation. Its times like these that call for a little something new to shake things up and keep everybody going for another month (or two). A few weeks ago I stumbled across a site called Kabongo that will help put an end to spring fever in your early childhood classroom. Kabongo isn’t just another online learning game site; it’s THE hot new online learning game site. What makes Kabongo stand out from the crowd? Well, since you asked:

Critical Thinking Skills: Unlike many online games that focus on very basic skills and right or wrong answers the games at Kabongo target the critical thinking skills and problem-solving strategies that are essential for future reading success.
Research Based: Games are designed by cognitive psychologists and learning experts
High Quality: The animation in these games is fantastic- move over PBS and Disney!
Interactive: There is no “osmosis” learning going on here, everything is highly engaging and fun.
Learning Skills Chart: Kabongo provides a Learning Skills Chart that lists the skills covered in each game which is very helpful for teachers and parents.

Kabongo features three different learning habitats; each habitat is broken up into three games that target different skills. Each habitat is offered for a one time flat fee of only $4.95, however you can use the coupon code shown above (LEARN) for free access to everything for a limited time! That’s nine games absolutely free. The habitats are:

Galaxy Gardens
Laughter Lake
Twister Top

How does it work?

Go to Kabongo and click on “play free” at the top of the page.
Next, sign-up to create your free account.
Once you confirm your subscription, log-in and select your habitat to start playing.

Aside from classroom use, Kabongo is also a great resource for parents. Kabongo has many parent friendly features such as a parent dashboard and progress reports delivered directly to your inbox.

Since summer vacation is right around the corner and many parents are looking for rainy day suggestions consider sending out a link to your parents letting them know about Kabongo. Kabongo’s target ages are 4-7 so you can suggest that siblings have a turn too.

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Pizza Box Flannel Board

Anonymous — Sun, 08 May 2011 21:38:23 GMT

A flannel or felt board is an important part of any early childhood classroom. One of the biggest benefits of having and using a flannel board is the opportunities it creates for oral language development. At the flannel board students can re-tell nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and other popular stories. Flannel boards come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

I was very fortunate to have a beautiful, free standing easel with flannel on one side and a magnetic dry erase board on the other. While being very pretty and expensive the large easel does have its drawbacks. The flannel board easel is very tall which obstructs your view when you are trying to monitor all the students in the classroom. It is also very narrow making it difficult for two students to stand side-by-side and play. I prefer that my students use the flannel board in pairs because of the social interaction and oral language opportunities it offers. Another problem I encountered with the flannel board easel was that it was difficult to offer the students a variety of different flannel stories to choose from. When I tried to hang Ziploc bags from the side of the easel the story pieces were quickly mixed-up and became a huge mess.

The pizza box flannel board has solved all of my problems -except how to get rid of the giant flannel board. Now students can select a box and sit down on the carpet to re-tell their favorite stories. The re-telling center is much more popular now than ever before because I can offer more choices to the students. Creating your own individual pizza box flannel boards is super simple! I have included the materials you will need below.

Flannel/felt from craft store
Hot Glue Gun
Scissors
Pizza Boxes- ask your local pizza parlor for unused boxes, most are happy to donate
Optional: Computer labels

Next, cut your felt to fit the front of the pizza box and use the glue gun to adhere the flannel to the front of the box. Flannel stories can be stored inside the box. The name of each story can be typed on a computer label and attached to the side of the boxes. Store several boxes on a shelf and allow students to choose their favorites.

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Stepping Stones Together Review

Anonymous — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:00:17 GMT

As a classroom teacher I feel just as much responsibility for my students learning during the summer months as I do during the school year. I want them to have a balanced summer filled with fun and learning support at home so they can begin the next school year right where they left off in my classroom. Unfortunately, research shows that children can experience significant learning loss during the summer months. Imagine if an athlete stopped training, he or she would see a significant decline in performance. The human brain is no different; it needs daily exercise to maintain learning.

In an attempt to prevent learning loss during the summer I provide parents with a calendar listing free or low-cost local activities such as library story times, public pool information, and discount days at the zoo or aquarium. I also send home a folder filled with educational activities for parents to do with their children. However, one skill that I am not able to fully support during the summer is reading. Many parents read to their children but when it comes to helping their children learn how to read parents want to help but often don’t know how.

I was recently introduced to Stepping Stones Together; an online program for parents who want to support their child’s reading abilities at home. I am not a fan of any pre-packaged curricula or “teach your baby to read” programs so you can be assured that Stepping Stones Together does not fall into either of these categories.

The philosophy of the Stepping Stones Together program is research based and focuses on fostering a love of reading in young children ages 3-7 while providing a positive bonding experience between parent and child. The program takes only 15-20 minutes per day so there is still pelnty of time for summer fun. This is not a program where the child sits in front of the computer while mom makes dinner; this is a fully interactive program that provides busy parents with the tools they need to take an active role in their child’s beginning reading skills.

Developed by Dr. Erika Burton, the Stepping Stones Together program provides simple, step-by-step directions that parents can easily follow. The program consists of the following components:

90 High-interest printable books on popular topics such as superheroes, princesses, sports, fairies and more
Printable incentive chart
Daily writing practice
Printable instructions explaining how to introduce the books
High-frequency word games
Printable certificates of completion for each level completed
Printable flash cards to introduce and review high frequency words in each book

While the program is designed with parents in mind, after careful review I believe it can be easily used by classroom teachers. Many teachers are required to teach their students to read but are not provided with all of the tools necessary to do so. Stepping Stones Together offers everything, including the books for a very affordable price. Classroom teachers can also send home the Stepping Stones URL in their summer educational packets for parents who are interested.

Here’s the good news, Stepping Stones Together is offering readers of Pre-K Pages a special one day only discount. This discount allows you to access to the complete program for one year for only $19.99, use discount the code Pre-K Pages If you missed the first day special you can still receive a 5% discount on the program using the same code.

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