literacy (continued)

This week the Kindergarten readers and writers used their developing skills to point to and read pictures and words. At this time in the year we are setting the foundation for the development of essential reading and writing skills.

The children are listening for the sounds in words, they are using pictures to help read words during reading workshop, they are finding words in our classroom during writing workshop, they are learning sight words, and they are pointing to and reading collections of words.

All of our reading, writing, and phonics work has connected to the concept that readers read pictures and words. This is something the children have continued to do in our classroom by reading labels, signs, and their names!

Here is a selection of photographs of children demonstrating their developing skills for reading, writing, and exploring words;

SOUNDS

Part of our work reading words is identifying sounds in words. We listen for the sounds we hear at the beginning of words. We stretch words, saying words slowly and listening for all of the sounds we hear. At this time in the year we spend a lot of time identifying the beginning sounds in words.

In this image from earlier in the year, students organized their names by beginning letter. I used their names and this moment to initiate our conversations and learning about beginning sounds as well as the concept of a word library. We will be learning and collecting many words this year and will add the words we know by sight to our word library, a place to organize our important words and a tool to use during our workshops.

We also explore words in more playful ways. Two of our greetings during morning meeting this week provided additional opportunities to engage with words. We explored the sounds at the end of words- two words that end the same are rhyming words. I introduced a "find your match" greeting.

The Kindergarten readers found their rhyming match, using their knowledge of the word guided by the picture (readers read pictures and words!) and their understanding of rhyme.

These greetings encourage students to transfer their developing literacy skills and connect with their peers. These greetings are also an opportunity for children to support their peers and to solve problems.

When Ivy walked around the rug without reading her puzzle piece first, she was unsure of the match she needed to find. Colbie approached her and offered to read their puzzle pieces together. This was a moment to learn from; the first direction in a "find your match" greeting is to read your word. It's important to follow directions. This moment also taught us how to support a peer during a "find your match" greeting; use kind words to offer to read your pieces together.

Once you find your match, you sit elbow-to-elbow and get ready to point and read your match from left to right. Our rhyming puzzle is now a choice during academic choice.

 

WRITING WORKSHOP

This is our second week in our writing workshop. The children have been writing teaching books, adding detail to their pictures and words. We have had many shares of children being problem solvers and how they added labels to their pictures by writing beginning sounds or how they have found words in our classroom!

In the pictures Brennan is writing a teaching book about the zones of regulation and used our visuals to add labels to his drawings. Ira is writing a teaching book about the Northern Lights. With some coaching he was able to pull out information to write on each page. I asked, what do the northern lights look like? Green. I wonder how you could show that information in your book? He quickly rushed to the visuals of our zones and found one word; green.

Nora is using a nonfiction book about animals in a tree to draw the details in her squirrel. We found the word squirrel and listened to the beginning sound. With support, she added an s to her illustration.

 

 

 

READING WORKSHOP

During reading workshop this week we further supported the children's growth reading pictures and words by going on a word hunt! The children used one sticky note to record a word they found in their nonfiction books. It had to be a word they could read using their sight word knowledge or using the picture from their nonfiction book.

This was an important job during their private read. After they found one word they added their sticky note to our chart paper and went back to private reading. Our share was reading all of the words we found. This work supported the children in recognizing that they can read more and more words in all of our books- they felt empowered and engaged!

 

 

 

literacy- a collection from the week

Children and I work together to build a literacy rich environment. While they learn and practice important skills and strategies during our reading and writing workshop, it is essential that they transfer these skills in authentic and meaningful ways.

The children thought that our learn about the world (teaching) books in the science area should be organized into different baskets, like our butterfly books have their own basket. We took the time to organize our books into four groups, thinking of what is the same about the books. The book groups they decided were animals, bugs, frogs, and growing. They examined the front covers and titles, for some books we took a quick look at the pages. They looked, thought, and sorted.

This experience connected authentically (coming from our students) to the bigger teaching point for unit 1; readers read the world to get information. Labels give information, like the teaching books we're reading during reading workshop give us information.

This moment was not planned in my lesson or in our day, but it came from a child's question; Why do butterfly books have their own basket? It was important to take the time to follow this question and support children in recognizing that nonfiction books teach us about many different things. We can use the front cover and title to get information about the book. We can find things that are the same in our nonfiction books and things that are different. These initial conversations and this experience will support work that we will do later in the year.

During academic choice, Sebby created labels for our sorted books.

 

 

I love alphabet books.

Alphabet books support language development, encourage children to think of other words that start with a specific sound, and connect to all of our important phonological work. Alphabet books are some of the first books we read and the first books we create together. When engaging with alphabet books in different ways children are transferring skills from our writing workshop into their work; they are stretching words and listening for the sounds they head, they are using drawings to represent ideas, and they are understanding that their words and representations hold meaning.

Notice the detail a child used when drawing a fan in the second picture. This is a child that doesn't gravitate towards drawing opportunities and has been quick to say his drawings are all done. He found a picture of a fan in an alphabet book and carefully used lines and shapes to represent the fan in his own book- he was invested, engaged, and empowered. I invite you to also notice the labels children are adding to their letter books and notice the child that embraced the "is for" challenge.

When reading the little letter books there is no "is for" written. But, some children were reading their books and reading the words is for. We had a community meeting to check in about how readers only read the words or pictures on the page. If they wanted to read is for (which is really smart, because most alphabet books have is for) they could write those two words. Those are words we learn and use a lot in Kindergarten! Solveig eagerly wrote is for on every page. When sharing her book she inspired other children to say, maybe I will write is for tomorrow.

One of our newer academic choices is dot letters. We have read many books about lines and dots, we have used lines and dots to begin printing letters and have used lines and dots in our drawings. Dot letters is a choice that will evolve. Using only letters that have been introduced during Fundations, children are expected to. . .

1. Write their name
2. Write the date (using the morning message)
3. Carefully add color to the tiny dots of both the upper and lower case letter
4. Draw a picture of something that starts with that sound
5. Try adding a label using an alphabet book or what they know about letter sounds

 

 

 

 

The only thing I love more than alphabet books is our morning message. It is the tool that connects all of our learning. It is a way to say hello and invite students to engage in deep thinking. The children love circling noticings; letters we've learned, words we know. They love filling in the missing date; using the calendar and our birthday calendar to solve for missing numbers.

On Friday we used the morning message to give information about our afternoon, we would be going on a Fall hike. Our first community hike, our first outdoor classroom. The children will have nature journals for our outdoor classroom time this year. Friday's morning message provided the first prompt; what will we see on our hike?

The children used skills from writing workshop to think, plan, and write. They added more detail and talked about their work. On Friday mornings Derreth joins us from the middle school. When Derreth joins us she is another teacher in our classroom. Derreth helped to record children's words (with their permission) on their work. She then created her own prediction of what we would see on the trail. This prompt connected literacy, community, and science!

 

 

 

The share- an essential part of every learning experience. In these images Ira shares what he thinks we will see on the trail. He talks about his drawing of a chipmunk and connects it to a nonfiction book we read about Fall earlier this week. Ira is using speaking skills to reflect on and explain his work. His peers are listening as the audience and providing noticings. Caleb notices detail in Ira's drawing.

 

We have been talking about the changes we're seeing around us. While playing on the playground we've noticed our beautiful trees changing, we've noticed monarch butterflies in the fields, and dark mornings. It is the beginning of Fall. We've read nonfiction books about Fall this week and I've recorded what children know about Fall and what they could teach an audience about Fall.

During our closing circle on Thursday I asked the children to think about Fall and use one word to describe their thoughts or feelings. I've done this with Kindergarten classes in the past, but never this early in the year. We have been so excited about new words and sharing our learning, that it seemed this group would love trying to think of one Fall word.

It was challenging.

A couple of children said, It is cold. We counted how many words in their sentence. It is cold in Fall, but you said three words. We need one word. With support and teaching around how many words, the children were able to think of one word.

It was surprising.

Children could pass and not say a word. Bryan passed and passed again when we came back to him. As we were packing up from our closing circle he suddenly said, "Ms. Cassidy, I do have one!" We all stopped and listened; Scarecrow.

It was amazing.

I recorded their words and typed them up. On Friday I introduced a new choice during academic choice; two friends could create illustrations to go with our first community poem. Yes, when I put their words together it created a poem about Fall.

What do we know about poems?

They rhyme - Most children
They make you want to dance - Caleb
They are a kind of writing - Layla

Poems sometimes do rhyme. Poems could make you want to dance, because they have rhythm. Poems are a kind of writing. Poems often have strong feelings with them and we can use words to describe a feeling or a thought in a poem.

When you read the children's list of words, can you picture Fall in your mind?
Can you feel is? Can you hear it? Can you smell it? It is the beginning of Fall.

it looks you ish

Kindergarten self-portraits are rich with learning opportunities.

social/emotional

We cultivate community by celebrating ourselves within a group of peers. We recognize and reflect on how we are different, similar and unique. We read books about names, celebrating that our names are important words. We connected this work to developing a self-portrait; a visual representation and reflection of one's unique self. 

This year we read Peter Reynold's Ish, a story of overcoming challenges as an artist. Together we recognized that our portraits can look you ish. This concept supports all of the developing artists in our classroom, especially the children wanting to draw a certain way. The children that flip papers over and can get stuck in the cycle of crumbling their progress. 

The Kindergarteners were able to bravely draw their portraits with the understanding that each portrait would look you ish. We also discussed how our portraits will change as our skills change, as we change.

shapes/lines

The children's self-portraits are an authentic opportunity to transfer their knowledge about shapes and lines. Our faces are made of different lines; a curved line for your chin, a straight line for the bridge of your nose. Our backgrounds were inspired by our line portraits from earlier in the year. 

literacy

Our line work supports children in the printing of letters; straight, curvy, wavy lines.

The children were expected to use a new word; by. This is a word we use when reading the author of a book, by ________. Each child wrote by and their name with their self-portraits. 

The children engaged in conversation about what they know about self-portraits. They listened to their peers share about their work and offered noticings.

They used mirrors to closely examine their faces and developed a plan for their portrait. They practiced their portraits with pencil first. When they were ready, they drew their portraits with black pens. Their process was similar to the planning process during our writing workshop; writers think, plan, and write. The developing of their portraits supported their growing representational skills.

1. Examine, think, and plan

What shapes and lines do you see? 

How would you show your hair? 

What details can you add?

 

 

 

2. Draw/create using what you know and planned