Five for Friday- Winter Activities!

It seems like it's been forever since I've done a Five for Friday post!  Here's what we've been up to in kindergarten world during the month of January!

Snowflake shapes!  My students designed a six-sided snowflake and discussed the shapes they used to make their snowflake.  Their creativity was amazing!  If you'd like a copy of the little recording boxes I used in the lower right hand corner, click on the email button (ateachersheart15@gmail.com ) and I'd be happy to send you a copy!

 

It snowed in our classroom this week!  We were studying winter and here in Maryland it hasn't snowed a bit, so we brought the snow to our room!  

Here were my directions:

All set up ready to go:  (The ocean breeze flavor made our room smell so fresh!)

I poured ingredients into plastic containers while the students watched, and then I sent them to their tables to mix.  We mixed in three sets of plastic containers with lids so I could keep the "snow" fresh for the next few days:

After everyone had enough mixing time, we gathered back on the rug and filled in some words to describe our snow: (Sometime about the baking soda and conditioner mix actually does make the snow "cold!")

And here is the snow on day three.  I put one of the containers in the science center and added a handful of different sized and colors of gems.  Their job at this center was to find, sort and count the gems.  They could sort by size, shape or color.  They loved it!

I'm thinking we'll have some real snow soon.  But this held us over for a little while!

In math we focused on 3D shapes recently, so we built 3D structures in one of our math centers.  Again, my students amazed me with the structures they could create after just a day or two of exploring the marshmallows and toothpicks!  It's my goal to try to get more hands on activities into my lessons.  They are five and six years old; they NEED hands on learning.  And, it is just plain fun to teach this way.  When I'm excited about teaching, I know the kids get excited about learning!

Totally addicted to the iteachtvnetwork these days, people.  If you haven't checked it out on Periscope, Twitter, or the website, DO IT!  It's like Oprah for teachers.  A recent scope by Amy Harris on how to stop students who blurt caught my attention.  I love this "stop and think" reminder sign that you can hold up to show students it is thinking time.  Then, when you want them to answer, you give another signal like a green "go."  Such a great visual to help emphasize the importance of wait time.  And wait time is so essential for our English language learners!  Even after four years of teaching ESOL, I still need to remind myself to slow down and give them time to think!

Random, but this tea diffuser was my sister's Christmas gift to me.  His name is Fred and it makes me laugh every time I use it!

Thoughts on assessments

Hi everyone!  Last week was our first week back from break, and it was super productive and really great!  We are coming up on the end of the third term, and so it's been timely that this week I started a course on assessment of English language learners.  I'm excited to learn more about how to work with the ELL's in my class.  I have five ELL's this year, and since I taught ESL for four years before teaching kindergarten, I'm excited to be working with these unique learners again.  I wanted to share some of the things I learned this week, and I hope to continue sharing as I learn and grow!

When considering assessments, a teacher should take the student's language, culture, and previous education into consideration.  The majority of assessments given are usually informal and observational in type. Ideally, classroom assessments should be tied to classroom instruction, should be teacher made, linked to standards, and be "student friendly" and "teacher useful."  Most state assessments do not provide timely data to directly influence instruction. As a kindergarten teacher, I would agree that most assessments I give are informal and observational.  I have a binder that I take anecdotal notes in once a week as I listen to students read to me.  I also use a lot of hands on manipulatives (10 frames, subitizing plates, linking cubes, 2d and 3d shapes) during math assessments.  I think good assessment practices come more naturally in kindergarten, where all students generally come in with basic language experience.

Identifying gains students have made, and making sure students are aware of these gains, will motivate them and promote learning. I was thinking about this today when I checked my students' sight words.  At this point in the year, they are expected to know 30 words.  While giving assessments, I used to not share "scores" with students, thinking that it would upset them or that they would not understand.  I have found that the reverse is true.  When I show students how many words/letters/sounds they got right, they are excited or tell me that they want to try again and see if they can get a better score.  

Many sources emphasize the importance of getting to know the students as a whole.  Even a home visit to the family or an intake interview can be considered an assessment.  I don't give these myself, but I feel as if they would give valuable information that would be helpful to me.  Oftentimes I do not meet the parents or learn more about the families until I meet them at parent teacher conferences. 

Additionally, I would like to make use of more rubrics in kindergarten.  I used to make them frequently when I taught high school ESL.  I tend to sometimes think they can't grasp rubrics at this age, but they can, especially if they are visual and easy to understand.  One source suggested no more than five criteria.  I am getting ready to introduce a sentence writing rubric since my students are at the point where they are beginning to put words into sentences.  They could also self-evaluate in other areas as well, including math fact and sight word mastery.  

I am already starting to consider how I give assessments in my classroom, and already I'm thinking differently about how I assess my kindergarteners! 

What types of assessments give you the most information about your students?  

My 2016 Teaching Goals

Welcome 2016!  I've had an awesome Christmas break relaxing with family.  Today I'm getting back into the school groove and planning ahead for the month.


Now that I'm midway through the year, I'm happy to report that my Teacher Anchor from C. Jayne Teach is one of the best investments I've made in my classroom!  One of the many things I love about it, is that on each monthly calendar page, there is a little something to think about to get focused for the upcoming month.

For January, the question is "What are your 2016 personal and professional goals?  Hang them where you can see them."  I thought a lot about personal goals for myself, but realized I didn't set any professional goals yet.  So, I'm "hanging" my professional goals here in an attempt to keep me accountable this year!

Professional goals for 2016: 

*Improve parent contact and communication techniques.
*Why: I'm so fortunate to work at a school where, for the first time in my teaching career, most parents are there, involved, and willing to take an active role in their student's education.  Sometimes I take this for granted.  My also typically-introverted self is sometimes a little shy about reaching outside of my classroom and involving parents.
*How: More positive contacts home.  More "spotlighting" of individual students, whether that's an assigned weekly sharing, or student of the week.  I'm also considering a weekly or monthly classroom newsletter.

*GET MY MASTER'S DEGREE!!
*Why: For the past five years, I've slowly been pursuing a masters degree in ESOL Literacy.
* How: With only 9 credits/3 classes left, 2016 is going to be the year to make it happen!!

*Improve planning.
*Why: My kindergarten team co-plans every week.  This is awesome.  I walk out of planning every Wednesday with a skeleton plan in place for the next week.  However, I'm also relying on my teammates a lot in the process, simply because I'm new to the school, curriculum, resources, and just the overall way things are done.  In addition, the past fall has held several major family events.  I've really tried to achieve balance in my life, including leaving the teacher bag home and minimizing time spent on the weekends instead of running myself ragged during my first few months at my new job.  As I get my head above water a little bit over the next few months, now that the first half of kindergarten is almost over, I want to be more intentional about where I'm taking my class and what I want my classroom to look like.  This goal will take "good enough" to the next level: great!

What are your professional goals for 2016?