Not sure what to do for December's Family Project?

Here are some examples I found online. 

Have fun! I look forward in seeing all the wonderful recycled ornaments.

Learning Centers: Same Materials Different Tasks

As we progressed in the weeks, the students began to learn and practice letter identification and sounds. The materials at our learning centers have not changed, but the tasks have.

We started using our materials to make the letters we have learned since the beginning of the school year. This activity has helped with letter identification and practicing with how to create it. For example, the letter R is written with a line down, a bump, and slide. When students "make" the letter R with play dough, they say out loud how they write it to help them make it.

For this phonics activity, we use

• Color tiles
• Popsicle Sticks
• Playdough
• Pipe Cleaners

I was so pleased to see that a few of my students made all the letters we learned.


...and others went beyond and tried to make their names! 
Learning is so fun especially when we can make connections.

GoNoodle: Get kids active and take brain breaks

GoNoodle is a wonderful website for kids to exercise, take brain breaks, increase motor skills, and to just have fun!

Our Champ, Mr. Mustache, has gained another level and he looks so different than he did when we first met him. He looks bigger and stronger! This means we've done almost over 20 movement activities, totaling in 68 minutes since the school year started. By the end of this year we should see ourselves

Look at him now!

We added on Zumba exercises the past two weeks and our favorite dance is Clap Stomp Jump. I tried not to dance towards the end so I can capture all the fun the kids were having. =)

Whole Brain Teaching Rules, Phonics and Math Learning Centers, and GoNoodle!

Trying to take pictures is so much harder than I thought. I really wish I could have captured a lot of our fun events in and out of the classroom but I guess I was having just as much fun myself. Haha.

This week, we continued establishing rules and routines. Our classroom rules are based on Whole Brain Teaching and we constantly referred back to it throughout the day. It has helped so much with transition times.

#1 Follow directions quickly.
#2 Raise your hand for permission to speak.
#3 Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.
#4 Make smart choices. (Which is to follow the school-wide expectations - PBIS)
#5 Keep your dear teacher happy.

I love number 5! It seems so silly but I reiterate that Mrs. Martin is happy when her students are learning and trying their best. I use these really cool posters that I downloaded from here.

We also continued practicing how to properly use the centers. Here, I also observed how well the children communicate with their classmates.  I introduced Word Work Center and Math Center this week which will help my students practice Phonics and Math. For phonics, students practiced matching capital letters and then practiced color sorting for math. I love FREE. I was able to get free printable alphabet cards here. It includes upper case and lower case, but we will continue to use upper case for now.

Here are some pictures with Word Work and Math:

 
 
 
 

Another fun thing we did this week was we met our friend, Mustache. His name is really Bart Reynalds but I thought Mustache would be an awesome nickname. We helped our friend Mustache get points every time we dance and move together. When we complete a total of ten movement activities, we help Mustache get to the next level! Mustache can be found at GoNoodle.

As you can see in my snapshot below, we've helped Mustache gain 6 points so far! That also means we did six awesome movement activities that helped us, too. Our favorite was Milkshake by Koo Koo Kanga Roo.

Questions that you can ask your child about this week:

1. What sound does the letter Ss make?
2. What poem did you learn and read this week? (Humpty Dumpty)
3. What word is this? (Find something that has the word "the")
4. What did Mrs. Martin keep forgetting this week? (mostly my colors - but my students were a great at helping me remember my colors. ;)   )
5. What is one way to read a book? (read the pictures)
6. Who is Mustache?
7. Where do the covers go when you use the centers? (under the box or under the container)

Your partner in education,

First Two Days of Kindergarten 2016

We survived our first week of Kindergarten! We worked on establishing rules and routines and boy am I proud of these kids. Looking forward to what this year has in store.

On our first day, the children had some time to play with play dough while I speak to parents and as they bid their see you laters.


1st Day of Kindergarten Photos:

 
 
 
 
 
 

Learning how to use centers and manipulatives with our classmates:

 

 

Your partner in education,

School Supply List

ASSURE Model Lesson Plan Reflection

            Our children today are more technologically advanced especially when it comes to learning new things. Grant (2010) obtained the following opinion during an interview: as NCLB is still a mandate, we need to find ways to make it possible for our diverse learning population fit into the "mold" that has been outlined for us (slide 13).  The ASSURE model helped guide the creation of my lesson plan to teach my diverse learners while including technology. According to Heinich, Molenda, Russell, and Smaldino, (1999), “This model assumes that instruction will not be delivered using lecture/text book only.” I support this idea because many of the textbooks that I have available are outdated. I will use the lesson plan that I have created to introduce figurative language to my third grade students next week.

            To create this DRAFT lesson plan, my group and I diligently communicated through text messaging or through Moodle forums. There, we asked for each other’s opinions on what we envision our lesson to be. If assistance was needed, one or more of us in the group was more than willing to assist. The collaboration that happened during the creation of my DRAFT lesson plan helped make it easier. According to Samuel (2015), “Online collaboration is not a second-best substitute for face-to-face work: It’s a complement with its own perks and benefits.” I did find it more convenient to communicate through means of technology as I am a mother of two and have difficulty focusing during face-to-face meetings while having them around. Online collaboration done at home is beneficial for me because my children can easily stay busy in their playroom.

            I like to find ways to incorporate technology tools in my teaching pedagogy. I often surf the Internet for resources on the topics that need to be taught. Multimedia such as videos and songs are usually used to introduce lessons. Lessons are also extended using online interactive games or presentations. After I implement the ASSURE model lesson plan, I will revise it as needed for future reference.

             

Here is my ASSURE model lesson plan on figurative language. Enjoy!

References

1.     Heinich, Molenda, Russell, Smaldino. (1999).  The ASSURE Model.  Retrieved from http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/mkiva/university.cfm?subpage=1114844

2.     Grant, M. M.  (2010). Comparing Instructional Design Models [Slideshare slides]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/msquareg/comparing-instructional-design-models/41-References_Acknolwedgements_Finch_CR_Crunkilton

3.     Samuel, A. (2015). Collaborating Online Is Sometimes Better than Face-to-Face. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/04/collaborating-online-is-sometimes-better-than-face-to-face