Six weeks. It could feel like an eternity, but I'm pretty sure it's going to fly by before I even realize it. I only have six more weeks, less than 30 school days, to make sure that each of my students meets our classroom goals, as well as their individual goals, before the end of the year. Only six more weeks to prepare my students for four-year-old pre-k.
Looking back to the beginning of the year, I am truly impressed by the progress that my students have made. They have learned their letters and numbers, how to make predictions and how to rhyme. Several of my students are emerging readers, and nearly all of them can write their name. This progress is tremendous, but our work is not done. I have reviewed my written notes about my students -- both for formal skills (e.g. identifying letter names and sounds) and informal skills (e.g. engaging is sustained play with peers) -- and developed individualized action plans for each of them for the remainder of the year. Here is an excerpt from Jose's plan:
Identify the letters in his name
Centers (prioritized on Tuesdays)
Work with letter tiles and magnetic letters (with teacher or more advanced peer)
Play game where teacher writes letters on board and Jose identifies them
Put foam letters on floor -- jump on letters and call out the letter name
Find letters from his name in books
Dig for letters in the sand table
Find letters from his name on alphabet charts
Small Group
Letter BINGO with the letters in his name
Sequence and identify the letters in his name
Hand-over-hand write letters in shaving cream and identify them
Whole Group / Transitions
Show letters for dismissal ("If you have this letter in your name go get your coat.")
Identify letters in name during shared writing activities
"Marching Around the Alphabet" song by Hap Palmer
Graphs -- "Do you have a [letter] in your name?"
I have inserted each of these activities into my monthly unit plans and daily lesson plans, for May, and will repeat this process in June. Because Jose is one of only two of my students who cannot identify the letters in his name, I am making a concerted effort to work with him on this skill throughout the rest of the year. I continually take notes about Jose's progress so that I can reflect on his learning and adjust my plans if necessary. I am confident that with additional support at home and these exercises in school, Jose will meet his goals by the end of the year!
Sometimes I think that the word "teacher" does not adequately describe my profession. In reality, I am a nurse, mommy, confidant, playmate, safe haven, leader, observer, and perhaps most often a problem solver. At the beginning of the year, we talked a lot in my classroom about what it looks like to be a good "problem solver." There are three questions that good problem solvers always ask:
(1)How do I feel? Good problem solvers may feel happy, sad, scared, or angry when a problem occurs, but they always calm down before trying to solve the problem.
(2) What is the problem? Good problem solvers need to know what is going on with everybody involved in the problem. They often ask questions to figure out how other people feel or what they want.
(3) What can I do? Good problem solvers try to think of ways to help solve the problem and make everyone feel better. You can often solve a problem with friends by sharing, trading, or taking turns.
While these steps are broken down into "kid-friendly" language and are easy for three- and four-year-olds to apply to their lives, the same general process holds true for solving "grown-up" problems. I spent a great deal of time over winter break thinking about my classroom and how to improve it in the coming year, and I found myself asking the following questions:
(1) How do I feel? What do I notice in terms of student achievement, planning, or daily routines? What is challenging? What is working well? While I am not identifying feelings per se, I am isolating the events and observations that are weighing on my mind and are, as a result, the most poignant.
(2) What is the problem? What is the underlying issue behind the observations? This could be something related to concrete data, i.e. not all of my students are able to generate rhyming words, or something related to planning, i.e. I am unsure of how to best structure our mornings on days when my students do not go to art, music, or PE.
(3) What can I do? In order to determine a solution, I need to first isolate the root of the problem. Are my students not able to generate rhyming words because they do not know the difference between words that rhyme and words that start with the same beginning sound, or because I have not given them enough opportunities to practice the concept, or because I have not adequately explained to families how to practice this concept at home? Once I understand the underlying cause of the problem, I can generate a list of possible solutions to address the issue at hand.
I firmly believe that this process of reflective problem solving -- both for students and teachers -- is one of the most important factors for a successful classroom. In order for my students to be independent, critical thinkers in pre-k and beyond, they need to learn how to identify and solve problems in their own lives. In order for me to structure my teaching in a way that meets the needs of all of my students, I need to reflect on what is happening and how to address any shortcomings. When my students and I work together as problem solvers, our classroom runs smoothly and efficiently and we all learn something new in the process!
"I'm making the water!" exclaimed José, as he ran his water logged paintbrush along the brick wall outside our school.
"Yes, you are painting with the water!" I reaffirmed, "You're painting on the bricks."
"The bricks!?" José replied, incredulously. "Like the Three Pigs!"
This short exchange was eye-opening for me. Last winter, just about a month after José joined my class, we did an unit about folktales. A major focus of this unit was The Three Little Pigs; we read several versions of the book and integrated concepts from the story across our classroom -- we had bricks, sticks, and straw in the discovery center, a Three Little Pigs puzzle in the toys and games center, pig puppets in the block center, story retelling props in the library, and more. We made a graph of our favorite characters from the book, acted out the story, found sets of "three" all around the classroom, talked about the materials used to make our homes and school, and made predictions about who could blow the bricks, sticks, and straw. My students were completely enamored with the story, and having elements of the plot infused throughout our classroom prompted them to make connections between the book and their own experiences.
While my students were experts about the Three Little Pigs last winter, I was definitely caught off guard when José brought it up this year! He had limited expressive language skills in both English and Spanish when he came to school, and during our folktales unit he was only speaking in one to two word utterances. I knew, by observing his play, that he understood the basic plot of the book, but it was hard for me to grasp his comprehension of the details. The fact that he instantly made the association between the word "bricks" and The Three Little Pigs -- nine months after we had readthefolktale -- was a real testiment to his deep level of understanding!
As I spent this past weekend planning for our next unit which focuses on winter, I strived to structure my lesson plans in such a way that my students could make connections across all subject areas and parts of the day. Books about snow, hibernation, and seasonal changes will be at the focus of the unit, and my students will have ample opportunities to retell stories, interact with ice (and hopefully snow!), graph the temperature, make caves in the blocks center, prepare for winter in the dramatic play center, and more. I hope that next year, when it starts to get cold outside, José will once again be able to make connections to what he learned last year in school!
Hello! I'm Jennifer and I'll be
blogging alongside Karissa and John. I teach three-year-old
pre-kindergarten in Washington, DC, and I'm excited to share my
perspectives and experiences with you this year!
Our
first day of school is less than two weeks away, which means that I've
spent these last few days of summer fully immersed in the process of
PLANNING. Good teachers, like good leaders, always begin with the end
in mind. Planning for my students is an ongoing process that begins
over the summer and continues throughout the year. First, I review my
curriculum standards and identify the most important skills and
concepts that my students need to learn by the end of the year. From
there, I develop concrete goals for what I want my students to achieve
in regards to these standards, and then I "backwards plan" my year to
ensure that my students meet their goals. Some of my goals for my
students this year include:
Describing feelings and their causes
Solving problems independently and with a peer
Identifying, extending, and creating patterns
Counting to 20
Orally blending two syllables to make a word (e.g. “mom” plus “ee” makes “mommy”)
Recognizing familiar words (e.g. classmates' names) in print
These are ambitious goals for
three-year-olds, but I am confident in my students’ ability to achieve
– and potentially surpass – each goal. My long term plan, a calendar
that outlines when I am going to introduce (and review!) each
curriculum standard, ensures that I introduce foundational skills and
knowledge at the beginning of the year and then provide opportunities
for my students to extend and develop those skills and knowledge as the
year progresses. My ongoing observations of my students help me
reflect on their progress and adjust my instruction to meet their
individual needs. This constant process of planning ensures that each
of my students is able to learn at his or her own pace, while always
working toward our ultimate goals.
Unlike many states, Washington, DC offers pre-kindergarten to three year olds,
and I can’t help but think about how lucky my students are to have this
tremendous opportunity. I know that by June, when my students achieve
their goals, they will be prepared with the social-emotional, physical,
cognitive, and language skills that they need to succeed in
four-year-old pre-k, and I can only imagine the impact that their
experiences in pre-k will have on their futures.
In just one short week, I will start my third summer school session. I am excited for the opportunity to be a part of a groundbreaking program that hopefully will grow in the coming years. I will be co-teaching with a kindergarten teacher and the students will have an opportunity to have class in a kindergarten classroom. There are several goals we are hoping to accomplish with this bridge to kindergarten.
Students and their families will become familiar with their child’s elementary school. It will provide an opportunity for students and their families to do this without the “first day of school distractions.” In addition, students will participate in learning readiness activities that encourage language development and social emotional interaction. Students will also have an opportunity to participate in a Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop. This model of teaching allows students to work at their own pace, represent what they have learned in their own creations and share their work with peers, teachers and their families. Our half-day program will serve as a shortened version of the all day Kindergarten classes. Students will participate in all daily activities including time allotted for specialties: art, physical education, music and media center. Students will learn how to use materials and what to expect from each of the classrooms. Last, but not least, the hope is that students will be energized and excited to start the school year!
One thing I am looking forward to is the feedback and reflection of this new endeavor. It will be interesting to see what the kindergarten teachers, parents and school administrators observe during the first few weeks of the school year. As I make my reminder calls, I hear the voices of so many five- and six-year olds. They are excited to get back to school and more than ready to cross over the bridge…to kindergarten!
In the past year there have been numerous reports of school administrators banning various behaviors on the playground. For example, a school in Minneapolis, Minnesota banned touching due to rough housing incidents. A school in Spokane, Washington has enforced a "no running" policy in order to maintain order on the playground. These instances make me wonder, if you can’t touch the hand of a classmate or run on a playground, where are students going to learn these skills?
My style as a teacher is to assume nothing. Each student that walks in my door has a different life story and varying degrees of learning experiences. It is my job to set expectations and parameters and to work with my class to develop rules and logical consequences that we can live by during our time to together. This takes a lot of work. In fact, the first 5-6 weeks of my school year are devoted entirely to this process. We learn appropriate ways to use our materials and equipment and also agree on how to handle difficult situations with our friends.
Our school shares a large wooden playground with the neighboring elementary school. Weather permitting, I take my students outside daily for at least 15 minutes. This is an important time for them to work their developing muscles, practice motor planning and interact socially with their peers. I can’t imagine the horror of having to enforce a "no touching" or "no running" policy! With enough practice and consistency from the teachers and assistants in our program, we've been able to create an active, safe and appropriate playground environment for all of our students.
One of the main reasons that playground behavior is an issue for school communities is because some teachers and administrators fail to see the playground as an extension of their classroom or school building. Expectations and logical consequences need to be created, practiced and enforced. Playground monitors, often in charge of recess supervision while we teachers grab lunch, need to know the rules and enforcement policies in order to maintain order. With persistence, patience and consistency it is possible to maintain a safe and fun playground environment for students without taking the running out of recess.
One of my greatest pet peeves as a teacher is when I encounter non-teaching civilians in the streets who upon introduction say, “Oh, you’re a teacher, you get summers off; that must be nice!” Anyone who is a teacher or is related to one knows that nothing could be further from the truth. We teachers earn our summers off. And even during those "three months off," we're still constantly working.
During the summer months I run myself ragged trying to prepare for a new school year. I attend many workshops and in-services, I spend time on the internet researching new ideas to try in my classroom, I read books on, about, and by teachers, and in my "spare" time, I organize, arrange, restock, and prepare my classroom for the upcoming school year.
I typically have so many things I want to accomplish over the summer that I create a special summer calendar. Prioritizing tasks and setting realitsic deadlines enables me to budget my time wisely and avoid getting needlessly overwhelmed. Some items on my summer calendar are big projects that I will work on continuously throughout the summer, like making new take-home packs. Others are short and easy, for example buying new birthday crowns at the teacher store.
One thing I have learned to do is to carve out time for myself in my summer calendar. If I don’t schedule time for me, I feel robbed of a vacation and don't have the energy needed to kick off a new and successful school year. Besides, it’s fun to explore new things I don’t have time for during the school year! This year I'll be writing lessons for a local preschool summer camp, visiting family in Michigan, giving workshops to teachers, reading for pleasure (I can’t wait for Janet Evanovich’s new book!), and working on my website.
So, word to the wise for all you non-teachers civilians out there: never imply that teachers have three months off in the summer!
This time of year we begin the process of transitioning from pre-k to kindergarten. We must prepare our students for the move out of Pre-k 114 and the reality that many of the adults and peers they have come to know may not be moving on with them.
My class started this process earlier than usual, because Ms. Bimba, the woman who comes each week to work with the children on social skills, had her last day today. Saying goodbye is not easy for many people, both young and old. How we handle goodbyes for young children can be particularly delicate depending on their emotional development and past experiences.
Here are some ways we facilitate the process in Pre-k 114:
1. Start Early – We leave enough time to prepare students, mentally, for change. We engage students in a dialogue, plan special events like the pizza party we had for Ms. Bimba, and give students other outlets to express themselves. Our conversation with the children about Ms. Bimba’s departure began a week before she left, and we have already started our conversations about the larger transition to kindergarten. 2. Invite Expression of Feelings in Many Forms – Children, like adults, express feelings in different ways. For Ms. Bimba’s departure, we not only discussed our feelings but wrote, sang, and danced about them, too. We focused the conversation on how we felt about Ms. Bimba throughout the year, not just about our feelings about her leaving. 3. Integrate Transition Process into other aspects of the Curriculum – Thinking strategically, we incorporate “saying goodbye” activities into other lessons. For instance, we did a whole-class letter to Ms. Bimba using interactive writing, explored water color paints to make a piece of art for Ms. Bimba, and read a book with similar “goodbye” themes to help the children practice relating the characters’ experiences to their own lives. 4. Consider Individual Children and their experiences – Some children have a particularly difficult time with goodbyes because of their own experiences with adults or other children having to leave them (e.g., I’ve had students separated from family members because of custody issues and incarceration). We think proactively about how to help these children deal with their feelings; for example, we recognize that some may not like to talk about such experiences in a large group.
We as educators must ask ourselves, what messages are we sending to children during transitions like these and what are they taking away from the process? My children have a sense that sometimes people we care about cannot stay and that it’s okay to feel angry or sad. They also have ways of constructively dealing with those feelings, whether it be writing the person departing a letter or talking about the fun things we did with that person. As they move forward to kindergarten and beyond, they will need these tools to remain calm and focused, even in times of change.
Like adults, pre-k students have good days and bad days. How we as teachers deal with the latter can significantly impact our relationships with individual students, their academic and social growth, and our overall classroom culture.
Just as we differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all students, we must also individualize our approach to motivating them. Karen, though upbeat and highly participatory throughout the day, periodically comes to school in tears, clinging to her grandmother. She is quite comfortable using writing and drawing as a creative outlet, so I suggest that she write a note or paint a picture for her grandmother during choice time. This helps her remain connected even when she cannot be with her family.
Her grandmother and I have also worked on stressing responsibility with Karen. I thank all of my students for being responsible when they correctly follow our morning routine as they enter. Karen’s grandmother and I use that same terminology when we are trying to stop her from crying. This process usually takes a few minutes. She then calmly puts away her belongings, washes her hands, and is eating breakfast with her friends in no time.
Awana occasionally comes in sobbing and lethargic, particularly if she has been absent or we are returning from the weekend. If she says anything, it’s usually a very quiet, “I want to go home.” Her mother is not nearly as present or supportive as Karen’s grandmother, nor does she use writing and art in the same way as Karen. She does, however, respond well to good old-fashioned hugs. I usually ask her how she feels, let her know how I would feel, remind her of our classroom routines, give her a hug, and send her on her way to “have fun and learn with her friends.” Kevin or David sometimes chime in with their own hugs and a “We missed you when you were out, Awana.”
Aniyah often arrives late and upset about something that happened with her brother on her way to school. Despite our daily “fresh start,” she sometimes carries over some baggage from behavioral problems the day before. I am quite familiar with her affinity towards cheer leading and use this knowledge to motivate her. I often greet her with a cheer to her name or ask her to help me out with a cheer for one of her friends.
Understanding and effectively addressing mood fluctuations is an important part of my job, and through this process my students gain self-confidence and the trust in me they need to be engaged members of the classroom community. When we as teachers succeed in this role, disruptions to the class are minimized and children are less likely to use negative behavior to get attention.
Karen's grandmother told me from day one that she was concerned about her granddaughter's social skills. She had never been to school before and spent most of her time around adults: uncles, grandparents, and cousins. Karen already excelled in basic literacy and math skills after working with her great grandmother, a retired school teacher, one-on-one for the past year. Her transformation into a highly sociable member of our classroom community highlights the benefits of pre-k, even for those children who can attain academic readiness at home.
Karen's experiences made her quite focused on reading, writing, and interacting with Ms. Morrison and me in the fall. She chose to read in the Library, play with Table Toys, or paint by herself during Choice Time. Like David she was quite hesitant to join her fellow four year olds in more social areas such as Dramatic Play and Blocks. Yet she listened to and comprehended stories read on the rug, could write her name, and was starting to make connections between letters and their sounds. While I kept challenging her with her academics, I knew the real challenge for Karen would be developing relationships with her peers.
I exposed Karen to the same community building lessons as David. But whole group songs about our friends and puppet role plays did not motivate Karen to socialize with her friends. She would cheer on her friends and participate in role plays at the rug, but then continue to play on her own during choice time. I needed to use a more proactive and involved approach that both reflected Karen's current comfort level and built on that comfort level to further her social development.
Karen gravitated toward and listened to me because I was an adult. So, I invited her to play with me and then suggested we either join her peers or invite them to play with us. She agreed and, over time, discovered how much fun her friends could be! I remember her laughing with Samar in the Discovery Area while they tested magnets with various materials. She even started problem solving independently with her friends in December.
Karen has come a long way since September. Just this week, she chose to go to Dramatic Play and was soon taking her friends' orders at our pretend restaurant. She and her friends joked about changing their names in the Sand Area last month. She still sometimes prefers "alone time," like when she became adamant about separating the seal and the alligator in the Water Area so the seal would be safe, as shown in the picture. Yet she frequently experiences the very social interactions that will help her build and nurture relationships for years to come.
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pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds.
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Karen has come a long way since September. Just this week, she chose to go to Dramatic Play and was soon taking her friends' orders at our pretend restaurant. She and her friends joked about changing their names in the Sand Area last month. She still sometimes prefers "alone time," like when she became adamant about separating the seal and the alligator in the Water Area so the seal would be safe, as shown in the picture. Yet she frequently experiences the very social interactions that will help her build and nurture relationships for years to come.
