Chapter 4- Differentiating Instruction in Kindergarten-Setting the Stage for Differentiating- Blog 4
Chapter 6- Teaching and Learning in the Kindergarten year-Teaching in the Kindergarten Year- Blog 4
Please respond to these readings in your blog. Content criteria can be found in module 4.
Erin F
ReplyDeleteChapter 6 in the K Today text gave so much good information on how to be a good effective teacher and what and how you can implement these things into your classroom. I like what was said on page 59 about how we run our classroom will affect how our students and families feel about school. One reason I would love to teach kindergarten is because young children still have that love of learning and of school. This is also the time most parent volunteer to work in the classroom, because it is all new to them as a parent having their child in school. If we start them off with a bad experience we may put a bad taste in the mouth of the student and parents about school. To address this I would first and foremost develop a relationship with each student and their families. I would like to do home visits so the family feels involved and cared about. I will make sure the child grows in confidence and knows how important they are to the classroom and to their own learning. Page 65 helped point out a place I need work in when they talked about the three specific areas teachers need to be knowledgeable in. The one I need the most work in is “understand the content of the various curriculum domains and the learning paths kindergartners typically follow.” Although we should try to individualize much of the instruction to fit each child’s needs, the teacher must know the curriculum and what growth is typical so she is prepared and ready to meet those individual needs when she sees them. You need to have a starting point. I will do my best to learn this from my education classes. I will also work hard in my career as a teacher to keep up on the curriculum used in my school and what typical development looks like in that particular grade. I loved page 68’s “Play benefits”. It was had questions that we may here from families, other educators, administrators, as well as the community. We have to learn to explain and defend why play is good for young students and what they are learning from it. I know in my head how important it is and through the course of a day I could write down a list. But if someone surprised me with a question like that I don’t know that I would be able to give a good example off the top of my head. I will write down (like it has in the book) answers to questions like that so I am ready. This also will work well to start off the year. It will help families know right off the bat what our day looks like and why everything we do is important. This will help them not worry so much.
Continued…
I'm really glad that you mentioned wanting to go on home visits. This is something that particularly frightens me because you never know what your going to get. But these visits are so important because then you can truly understand where your student is living and what the culture of their family is. In the eyes of a student, having their teacher visit their student is a huge deal. They are excited and nervous all at the same time.
DeleteI wonder how common it is for teachers to do home visits with their students. I know that it has been mentioned before in other classes I have taken, but I very rarely have heard of this actually happening Currently I have a teacher that I am workign with that is very involved with oneof her students and his family. She spends time with outsideof the clssroom and quite often does this. She also has daily contact with the parent of this student. In this case, the teacher has a classroom ofonly 6 students( all of the students are diagnosed with autism), so this does make it easier for her to do. I feel that for a teacher that has 20+ students this would be difficult to do. Has anyone else known any teachers that do home visits with their students?
DeleteErin F. continued
ReplyDeleteChapter 4 in the Middendorf text is on setting the stage for differentiating. Right away I like how they say that it is important for students to realize that they are responsible for their own learning and we are just there for support and coaching. I feel that students (my son for an example) don’t pick up their role but rather make everything the teachers or parents job in a sense. When I taught preschool I don’t remembering ever feeling like the students took on much of a responsible role or at least nothing was verbalized. But I can see how that is important for us to teach since we are the bridge to the new world they will be entering in later years. It will become expected of them. It goes on to say on page 55 that we also need to explain that not all children learn the same way or will be using the same materials or doing the same projects. It is easy for students to become jealous or distracted by other students doing something different. To help prevent this I would do as the book says and discuss it right away so it is understood and accepted as the norm. The band example they give for this concept really helps you understand it. I like the letter on page 58 for families to share information about their child. It helps families be involved but would also be a great way to share our differences with each other. We could also measure height, hair color, or eye color. We could look at our finger prints, or we could chart our dislikes and likes (favorite color or food etc.). Other skills learned in this lesson could be writing skills, math skills, and language and speech. Page 59 talks about teaching students self-help skills so they aren’t constantly coming to you which they will without these skills. This will help them be more independent and allows the teacher to focus on teaching one on one or in small groups without being constantly interrupted. One way for this to fix their problem is to think about where else they can go. One example of help would be having a word wall which I will definitely have in my classroom. They can try to see if they know how to handle it themselves, or they may be able to ask a friend. This would be one reason it is good to have children grouped together instead of in rows. If they are still not able to get their question answered they can sign up for help. I thought this was a good idea and I plan to use it in my classroom. There is a specific spot in the classroom where students can sign up for help which is good for the teacher and helps them feel like a part of the solution, it teaches patience, and writing skills.
Differentiating Instruction-The first point in the reading that I found interesting was that when differentiating instruction, you are teaching the children to manage themselves. They become self-directed and know what they are supposed to do next. To me this is important in a classroom so that the teacher is not explaining what to do twenty to thirty different times. The second part of the reading that I really liked was to create self-help strategies for your classroom. In order to do this you must establish procedures for you students to follow if you do have a question. I believe that I would use this in my classroom so that I can monitor other students while other students are working productively on something else. The last thing that I found important was on page 81. The text states that 'the beauty of differentiated instruction is that children no longer compare themselves to others, but instead begin to take pride in personal growth.' This is very important because it should never be a competition between the students in your classroom.
ReplyDeleteK-Today-On page 59 of the text, it states 'At the core of her decision making are three essential domains in which she has substantial knowledge and deep understanding: child development, content and standards, and instructional strategies.' To me, this is one of the most important statements because this is what really makes a teacher. This is what needs to be at the core of every teacher. The next thing that I found interesting in the text was under 'building a classroom community.' The children in a classroom can come from many different types of backgrounds and different kinds of families. No child is the same as another. A teacher needs to be able to welcome these differences and use them to his or her advantage. The teacher needs to make sure that his or her students feel safe and secure in the classroom. I want to make sure that my students feel this way when they enter the classroom. I want them to want to come to school. The third thing that I found interesting was when the book discusses assessing children's learning. Teachers must continually assess their students to make decisions about their teaching. In the kindergarten classroom, assessments are different than in the older grades. A good way to assess the students in a kindergarten classroom is to make a portfolio of a child's work. Observation also provides information that teachers need to assess their students and their learning.
The section about teaching children how to manage themselves also caught my attention. If children are able to solve some problems by themselves, or by asking their friends, the teacher's day can be so much smoother than if they are repeating the same thing to different children all day long. I agree with what you said about children taking pride in personal growth and not comparing and competing with others.
DeleteBrandy, I love the term you used “manage themselves”. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I agree it is very important for students to be more self-directed. Not only does it help us not have so many questions, like you mentioned, but it helps them in so many ways. I was never self-directed growing up. I always relied on the teacher or my parents to answer my questions. This has affected me as an adult. I feel like I am always waiting for someone to tell me what to do. Being back in school has helped me gain confidence in myself to figure things out and make decisions. I want to instill that confidence in my students right away. I agree with your thought about building a “classroom family”. It can be difficult with the variety of students you have but it is so needed and it can be done.
DeleteI like the point that you made bout the students learning to manage themselves. I too think that this is very important for the children to learn to handle themselves to a point. They should listen to the direction or rules and know what they are to do next. Although, some students will need re-directing this is a good time for the children to learn self direction. In the long run learning this at a young age and learning that it is the right thing to do will be very beneficial to the child.
DeleteThe Differentiating text discusses self-help, and how to teach children to manage themselves. I think that this is a very important skill to introduce to Kindergarteners. There is an excellent example in the book of how the teacher teaches the children to use strategies other than asking her for answers. The teacher states that she does not remember which letter makes the /f/ sound, so she looks to the alphabet chart and see the picture of a frog. I think that this would be relatively easy to implement because there are so many resources for Kindergarten teachers to put up all over their room that the children can use for reference.
ReplyDeleteI found the section of the K-Today book about learning centers and materials that could be used very informative. Kindergarten teachers need to know how to set up their classroom in the most effective way that will encourage many levels of learning. The section also stated that children are able to "develop independence, risk taking, perseverance, initiative, creativity, reasoning and problem solving skills". I would make sure that I had as much variation of supplies as possible and I would make sure to switch them out often so that the children do not get bored with the learning centers.
Another topic that caught my interest in the Differentiating book are the sponge activities. I have never heard this term relating to learning centers before. It is important that Kindergarten teachers know how to choose appropriate sponge activities to use in the classroom. Having specific learning goals for the sponge activity is a great way for the children to practice a skill they may be lacking in. It is also a good idea to have these sponge activities used as free-choice centers because the children can find their own ways to learn about it.
I agree with the importance of the students developing self-management skills, not only because there is only one teacher to spread between a group of students, but students need to be encouraged to problem-solve and develop critical thinking on their own. It is a way for them to become more and more independent which will only serve to be a more and more useful skill for them to have. I also liked reading about the sponge activities, the examples that the book talked about were really helpful. With these implemented into the classroom, there is no time of the day that a child goes without learning something new or further developing a skill.
DeleteIn the Differentiating Instruction text, I think the most important thing that I learned was regarding the sponge activities. I agree with the developer’s philosophy that there is no time that is wasted time in the classroom, if one plans the instruction and uses random opportunities as teachable moments. In differentiated classrooms, these activities reinforce concepts that have been presented already, provide the students with practice for a particular skill, and allow the children a chance to explore their modalities and intelligences. These activities can often double as learning centers. However, these activities need to be easy for the students to access and easy for them to clean up, since they are used as filler activities, a teacher does not want to waste valuable instruction time setting up the activity or having to wait extensively for the students to clean it up. In my own classroom, I would implement sponge activities such as the “Book Nook” and the “Exploration Station”. I would try to have a corner of my room as a little library and quiet area where the children could go and read/look at books if they finished with an activity before another was ready to start. It is never too soon to encourage young children to find the magic that can be found in reading. The opportunity also needs to be there in the classroom for the students that do not have an abundance of books in their home or do not have family members that read to them on a regular basis. I think that the “Exploration Station” is a wonderful way for children to have some hands-on experiences that are fun, but educational as well. Kids are such curious little things that this would keep them easily entertained, but they would also gain knowledge through their own observations as well.
ReplyDeleteChapter #6 of the K Today text had a wealth of information about the six dimensions of teaching. These skills are the framework of a teacher’s decision making and high-quality program. The skills are: knowing the children, building a classroom community, establishing a structure for the classroom, guiding children’s learning, assessing children’s learning, and building a partnership with families. All of these skills are equally important, but the sections I gained the most from were about establishing structure and guiding learning.
The most important part of establishing structure in the classroom comes from things that are absolutely necessary that I will (and everyone) should implement into their classroom: a space for children to store their work and personal belongings (I would use cubbies), a place for group meetings (circle carpet), a variety of spaces for working, quiet places, places to store materials, and places to display children’s work respectfully (bulletin boards in the classroom and on the walls in the hallways, or hanging artwork from the ceiling with fishing line and paper clips).
The section on guiding learning helped me the most by listing different strategies that I can and will implement into my classroom. They are: encouragement, give specific feedback, model, create or add challenges, give a cue, hint, or other assistance, provide information, and give directions. I notice at work and now at my internship, I incorporate several of these without even thinking about it, but it is important for me to be reminded sometimes of more specific things that I can do. For instance, I know that I am notorious for telling a student, “good job,” whenever they figure out something on their own, do something well, or come up with a correct answer. “Good job,” is REALLY generic after awhile…they hear it ALL THE TIME! For example, “Sally, I see that you noticed that you tried really hard to sound out that word. Great work, you did it!” It is important for me to remember that when praise is given, it is more meaningful when it is specific and not so general.
Kyla,
DeleteI also liked the sponge activities. These activities not only give students choices while they are waiting for your attention, but also are great for giving students choices and learning opportunities. I also loved the Exploration Station idea which makes learning real and fun.
Chapter 4 in the Differentiating textbook was over setting the stage for differentiating. One part that stood out to me is how much children look up to teachers as role models. I can remember thinking exactly what the text said, “If Mrs. K says it, it must be true.” Your students put so much faith into you to teach them, and they truly believe in you. This puts a lot of responsibility on the teachers to be good role models, well-rounded teachers, fair and knowledgeable. I absolutely loved the letter to send home to the parents to address that your classroom isn’t a one-fits-all learning style. Having the children see that everyone hits different milestones at different times, but still get to the same goal, shows them that it’s ok to be how they are. I will definitely use this in my classroom someday, to help show that I appreciate everyone’s differences and that my teaching will reflect that. I found the self-help section of this chapter to be very informational. These techniques would definitely allow the teacher to help more students and give students problem solving skills. I like the idea of telling students they are detectives and teaching them how to use clues!
ReplyDeleteChapter 6 in the Kindergarten year text was focused mainly on making Kindergarten a positive experience. The main thing I got out of this chapter was to individualize not only the instruction but the classroom. Making an effective physical environment was very educational to me. I liked having a list of things that every classroom will need to have. One of the main suggestions that stuck out to me was to display the children’s work respectfully. When you make sure you take certain care with objects the children learn that you value that. This makes sense to convey a message that you care about the work they do; you must respect the end result and proudly display it. Another part of this chapter that I enjoyed reading was about the daily schedule. It is important to have a schedule posted on eye level for the children to read and to make sure it’s predictable. If something new is happening that day, tell them in advance so they know that the routine will be a little different. These routines help children to be more comfortable, because they know what will come next. I have experienced this working with the students at my job. When we switch up the schedule without notice, some children react very negatively to this. We have children constantly coming up and asking what we are doing next over and over.
The list of things a classroom needs was really helpful! It seems fun to set up a classroom now, and I know it will be, but I'm sure once the task is at hand it can be daunting. It helps when there something or someone there to tell you that a good classroom needs a,b, and c. And the fact that you found valuing a child's artwork important will help you become a great teacher! :) I remember having kids give me art work and ask me the next day where I put it. They really do care and it means the world to them if someone else finds it important also!
DeleteThe first point that stood out to me was in the K-Today text. On page 66 there is a chart that shows what scaffolding in action is. The chart shows a high level of teacher support all the way to a low level. In each step it shows different examples of interaction. For example, the high level says "I do...you watch." So, in the level obviously the teacher will have the student only watch the the teacher does. The next step the teacher will do, and will have the student only help. The last two steps are opposite having the student do and the teacher help, and lastly the student will do and the teacher will watch. This is a slow adjustment to the student handling the situation. I really liked how the chart put it in steps so the student doesn't have to handle whatever it is all at once. I will use this in my classroom by remembering these steps. These are small steps I can use to slowly hand the situation and learning experience over to the child.
ReplyDeleteThe second section that I really enjoyed in the K-Today text was on page 61 when they talked about building a classroom community. Although some people may not agree that this area is too important. I believe that it is one of the first steps to having a successful classroom. The setting of the classroom is a major factor for children wanting to learn. If they walk into a room with dull walls and not much to do, they will not be excited to learn. This must start with a wide variety of experiences. We must first make the children feel welcome by welcoming them as they come into the classroom. Another factor is to have class meetings to encourage all of the children to talk about their own ideas. Also, each child may have a different culture, in order to make them feel comfortable try to incorporate a piece of their culture in your classroom. In my classroom I will remember to use all of these ideas. For the children to feel comfortable in a new setting this is a must. I will also remember to plan different ways for the children to work and play together as they make new friends.
In the Middendorf text, the first section on page 55 really stood out at me. This mainly talked about how important it is to tell your students that each child may be working on different things. I have been in a kindergarten classroom and this problem arose. Some children were ahead of the others and the children that were behind didn't think that it was fair that they were working on something different. The teacher tried to tell the student in different ways that it is okay that we're not all working on the same thing. It took a few times for the students to understand this concept. Obviously, as teachers we won't just say, "Well Johnny, Tim is ahead of you." Therefore we must make it a simple point that it is okay that we are all working on different things. In my kindergarten classroom I will make it a point to point this out at the beginning of the school year. I think it would also be a good idea to add to the classroom rules that "It is okay that we're working on different things."
Tamra -
DeleteI agree, too, that building a classroom community is so important. It is something that should be done from day one. I learned in my behavior management that "setting events" is important in building lasting student relationships. Classroom community is like number one on that list. Great post!
Out of the two chapters we had to read this week, I found the one in Differentiating Instruction in Kindergarten more helpful. I love how it gives examples within the text that are real and would work in a classroom. Not saying that other books don't have real suggestions, but sometimes it's hard to see how they'll work. This text makes a point to change the "view" of kindergarten teachers. It wants them to be more open to providing an education tailored to each child. Kids do not learn the same way. There should be activities in the classroom for each type of learner. At one point, I did have the thought of how would a teacher explain to parents and students that sometimes students will be completing different tasks. The text gave two examples that would help explain it. My favorite was the soccer analogy that states everyone on the team specializes in different things. The other thing I found truly helpful were the sponge activities. When I worked at a preschool we had several things that were around for students when they got done with centers. It was really helpful because they could go pick out a puzzle, book, game, etc. and keep busy while still learning. And I just have to say, the #1 thing I saw in this chapter that I knew I wanted to use in my classroom was the list children sign up on if they need help or the stop sign the teacher can put up if she can't be bothered. I also saw a really great idea of children having green, yellow, and red cards. If a child was fine and didn't need help it stayed on green. If they needed help but could work while they waited, they used yellow. And if they needed help and could not work until the teacher came, they used red.
ReplyDeleteThe other chapter out of Teaching and Learning in the Kindergarten Year was helpful in telling how to arrange a classroom and build the positive environment. I do think it's important for the classroom to be very kid friendly and accessible. They should feel comfortable with whats in the room, and also with the people they share that space with. Another thing this chapter mentioned that I know I'll use in my future classroom is a schedule. Children love knowing what comes next and being on a routine.
Kristin-
DeleteI also enjoyed that the text gave us real examples to use in the classroom and that would work. The soccer analogy was a great way to explain how different learners have different skills. The sign up sheet to see the teacher is also a great too I want in my classroom. This helps teach the students patience and that they can’t just interrupt the teacher at all times during the day.
In this week’s readings, there was so much information! There were three things particularly that I really wanted to write about.
ReplyDeleteIn Differentiating Instruction in Kindergarten, it talked about how we need to teacher children to manage themselves. If I had only known all of these things before I was a lead teacher, I would feel like maybe I had done a better job. Students really do need to know that it is okay to “ask a friend who was listening” (61). Also, I just noticed since I started interning that every classroom has a sharpened pencil can so that teachers aren’t being disturbed with questions about sharpening pencils. I think that this really teaches students to independently seek out their resources before looking to the teacher. Also, in this text it talks about providing activities that are just “fluff”. It said to not just give busy work while students are waiting, but to give them something to do that is meaningful. The dominoes idea was very creative!
In K Today, it talked about knowing your students and knowing your families. I think that is so important. I think it is important to have an open house before school, and even writing a letter to the student before the first day. I feel like that it makes the student instantly feel important and valued before even stepping in to the classroom. I mean, when I was a kid, I LOVED getting something in the mail. At that age, mail was something only for grown-ups, so if I had received a letter from an adult to me I would be feeling extra special. This is yet another idea to go into my “before school starts” idea folder. Love this chapter!
Differentiating Instruction- Chapter four had such great information. I thought the section about looking around the room for help was interesting. The book says to train the children to check the room for help such as referencing the alphabet chart or the word wall before asking questions. I will use both the alphabet chart and word wall in my future classroom to help the students throughout the day as well was encouraging them to use their resources around the room for help. The book also talks about finding a friend for help. This is another strategy for students to use throughout the day. This is a nice way for students to become comfortable with each other. I will use this in my classroom and encourage the students to be a first aid for learning when I am busy. I found the list of questions on page 72 to be helpful when planning a differentiated lesson. The concept must be able to be presented in several ways using different techniques. I will ask myself these questions, in my future classroom, when I am creating differentiated lesson plans.
ReplyDeleteK Today- This chapter had such great information on how to be an effective kindergarten teacher. I really liked the section over knowing the children. I feel like this is such a large part of being a teacher in all grades, not just kindergarten. It’s important to form trust with each student one-on-one. It’s also important to know how each student learns. I will make sure to know each student in my classroom and teach to how they learn. The section over using a variety of instructional strategies had several important ways of teaching. These strategies include, encourage, give specific feedback, model, create or add challenge, give a cue, hint, or other assistance, provide information, give directions. It is important to know which strategy that will be most useful in the given situation. I will use each of these strategies in my classroom at some point. They are great examples of different ways to get the concept across so students understand and get involved in the lesson. I also feel that building a partnership with families is one of the most important things a teacher can do in their classroom. It is important to welcome your students’ families into the school system and make them feel comfortable. The book gave great strategies to establish positive relationships with families such as, contact children and families before the school year begins, gather information from family members, and invite families to share their goals for their children. These are great ways of including family members and keeping them involved in their child’s school life. I will keep families involved in my classroom by getting to know them before the school year begins and building on that relationship throughout the year.
I agree that the self help strategies the book talked about were very interesting. Teaching the children to ask a peer or use the room as a resource will help them to become more independent in their work and will also help you when you're busy. I felt the instructional strategies to be helpful as well. It's something I will be using often in my future classroom. I am excited to try them all out!
ReplyDeleteJessica, I also think that the self help strategies are a great idea. I sometimes have a tendinitis to want to do everything my self but it is important to teach the children that they are capable of figuring out problems themselves. I love this idea because it encourages the kids to be independent and self reliant.
ReplyDeleteThe sponge activities also caught my eye. They are not just feelers but extra ways for kids to learn. I think it is an awesome idea to let kids interact with the material in a way that works for them. Kids are all different and not every one is going to understand something because they wrote about. Some kids might need to draw a picture, make it out of clay, or read a story about the topic.
The Chapters was full of great information for classroom strategies. One of techniques I liked was the the sponge activities. Children all learn differently and need to experience their learning in different was. not all kids can sit and look at books while they are waiting for the other classmates to finish. The sponge activities allow the children to interact with the topic in a way that they choose.
ReplyDeleteI also like in the Differentiation Instruction book when they addressed differentiation lessons. I think it is a great way to interact with children on their level individually I think that It also would make them feel important because the teacher is not instructing above or below their level rather right at their level.
Going along with teaching to the individual child I liked in the k-today book when they were stating that it is important for the teacher to get to know the student and the family. That when their is a trust the student feels more comfortable and relaxed and ready to learn. In my future classroom I want to create a multiple level learning style. I will have sponge activities set out for students to work on when they are waiting and to work with individual students to make sure their needs are being met.
Carrie, I also like the sponge activities that were provided in the “Differentiating Instruction in Kindergarten” text. I especially liked how they included the types of modalities and intelligences that each activity centered around and who would get the most benefit out of it. I quick reference to go back and look for those activities will definitely help us in our classrooms. The sponge activities will make sure that there is not wasted instruction time during the day.
Delete1. In the Differentiating Instruction In Kindergarten book, I found all the information on “sponge” activities to be very helpful. I had not heard of this term before but I have seen these types of activities in kindergarten classroom I have visited. Sponge activities are a great way to make sure that time in the classroom is full of instructional time, even if, you as the teacher are not doing the instructing. The use of sponge activities gives the teacher a chance to work with students individually or in small groups, as the other students complete their work, and move on to the sponge activities. It gives the students a chance to pick an activity that they want to do, and explore learning modalities. . I love how the book gave great examples of how to set up these activities in the classroom as well as many great examples of sponge activities for students to do. I will take the information from this chapter and definitely use it to help design my classroom. I will also begin acquiring items and activities that I can use as sponge activities in my future classroom.
ReplyDelete2. Another thing that I found to be very helpful and beneficial is the section in chapter 4 about differentiating lessons. I like how the author broke it down and identified what you as the teacher needs to take into consideration when differentiating your classroom. You need to identify what the goal of the lesson is, figure out how you can divide up your classroom for the lesson, how to structure the lesson, what the follow up activity will be, and how you will explain to the students what needs to be done for each activity. In the scenario that was given in the section the author gave examples of how the classroom was divided up for a lesson on the book “Stone Soup”. I found this to be very helpful, and gave me great insight on how to differentiate activities for my students, and is something I will refer back to when planning activities in my own classroom.
3. Chapter 4 in K Today just reinforces for me the important role the kindergarten teacher has in the life of their students. As a kindergarten teacher it is important to have a great understanding of child development so that you can understand the way in which your students learn. You also need to have a great understanding of the content standards that you are to be teaching to your students. And finally, you need to have an abundance of teaching strategies to use in your classroom. In order to build as classroom community you need to provide structure and consistency for your students. I have that being able to organize is a key ingredient in building a positive classroom community as well as being an effective teacher. Organized is something that I like to be but one that I have some difficulty doing. I plan to try my best to prove my organizational skills and apply the strategies that are mentioned in this chapter to help me organize my classroom.
There was a lot of great information in both of the chapters that we needed to read for week four. The first section that stuck out for me was the sponge activities that were included in the “Differentiating Instruction in Kindergarten.” It is important that no instruction time is wasted during the day and that the children are not getting bored if they have to maybe wait on others to get finished. The sponge activities are a great way to utilize their free time to make sure they are still learning while they wait. The thing that I liked most about the information in this section was that it included what modalities and intelligences the activities targeted what they would benefit from doing these.
ReplyDeleteAnother part of the chapters that I enjoyed reading and that will be very helpful in the future is how to set centers up in your classroom that was included in the K: Today text. The chart that they provided for us on page 64 will be a great quick reference to look back at as we set up our own classrooms when we become teachers. The chart includes each learning center and then what items could be included in that center.
The last section that stuck out for me in the K: Today text was about “using a variety of learning contexts.” This part of the chapter gives us a great outline of what sort of activities would best fit with the whole group, small groups, learning centers, or daily routines. Sometimes teachers are unsure about what learning context would most benefit all of the students in the classroom, so this section can be utilized to help give them somewhat of an idea of what has worked for others.
All of the information in these texts will be helpful for us to go back and look at when we have classrooms of our own. The sponge activities will help keep our students busy, while the chart for centers will help us get our classroom organized to best fit our children’s needs. And finally the learning contexts will help us teach the students in a way that will make them get the most out of what we are teaching them.
I also really liked the chart on p. 64 of the KToday text. Centers can be such a valuable time for learning. It is helpful, however, to have such a quick reference to peak at and think 'Aha! That can go there!' I took notice to the sponge activities at well. It's such a good idea to have a 'go-to' activity that is still crucial to learning for students. It's much better to keep their hands and minds busy than it is to fill time with 'fluff.'
DeleteIn the Differentiating text I was interested in the dynamics of how to build the atmosphere for for differentiated learning. I really liked the example of how to use the graphs with the information from parents to show children how different they are and how that's okay. The Differentiated text also covered information on how to be self-directed and self-help skills. Some of the questions regarding self-help skills include, 'Where can help be found?', 'Do I already know how to fix this?', 'I'll find a friend who can help!', and finally the sign-up for teacher assistance. Self-help is a taught skill and the text suggested talking aloud to yourself often to help model self-help skills for students. I loved this idea! Students, especially at the kindergarten age, are eager to please and often want to be appreciated and praised for their actions. When you are giving them the opportunity to help themselves and offering them adequate praise they are more likely to follow the directions or actions you've taken. The Differentiating text also thoroughly discussed sponge time and activities. Sponge time shouldn't be a 'filler' but should instead be used as a time to reinforce previously taught knowledge, provide practice for target skills, allowing exploration of varying modalities and intelligences.
ReplyDeleteIn the KToday text I was most interested in the discussion about the physical environment. The environment should have effective use of the physical environment, personal storage space for each student (a cubby), place for group meetings, variety of work spaces, quiet places, places to store materials and places to display art work respectfully. It is so important to create an environment that makes a day run smoothly. I also liked the information about learning centers. When I think of learning centers I often think on a preschool level still. Now, many of the learning centers remain the same but many of them change. The activities may be more geared towards learning in the kindergarten year. I can see myself including all of the centers listed and constantly changing them to enhance learning. The preschool classroom I worked in had a manipulatives shelf. The students enjoyed it and utilized it appropriately. However, our afternoon class was working on the alphabet via the Animated Alphabet program. The manipulatives shelf was still there but in addition there was a shelf purely for ABC activities. We changed the things on this shelf each week to reflect the letter we were working on. The kids didn't necessarily recognize this change. In kindergarten the students would likely recognize it, celebrate it, share it and embrace it. I really appreciate the way the text describes activities and learning environment tips for learning centers.
The first thing I found interesting was in Differentiating Instruction in Kindergarten. It was the letter to send home to parents about how each child learns differently and how your classroom will reflect that. I think it is a great tool to help parents understand why students may be doing different things and different times. I also liked the idea of graphing the information so students can understand how each child develops different. This is something that I would use in my classroom. In this same text, I also loved the Exploration Station idea on page 68. Children love hands on experiences and in my classroom I hope to have many of these experiences for my students. Students learn and get excited about learning when they can explore and actually see and touch the things they are learning about in their classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe third thing I found interesting was in the K Today text. I loved the information about how to answer questions from parents about why it may seem like their students are only playing and not learning. I think it is important parents understand how much students are learning when they are doing it in a fun way. Also, how choices help students feel empowered and make learning their own idea. This information gave me some great ways to respond to parents in my future classroom.