Thursday, August 28, 2014

Senses!

Intent
Students are introduced to story elements through the concept of the 5 senses and make predictions along with the characters in the story.  Students use print awareness skills as we read assorted literature.

Introduction
Bring students to carpet, get them settled.

Welcome Song (To London Bridge is Falling Down)

        Welcome to the library, library, library. Welcome to the library,
        Please come inside and read. 

        We’re glad to have you here today, here today, here today. 
        We’re glad to have you here today, today’s a special day.


Finger play: This is Big (source: traditional)

This is big big big                 Hold arms out to side
This is small small small    Cup hands together
This is short short short       Hold hands w/palms facing each other
This is tall tall tall                  Reach one hand above head
This is fast fast fast               Circle fists quickly
This is slow slow slow         Circle fists slowly
This is yes yes yes               Nod
This is no no no                    Shake head


Library Expectations:
“4 finger rules” of the library:
quiet (finger to mouth)
watch teachers (fingers to eyes)
listen to stories and directions (cup ears)
and always walk (walking fingers.)


Mystery Bag:  Blindfold  (What is this?  What could it be used for?)


Word of the Week: say it, syllabicate it TEACHER draws it in the air, invites students to “air write” with her. 
 English:  Mouse
 Spanish: Raton
ASL Sign: http://www.handspeak.com/word/index.php?dict=mor&signID=1444    Sign language is a real language where people use their hands to communicate.  Here is the sign for mouse: take your index finger and make 2 pretend whiskers like a mouse’s whiskers over the right side of your face.  That’s it!  You learned the sign for mouse!
Resource
Book Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young.  Puffin Books, 1992.

Before Reading: So we have a blindfold and a mouse as our clues to the story.  I wonder what this first book is about?  Confirm with title.  Check they know what “blind” means.

During Reading:  FLANNEL BOARD STORY!  Cut out a grey cardboard elephant, then cut it out further into each of the parts mentioned in the book.  On the back of each part there’s a picture of each item the mice thought they felt (rope, pillar…)  Flip the picture “back” to elephant in the end of the story (mouse #7) and they “see” the elephant take shape.

After ReadingReflection: 
This book is a fable: it’s an animal story that’s been told a for many years that teaches a lesson.  Moral of the story- sometimes you need to talk to other people to really understand what’s going on!  Sometime you need more information that what you alone have.  Solicit responses from students.

Activity
Action Rhyme:  An Elephant
An elephant goes like this and that,   (pat knees)
He's terribly big,                                 (hands high)
And he's terribly fat;                           (hands wide)
He has no fingers,                              (wiggle fingers)
And has no toes,                                (touch toes)
But goodness gracious,
What a long nose!                              (curl hands away from nose)

Fingerplay : Little Mousie (traditional)
Here's a little mousie
Peeking through a hole. (Poke index finger of one hand through fist of the other hand.)
Peek to the left. (Wiggle finger to the left.)
Peek to the right. (Wiggle finger to the right.)
Pull your head back in, (Pull finger into fist.)
There's a cat in sight!





Resource
Poem:                        Eletelephony by Laura Richards
Once there was an elephant,
Who tried to use the telephant-
No! No! I mean an elephone
Who tried to use the telephone-
(Dear me! I am not certain quite
That even now I've got it right.)
Howe'er it was, he got his trunk
Entangled in the telephunk;
The more he tried to get it free,
The louder buzzed the telephee-
(I fear I'd better drop the song
Of elephop and telephong!)

Before Reading:  I love poetry.  Have you ever heard a poem?  Poems are usually short, rhyming stories.  Sometimes they’re sad, sometimes they’re funny.  This is a funny one about an elephant and a telephone.  It’s a nonsense poem: that means the words are funny and don’t always make sense.

During Reading:  Read the poem.  Provide a picture and text for class to see.  (check online for b/w images of elephant/telephone.  There are some funny ones!)

After Reading: Wouldn’t it be funny if an elephant could use a telephone?

Resource
Book:  Duck!  Rabbit!  By Amy Krouse Rosenthal.  Chronicle Books, 2009.

Pre-Reading:  Enough of elephants and mice!  Let’s get back to talking about our sense of sight.  The mice in our first story had a hard time because they couldn’t see- their others senses played tricks on them: in this book, our eyes play tricks on us.

During Reading:  Get kids to pick which version of the visions is the one they see!

After Reading:  Did they ever figure out what it was?  Explore this concept concretely with the duck and rabbit puppet in crafts at the end of this lesson.

Activity:
Animal Statues:  Animal statues is a game where I call out the name of an animal and everyone has move their bodies to look like a statue of that animal.  Remember, statues don’t move!  So once you make a pose, you have to be still and silent like a statue.

·         Elephant * Mouse * Duck * Rabbit
Craft
Find the duck/rabbit blackline master online.  The ones with a little poem on them are great for this activity.  Print on cardstock and cut out in advance: kids decorate one side like a rabbit and one side like a bunny.  Then they can take them home to stump their families.

Wrap-up
Review: word of week and intent. 
We are putting finishing touches on library cards this week so we are ready for checkout next week.  (Lots of changes in the kindergarten roster; our original class lists needed to be thrown out!)






This Week’s TEKS:     1 (A) words represented by print
                                    1 (C) 1:1 correspondence word/print
                                    1 (F) Conventions of Print
                                    1 (G) Parts of A Book
                                    2 (B) Identify Syllables in spoken words
                                    3 (A) Identify common sounds letters represent
                                    4 (A) Identify what happens next based on cover, illustration
                                    4 (B) Ask & respond to questions about text
                                    6 (A) Identify elements of a story: setting character, key events
                                    6 (C) Recognize sensory details
                                    7      Poetry has regular beat, similar word sounds (rhyme, alliteration)
                                    8 (B) describe characters in a story and reasons for their actions
                                    10 (D) use titles/illustrations to make predictions about text
                                    10 (B) retell important facts in an expository text
18 (A)  use phonological knowledge to match sounds to letters
19 (A) ask questions of classwide interest (with adult assistance)
20 (A) gather evidence from provided text sources (with adult assistance)
                                    21 (A) listen attentively by facing speakers and asking questions
                                    21 (B) Follow oral directions that involve a short, related sequence of events
                                    RC(fig 19) (D)  make inferences based on cover, title, illustrations and plot
                                    RC(fig 19) (A) discuss purpose for reading & listening to various texts
RC(fig 19) (A) discuss purpose for reading or listening to various texts
                                    RC(fig 19) (B)  ask and respond to questions about texts



Monday, August 25, 2014

Squirrels!

Back to school!  This year, I am starting off with something new- a fall theme and a fuzzy animal puppet bound to be a hit.

Intent
Introduce kindergarten students to the library and the types of resources we have through a lesson on squirrels.  We’ll also focus on what a library is and what basic expectations are.

Introduction
Bring students to carpet, get them settled.

Welcome Song (To Mary Had A Little Lamb)

        Welcome to the library, library, library. Welcome to the library,
        Please come inside and read. (gesture "inside" and "read")

        We’re glad to have you here today, here today, here today. 
        We’re glad to have you here today, today’s a special day.” (gesture "here")


Finger play: Five Little Squirrels

Five little squirrels with acorns to store.
One went to sleep and then there were four!
Four little squirrels hunting acorns in a tree.
One fell down, and now there are three!
Three little squirrels wondering what to do.
One got lost, and now there are two!
Two little squirrels tossing acorns for fun.
One got tired, and now there is one!
One little squirrel playing in the sun.
He ran away, now there are none.


Library Expectations: Library Social Story.  (Who has been to a library before?  Difference between library and bookstore.)

4 “finger rules” of the library: quiet (finger to mouth) watch (fingers to eyes) listen (cup ears) and walk (walking fingers)


Mystery Bag: ACORNS

(What are these?  What do we do with them (plant them, squirrels eat them!)




Word of the Week: say it, syllabicate it TEACHER draws it in the air, invites students to “air write” with her. 
 SQUIRREL
 ARDILLA (ar-DEE-yah)
  SIGN (both hands are in letter V, pretend to dig.)  http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/s/squirrel.htm
Resource
Book Backyard Wildlife: Squirrels by Derek Zobel.  Bellwether Media, 2011.

Before Reading:  What is this book going to be about?  How do I know?
During Reading:  Notice bold-print words and how illustrations reinforce text.
After Reading:  This book was all true facts about squirrels.  It’s called a non-fiction book.
Break
Action Rhyme: Grey Squirrel (traditional)  
  Grey squirrel, grey squirrel, swish your bushy tail. (x2)
  Crinkle up your little nose, put a nut between your toes.
  Grey squirrel, grey squirrel, swish your bushy tail!
Resource
Book Ol’ Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein.  Penguin, 2012.

Before Reading:  Does anyone see squirrels?  Where (home, park.)  What do they do?  This is a Fiction book.  Differences between this and previous book cover –predict differences inside. This is a book where you get to help me tell the story.  We are going to pretend to be a squirrel in this book: practice making squirrel noise (chook,   chook, chook)

During Reading:  Students participate in telling.

After Reading: Here’s David Ezra Stein singing a song about Ol’ Mama Squirrel:


Craft:
Color a cute little squirrel.  (As time allows: first week back is always a little hectic!)

Wrap-up
Review: word of week and intent.  What did we learn about squirrels (the noise the make, what they eat, where they live…)

Pet the squirrel puppet.

Ending Song:  Closing Song (To the tune of Did you ever see a Lassie?) 

The more we read together, together,together the more we read together the happier we’ll be. 
For your books are my books, and my books are your books. The more we read together, the happier we’ll be.


Next week we’ll start checking out books. That’s all for this week!





This Week’s TEKS:       1 (A) words represented by print
                                    1 (C) 1:1 correspondence word/print
                                    1 (F) Conventions of Print
                                    1 (G) Parts of A Book
                                    2 (B) Identify Syllables in spoken words
                                    3 (A) Identify common sounds letters represent
                                    4 (A) Identify what happens next based on cover, illustration
                                    4 (B) Ask & respond to questions about text
                                    6 (A) Identify elements of a story: setting character, key events
                                    6 (C) Recognize sensory details
                                    7      Poetry has regular beat, similar word sounds (rhyme, alliteration)
                                    8 (B) describe characters in a story and reasons for their actions
                                    10 (D) use titles/illustrations to make predictions about text
                                    10 (B) retell important facts in an expository text
18 (A)  use phonological knowledge to match sounds to letters
19 (A) ask questions of classwide interest (with adult assistance)
20 (A) gather evidence from provided text sources (with adult assistance)
                                    21 (A) listen attentively by facing speakers and asking questions
                                    21 (B) Follow oral directions that involve a short, related sequence of events
                                    RC(fig 19) (D)  make inferences based on cover, title, illustrations and plot
                                    RC(fig 19) (A) discuss purpose for reading & listening to various texts
RC(fig 19) (A) discuss purpose for reading or listening to various texts
                                    RC(fig 19) (B)  ask and respond to questions about texts