Animated Actions for Reading Skills - Make it Fun!

So, sometimes getting students to connect with and remember various reading concepts can be difficult at times.  What are characters again?  What did she mean when she said setting?  Events???  Author?? Illustrator??  Really!!  These are new concepts for our little kiddos and they can be a lot to remember.  My kiddos are only 5!

It hit me 4 years ago when I was working with a new student.  She couldn't for the life of her remember who characters were, what events were, etc, but as soon as I did something funny with each one - WAM! - she got it.   It worked!!!  So, I made these "funnies" part of my every day lessons.  I made them real for her.

Title - "what the story is called"
Author - "writes the story"
Illustrator - "colors or paints the pictures"
Characters - "the people or animals we meet in the story"
Setting - "where they go"
Events - "things that happen in the story" (Yes, you have to shake it!)

Click on the picture below to our animated actions for these reading skills in motion.

Animated Story Gestures

Try it sometime - make it funny and real!!  I bet they remember.  :)

Meet My Kiddos!!!

We are off to a great start.  Here is a picture of my kiddos on our first day of school.  Yeah!!!

Here we are on day two learning our first letter - U.  Uncle Upton hangs upside down......so we did too! :)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give your hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

Visit from a Senator

Look who visited my classroom today....... 

Kansas Senator, Jerry Moran.
Our school was awarded the National Blue Ribbon back in November, and he came to say congratulations! 

We were very good!!  We also got to show him one of our new games, Which Word Says?

I think he we impressed him!  :o)

What a great looking class of kids! 

Yeah!!  

More Time, Less Time & Shoes????

How do you introduce time?  One of my favorite games to play is our More Time, Less Time shoe game.  Yes, we take off our shoes!!!  It does get a little stinky, but trust me, you will have their attention.

The night before I always pray that the kids will wear the "correct" shoes in the morning.  This is usually not a problem because I always have someone in cowboy boots!! :)  (Sometime more than one....living in the country, I have a lot of country boys.) Shoes....check!

Then it's race time.  The kids take a vote..... "Who will put their shoes one the quickest?"  "Who will take the longest?"  Thus, our introduction to more time and less time.  I also have the kids give me an explanation about why they made their prediction.

Of course everyone wants a chance to play, and yes, some shoes are way more time consuming than others.  So if you play, be prepared to help tie some shoes!

After that we move on to blocks.  They use their face partners at their tables, and one person gets 10 blocks and the other gets 5.  Again we make predictions about who will take more time and who will take less.  Just to be funny, because you know they are sitting on the edge of their seats, I pause a little before I say......GO!

This fun little activity is a great lead into our time unit.  We have transitioned to clocks now, and they are doing so good.  I have some fun analog and digital clock matching activities in my new Love Bugs: Time, Money and Measurement unit.

And yes, I did have a parent call and say....."Thank you sooooo much for teaching my child how to tell time.  Now they tell me, 'No Mommy, it's not bedtime yet.  Mrs. Rucker taught me how to tell time.'"

"But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.' My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors." Psalm 31: 14-15

Kansas Day & A Funny Joke

Today was Kansas Day!  :o)   We have been learning about our Kansas flag, our state name, our capital, and our state bird, reptile, amphibian, insect, tree, flower, and mammal.

We also learned many other interesting facts about Kansas.  Today we decorated the Principal's office with the "unofficial" Kansas bird - the Jayhawk.  For you K-State fans (like our principal), I did explain to the kids that it was an "unofficial Kansas symbol."  The term "jayhawk" was first used before the Civil War.

I do have his daughter in my class, so we thought it would be a funny joke to play on her daddy.  With the help from the office staff, the whole wall ended up being decorated!  

Happy Birthday Kansas!!

Penguin Fun

Last week was a week of penguin fun!  We learned a lot, did an awesome science experiment to experience life as a penguin, played a great little game, and everyone loved Tacky.

We started the week off by meeting Tacky.   Yeah!  If you have not read any of the Tacky books, you have to check them out!   There are several books in the series, and Tacky will always give you a good laugh.  "Tacky is an odd bird, but a very nice bird to have around." 

After reading one of our non-fiction books about penguins, we completed a compare and contrast diagram with penguins and birds.  The kids did great with this.  They were coming up with so many things: swim, fly, beak, eat fish, webbed feet, wings, etc.   Then they told me, "Mrs. Rucker, I think you need to put more lines on the diagram for the kids next year."  lol  Way to go kindergarten! Click here to download this freebie diagram:  Compare and Contrast: Penguin & Bird

But, how can you understand what it's like to be a penguin, without trying it out.  So, we did! We belted pillows on our bellies (of course black and white) and put a little "egg" on our feet.   Then I had the kids waddle down around a cone and come back.  This was hilarious! When their egged rolled off,  they sure had a tough time getting it back on their feet with all that blubber in the way!  My para told me that she thought everyone should try this so they could experience life being pregnant!

To end the week, I wanted them to experience the "cold" life of a penguin. So, I posed a question:  "How are the penguins able to swim in that really cold water?"  Eeeeek!  We had to put on our "Serious Scientist Faces!"  After drawing our equipment and making predictions about why, we were ready to go.  This was incredible.  They could actually explain why:  the blubber, the feathers, the oil, and they could actually experience it.

We stared by feeling the water with the "icebergs"......just to make sure it was cold.  Then we talked about a penguin's blubber and feathers:  our green cotton glove.   Oh yes, our hands were warm, but what would happen if we put them in the water?????   BURRR - wet and cold!  

Then came the oil discussion:  our purple (latex-free) glove that we got from the nurse.  Would this help?  Yep, it did the job.  One hand was freezing and one hand was warm and dry!  This glove represented the oil on the penguin's feathers, and the kids totally got it!

 

What an incredible week!

"An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge."  Proverbs 18:15

All School Sing Along & Traditions

I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas break.  I know I sure am, and my family appreciates the fun play time at home with mommy!  :0)

During the last week of school we always have an all school sing along.  We also invite community members to join us during this wonderful Christmas celebration.   Each grade level sings a song for the school, and our 5th and 6th grade band plays as well.   We end with the 12 Days of Christmas.  This has become a tradition, and the kids look forward to the "day" they get to be and the actions they get to do as they progress to the next grade.   Fun, fun, fun!!!

If you look closely, each grade level has on matching class t-shirts.  This started two years ago.  Our incredible  PTT  organization  (Parents & Teachers Together) purchases "Field Trip" t-shirts for every student and teacher at each grade level.....every year!!!!  What a great way to build a sense of community within our building.  Kindergarten always picks yellow..... this way we can't loose them at the zoo in the spring!!  hahahaha

What traditions do you have at your school?   Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

"If God is for us, who can be against us."  Romans 8:31

Prayers, Praise & Celebration

As we struggle with the whys, I look at my own life and spend a little time in reflection.  We will never understand why things happen and who they happen to, but we must trust that our Lord is in control.  As I returned to school on Monday, I was met with 21 little smiles and pure joy on their faces.   We also had a celebration scheduled for that day.  Inside I had to send up little prayers knowing that I needed to love and do everything I could to take care of these 21 little faces before me.   So let us remember to give out a few extra hugs, say a few extra prayers, and always cherish the moments we have before us. 

Marshall Elementary School 2012-2013 Kindergarten Class

Monday was our National Blue Ribbon celebration at school.  We encouraged all of the students to wear blue and the staff wore their new National Blue Ribbon shirts.  Yeah!!  What a celebration we had.  It was so encouraging to see our school come together and celebrate this honoring event.  Our principal presented the award plaque to our superintendent.  Our superintendent then asked the students, teachers, and support staff to do a "big" group hug.  I wish I had an ariel photo of that - super cool!  :0)

 

At the awards presentation in Washington, DC our principal, Mr. Leis, and I had to dance before we were given the award. Today I taught the entire building the dance that we preformed at the ceremony.  The kids had a lot of fun and were super excited when they each got there very own Blue Ribbon medal to take home.

Way to go Marshall, and thank you to everyone for making our school the incredible place it is!

National Blue Ribbon Awards Ceremony video, Washington, DC

YouTube link: http://youtu.be/ekkjcH0UtUo

"Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."

Fun With Our High School Friends!

"Start children off on the way they should go; and even when they are old they will not turn from it."  Proverbs 22:6

Today we ventured over to our "big" high school.   A few years ago the FACS class stared coming over to the elementary school to share a few little health and physical activity lessons they had prepared.  This was always an exciting time for our Kindergarten kiddos, but let me tell you, very hectic and crazy!!  This year, we are doing things a little different.  We are going over there..... Yeah.... and one class at a time! (It helps that we are in a small town and the high school is right next door.)

Today we made turkeys filled with lots of yummy goodies, played Pin the Tail on the Turkey, colored a Thanksgiving picture, and played Pilgrim and Indian dodge ball.  Now, that was interesting!  Eventually it turned into....."Get the big kids!"   lol  They really loved it.   The interaction that goes on between a high school student and a 5 year old is priceless!  Wow!!

I would encourage you to find ways for this type of interaction.   I really feel that it helps build a bond in our community and teaches the importance of togetherness and support.

Honoring Our Veterans

Friday we honored our local Veterans with our annual Veteran's Day Program.  A big thanks goes out to those who helped make this day special!

The students at Marshall Elementary will always remember those who served this country and brought honor our name.

Remembering 9/11

Today I discussed 9/11 with my kindergarten students.  What a tough topic to talk about!  We started off by watching part of the video on BrainPop.  (I stopped when they started to define Terrorism, and I just did that with my own Kindergarten words.)  We then watched a short clip on Discovery Video Streaming from the actual day.   In this clip the students got to see the "real" helpers from that day.  We focused on talking about who was there to help when those people were hurting!!  The students were very engaged, and we had a great discussion.  The lesson ended with a craft from Rachel Lamb, The Tattooed Teacher (http://mrslambsclass.blogspot.com).  The kids loved building the Twin Towers, and we left with this thought,  we will ALWAYS REMEMBER those GREAT HELPERS who were there for us on that very sad day.