Links for Week 19 of Busy Bee Kindergarten
So as not to overwhelm you, I will send you fewer emails, but at least one email each week will have several links to different things you might want to read about or view. This way, you can stay apprised of everything that’s available to you but you won’t necessarily be “bothered” with anything you don’t currently have an interest in or don’t have time for. And, if you save your emails, you can access everything whenever it’s convenient for you.
The 18th Week of School - I’ll repeat the links here just in case you didn’t see them last week.
Video: Read Aloud - Watch a read aloud of a very special and tender book called The Most Perfect Snowman. Also read and learn about language comprehension—what it is and its relationship to reading comprehension.
Video: Frosty the Snowman Read Aloud - Singing a read aloud book is an excellent way to keep the students’ attention. Watch and see how I stop and talk about all they words/lyrics and develop vocabulary and language comprehension.
Video: Whole Group Writing Mid-December - See my students’ writing in action, from start to finish. Hear me provide quick, individualized lessons based on what comes up in their writing this day or skills I talked about with them in the last few days.
Video: Fast Fact Factory Mid-December - You may be familiar with my Fast Fact Factory method of moving students through number reading and addition and subtraction facts. I made all the number charts several years ago and have tested them and tweaked them and added to them over time. The progression works very well and it’s reassuring for any teacher to know exactly where each student is with these math concepts and skills.
Video: The Name Game and Whole Group Phonics - This video shows how I continue to make The Name Game more challenging for the students. As we finish up our third round of student first names, I am asking the students to tell me the sounds in the name out of order. My reasoning for doing this is based on Glass Analysis, a technique that teaches students how to approach words (in this case, names) in a way that will promote faster and more permanent orthographic mapping.
Week 19 of School - New Links and Descriptions
Video: A Video for Parents - On this video I talk to the parents while videoing their children during Wednesday small groups reading continuous texts. The message: Your children are reading!
Elf Your Students - A craft that doubles as a gift and keepsake for students’ families.
The Best Knock Knock Jokes - The Best Knock Knock Jokes is a book full of knock knock jokes that kindergarten students not only “get” but also really like (and like to repeat and learn how to read). I have collected them over the years and now compile them into a paper book that makes an inexpensive yet treasured holiday gift from the teacher.
27 of 28 At or Above Level on Mid-Year DIBELS - After starting the school year with 75% of my students in the red or yellow zone, there are now 22 above-level blue students and five students in the green on-level zone. Just one is not quite where he needs to be—according to this test—and landed in the yellow zone just a few points below the benchmark.
Video: Read Aloud of the 12 Days of Christmas - The focus lesson with this book is finding/recognizing humor. The kids love it!
That’s it for this week! Let me know if you have any questions!
Randee