Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Retelling K.RL1, K.RL.2, K.RL.3

UPDATE: I have added a quick song or chant to visually help kids remember how to use their hand to retell a story.


I have over half of my class reading on a level A now, as soon as the kids can one to one match and use pictures for clues I like to start them on books.  A big part of reading is for a student to be able to comprehend what they have read.  These simple A books do not have much of a story line so students need to look at what is going in the pictures along with the simple text that is read.  We made retelling hands to help us remember how to retell a story.  I have my students use these with their reading buddy to retell a story after they have read a book one of the three ways (read the words, read the pictures, retell a familiar story.)  Having students make their own retelling hand helps them to buy into the task of retelling.  I laminate their hands and have them get it out of their book boxes to use as a visual.  It helps them to remember to stop and talk about the story with their partner when they have finished each book.

I have them trace their hand and then cut it out.  I give them a green dot sticker for their thumb and a red dot sticker for their pinkie finger.  Then they write the numbers 1, 2, and 3 on their three middle fingers.  The green dot means go, they start by telling what the story was mainly about (character/setting).  The one, two, and three are used to tell three things that happened in the book (major events or key details) and the red dot means stop, what happened at the very end of the book.  I have found this very easy for kindergartners to use and use my hand as a visual when we retell a story whole group.  I figure they each have a hand so no matter where they go they can use it to help them retell.

I also make a poster for the classroom that hangs on my reading process board in my room for students to refer to as a constant visual.


 


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Monday, September 23, 2013

Teaching Plus One K.CC.4c

My kids are finally able to identify and know quantities of numbers 0-10. We are moving on to plus one. This is K.CC.4- understand that each successive number name refers to a quantity that is one larger. I plan to group my kids together with one a little higher than the other for the following activities.



Students have number cards 0-9. They flip over a card and build the number that is one more on a tens frame with counters.







Students roll a dice and color in the number that is one more.  Click on the link for a free resource to use with this 



Students flip a card 0-8 and put that many counters into a cup. Then they roll a wooden cube that I have written 0, +1, +2 on. Then they guess the total number in the cup and next to it. Students dump the cup and count out the counters in and out of the cup to check their answer. They write the
numbers on the sheet.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Learning Numbers 0-10

My students are learning to recognize the value of  and write numbers 0-10.  I developed a sheet for them to practice each number in a variety of ways.  I noticed that some children can identify numbers but they aren't able to produce the amounts, while others might be able to count quantities but do not know number names.  I taught a lesson whole group on how to use this sheet after we spent some time on number sense, forming numbers, and a basic understanding of a tens frame.  This sheet has helped me to determine what concepts different students are struggling with.  It also allows me to meet many common core standards at one time. 
You can find this sheet for $1.00 by clicking on the link below.  These are the common core standards addressed K.CC.A.3   K.CC.B.4a   K.CC.B.4    K.CC.B.4b      K.CC.B.5 



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Thursday, September 5, 2013

Getting kids to know how to ask ?s

We are working on writing narratives or stories about real things that have happened to us in our own lives. My students pair share a story each day after I share with them a story from my life. The only rules are that the whole story has to be about something that has only happened to you ONE time and you have to be in ONE place the whole time you are sharing the story. We are working on trying to share who, what, where, when, and why during our story.



Check out the video that goes with this....



I laminate this sheet and pass them out to students to use with a dry erase marker.  While their partner reads the story they have written the other student checks off the questions they heard the writer answer.  Then they ask their writing partner any of the questions that weren't addressed in their small moment story.  This helps students know what they need to add to their story.  It also helps kids to really listen while their partner reads the story he or she wrote.

Click here for posters to use in the classroom and student checklist.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Asking-Questions-864799

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

3 Ways to Read a Book K.RFS.1abc , K.RFS.4, K.RL.2




Reading can be very intimating for kindergarteners. I want my students to know right from the start of school that they are readers! We have been practicing the three ways to read books. Students practice basic concepts of print by starting from the beginning of a book and turning each page creating a story as they go.

How to read the pictures
I provide short level A, B, and C books where students can have success telling a story just by looking at the pictures. We think about the characters and how they are feeling. Students are encouraged to come up with voices for characters. We use words like next and then to make the story flow across the pages. This is done independently and also with a partner.

How to read the words
Teacher made simple pattern books are used. Students practice pointing to each word, following the pattern, looking at the picture for help, and getting your mouth ready to say the first sound. Students have opportunities with a partner and independently to highlight the first letter of each word and circle sight words.

How to Retell a Story
A book is chosen each week and read to the class each day that week. Then after the book has been read to students five times they are given copies of the book and retell the familiar story with a partner and independently.

                           
You can find the posters I use in my classroom by clicking on the picture