Hi everyone! Here are some questions to help get us started:
Do you notice your students buying in to the idea that pencils are magic- not only do they help with writing but rereading as well?
Lucy discusses author, Peter Johnson on p 46. Has anyone tried using more open ended questions like Johnson suggests? Some examples are How did you figure that out? How are you planning to go about this? etc.
Has anyone used the checklist on page 54 exactly as it is? If so, do students do okay with reading it or would it be better to have a modified checklist with pictures to go with the words?
Does singing Old MacDonald with the vowels help students internalize this?
How does having a personal word wall help students as opposed to a large word wall on a classroom wall?
I’ve never had my students use the pencils for writing and reading, but I love the idea!!! I really think that no matter if they really buy into the “magic” part of it, if we talk it up and make it part of the routine of writing the class will also. Once we use it like it is normal and just how things are done, I really think most if not all of the students will too. I have had MANY students over the years of doing Handwriting Without Tears that are honestly unsure if Magic C Bunny is real!! Several even wrote notes to him during playtime! I talk to him as if he is and he “whispers” back to me what he wants to say to the class (he’s shy! ) and I have him write the checks in their handwriting books. Once I started it, it really just became our normal routine and the class really responded to it…whether or not they fully believed.
Because Kindergarten writing and drawing is frequently hard to decipher, I use open ended questions about their work quite frequently. The whole idea of an adult saying “What a pretty horse” and the student saying “That’s my mom” is something I really want to avoid!!! I like finding out how the students are thinking without my question giving them answers or ideas.
I actually have had success in students remembering vowels using Old MacDonald!! I have only used it to help students remember the letters that are called vowels and that these are letters that are the trickiest to make/determine their sounds. I have not in the past asked students to make sure that they have vowels in all of their words. Has anyone had success in asking students to do this?
-I love the idea of using both ends of the pencils and again connecting the idea of reading and writing. -I'm thankful for Lucy's reminder of how early we should be modeling and pointing out capitals and periods, as well as teaching vowels and word families. -I also like her continued references to "writing muscles"...some boys tend to have a harder time buying into writing, and this has proven to be something that hooks them right in. -Johnston's open ended questions make so much sense and help the students really think about their writing and plan their next steps. I'd like to put those on the front of the folder I use for conferencing, to remind myself. -I'm not a fan of using the plane going down as a way to show the importance of checklists, I think we can come up with another way to do that. I don't always use personal word walls, I think it depends on the group or part of the group. For students that like to write a lot, or detailed writing that's short, the personal word wall seems like the right thing. For other kids, it's too overwhelming and just another thing to manage.
So glad you feel the same way about the plane reference. Not only is that scary but it will totally get everyone off topic or lead to a ton of stories about "true" plane crashes.
I have never tried the idea of presenting pencils “as magic” as a way to help students with writing and rereading. I will definitely try that teaching strategy next year and see if it works. The one problem I can possibly anticipate is that half the time pencils didn’t have erasers on the end.
I read Choice Words by Peter Johnson before as it addresses the language teachers should use when interacting with students. I try, as often as possible, to use open-ended questions when conferencing with students.
I personally, would be hesitant to use the checklist on page 54 exactly as it is presented. I have used modified checklists with students that incorporate visuals. The goal of having students use checklists is to help them become more independent, something that I think would be difficult to achieve with such as a word heavy checklist. Even with the teacher reading the checklist aloud, it would still be too confusing for most students.
Similarly, to the magic pencil idea, I did not use “Old MacDonald” song to teach vowels. However, I will next year as I can picture the students using the song to help them remember the different vowels. Whenever I have used songs in the past, the students really seemed to enjoy and internalize the particular concept/topic.
I have never had students use personal word walls because I felt it would be too difficult to manage and update on a regular basis. I certainly incorporate writing workshop lessons about using the word wall to write popcorn words that we know. I highlight the fact that not every word needs to be turtle talked. I would often go back and revisit the strategy to use the word wall to write popcorn words as students have a tendency to forget over time.
I liked the magic pencil idea. I think it is a concrete visual to connect the writing and reading process. I have not tried it in the past, but I think that is an easy routine to start incorporating.
I think I have asked more open ended questions when reading books, but the benefit of using them more frequently during writing would also be useful. I like the idea of using open ended questions to help kids work through their own thoughts and make a plan of what to do next without relying on direct answers from adults.
I prefer to use minimal words and pictures in checklists. It sounds like we all have or have used a variety of different checklists. Maybe we could share those sometime. Not to use the exact same one for all but to get ideas to add to the checklists that we already like.
I have not used Old MacDonald but there are many vowel poems and songs that may achieve the same purpose, although I think Kindergartners would really love this song.
I tried personal word walls for first graders last year, but it was a lot to manage and they did not often go back to use them as I expected them to. It could be that the benefit of them and how to use them was not made clear enough by me, and of course it often came down to time. I'm not ready to give them up completely, but I need to figure out how to manage them better.
My students really enjoyed the pencil/eraser mini-lesson. They loved the active engagement portion because it is fun to flip the pencil back and forth, and I did see them putting it to use right away when rereading their writing at their seats.
It feels natural to use open-ended questions during writing because as the author, the student is the expert! Like Lisa mentioned, we want to avoid unintentionally mislabeling their drawings. I also love seeing how proud they get when I ask them “How did you figure that out?” in an impressed tone!
I did try out the Old MacDonald vowel song this year, and I paired it with a vowel list with that used our ABC book icons. It did help most students to be more conscientious about including a vowel in each word, especially those developmentally ready to hear and record middle sounds. This would be a good song to revisit at different points in the year.
I like the idea of a personal word wall because there are some students who choose to write about a certain topic, idea, or person over and over again and being able to access these words or names on a personal word wall would free up thinking space for other parts of their writing; however, I did find it difficult to manage because it would get buried in the writing folder. I am going to try out taping it directly to the back of the writing folder this year to see if it gets utilized more often. It was also difficult to monitor whether students had correctly spelled words they added independently.
My students also enjoyed using their pencil eraser for rereading. Since they are already using pencils for writing, I think it is one strategy that is easier for them to remember because they can see the eraser. This past year I didn't introduce it this early in the year. This year I will do it as Lucy suggests. My only concern is that I let my students write with markers in the beginning and I don't remember exactly when I transitioned them to pencils. For this year I might just need to have them write with pencils sooner.
I try to use open ended questions like many of you mentioned. I too never want to miss label a student's work. I like Johnson's question about asking the student where do you plan to go next? I don't think I spend enough time during conferences asking about what they want to do next, instead I usually focus on what they have already done. So that will be something I work on for this year.
I have not used personal word walls but I am considering it for certain students who write about the same topics and need specific names over and over. I remember having mine in second grade; we called them our dictionaries and it was a very big deal to have our teacher write a new word in our dictionaries for us to use.
I have never used the "magic pencil" trick to encourage rereading, but I will definitely start this year. I think it is super motivating for the, and also a quick visual as I scan the room to see what each student is working on. As for the checklist on page 54, I feel as though it would be overwhelming for the kids to attempt to use as is. I am not even sure Lucy would suggest this. But, I would like to show it to them, and then use a modified version together as a tool. I love how she likens the tools of writers to the tools of construction workers. It is a concept the kids can grab onto easily. I have never used personal word walls, I agree with Kim that they often become one more piece of paper that the kids have difficulty managing. Instead, they are allowed to come up to take words from the wall to use and put back. Then, for words individual kids use often, we write them on the back of their writing folders. The best way I have found to teach vowels is to play Hangman, and have the vowels written on the side of the game so that the kids know every word they are trying to guess has one of those letters in it. They learn them quickly when they are trying to score points in the game!
Yes! We played hang man at the end of the day all the time. I bet you can guess who solved EVERY single game!! And boy, I really, really tried to stump him!! :)
I did try the magic pencil strategy and the kids really bought into it at the beginning. However, as they started to write more and more, and become better readers, I think it was just natural for them to finger point to the words as they read back their writing. I did not use the checklist that Lucy provides, but have made checklists together during the mini-lessons. I like to hang a poster-sized visual of what we create together as a class to keep up during the unit or longer. I also have smaller versions of the charts that I put in the writing center area that the kids can take if they want. I do agree that it can be bothersome with extra papers flying around, but once or twice a day I have the kids pick up and recycle two pieces of scraps or garbage off the floor before they transition. This helps to keep our room clean and most of the time they will earn a ticket for being respectful to our classroom. I know we have already discussed word walls in earlier weeks, but I do both. My big word wall has magnetic words that the kids can take off and bring to their seats and they become very independent at this strategy. The students that struggled the most with writing had personal word lists that were stapled to their writing folder. I will continue to do this this year because it really helped those kids start and keep writing. The big word wall was just too overwhelming for them once it started to really fill up.
I love the idea of introducing pencils as magic, as well as Kim's suggestion of using eraser toppers! I have not used this method before but I'm all for trying it! I can see the kids really buying into it too.
I think that asking open ended questions is critical for understanding a students' thinking and helps teachers best scaffold that child's learning. It's also a great way to engage students in using metacognition and consider what they are sure about and what they're unsure of.
Although the checklist on page 54 is not user-friendly for kindergarteners, I think you can easily use the items on the checklist with picture icons. I use checklists throughout the year, gradually changing the items on the list over time. I think that a shorter list is more user friendly at this age.
I agree with what many of you said about word walls. I think that my class word wall is very effective for the majority of my students. It's magnetic, so the children can take words they need to their seat and then return them to the wall. However, I love personal word walls for students who are struggling. They can be less overwhelming and build on sight words that the child knows. Also, for a student who is easily distracted, having it right at their seat can be helpful so they do not have to walk across the room.
I see that many of you utilize different checklists and personal word walls. Does anyone have items that you would be willing to share with the group? I think that sharing materials could be a very helpful part of our book study! I'm happy to send an email; please feel free to respond all with any attachments you wish to share! Thanks!! :)
I did not use the idea that pencils are magic this past year, but I love the idea. I think anytime you can make an ordinary object like a pencil into something special, students will buy into it and it’s a simple way to make something more fun and exciting. I like the idea that Lucy has in having a reading side and a writing side of the pencil. I think this serves as a visual reminder and helps students to remember to go back and reread their writing.
I liked Lucy’s idea of having a Readable True Stories Museum. This made me think about the gallery walks we have been introduced to and are using in class now. I think this would be a great way for students to share their writing with their peers and allow for all students to have at least one other child read their writing. I would make sure to remind students that while they were going around with their magic pencils to only use the reading side of the pencil and not the writing side. We don’t want any unhappy friends when Evan finds out that Seth wrote on his story during the walk through. Other than that, I thought it would be a great thing to try next year!
I did not use the exact checklist on page 54 with my Kindergarten students this past year. I think I had mentioned in previous discussions that I used these exact checklists with older grades and they were an awesome way for students to monitor their progress, but incorporating pictures and simplifying the language for Kindergarten students is more practical and beneficial. I do love that the Kindergarten and 1st grade lists are side by side though, because I think it is a great way to differentiate instruction and the students who are exceeding Kindergarten benchmarks have the opportunity to challenge themselves.
I have not used Old MacDonald to teach the vowels, but I also love this idea! I think that this would be another thing that students would buy into. Anytime you can bring music into teaching it really helps students remember what they learned about. I also like the vowel chart that Lucy uses and thought about editing it to make the pictures for each vowel match those in the ABC books we already use.
I also like the idea that a pencil is magic and they can flip it for 2 different purposes. I didn't introduce this before but I definitely want to incorporate that this year. I like how she created a readable true stories museum and told the students to use the reading side of heir magic pencils. They will think it's fun to do this and actually attempt to read their peers writing. I agree that the checklist as is on page 54 is long. I feel like students might just check things off to finish it but not really pay attention to each item because it's overwhelming. I have a word wall in my room as well with words on magnets that can be removed and returned. I know in a different post Alissa mentioned that when students start to use certain words repeatedly, she will write them on the back of her folder. This would eliminate the extra papers flying around to manage. I like the section about vowels and I think it's important to make sure students understand that vowels are in every word. This will definitely help with those middle sounds that can be tricky.
I have done the lesson introducing erasers as magic helpers to reread their work. The kids loved it! They really do buy into everything that is fun and kid centered. I love the idea of using fun erasers too! Super cute idea!! They do need a lot of reminders to utilize it on their own but that is really the case with anything in Kindergarten though. Like Lisa said, as long as you model it consistently during mini lessons, the kids will see it as a routine they should implement into their day.
I have not used the checklist that is located on page 54 as it is. I created my own version of it to use with the kids. Mine is very simple and has a lot of illustrations to help the kids use it independently. I have also adapted it for different content areas and needs. Emily emailed one version of it to you all. If you like it, please use it! I have always wanted to try to use the checklist as is but I feel like it is not very (kid) user friendly and would require a lot of adults support to really make it effective.
I have also sung the "Old McDonald" vowel song and the kids LOVED it! Students always requested it later on during the year and I even used it during my guided reading to continue teaching about vowels. I loved it and so did they.
I have done a personal word wall with a few students in the past for different reasons. I have done it for students that require more advanced words and for students who are way too distracted to utilize my word wall. It seemed like having some students come up to the wall and get their own word, or even look up at the wall, was too distracting for them and they would loose their train of thought. I like using personal word walls in these cases because it helps them to have the words right there with them. I have not tried them with the whole class. I'm thinking that it would be a good idea but possibly redundant because of the shared word wall. I guess the only way to find out is to try it! I feel like I'm going to be very busy this year! Lol! I would totally share the one I have but its not electronic. I have been meaning to make one for a while but just haven't gotten around to it.
Hi everyone!
ReplyDeleteHere are some questions to help get us started:
Do you notice your students buying in to the idea that pencils are magic- not only do they help with writing but rereading as well?
Lucy discusses author, Peter Johnson on p 46. Has anyone tried using more open ended questions like Johnson suggests?
Some examples are How did you figure that out? How are you planning to go about this? etc.
Has anyone used the checklist on page 54 exactly as it is? If so, do students do okay with reading it or would it be better to have a modified checklist with pictures to go with the words?
Does singing Old MacDonald with the vowels help students internalize this?
How does having a personal word wall help students as opposed to a large word wall on a classroom wall?
Happy reading and keep up the great work! =)
I’ve never had my students use the pencils for writing and reading, but I love the idea!!! I really think that no matter if they really buy into the “magic” part of it, if we talk it up and make it part of the routine of writing the class will also. Once we use it like it is normal and just how things are done, I really think most if not all of the students will too. I have had MANY students over the years of doing Handwriting Without Tears that are honestly unsure if Magic C Bunny is real!! Several even wrote notes to him during playtime! I talk to him as if he is and he “whispers” back to me what he wants to say to the class (he’s shy! ) and I have him write the checks in their handwriting books. Once I started it, it really just became our normal routine and the class really responded to it…whether or not they fully believed.
ReplyDeleteBecause Kindergarten writing and drawing is frequently hard to decipher, I use open ended questions about their work quite frequently. The whole idea of an adult saying “What a pretty horse” and the student saying “That’s my mom” is something I really want to avoid!!! I like finding out how the students are thinking without my question giving them answers or ideas.
I actually have had success in students remembering vowels using Old MacDonald!! I have only used it to help students remember the letters that are called vowels and that these are letters that are the trickiest to make/determine their sounds. I have not in the past asked students to make sure that they have vowels in all of their words. Has anyone had success in asking students to do this?
-I love the idea of using both ends of the pencils and again connecting the idea of reading and writing.
ReplyDelete-I'm thankful for Lucy's reminder of how early we should be modeling and pointing out capitals and periods, as well as teaching vowels and word families.
-I also like her continued references to "writing muscles"...some boys tend to have a harder time buying into writing, and this has proven to be something that hooks them right in.
-Johnston's open ended questions make so much sense and help the students really think about their writing and plan their next steps. I'd like to put those on the front of the folder I use for conferencing, to remind myself.
-I'm not a fan of using the plane going down as a way to show the importance of checklists, I think we can come up with another way to do that.
I don't always use personal word walls, I think it depends on the group or part of the group. For students that like to write a lot, or detailed writing that's short, the personal word wall seems like the right thing. For other kids, it's too overwhelming and just another thing to manage.
So glad you feel the same way about the plane reference. Not only is that scary but it will totally get everyone off topic or lead to a ton of stories about "true" plane crashes.
DeleteI agree; the plane reference is awful! Does anyone have a better story idea for introducing checklists?
DeleteI love the idea of the writing muscles too!! So cute! I wanted to try that this year. 😃
DeleteI have never tried the idea of presenting pencils “as magic” as a way to help students with writing and rereading. I will definitely try that teaching strategy next year and see if it works. The one problem I can possibly anticipate is that half the time pencils didn’t have erasers on the end.
ReplyDeleteI read Choice Words by Peter Johnson before as it addresses the language teachers should use when interacting with students. I try, as often as possible, to use open-ended questions when conferencing with students.
I personally, would be hesitant to use the checklist on page 54 exactly as it is presented. I have used modified checklists with students that incorporate visuals. The goal of having students use checklists is to help them become more independent, something that I think would be difficult to achieve with such as a word heavy checklist. Even with the teacher reading the checklist aloud, it would still be too confusing for most students.
Similarly, to the magic pencil idea, I did not use “Old MacDonald” song to teach vowels. However, I will next year as I can picture the students using the song to help them remember the different vowels. Whenever I have used songs in the past, the students really seemed to enjoy and internalize the particular concept/topic.
I have never had students use personal word walls because I felt it would be too difficult to manage and update on a regular basis. I certainly incorporate writing workshop lessons about using the word wall to write popcorn words that we know. I highlight the fact that not every word needs to be turtle talked. I would often go back and revisit the strategy to use the word wall to write popcorn words as students have a tendency to forget over time.
Maybe we could put eraser toppers on our "writing pencils" to make it more likely to have an eraser to point with and a more special writing tool.
DeleteYes! Choosing an eraser topper could make this tool even more magical!
DeleteI agree! It is a clever hook :)
DeleteLove it!!
DeleteI liked the magic pencil idea. I think it is a concrete visual to connect the writing and reading process. I have not tried it in the past, but I think that is an easy routine to start incorporating.
ReplyDeleteI think I have asked more open ended questions when reading books, but the benefit of using them more frequently during writing would also be useful. I like the idea of using open ended questions to help kids work through their own thoughts and make a plan of what to do next without relying on direct answers from adults.
I prefer to use minimal words and pictures in checklists. It sounds like we all have or have used a variety of different checklists. Maybe we could share those sometime. Not to use the exact same one for all but to get ideas to add to the checklists that we already like.
I have not used Old MacDonald but there are many vowel poems and songs that may achieve the same purpose, although I think Kindergartners would really love this song.
I tried personal word walls for first graders last year, but it was a lot to manage and they did not often go back to use them as I expected them to. It could be that the benefit of them and how to use them was not made clear enough by me, and of course it often came down to time. I'm not ready to give them up completely, but I need to figure out how to manage them better.
My students really enjoyed the pencil/eraser mini-lesson. They loved the active engagement portion because it is fun to flip the pencil back and forth, and I did see them putting it to use right away when rereading their writing at their seats.
ReplyDeleteIt feels natural to use open-ended questions during writing because as the author, the student is the expert! Like Lisa mentioned, we want to avoid unintentionally mislabeling their drawings. I also love seeing how proud they get when I ask them “How did you figure that out?” in an impressed tone!
I did try out the Old MacDonald vowel song this year, and I paired it with a vowel list with that used our ABC book icons. It did help most students to be more conscientious about including a vowel in each word, especially those developmentally ready to hear and record middle sounds. This would be a good song to revisit at different points in the year.
I like the idea of a personal word wall because there are some students who choose to write about a certain topic, idea, or person over and over again and being able to access these words or names on a personal word wall would free up thinking space for other parts of their writing; however, I did find it difficult to manage because it would get buried in the writing folder. I am going to try out taping it directly to the back of the writing folder this year to see if it gets utilized more often. It was also difficult to monitor whether students had correctly spelled words they added independently.
I just wrote about using the same ABC book icons in the vowel list. Glad to see that it was beneficial for your students!
DeleteMy students also enjoyed using their pencil eraser for rereading. Since they are already using pencils for writing, I think it is one strategy that is easier for them to remember because they can see the eraser. This past year I didn't introduce it this early in the year. This year I will do it as Lucy suggests. My only concern is that I let my students write with markers in the beginning and I don't remember exactly when I transitioned them to pencils. For this year I might just need to have them write with pencils sooner.
ReplyDeleteI try to use open ended questions like many of you mentioned. I too never want to miss label a student's work. I like Johnson's question about asking the student where do you plan to go next? I don't think I spend enough time during conferences asking about what they want to do next, instead I usually focus on what they have already done. So that will be something I work on for this year.
I have not used personal word walls but I am considering it for certain students who write about the same topics and need specific names over and over. I remember having mine in second grade; we called them our dictionaries and it was a very big deal to have our teacher write a new word in our dictionaries for us to use.
I have never used the "magic pencil" trick to encourage rereading, but I will definitely start this year. I think it is super motivating for the, and also a quick visual as I scan the room to see what each student is working on. As for the checklist on page 54, I feel as though it would be overwhelming for the kids to attempt to use as is. I am not even sure Lucy would suggest this. But, I would like to show it to them, and then use a modified version together as a tool. I love how she likens the tools of writers to the tools of construction workers. It is a concept the kids can grab onto easily. I have never used personal word walls, I agree with Kim that they often become one more piece of paper that the kids have difficulty managing. Instead, they are allowed to come up to take words from the wall to use and put back. Then, for words individual kids use often, we write them on the back of their writing folders. The best way I have found to teach vowels is to play Hangman, and have the vowels written on the side of the game so that the kids know every word they are trying to guess has one of those letters in it. They learn them quickly when they are trying to score points in the game!
ReplyDeleteYes! We played hang man at the end of the day all the time. I bet you can guess who solved EVERY single game!! And boy, I really, really tried to stump him!! :)
DeleteI did try the magic pencil strategy and the kids really bought into it at the beginning. However, as they started to write more and more, and become better readers, I think it was just natural for them to finger point to the words as they read back their writing.
ReplyDeleteI did not use the checklist that Lucy provides, but have made checklists together during the mini-lessons. I like to hang a poster-sized visual of what we create together as a class to keep up during the unit or longer. I also have smaller versions of the charts that I put in the writing center area that the kids can take if they want. I do agree that it can be bothersome with extra papers flying around, but once or twice a day I have the kids pick up and recycle two pieces of scraps or garbage off the floor before they transition. This helps to keep our room clean and most of the time they will earn a ticket for being respectful to our classroom.
I know we have already discussed word walls in earlier weeks, but I do both. My big word wall has magnetic words that the kids can take off and bring to their seats and they become very independent at this strategy. The students that struggled the most with writing had personal word lists that were stapled to their writing folder. I will continue to do this this year because it really helped those kids start and keep writing. The big word wall was just too overwhelming for them once it started to really fill up.
I love the idea of introducing pencils as magic, as well as Kim's suggestion of using eraser toppers! I have not used this method before but I'm all for trying it! I can see the kids really buying into it too.
ReplyDeleteI think that asking open ended questions is critical for understanding a students' thinking and helps teachers best scaffold that child's learning. It's also a great way to engage students in using metacognition and consider what they are sure about and what they're unsure of.
Although the checklist on page 54 is not user-friendly for kindergarteners, I think you can easily use the items on the checklist with picture icons. I use checklists throughout the year, gradually changing the items on the list over time. I think that a shorter list is more user friendly at this age.
I agree with what many of you said about word walls. I think that my class word wall is very effective for the majority of my students. It's magnetic, so the children can take words they need to their seat and then return them to the wall. However, I love personal word walls for students who are struggling. They can be less overwhelming and build on sight words that the child knows. Also, for a student who is easily distracted, having it right at their seat can be helpful so they do not have to walk across the room.
I see that many of you utilize different checklists and personal word walls. Does anyone have items that you would be willing to share with the group? I think that sharing materials could be a very helpful part of our book study! I'm happy to send an email; please feel free to respond all with any attachments you wish to share! Thanks!! :)
I did not use the idea that pencils are magic this past year, but I love the idea. I think anytime you can make an ordinary object like a pencil into something special, students will buy into it and it’s a simple way to make something more fun and exciting. I like the idea that Lucy has in having a reading side and a writing side of the pencil. I think this serves as a visual reminder and helps students to remember to go back and reread their writing.
ReplyDeleteI liked Lucy’s idea of having a Readable True Stories Museum. This made me think about the gallery walks we have been introduced to and are using in class now. I think this would be a great way for students to share their writing with their peers and allow for all students to have at least one other child read their writing. I would make sure to remind students that while they were going around with their magic pencils to only use the reading side of the pencil and not the writing side. We don’t want any unhappy friends when Evan finds out that Seth wrote on his story during the walk through. Other than that, I thought it would be a great thing to try next year!
I did not use the exact checklist on page 54 with my Kindergarten students this past year. I think I had mentioned in previous discussions that I used these exact checklists with older grades and they were an awesome way for students to monitor their progress, but incorporating pictures and simplifying the language for Kindergarten students is more practical and beneficial. I do love that the Kindergarten and 1st grade lists are side by side though, because I think it is a great way to differentiate instruction and the students who are exceeding Kindergarten benchmarks have the opportunity to challenge themselves.
I have not used Old MacDonald to teach the vowels, but I also love this idea! I think that this would be another thing that students would buy into. Anytime you can bring music into teaching it really helps students remember what they learned about. I also like the vowel chart that Lucy uses and thought about editing it to make the pictures for each vowel match those in the ABC books we already use.
I also like the idea that a pencil is magic and they can flip it for 2 different purposes. I didn't introduce this before but I definitely want to incorporate that this year. I like how she created a readable true stories museum and told the students to use the reading side of heir magic pencils. They will think it's fun to do this and actually attempt to read their peers writing. I agree that the checklist as is on page 54 is long. I feel like students might just check things off to finish it but not really pay attention to each item because it's overwhelming. I have a word wall in my room as well with words on magnets that can be removed and returned. I know in a different post Alissa mentioned that when students start to use certain words repeatedly, she will write them on the back of her folder. This would eliminate the extra papers flying around to manage. I like the section about vowels and I think it's important to make sure students understand that vowels are in every word. This will definitely help with those middle sounds that can be tricky.
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteI have done the lesson introducing erasers as magic helpers to reread their work. The kids loved it! They really do buy into everything that is fun and kid centered. I love the idea of using fun erasers too! Super cute idea!! They do need a lot of reminders to utilize it on their own but that is really the case with anything in Kindergarten though. Like Lisa said, as long as you model it consistently during mini lessons, the kids will see it as a routine they should implement into their day.
I have not used the checklist that is located on page 54 as it is. I created my own version of it to use with the kids. Mine is very simple and has a lot of illustrations to help the kids use it independently. I have also adapted it for different content areas and needs. Emily emailed one version of it to you all. If you like it, please use it! I have always wanted to try to use the checklist as is but I feel like it is not very (kid) user friendly and would require a lot of adults support to really make it effective.
I have also sung the "Old McDonald" vowel song and the kids LOVED it! Students always requested it later on during the year and I even used it during my guided reading to continue teaching about vowels. I loved it and so did they.
I have done a personal word wall with a few students in the past for different reasons. I have done it for students that require more advanced words and for students who are way too distracted to utilize my word wall. It seemed like having some students come up to the wall and get their own word, or even look up at the wall, was too distracting for them and they would loose their train of thought. I like using personal word walls in these cases because it helps them to have the words right there with them. I have not tried them with the whole class. I'm thinking that it would be a good idea but possibly redundant because of the shared word wall. I guess the only way to find out is to try it! I feel like I'm going to be very busy this year! Lol! I would totally share the one I have but its not electronic. I have been meaning to make one for a while but just haven't gotten around to it.