its a blog eat blog world
I’ve waited until the very last possible moment to post a blog, the time is now 2:17 pm, and after a day of admiring snow, I guess that I’ll get down to business.
Repeated readings = duh. Just like anything else in kindergarten, it must be repeated time and time again for it to stick to their little long-term memories. You have to sing the same songs over and over, play in the same free choice centers, count everyday, face it. Kindergartners are creatures of habit, and this is a GOOD thing. Biologically, being creatures of habit probably helps them learn. Repetition and modeling, 2 keys of good kindergarten learning. I love to model my thinking! The kids love when I think out loud, they love to help me think through the problems I encounter throughout the day (writing, reading, math), and even though it may seem silly sometimes, how would they know how to do it if someone hadn’t explained it to them and shown them the correct way to think? As teachers, we need things modeled for us (think student teaching) and the kids need things modeled for them to become critical thinkers and “good” readers.
The Case for Informational Text…good read. Sometimes I don’t always think about how important it is for young children to be exposed to informational text. Working with thematic units has really helped with this, though. Lets say that for a field trip we are going to a farm. Our unit for that week will be “The Farm”. We will read fictional stories about farmers and animals, we read informational text to learn facts about these animals, and then this theme is also incorporated in other activities and centers around the room. I’ve never read research on “thematic units” but I swear, they work for me, and they really lend themselves to informational text. Not to get all “sexist”, but little boys heart informational text. It’s true. If its about garbage collectors, snakes, etc., the boys are going to love it. Maybe the male mind just thinks more concretely and they want to know about “real” information, not made up stories. Now I don’t mean that all boys are this and all girls are that, but there are definitely gender differences, in my opinion. And most boys like books about trucks. What a novel way to get kids excited about reading! Give them something they are interested in! 
Reader’s Theater is a wonderful tool for developing fluency in upper elementary kids. I am personally a big fan, but I’ve never really thought to attempt to develop reader’s theaters for kindergartners. When I was student teaching, my class did a Reader’s Theater for family night, but it was just the kids memorizing lines so all the parents would be impressed. Most of them weren’t reading, and overall, a big fat waste of time. We did the Hungry Caterpillarby Eric Carle (a suggested story to use in the article), but the kids memorized the book in small pieces, rather then doing the developmentally appropriate activity suggested: Have the children feed the caterpillar as they read. Its all about modification I suppose. Kids love acting and moving, therefore, I love to use it in my little classroom nest of emerging readers.
Cindy said,
March 7, 2009 @ 5:03 pm
One of the best kindergarten teachers I’ve ever known was a master at implementing Readers Theatre. Perhaps the fact that he was a Artist in Residence before becoming a kindergarten teacher helped, but he was awesome. He seldom used costumes, but when they did, they were simple (maybe a hat or collar). His students loved it. I’ve also seen him conduct workshops with teachers as well. He had to work a lot harder to get teachers to play the parts, but once he got them up there, they had a blast. Give it a try. I bet the kids will love it!
krisco85 said,
March 12, 2009 @ 10:24 pm
April-you make a good point by saying that even we adults need things modeled for us! Also, I think it’s great to have your students help you think through things. I know I have been impatient at times (on the inside, didn’t show it to the kids!) with kids I’ve babysat when they sat there and told me something I already knew, like it’s the greatest thing in the world and that they were the first person to discover it. I realize, however, that kids need to have those experiences where they are the ones telling and showing. It helps them think it through and learn it for themselves, as well as gives them the confidence that they know something that you don’t. So, I know it is best to give them the praise and make them feel good about it. It is our job as educators to teach children to be critical thinkers, even if it is at our own expense of feeling silly or impatient