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Click here to read this issue online, if you are not able to access links in your email version.
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1. Poetry and Nature Connections
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Lesson by Harry Behn from Nellie Edge Poetry Anthology, Volume II, Nellie Edge Resources, Inc., 1993.
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We hope many children will enjoy poetry and lessons in nature this summer. Planting seeds and watching them grow is a special childhood experience. In the words of poet Harry Behn, “To plant a seed and see it grow /
Is something every child should do…”
Download over 200 complimentary large-print, full-page, copyright-secured poems and songs for non-commercial use only at
www.nellieedge.com/freepoetry These include:
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Apples, Peaches, Pears, and Plums, traditional
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Sunflower Children, anonymous
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I Love You Little, author unknown
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Leaves are Falling by Nellie Edge (used with permission)
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I Like Stars by Pamela Johnson (used with permission)
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Fuzzy Wuzzy, traditional
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Leaves Fall Down by Margaret Wise Brown (public domain)
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Weather, traditional
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Clouds by Christina Rosetti (public domain)
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See You Later, Alligator, adapted by Nellie Edge
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Reading is Fun by Nellie Edge (used with permission)
Children deserve only the most beautiful and memorable poetry we can give them!
*For favorite copyrighted poems that children delight in (which we cannot provide copies of), see Nellie Edge Poetry Anthologies: Small Poems of Some Delight, Poetry Anthology Volume I, and Poetry Anthology Volume II. Royalties are paid on
these collections, so you can legally make copies of some of the best children’s poetry year after year. (Our new online bookstore is coming soon!)
For those of you who are pursuing professional development credits from our literacy seminars or kindergarten cadre meetings, consider organizing your Teacher Poetry Notebook and making Language Charts or Pocket Chart Poem
Packets as a practicum project. (Tip: Invite parent volunteers to help you over the summer! See Parent Volunteer Letter:
Help with Summer Projects.)
See photo essay:
Language Charts for Reading and Delight
For more details about giving children the gift of poetry, see Chapter Five in Celebrate Language and Accelerate Literacy: High Expectations • Joyful Learning • Proven Strategies by Nellie Edge, 2009.
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2. Memorable End-of-Year Sign Language Programs |
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What a thrill it is to watch memorable end-of-year kindergarten performances—truly celebrations of language! I am reminded again that children who learn to sing, dance, sign, and perform language (with rhythm, expression, and
delight) have a lifelong advantage in developing strong speech communication skills. As children see parents moved to tears by their ASL performance of See Me Beautiful by Red Grammer or What a Wonderful World by
Louis Armstrong, they got a taste of the power of beautiful language. Especially memorable is
I Pledge Allegiance, performed in ASL to the song version by Lee Greenwood.
Our gifted literacy award colleague, kindergarten teacher Wendy Manninen, shares delightful video clips of some of her singing and signing programs. See
Pure Imagination.
If you want to learn more about the
Magic of Signing Songs for your classroom, see our online  video clips and join our seminars June 29 and 30 in
Portland, Oregon at the lovely Airport Sheraton.
The Magic of Signing Songs Seminar –
Download Seminar Flier (pdf format)
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3. Enjoy Browsing Our Annotated Kindergarten Literacy Award Websites |
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To make it easy for your summer browsing on some amazing early literacy websites, we have updated annotations with a few direct links to the most engaging features within our favorite and award-winning websites. Here
are just a few examples to get you started:
Visit
all of our favorite annotated websites.
Happy browsing!
To receive our summer newsletters, new seminar e-book, and video clip announcements, please add your home email
to our
newsletter subscription. |
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4. Summer Reading and Reflections: Teaching with Intention |
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Summer professional reading can bring smiles, reflections, “ah-hahs!”, and new inspiration for aligning your teaching philosophy and practice. Here are some excerpts from the engaging new book, Teaching with Intention: Defining
Beliefs, Aligning Practice, Taking Action by Debbi Miller:
“…Once we know who we are and what we’re about in the classroom, we become intentional in our teaching; we do what we do on purpose, with good reason. Intentional teachers are
thoughtful, reflective people who are conscious of the decisions they make and the actions they take; they live and teach by the principals and practices they value and believe in…”
“…If I were to ask you to close your eyes and envision the perfect classroom scene, what would you see? What would you hear and smell and feel? Think big! If everything were going just the way you’d like
it to, what would be happening? What would your kids be doing? How about you?…”
“…We’re the ones in the unique and wonderful position to know where our kids have been, where they are now, and where it makes the most sense to take them next. Real life isn’t scripted. Neither is real
teaching…”
For additional excerpts see:
Teaching with Intention: Defining Beliefs, Aligning Practice, Taking Action by Debbi Miller (Stenhouse, 2008).
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5. Kindergarten Teachers Implement The Daily 5 |
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We still love The Daily Five: Fostering Literacy Independence in the Elementary Grades, (book and DVD) by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, “the sisters” (Stenhouse, 2006), and plan to continue
dialoging about The Daily Five this summer with our Salem Kindergarten Cadre. For many kindergarten teachers, this literacy framework has been powerful. I excitedly anticipate reading
“the sisters” new book, The Café Book: Engaging All Students in Daily Literacy Assessment and Instruction by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser (Stenhouse, 2009), which has already received great
reviews. We can’t wait to see many of you when we study with Gail and Joan this summer in Portland! (Consider bringing photo essays of your classroom or a sample of your book boxes or book bags to share with colleagues.)
Here is a “rough draft” photo essay of how one “Kid Writing” instructor and national kindergarten presenter, Julie Lay, has adapted The Daily 5:
How to Combine “Kid Writing” and “The Daily 5” Literary Framework.
See
www.thedailycafe.com to learn more about The Daily 5 and The Café Book. This professional site is so useful and of such high quality, it really is worth subscribing
to.
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6. Book Bag Buddies Build Kindergarten Memories
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How fun it is for me to visit Laura Flocker’s Kindergarten and see the incredible writing and drawing that children produce from the Home/School Buddy Journal! Rascal, the class bunny mascot, with his writing journal and book bag
goes for home visits and returns to share his new adventures!
Rascal the Bunny likes to read fiction books about bunnies—of course! However, Laura’s other weekly Home/School Book Bag is for “Rex the Reptile”, who prefers nonfiction books about other oviparous animals in the
real world.
What a memorable and literacy-enhancing way to build school memories and create home and school bonds! Consider creating a special mascot journal book bag for your class this summer.
Laura Flocker is a former Reading Recovery Teacher with a deep understanding of the literacy process and a passion for art and science connections.
See Laura Flocker’s Website.
The Art, Literacy, and the Kindergarten Child Workshop with Laura Flocker has been rescheduled for August 18, 2009. There may be a few openings for outside of district kindergarten
teachers. Contact me at
info@nellieedge.com if you are interested in being put on the waiting list.
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7. Salem Kindergarten Cadre News and Great New Children’s Books |
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What an awesome year we had exploring best literacy practices in some of Salem’s beautiful, engaging kindergartens. Many of us plan to continue our dialog about The Daily Five and Joyful Accelerated Literacy
Strategies over summer seminars and informal visits. If I have your home email address, you will receive notification through our cadre email about our August our gathering: “Celebrate Language and Make Friends With Mother
Goose”. Thank you for helping us develop a model kindergarten mentor program and Professional Learning Community!
For those of you who were not able to join us last month in Katie Nelson’s delightful “kid writing” kindergarten, please email us at
info@nellieedge.com with your thoughts on the value of these Kindergarten Cadre meetings. Your feedback on what was most useful will be shared with Janis Wurgler, the school district literacy team, and will help us plan for next
year.
Laura Flocker’s workshop Art, Literacy, and the Kindergarten Child has been rescheduled for Tuesday, August 18, 2009. I will send a reminder in August. There may be a few extra spaces available. Please email
me at
info@nellieedge.com by June 15 if you’re interested in attending and did not get on the original registration list.
Wonderful Books Every Child Should Have As A Friend
Here is the latest update from “Wonderful Books Every Child Should Have As A Friend” for your kindergarten library. I will share many of these at our summer seminars and workshops. We hope your summer will include some
bookstore browsing and leisurely library days. Consider inviting parents to help you expand your kindergarten library.
See:
“Wonderful Books Every Child Should Have As A Friend” and
“Dear Parents: We Need Your Help Expanding Our Class Library”
Smiles!
Nellie Edge
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This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It is the monthly newsletter from the Nellie Edge Excellence in Kindergarten and Early Literacy site. For more information and resources visit
www.nellieedge.com.
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© 2009 Nellie Edge - Excellence in Kindergarten and Early Literacy
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