|
Click here to read this issue online, if you are not able to access links in your email version.
|
1. A November Poem for Your Poetry ("I Can Read") Notebooks
|
November
no green grass
no blue skies
no bare feet going by
no birds
no bees
no leaves on trees
November
traditional |
 |
After children have a memorable sense of this rhyme, use it to model and engage them in interactive writing using the words “yes” and “no.” Let them practice on their white boards. Teach children to
chant and fingerspell
“yes” ( spells yes) and “no” ( spells
no). To learn ASL for “yes” and “no,” see
Michigan State University ASL (American Sign Language) Browser.
Download November and other large print (copyright secured) poems, songs, and rhymes for Poetry (“I Can Read”) Notebooks.
Thank you to Jennifer Foster and Jeff James for November posters.
|
|
|
2.
Gratitude is a Yearlong Theme |
|
Friendship, kindness, responsibility, and gratitude are yearlong curriculum themes in many of our classrooms. “Thank you, Joshua” is a caring phrase that builds healthy relationships and positive
attitudes about friends and life inside and outside of the classroom.
Consider opportunities for children to share appreciation:
-
Teach children in pairs to turn and look at their classmates and talk (eye-to-eye and knee-to-knee) about an idea, a feeling, or curriculum theme. Model polite communication and invite the children to practice.
Teach them to end the brief dialog with “Jeremy, thank you for sharing…” “Thank you for sharing too, Ryan!”
-
Teach children American Sign Language for “thank you” (with a smile on their faces
 ). They can sign “thank
you” for visitors and to each other. Again, see the ASL Browser for Sign Language Instruction: Michigan State University ASL (American Sign Language) Browser.
-
Teach children to read, write, and spell “thank you”. A memorable spelling song for “thank” uses the old folk melody, What Do We Do With a Drunken Sailor? Sing the letters
“t-h-a-n-k” four times – once with each line of the song. Watch the children quickly learn to spell, write, and read “thank”. They will know “you” from our M-O-M Spells Mom song that
teaches Mom, Dad, you and me. (Listen to the free audio from the Music is Magic CD with Nellie Edge and Tom Hunter:
Download Free Audio 1.5 MB)
-
Children can surprise parents with “thank-you” notes.
After children have practiced writing “thank you” repeatedly for fluency building, give them 3″ x 8½″ strips of paper to make several “thank you” notes to take home in an envelope. A child
can hide them under pillows, by the phone, in Dad’s shoes, etc. (Thank you, Patti Peck, for this delightful literacy gift idea.)
-
Look for opportunities within the classroom for children to establish eye contact and practice saying “thank you” to each other: When someone passes them snacks, pushes chairs in, or holds the door
open, etc.
Three wonderful books on gratitude: Thank you!
These delightful books invite children to have “grand conversations” about all the things they are thankful for.
-
Thank You, World, by Alice B. McGinty. (Dial Books, 2007). Publisher description: “The joys of childhood are the same the whole world over. In this compelling book of celebratory rhyme and
glowing pictures, eight very different kids, from eight different countries, all go about their day and experience the same moments of happiness: greeting the sun in the morning, swinging on a swing, flying a kite, being tucked in by Mommy
at bedtime. Uplifting and visually rich, this book reminds us that the world isn’t as large as it seems, and that life’s greatest pleasures are the simple ones.”
-
Giving Thanks, by Jonathan London. (Candlewick Press, 2003). A young boy learns to show gratitude for all the beauty he sees from his father, who thanks the sky and animals and trees. Like his Indian
friends, this father believes that things of nature are a gift that requires something be given back—a thank you. The Booklist review says it, “…fosters respect for the natural world through a relatively simple text and
illustrations and express the beauty and dignity of nature.” We agree.
-
Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Marks. (Harper Collins, 2004). This warm and joyful book celebrates the many things children are thankful for—from Thanksgiving turkey and pie to
hopscotch and fall leaves. Sharing this simple book is a wonderful way to foster a spirit of gratitude. The message inspires children to think about the many things they have to say “thank you” for. As an
extra bonus, the print is clear and large enough to engage early readers.
November Themes
-
The story of Thanksgiving and a study of the gifts of the Native Americans to the pilgrims and the Native American view of the natural world provide an opportunity to create rich November curriculum themes including foods and
nutrition. Wise kindergarten teacher Joanie Cuttler involved families in creating a “Thankful Feast for Native Americans” held in the classroom. Before the feast, the children performed songs and dances.
(Always, there are celebrations of language…)
|
|
3. Talking Friendship Circles: Friends Build Speaking and Listening Skills |
|
Talking Friendship Circles provides a safe environment with maximum opportunity for each child to repeatedly practice speaking and listening.
Talking questions:
-
Tell about something you’re good at.
-
What’s your favorite kindergarten activity and why?
-
What are you wondering about butterflies?
-
What was your favorite part of the story?
The rotating circle structure allows half of the class to talk while the other half listens.
-
This is a great way for children to review and cement new science concepts.
-
Children expand their social skills and have an opportunity to talk to every other child in the classroom.
-
Talking develops dendrite connections in the brain.
Organizational Tips:
Form two straight lines of children. Show the first line how to sit in a circle facing out; they become “the inner circle.” Then walk the other children over to form “the outer circle” with each child
facing one student on the inner circle. The students on the inner circle get to talk for thirty seconds while the outer circle students listen. At the bell, the inner circle rotates (scoots) clockwise one
person. They greet their new listening friend and talk again. Rotate four or five times and then switch roles with the outer circle becoming the talkers and movers.
-
Children build friendships and develop confidence in speaking to each other.
-
Learning increases when children have a chance to talk about new concepts!
-
It is helpful for the shyer child to be on the listening side first.
From Celebrate Language and Accelerate Literacy: High Expectations • Joyful Learning • Proven Strategies
by Nellie Edge. (Publisher to be announced, 2009) |
|
4. Building Reading Independence: New Song Picture Books |
|
Familiar song picture books with their memorable rhythm and rhyme build English Language skills while enhancing basic reading skills: phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and phonics. Perhaps even more
important, group singing of well-loved songs builds a culture of success around even our hardest-to-accelerate child. That is why so many of our kindergarten colleagues start the year with “books that sing and rhyme”.
“Kindergarten teachers have always known that kids have to believe they can read before they can actually do it…”
Regie Routman, from Reading Essentials
Keep a basket of favorite song picture books next to your rocking chair. These make “Just Right: I Can Read!” books for emergent and early independent readers. Watch children during literacy choice time pretend to be the
teacher, gathering a group of children around them and leading them in shared reading. Some children will track the words, while others may rely more on “magical memory reading” early in the year. The social bond
shared during group singing enhances children’s love of these books. Children will later choose these books (or library-sized versions) again and again for their reading book boxes because song picture books encourage that
joyful, confident feeling of: I Can Read! |
|
5. December "Kid Writing" Seminars in Seattle/Edmonds Area |
|
We are finalizing plans for our next Writing to Read Seminar in Edmonds, Washington, tentatively scheduled for
February 28, 2009. You will receive details along with our next complementary “Kid Writing” e-Book in mid-November. (Download e-Books.)
How do you bring this kindergarten writing seminar to your area? Email us with your interest (
info@nellieedge.com). We also often work cooperatively with district literacy coordinators to bring this outstanding training to new locations. Consider sending our complimentary “Kid Writing” e-Book to your state
kindergarten coordinators or district literacy specialists and ask them to contact us. We are planning now for a limited number of spring, summer, and fall dates in the following possible locations:
-
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
-
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
-
Denver, Colorado
-
Las Vegas, Nevada
|
-
Chicago, Illinois
-
St. Paul, Minnesota
-
Little Rock, Arkansas
-
Spokane, Washington
|
The more responses we receive for a specific location, the more likely we are to come. |
|
6. Salem Kindergarten Cadre: Kid Writing Seminar and Follow-up
November 17, 2008 |
Salem Kindergarten Writing Seminar
November 7, 2008 (Friday) 8:30a.m. - 3:15p.m.
“Kid Writing” Across the Curriculum in Kindergarten: Follow-up Session
November 17, 2008 (Monday) 4:30p.m. - 6:00p.m.
McKinley Elementary, 466 McGilchrist St. SE, Salem, OR 97302
School phone is 503-399-3167.
This meeting is especially intended for teachers who are already using the “Kid Writing” approach and have studied the Writing to Read in Kindergarten seminar with Julie Lay. We anticipate an
interactive dialog time to share our insights and questions with Nellie Edge and other experienced “Kid Writing” teachers. You will love seeing Marcia Lioy's and Dee Myer's beautiful “Kid Writing” kindergartens and
are welcome to come early and browse.
-
We will set up some sample writing centers (in totes).
-
Please e-mail me at
info@nellieedge.com if you have specific writing topics you would like addressed.
-
Your handouts are contained in the
two complimentary full-color “Kid Writing” e-Books. I suggest you download all 60 pages and organize them in a three-ring binder. We will refer to many of the pages.
Thank you for being teachers who honor childhood and reach for excellence in early literacy. Happy November days to you!
With Appreciation,
Nellie Edge
|
|
|
|
