Introductory Lessons

The first week of school the teachers usually don't get any breaks from their classes during the day.  This is my opportunity to introduce myself to ALL of the students in the school and give the teachers a half hour break.  I also wanted the books to be relevant to the objectives that they will be covering first.  The books I used this year are:

Kindergarten - Ten Flashing Fireflies by Philemon Sturges

Learning Objectives:
Counting to ten


Materials:

• Worksheet with jar
• Counters
• Crayons / Pencils

In the story, children catch the ten fireflies.  As I read it, the children reach in the air to "catch" the next firefly.  We also make a prediction about how many fireflies will be in the jar after the firefly is caught.

When the story is over, the children are given a worksheet with a picture of a jar on it and ten counters - which we call pretend fireflies.  They put some of the counters on their jar and count them.  Then they draw the same number of counters in the jar and, if they know how, write the number of fireflies they drew.

This lesson has been very successful as the students have all stayed engaged.  The biggest problem is that students want to keep drawing fireflies rather than stopping at ten.

The most interesting child's response was one little boy who was struggling with counting.  When I started counting in Spanish, he got a big smile on his face and counted very fluently in Spanish.


1st Grade - So Say the Little Monkeys by Nancy Van Laan

Learning Objectives:
Patterns

Materials:

• Sentence Strips cut in half (12 inches)
• Crayons

FOR THE TEACHER:

• Sentence strips with patterns on it.  Patterns include a color pattern, a position pattern, a shape pattern, and a size pattern.
• Pattern Slide - Made by folding a piece of construction paper in half and stapling it at the top.

In the story monkeys need to build a home, but instead they play.

Before reading the story, I explain to the children that whenever I point to them they are to say "jabba jabba!"  I then read the story, stopping to allow students to make predictions about what the monkeys are going to do.

After the story, we talk about different patterns, starting with "jabba jabba!"  I then clap out a pattern and have them extend the pattern.  Then I start showing my pre-made pattern strips.  I give them two rules

1. No one is allowed to yell out what they think the pattern is.
2. No one can make a prediction about the pattern until they have seen at least four parts of the pattern.

We then discuss all of the different patterns: size, shape, color, directions, and words

The children then go to their desk and create their own pattern.  This gives the teacher a quick assessment about which students are able to make patterns.  Time permitting, I put the students' patterns into the pattern slide and get the students to guess each other's patterns.



2nd Grade:  Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong

Learning Objective:

• Doubles
• Even Numbers

Materials:

• Two-Sided Counters
• Double Ten Frames
• Ten-sided Number Cubes


• Magic Pot Worksheet

This is a story about an elderly couple who finds a magic pot which doubles everything that is put into it.

The students really enjoy this story, especially when Mrs. and Mr. Haktak fall into the pot and there are two Mr. Haktaks and two Mrs. Haktaks!

After reading the story, we play the Magic Pot Game.  This is played by partners.

1. One person is "Mr. or Mrs. Haktak" and rolls the number cube.  They then put the number of counters that they rolled on one side of the ten frame.
2. The partner is "the Magic Pot" and doubles the number placed on the ten frame.
3. The students record the number rolled, the doubling, and the total number of coins.

I warn the students that if they come to a double they are unsure of, like 8 + 8, they should count the counters rather than guess.  (This has always been a curiosity for me: why students would guess while the answer is easily in front of them!)



3rd - 5th Grade  On the Day You Were Born by Debra Fraiser

This is supposed to be a photo book for parents to put baby pictures in.  As I read this book, we stop to discuss

• what time of day all of the students were born
• where the students were born - I show a map of the United States and show where I was born and then go around the room letting the students share where they were born.  I also have the world map on hand for many of our children
• what season the students were born - I give each student a sticky note and we make a graph showing where the students' birthday are

This graph was made by 3 separate classes.  One class had plain sticky notes, one class put happy faces on their sticky notes and the last group put X's on their sticky notes.

• We then discuss how our bodies have grown and changed over time - I made a PowerPoint with my baby pictures and school pictures, to show them how I have grown (and to prove that I was also a child!)
• The last page states "We are so glad you've come!"  I tell the students that I am glad that they are here, also!

I then give the students a paper for them to first draw a picture of themselves "doing math" and then they are to write about what they like and don't like about math, or what is easy or hard about math.

I think it is going to be a very good year!

The First Day of School

Isn't it amazing that after so many years that the first day of school still causes me to lose sleep!  I could hardly sleep because of the excitement!  The day lived up to the excitement with students and parents coming in droves with bags and bags of school supplies.  Many mothers left their happy kindergarten students with a tear in their eye, or telling themselves out loud, "I promised myself I was not going to cry!"

The cafeteria was a bit of a mess, but because of some fabulous, flexible teachers, the mess was easily resolved.

The only problem ~ not really a problem, but a kernel of a problem.  A teacher, who has difficulty following directions, came and asked me if the district was going to give a diagnostic test.  I told her that I had not heard.  She then asked if she could give her own diagnostic.  This is where the problem occurred.

• I told her that the new math series had a diagnostic test online because another teacher told me about it. But, if the district came out with another diagnostic test, she would be required to give it to her students, and we didn't want to over test the students on the first week of school.

• She said that it would require her to have more computers in her room than she has. 

•  I told her that she could borrow them from the library.

• She then said that she was thinking about a paper pencil test to see where her students were.  She told me that she wanted an end of first grade test.

• I told her that I had the one that we gave last year, and quickly pulled it up on my computer.

• She told me that she saw that one on the internet from another state. 

• I informed her that she didn't, because I made the test myself last year.  I then handed her the printed copy of the test.  I am curious if she will give the test to her class or not.

Here is my problem.  If she was already planning on doing something else, why bother coming to talk with me about it?  IF you come and talk to me about it, why argue about everything?

This was the problem last year, she would try to get ahead of what I was trying to show her team, and then told me she already knew the information, or had a plan.  Her scores showed that she needs to slow down and listen.  How do I say this in a kind and gentle way????