Reader's Theater

The Kindergarteners have worked hard to prepare for their Reader's Theater.

In the beginning they chose their book; Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers. A collection of notes for living on Planet Earth. They identified the important things that Jeffers shares in his book and talked with a partner about what important things they would write.

We read the book again and again. They read their specific pages, projected their voices, and read with more and more expression.




This past week we continued to use Jeffers as a mentor, studying his craft as an author and an illustrator. The children drew earths in his style, noticing the humor in his illustrations and reflecting on past observations about his work; the shape and spacing of character eyes, expressive mouths, and tiny features.

We strung their earths together to create a garland for the day of their performance.

They then drew the same earth, but on a smaller scale. With the help of Ms. Shelley and her button-maker their smaller earths were turned into buttons. Their buttons provided wearable art for the day of their Reader's Theater!

The children wrote their notes for living on planet earth and glued them around a painting inspired by the front cover of Here We Are. Their powerful notes created a frame around the world.

On Friday, the children eagerly and bravely marched to the Library. They read beautifully. They invited their families to leave us notes and we read those notes later in the day. We talked about feelings of happiness, love, and peace. It felt like all of the work we have done learning about community came together. Reader's Theater was a celebration of reading, writing, art, kindness, friendship, and community. Thank you to all of our families for being part of this Kindergarten experience!

How do you feel following all of our work preparing for Reader's Theater?

Grace- I'm proud of the growth in Reagan and Maeve. Their reading is clear like a crystal.
Ava- I'm proud of Jack, he doesn't need any help reading his part and it is challenging.
Ana- We used to get stuck, but now we can even read the stuck words.
Will- I feel proud of me and everyone else.
Jack- I am feeling proud of Clayton and Evan, because of their drawings on their notes.
Thane- I feel proud of me, Clayton and Evan, because we have practiced a lot together!
Amelia- I feel proud of my button earth.
Dylan- I feel proud of myself, but also Ana, because her page is hard and she never gave up on it.
Maeve- I feel proud of my big earth on the garland.
Evan- I agree with Jack, I feel proud of our writing.
Sophie- It was hard to draw my button earth so, so tiny. I feel proud of my work.
Reagan- I feel proud of everyone and everything!
Alice- I am feeling proud of my button and my note for living on planet earth.


Our notes for living on planet earth;

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our earths;

 

 

A small collection of your notes for living on planet earth;

 

 

 

 

 

 

the beginning...

A week ago the children chose their book for our Reader's Theater. They chose Here We Are by our beloved Oliver Jeffers. This book is written in the form of a note to his newborn son. His note is full of important things about living on planet Earth.

It is a beautiful book full of colorful illustrations, detailed diagrams, labels, and rich language. The text is challenging and not typical for Kindergarten students to read. But, the children chose it because of the power in the words, because they want to share it with their families.







As you practice with your child at home this weekend, please encourage your child to use the many sight words to help guide their reading. Remind them to use the pictures and their knowledge of how the book goes. Support them by helping with more challenging words. With time and a little more practice they will be ready for their reading of Here We Are.

We began our work and practice preparing on Monday of this week. I connected their practice to our ongoing work identifying important parts in books.

We reread Here We Are and listed the most important things.

The next day we reread Here We Are again! This time I invited the children to think beyond the text and make connections. Talking with a partner they listed the important things they would write in a note about living on planet Earth. 

 

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the children practiced reading their specific pages. We talked about keeping the book down, projecting our voices, and having calm bodies. We practiced careful and mindful transitions. It is important they have fun while celebrating their growth as readers.

During Reading Workshop on Friday I gave the children copies of their pages and they read their pages with a partner. Kindergarten students love practicing and preparing for a special experience. There was a shared excitement (even a joyful shout) when they heard we will continue to practice next week. I am impressed with their skills and their confidence.

They are taking this very seriously!

 

 

 

 

chicks!

On Monday morning we had 5 chicks peeping in the incubator. By Tuesday 15 of our 18 eggs (with chicks inside) had hatched.

In an earlier post you read that the children predicted egg number 26 would hatch first, because it was the heaviest. 

Our hatching order provided an important lesson in science; predictions are not always correct. Egg number 26 was actually one of the eggs that didn't hatch at all! We talked about how scientists use information (knowledge and data) to develop new hypotheses. They continue to wonder, question, and test. 

The children loved holding the chicks and playing with them on the rug. Our morning meetings this week were extra special.

 

 

 

The chicks provided an authentic opportunity to stretch out new and challenging words. On Wednesday I wrote the invitation;

Use one word to describe our chicks. 

The children stretched out their one word and wrote their word on a sticky note.
On Thursday we glued their words on to a piece of paper along with one drawing of a chick.

Their words and illustrations come together to create a beautiful chick poem!

Our chicks are. . .

 

Is it a female or male chick?

The children worked with Lise-Anne to determine whether we had more male or female chicks in our classroom. They looked closely at the wings and feathers. Again, the children made a prediction;

We think there are more female chicks than male chicks, because in the world we see more female chickens than males. 

This time their prediction was correct! We had 3 more females than males.