academic choice

"The Share" provides the opportunity for children to develop important speaking and listening skills. Through the explaining of their work - from drawings to structures - children explain their thinking and process. They feel empowered; their work and their story is important. Their peers ask questions and offer feedback, furthering the work and learning.

The share continues to be a favorite time in our day, with children often asking, "Who will share their work today?" The share is also an opportunity for me to be in the audience, to listen from a spot on the rug or behind the group. It provides a different perspective, encouraging me to actually see more - I see how children listen to one another, how they use similar language to my own, how they use the popsicle sticks to call on their peers - now even saying, "This friend's name starts with the letter __".

It is during the share that I truly feel we are a community of learners and teachers.

We have only been in school for 27 days, but the share reflects a level of courage, respect and independence that must not go unnoticed.

THE BIG RAMP, 10-1-18

Ava, Jack, and James work together to build and share a large ramp. Jack explains how the rocks keep the rolling pieces (cylinders) at the top until you are ready to roll each one down. Their ramp and rolling materials are an authentic exploration of force and motion! Following their share, Jack asks Maeve if she has a question or comment. He then takes a step close and says, "I called on you, Maeve, because we played together after school yesterday. Remember? You're my friend."

The share connects to all of our academic work, but there is a beautiful connection to our community building as well.

 

 

SMALL BUILDING

This week, Kindergarteners have been drawing pictures of their structures and using the sight word by to label their work; by - ____________. 

Like artists, builders and architects sign their work. We can use sight words in authentic and meaningful ways to label our drawings, paintings, and structures.

Using what she knows about  s t r e t c h i n g  words, Amelia adds the label "Egypt" to her drawing. Her structure is something only found in Egypt and it's a trap for bad guys. Her share inspired the drawing and labeling of structures for the remainder of the week!

 

 

 

LEAF STAMPS, 10-5-18

On Friday we read an assortment of books about Fall and leaves. I introduced a new choice; leaf stamps. Using a large stamp and orange or green ink, the children stamped one leaf on their canvas and used a black pen to outline the leaf. The outline connected to our ongoing conversations about lines - an outline is when you draw or trace the outer edge of something, creating a frame and inviting your audience to notice your work. Outlining the leaves provided great printing practice, as children were asked to follow the edge of each leaf, the line similar to the lines used in letter formation.

When checking in with Crosby and Sophie, I suggested adding a label. Crosby grabbed one of our leaf books off the shelf for the word leaf and I reminded them where our color words live - in a frame on our art shelf. They both excitedly added their labels. Following choice, I asked both to share, celebrating how they used labels just like we do in writing workshop. It is often during academic choice that I observe and support children in the transferring of their developing skills and strategies - what they learn as readers and writers can support their work and play in all content areas.