Eric Carle Celebration Day

As a final tribute to Eric Carle this year, all of the Kindergarten children celebrated him and his books on the day before Spring break. As a professional learning community our 14 kinder teachers decided together under the direction of Team Leader Debbie Harbour that this is the way they would like to end their unit. This is not an idea from a Teacher's Manual or a directive handed down but a group of teachers who meet regularly on the school clock to collaborate and who decided that their children deserve a special culmination to a unit they have loved. This is only one example of the collegiality that permeates this grade level.

The teachers decided that because the grade level is so big that they would divide the classes in half and provide the same rotation of Eric Carle-related centers on the celebration day. Centers included starting with a pancake breakfast in celebration of Pancakes Pancakes.








Playing Bingo was a great review of the books, characters and details of the Eric Carle stories that have been studied. As a whole group activity playing Eric Carle Jeopardy was another opportunity to discuss the details of his stories and his life.

Completing crafts was a reminder of popular books such as a caterpillar necklace for The Hungry Caterpillar and a ladybug hat for The Grouchy Ladybug.












Joining in a scavenger hunt where the children answered riddles about some of Carle's animals using hints from the stories was a great way to get outside and find pictures of the animals spread over the grounds. Below are some of the riddles.


I start as an egg on a leaf
And then with disbelief
I say bye-bye
And become a beautiful butterfly!
What am I? caterpillar










I’m a beetle with a light
Who flies through the dark night.
I light the way
For many to come and play.
What am I? firefly







Busy, busy, busy…
No time to chat!
But finally, I catch a fly…
Just like that!
What am I? busy spider







With water around my shell
My decorations look swell!
But it’s time to upgrade
With a house remade!
What am I? hermit crab











From “head to toe” I move
Like animals in the zoo,
I’m the biggest monkey
Who walks upright like you!
What am I? gorilla

I rub my wings to make a chirp.
It’s love song – not a burp!
She makes not a sound;
Her true love she’s found.
What am I? cricket

On my back I’ll stay
With some dismay,
So give a flick
So I can give a CLICK!
What am I? click beetle

Aphids for breakfast
But a whale’s slap too soon,
Now I’ll have to eat
By the light of the moon!
What am I? ladybug

On a brown leaf I’m brownish.
On a red flower I’m reddish.
It’s flies I eat
Cause they are so sweet!
What am I? chameleon

“Will you be my friend?”
A little mouse asked with spunk.
“Find a friend your own size,”
I said with a swish of my trunk.
What am I? elephant





All of these activities are designed to give the students one last review of the books they have been studying. Kindergartners leave kindergarten loving Eric Carle and his books. It's no wonder!

Eric Carle Author Study Continues

No study of Eric Carle would be complete without looking at his art. Throughout this author study students have replicated Carle's art to help understand his stories. Above the Mackarados invited students to color large sheets of paper and then cut the large papers into smaller pieces, much like Carle does. These smaller pieces were then sorted by color to make pictures. One of the things the children noticed was that in most of Carle's books, he has a wonderful yellow sun, so they included a yellow sun in most of their pictures! They mentored themselves to the illustrator!

Other art work includes large class murals, click beetles that really click (because they are attached to clothespins!) and lightening bugs that really light up (with the help of small Christmas tree lights!)

While the beginning of the Eric Carle Author Study introduced books by the author and focused on hearing the story language and learning to retell the simple sequences (such as using pictures as retelling parts of The Very Busy Spider in the mobile at left), the later part of the study builds on the retelling by emphasizing other ways of responding to the books during the Readers' Workshop. Responses include oral and written reactions to a book. For instance, they might include a child retelling the story in his own words (or by using a story map); discussing or creating artwork to show comprehension such as illustrating a favorite part of a story; drawing, talking about or writing about connections to a story; or making predictions based on illustrations or portions of the story. Some teachers will even introduce Venn diagrams and have the class talk "across" books by showing them how they can compare and contrast books by the same author. While this is not necessarily a Kindergarten standard, many students are ready for this type of comparison to help them organize their thinking.

The power of this author study is in listening to the children as they talk to their partners about their response to books. It is amazing the level of conversation you hear!

Easter Centers

As I walked through our kindergarten classes on the day before "Good Friday" the children were abuzz with activity. Classrooms were full of centers as the children worked happily from one to another.

Our Kindergartens spent part of the day with a host of Easter/Spring-themed centers, usually lasting about an hour. Each class sets up 5-6 centers and the children went from center to center until they had completed them all.

Every class dyed eggs! Some teachers prefer putting out the colors and letting the students dip one end in a color and then the other end in another color. Some prefer the "spoon on the color" method and others the "tried and true" put them in the color cup and wait! This year I even discovered that you can paint boiled eggs with watercolor sets! Just use masking tape to cover the brown and black and you'll end up with a rainbow of beautiful Spring-colored Easter eggs! I am always amazed at the number of kindergartners who are so excited about coloring eggs, because they are doing it for the very first time!







Some of my favorite centers this year included the one at the left where the children had to sort a bag a jelly beans by color (reading the color words, of course!) and then counting and writing the number of jelly beans beside each color words. Each child was allowed to eat one jelly bean of their favorite color when the activity was finished!


Another of my favorites was an activity where the child had a dozen numbered plastic eggs in an egg carton. In each egg was a different item. The child had to shake the egg and decide which item was in the egg and then cut out a picture of that item to match the number. When all the items were matched, she could open each egg to see if she was correct before she glued the pictures on the numbered eggs!

Below are some of the other popular centers of the day.

Like most kindergarten classes across America, we also spend part of our day having an Easter Egg Hunt! Of course, there is always a little academic goal hidden in the fun. Most of our kindergarten teachers number each plastic egg (sent in by the parents) with a Sharpie. Each child is given a checklist with the numbers and is instructed to check off each number as that egg is found but only one egg for each number. After the eggs are collected each child lays the eggs out in order from 1 to _ to make sure he hasn't missed any! What a wonderful way to celebrate the season with a little number practice! Of course the same could be done by putting upper or lowercase letters of the alphabet on each set of eggs or even children's first names, depending on the skill that needs the most practice. Regardless, the bottom line is learning fun! Happy Spring!

Little Cloud Innovation

One of the books by Eric Carle that is a class favorite is Little Cloud . In the voicethread below Debbie Harbour's kindergartners write an innovation of the story. Debbie reads the opening that the class wrote together and then different children read their own ideas for how Little Cloud changed into shapes using the repeating line, Little Cloud changed into a... Debbie completes the innovation by reading the ending that the class wrote together. Wow!

The Little Green Men!

Top o' the morning to ya and a Happy St. Patrick's Day! For homework this week each kindergartner was asked to make a leprechaun trap with his family from things in the home - nothing could be bought, but the trap had to have a design to capture the little green men! Below are some of the traps that have begun to come in. On St. Patrick's Day - never missing a chance to write - the children will have the opportunity to write the directions for how their trap works. The children will set their traps before going to lunch and when they come back - Lo and behold! - they will find a trail of green glitter, upset traps and tricks all over the room showing the incredulous wee ones that the little green men have been about. From green water in the toilet to little green footprints to green cupcakes suddenly appearing, the teachers and children will enjoy this little piece of fun and fantasy!

Spring Break or Bust

Do we need a Spring Break or what?! Just seems like this has been a challenging week - A parent sent the Assistant Principal and me an e-mail with concerns about her son's kinder teacher. Instead of e-mailing my disappointment to the AP that the parent had not gone to the teacher first, I mistakenly e-mailed it to the parent instead! In another stiuation, I've got a teacher that is upset with a tutor. The tutor has been volunteering for several years. I have a conference to mediate the situation and it leaves a pit in my stomach. This week one teacher snapped at another because her kids were late getting out for dismissal, or at least the teacher felt like it was a snap. On another occasion a teacher sent out her kids for dismissal with a substitute and one of the teachers went to her to complain that she shouldn't send the kids out with a sub because it was too hard on the rest of the team - sense when? It just seems there has been a lot of mistakes and negativity this week all over the building... Oh yeah, we have challenges here in Dreamland too!


So why all the snipping and sniping? It is hard to keep a high flying team's morale high ALL the time. I think it boils down to teachers being tired... and stressed. Actually I think it always happens this time of year when teachers are worried about high stakes testing and students that might be retained and parents who think they aren't doing enough... and negativity begets negativity. Morale traditionally seems to take a dip this time of year, so what's a coach to do? What I want to do is pinch their little heads off... but instead, I'll take a deep breath and remember that there is always another side - the teacher whose mother is sick or who is trying to buy a new house or who is dealing with a sick child or even difficult behaviors in her classroom - the parent who is worried sick that their child might fail or is trying to figure out how to keep a marriage together or make the next mortgage payment. We all have our own stories and we deal with them best when we try to walk in the other person's shoes and not take anything too personally. I also believe in confronting difficult situations head on and simply trying to figure out what the problem REALLY is. Putting your head in the sand only makes the situation bubble and boil (from the voice of experience!) The Kindergarten Team Leader recognizes the same symptoms that I do even though we haven't had time to talk and so, being proactive, she has arranged a breakfast get-together next week and has asked each teacher to come to the early morning get- together with a "drop for your bucket" - a positive comment written about a colleague. That should help remind us that we all have the same goal - doing the best for the children in our care. If that doesn't do it... how many more days until Spring Break?!!

Where Kindergarten and FCAT Meet

I know this is a blog about Kindergarten, but I don't care who you are, this next week is about our state test, the FCAT! Kindergarten, of course, is not a tested grade, but it doesn't mean that we don't get involved. Each primary K-2 classroom "adopts" an intermediate classroom during FCAT week. We really do believe that testing results reflect the entire school, regardless of if you are teaching in an accountable grade or not. Primary classes do all sorts of fun things to relieve stress and to let the teachers and children know that we are all pulling for them. Below is a partial list of some of the fun! The following little ditties were written by a second grade teacher, Beth Young, and shared with all the primary teachers as one suggestion that they could do for their adopted class. The primary classes will deliver a different basket of treats each day to their older peers with one of the appropriate poems.

**Individual boxes of candy hearts with the words “Put Your Heart into it!”**
Sure, you’ve heard this test is big,
but your HEART is so much bigger!
When you put your HEART into it,
From the start, you’re the winner!

**A river rock colored with sharpies and then googlie eyes and a smile added with the following poem.**
Mr. ROCK-ROCK is such a cutie!
To be strong is his duty,
But you are even stronger still,
And ROCK the FCAT? You totally will!!!
Mr. Rock-Rock says, “ROCK THE FCAT, DUUUDE!” and “ROCK ON, MAN!”
(So do we!!)

** Plastic Easter eggs filled with Smarties inside.**
We are so very EGG-cited!
Actually we’re delighted!
It is what’s INSIDE of YOU that counts,
So hear our confident shouts:
You’re gonna do so EGG-cellent,
EGG-cellent, EGG-cellent!
You’re gonna do so EGG-cellent,
EGG-cellent, EGG-cellent!

**Since it is March, I found (at JoAnn’s) plastic St. Patrick’s Day coins with clovers on them.**
Ok, you’ve heard of luck before.
That’s what this CLOVER COIN is for.
We figured that it couldn’t hurt,
But you need it ‘bout as much as dirt.
You’re smart AND serious, it’s true .
You’re best is all you’ll need to do!

We already KNOW you’re smart,
Remember they want to see how SERIOUS you are!
Show ‘em!

**Bear Stickers**
These stickers are to remind you
Of everyone in your life who
Is so ‘Beary’ ‘Beary’ proud of you!
Like us!!
Do your ‘Beary’ best!
At-risk students all over the building will receive positive postcards at home this week from previous primary teachers letting them know that they believe in them. These same teachers will stop by to speak to their previous charges letting them know that they care! Primary classes all over the school will deliver banners, motivational signs, cards and individual letters to the intermediate students that encourage the children to do their best this week! One class made a necklace for each student in their adopted class with each bead representing something such as concentration and strength to never give up. Another primary class is buying lunch for their adopted intermediate class.

Some classes writes short one-liners to attach to a little sweet treat for each student in the class each day such as:
Chocolate mint sticks that say, "Stick it to the FCAT!"
Red and white peppermints that say, "Here's some encourageMINT".
Peppermint Patties that say, "You are MINT to be a star today!"
Pack of gum that says, "CHEW up the FCAT!"
Extra Gum that says, "You are EXTRA special! Stick with it!"
Tootsie Rolls that say "You're on a ROLL! Keep working hard!"
100 Grand "Fun Size" candy bar that says, "You're worth 100 GRAND".
Chocolate eggs that say, "You will do EGGS-celent on the FCAT!"
Chocolate Hugs and Kisses that say, "Hugs and kisses to you today!"
Smarties that say, "You are such as SMARTIE! Keep up the great work!"
Bubble gum that says , "Don't forget to fill each BUBBLE completely!"
Bubble gum that says, "Blow out the FCAT!"
Starburst that says, "You're our STAR! We're so proud!"
Nestle's Crunch that says, "CRUNCH the FCAT!"
Blow pops that say, "BLOW the test away!"
Pixie Stix that say "Here is a little Pixie Dust for the NRT! Give it your all!"
Plastic eggs filled with candy that say, "CRACK the FCAT!"

In some intermediate classes the primary class will start the day by performing a rap, song, or poem to encourage the students ... and teachers! Performances will include this song, "Beat the Test" written by Cheryl Dillard and performed by her kindergarten class to the "Adams Family" tune.
Beat the Test (snap, snap). Beat the Test (snap, snap).
Beat the Test - Beat the Test - Beat the Test.
The FCAT is finally here.
There is nothing to fear.
We will give a cheer.
Because you are the best!
Beat the Test (snap, snap). Beat the Test (snap, snap).
Beat the Test - Beat the Test - You’re the BEST!

As I was walking upstairs taking pictures for this blog, one of the intermediate teachers stopped to tell me that Kindergarten Teacher Karen Meissner has sent a little treat each day of the test to one of her fourth graders who had been in Karen's kindergarten class. The intermediate teacher said it made the child's day and made all the difference in the child's attitude and confidence. You see, FCAT really is a family affair!

Eric Carle Author Study

Eric Carle is a wonderful entry into Author Study for the young kindergartner. His books are colorful and entertaining. Because many of the books have patterns and are predictable, they are often readable by five and six year olds. Below are some of the early activities and artifacts of this unit.

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

Like most kindergarten classes in Duval County, our Kindergarten goes to the zoo. This is in the middle of our Author Study on Eric Carle so we have been talking about lots of the zoo animals that Eric Carle illustrates in his books. Also, like most kinder classes we have been working on art projects and making charts of information we know. Below is a peek inside the kindergarten classes as they prepare for the zoo.

Debbie Harbour turned me onto this website that is soooo easy to use. You simply go to the website, register for free, and choose among the books that they have to offer. So try it out. Just click on the eyes and then on the book!

Reading responses

It took us a while to figure out that there was a difference between a reading response that you write in Readers' Workshop and an official response to literature that you write in Writers' Workshop! Now we understand that readers' response is the type of writing or drawing or oral response that you might do in Readers' Workshop. It is just what it says - a way that you respond to what you read. It is a way to think about books, and during an Author Study, it is a way to think across books. Kindergartners are just beginning to think about different ways that they might think about and respond to books. As this Author Study of Eric Carle unfolds, children are given many different ways to think about books and ways to write responses.

• Children are taught to notice between books (text-to-text connections), "Eric Carle's books have lots of animals."
  


• Children are taught to make connections to books, "Me and my daddy found 6 ladybugs on one leaf and they all looked different" in response to The Grouchy Ladybug



• Children are taught to wonder and ask questions, "I wonder why the caterpillar got so fat?"



• Children are taught to have opinions by identifying their favorite part or character and telling why they did or didn't like the story, "My favorite character was the elephant because he has a funny nose!"

All of these are different ways to respond to books, either orally or in writing. Some teachers even like to scaffold how the child talks or writes about the book by giving them some suggested starters. Other teachers perfer to have the children structure their own sentences.

Some teaches actually start their young kindergartners with Reading Response Notebooks - a place where they can record some of their thoughts about their reading. They teach the rituals and routines of using the Notebooks, but are always careful that they don't require too much writing, because they don't want to take too much time away from the valuable independent reading time in Readers' Workshop. Some teachers use a Reading Response rubric to help remind the children of what a response in their notebooks should look like. We used to begin Reading Response Notebooks in 1st grade, but many of our looping teachers have discovered that starting this in kindergarten provides much more depth as children reach 1st grade. Many times the teacher will use a student's reading response in the Closing meeting to show the type of response that she has highlighted in a mini-lesson.

This book is the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. My favorite part is when the caterpillar turned fat.

As children are writing responses to literature during Writers' Workshop, teachers will suggest that the children go through their Readers' Response Notebook to search for entires that might be used in an offical response to literature where they will be including an opening, a retelling or summary, and a closing - even adding a connection or favorite part - using the rubric that they have written as a class. Their responses during reading might be the beginning of thinking about what they want to write during Writers' Workshop.

What we want our youngsters to do is to begin to live a readers' life where they read and think deeply about the content and story - what the story means and how it applies to life. Readers' response gives children a structure to begin to think while they are reading, because it is our intent, not only to teach kids to decode words in these early grades, but to teach them to think while they read! Comprehension begins at the beginning!

Rubrics- Response to Literature

Teachers develop rubrics for each genre of writing with their students to help them understand the expectations of the genre in kid-friendly language. They want students to be able to critique their own work - to know when good is good enough. Most Chets Creek kindergarten teachers are working on their second class-generated rubric this year with their kindergarten class having completed a narrative rubric after the winter holiday. Now during Writers' Workshop most are creating rubrics with their class in this second genre, response to literature, while they are teaching an Author Study of Eric Carle in the Readers' Workshop.

Teachers are guided in this genre unit of "Response to Literature" by Using Rubrics to Improve Student Writing, Kindergarten (shown above). This book breaks down the standards into a 3-point rubric for kindergarten teachers that includes Orientation and Context (a title and introduction), Comprehension, Interpretation, and Evaluation of Literature (the "gist of the story and a reflection or opinion), Evidence (a retelling) and Closure (an ending). A piece might also include a few strategies such as comparing or contrasting the book to another book by the same author. This gives the teacher the basics of what to teach and from this she can lead her class into writing its own rubrics in its own language. The rubric is written one line at a time as the class finishes mini-lessons about that particular element. For instance after the teacher has talked about the opening of the response to literature which might include writing a title or maybe a first sentence to introduce the topic and author, she will help the class fill in a rubric of what a 3-point paper might look like, what a 2-point paper might look like, and finally, what a 1-point paper might look like for that element. Some teachers prefer to use pictures instead of numbers at the top of the rubric that go along with the Author Study such as caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly or grouchy ladybug, okay lady bug and happy ladybug. After the rubric has been written students will practice writing openings and then with the help of a partner, the class or the teacher will figure out where they are on the rubric for that element and how they can move over to the next step. The teacher will use student papers as examples during mini-lessons to help students practice. Seems like a lot for kindergartners, doesn't it? That's actually what we thought when we first started out, but what we've learned is that with careful, thoughtful scaffolding, kindergartners do this kind of response easily. All through this response to literature genre study, you will see kindergartners walking up to the rubric at the front of the room with their work and comparing what the rubric says to their piece of work.

This is the beginning of the revision process!

Goodbye Words

Sights words are words that children learn by sight. Children don't sound the words out - they just memorize how they look instantly. Some of our teachers call these "snap" words - words that children know in a snap! They can recognize the word and write the word without peeking!

Sight words are reinforced in Skills Block. In Mrs. Timmons/Conte/Happ's class they have a daily routine for these Goodbye Words. Sight words are listed on a chart - usually chosen from the class' writing of common words they are using in Writers' Wrokshop and beginning to learn (for instance, many children write my as mi). Each day the class reads through the words. As the teacher points to each word, the class says the word together and then the teacher does a few individual checks. If "most" of the class knows the word (teacher judgment), the teacher places a check by the word. If some of the class still needs practice with the word, the teacher puts an X beside the word. When the class has three consecutive checks, the teacher strikes through the word on the chart as the class says goodbye to the word. That word is then placed on the word wall and students are held accountable for the word in reading and writing. It becomes a "snap" word. The words are Velcroed to the word wall which is child high so if a child is still having difficulty with the word he can come snap it off the word wall, take it to his desk, copy the word, and then snap it back to the word wall. As each word is learned, new sight word is added.

Each class has their own routine around how the class learns sight words but it is a part of each class' daily Skills Block. Actually, it's a snap!