Month by Month Reading and Writing for Kindergarten |
The Teacher's Guide to the Building Blocks |
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Kathleen - Hi, is everyone here to talk about Building Blocks literacy activities in kindergarten?
Kathleen - Who has been trained in Building Blocks?
SC - I haven't been trained, and boy would I LOVE to be!! I'm having trouble fitting everything in!
Paulie - I was hoping someone would be able to tell me more about how to use it. . .
JJ - I had some training over the summer. A very loose training.
Kathleen - Does everyone agree with Pat Cunningham and Dottie Hall that kindergartners shouldn't be doing the 4-Blocks activities?
JJ - I agree
olsen - I was trained in building blocks this summer and it is great!
Peachy/K/NC - I agree
Paulie - YES! YES! YES!
SC - Agree!
Kathleen - olsen, tell us what you liked about it, if you don't mind being put on the spot ;-)
Beanie - I follow Month By Month....and have seen the building blocks video. What else is there that is available for Kdg-information I mean?.
Paulie - I told that to my principal when she gave us all the 4 Blocks Book this year
Kathleen - Does everyone agree that multi-level instruction is the way to go with kindergarten (and beyond)
Maggie/K/NC - i agree, was loosely trained also in a mini-workshop
olsen - Some kinders who are ready can go into the guided reading part of four blocks
Kathleen - Beanie, that is all I know of. Tell us about the video, I haven't seen it yet. Did it give you what you need to get started?
Paulie - How else can you teach each child?
Beanie - olsen, where did you learn about your training?
Maggie/K/NC - Multi level is the only way to go.
Maggie/K/NC - I use some of the 4 blocks with my kinders who are reading a little now and are ready for more.
Lou - What kinds of things should new teachers be learning about building blocks?
Kathleen - Educational Resources Group sponsors training with Elaine Williams, who is the teacher Pat C and Dottie Hall refer to in their month by month for k book. Elaine also narrates the video http://ergsc.com
Beanie - The video I saw, demonstrated the type of things described in Month By Month. What else is there to learn how to do it better? I teach full day kindergarten and my children are eager and ready.
Maggie/K/NC - we do looping in K and 1st at our school so I teach both Building Blocks and 4 Blocks
Kathleen - Lou, alot of what I like about the Month by Month reading and writing for K book is that it provides the rationale for the kind of things k teachers already do.
Maggie/K/NC - I am fortunate to live in the same town as Elaine Williams and have observed in her classroom
Kathleen - Maggie, I am hoping Elaine will appear here tonight
Maggie/K/NC - that would be great. she is a really good teacher
Paulie - maggie, what did you see/like best in her classroom?
Kathleen - Well, to begin, it outlines how to select books for shared reading,
Nancy - We have centers, shared reading, dear time, read alouds, writing to , with , and individual writing. Our school was selected and attended a Reading Intiative Program in the state of Alabama. It was research based and basically stated balance is the key.
Kathleen - Nancy, do you fully implement building blocks?
Maggie/K/NC - the only problem that I had was how to use the info into a 2 teacher classroom like I have. I have a parttime teacher there in the mornings
Kathleen - (In my opinion, Building Blocks is just a compilation of what we have learned is best for kindergarten, emergent readers)
Maggie/K/NC - I liked her pacing the best. her transitions were very smooth
Nancy - Kathleen, I want to learn more about it but basically from what I have read on teacher's net, i feel I'm doing some of the strategies.
Paulie - Why were they smooth? Please give examples. . .
Beanie - Kathleen, I totally agree with your statement about building blocks being teaching best practices for young children. It does help the teacher stay focused on all 4 of the components of pre-reading so that it meets the needs of all children at all levels of development..
Ardis - how do BB teachers incorporate math into the day if 1-1/2 hrs is spent on rdg?
Kathleen - In M/M (that will be our abbrev for the Month by Month for K book, Building Blocks guide): "Centers are an important part of a developmental k"
sunnin - I teach half day K and find it hard to implement this
sunnin - We go to centers for 30 min. is that to long
Kathleen - One of the first activities is focusing upon the name of the special person of the day (the helper or leader) interviewing the child, then looking at the name on a card , identifying it as a word, composed of letters..
Paulie - I teach half day K too! I have done the name activities and clapping but that is it so far
Ardis - I only have 90 min after recess, snack, "specials", arrival, dismissal, etc.
Paulie - Well, I also did names word wall and we use centers 4 days a week
Cindy - Can someone talk about the chart writing. Do you stretch one chart out over the whole week? Do you use sentences strips and cut the words apart? Do you make them in to class books? Help on chart writing please.
Kathleen - Count the letters in the name, Say the letters, have the children chant the letters with you, look at first letter and its sound, it's case, size, let child lead class in cheer of letters in his/her name
Kathleen - sunnin, do you have some mandated programs you have to do each day?
Paulie - I did all that with letters for each child
sunnin - Our centers include dramatic play, blocks art games
sunnin - Kathleen, do I don't
Paulie - for their names. . .
sunnin - this is my second year in K
Kathleen - Cindy, my impression is that the chart is used for the week, then each child's sentence is put on a strip, some use a small size for the child to take apart and paste back together, then put on a page and illustrate for a class book
JJ - I have let the children take turns interviewing the child whose name is featured. I also plan to do the same with last names.
Ardis - Name chants work well for me. Also, using a Daily News format with only 1 sentence has brought dramatic results with my active Young Fives classrm.
Nancy - I use the word wall with the children's names and pictures. We use this for our alphabet study. Anything aconnected to their names helps.
Kathleen - sunnin, what are you fitting in, and what are you not fitting in?
Beanie - I have my children all day long. I am trying to do shared reading, working with words (being the words), writing and self selected reading each day. I try 15-20 minutes per block. It seems to work well-lots of hands-on activities in the word block. The children love writing and also really like the SSR time. Any good ideas to include in these blocks?
olsen - The interactive writing is awesome! The students really get involved.
sunnin - We do predictable charts but it takes a long time with 25 students.
Paulie - What is a predictable chart?
sunnin - I do morning message and daily news, shared reading, silent reading
Ardis - Sunnin, can you have 1/2 the class doing something else that doesn't require direct supervision...playdough, pegboards, etc.
Kathleen - sunnin, someone suggested that it's too hard to keep the group together while developing a chart for that many, to do it in small groups over a period
Lori - what is anyone's advice on shared reading, do you do it whole class or in groups like guided, but diff. groups?
Cindy - Now a question to Beanie: After self selected reading, do you take the time to let a group of students share what they read? I observed a teacher who did this by using a "share chair" and a Mr. Microphone. We have done this now and it is great. The only problem is that it takes about 20 minutes to do SSR and I have a half day kg. I also do working with words, shared reading and writing. Whew. It's tough
sunnin - yes I thought of that Kathleen
Paulie - I do shared reading with big groups and small groups
Peachy/K/NC - I do shared reading with the whole class.
sunnin - Ardis, I realize that I must do more activities with small groups
Kathleen - Cindy, so you are doing 4-Blocks in K, not Building Blocks, right?
Nancy - Whole group shared reading. Sometimes, small group during DEAR time.
sunnin - However, many of the students still need direct supervision
Beanie - I do shared reading with the whole group. We read poems, favorites and new ones, old stories, and new books. this takes 15-20 minutes per day. I let the children pick many of the things we read together at shared reading time. At the end, i choose what is being read. The children would go on forever!
Kathleen - sunnin, you have no assistant?
Lori - thanks Paulie and everyone, can someone give me an example of this morning message and daily news, please....
olsen - I do shared reading with the whole group. We frame certain words with a fly swater that has a frame cut out in the middle of it.
Cindy - I also saw a presentation on something called doing words. It seemed like a 2nd semester activity. Does anyone do this?
sunnin - yes, for 1hour out of 3HRRRRR
Lori - I'm going to try the fly swatter, thanks
Paulie - Morning message: Good morning class! Today is Tuesday and it is picture day. Love, Mrs . . .
sunnin - I am also trying to teach math skills
sunnin - My assit. has been assessing students for our detailed report cards
Ardis - Daily News...I tch Young 5's - not reg K. We do only 1 sentence of News so the text won't look like gobbledygook.
Paulie - We have to integrate everything in half day Kinder
Cindy - We do shared reading with large group also. it's my favorite time of the day. There are so many possibilities. We have been working on characters and settings. They are really good at identifying.
Lori - thanks, I'll try it...then you review each word? Is that daily news too?
LN - Has anyone attended the Four Blocks Conferences. I saw where the 5th one will be held in February.
Ardis - Each sentence is repetitive and predictable for about 2-3 weeks such as: We go to Art.
Ardis - go to Recess. We go to Gym. etc.
Peachy/K/NC - Does anyone know where to get highlighter tape. It is great to use during shared reading.
JJ - Morning message works well with using a different color marker for each sentence. I found that scented markers clean up on a laminated chart.
Beanie - I ordered highlighter tape from the Teacher resource Center Catalog.
Kathleen - JJ, that's a good idea, so some of the charts can be reused year to year? Added to to make them relate to the current class?
Ardis - Each word is a diff color to highlight the "wordness". K tchers often use 2-3 sentences.
Cindy - Do you write the morning message in front of the children, or is it already written?
olsen - Morning message: Dear Boys and Girls, Today is Monday. Did you wear your red ribbon today? Love, Mrs. O
Kathleen - Cindy, good point, you want to model the writing as you do it
sunnin - I thought Morning mes. is already written and daily news is written with the class
Beanie - I do Morning Message for the children to see when they arrive. Daily News is something we do together.
Lori - I'm going to try the morning message tomorrow and then get a laminated chart really soon
olsen - I have it already written now. Possibly later in the year, I will write it in front of them.
JJ - I do it both ways. The is the magic of seeing a message already in the room. If we do the message together, the children can "read" the message after one time through with me. When I write with the children I consider it a shared writing activity.
Ardis - The children take turns writing the period on the chart. Sometimes we underline the separate words or number them.
sunnin - Beannie I am with you
Paulie - I have morning message (or PM in my case) written already. It is not interactive writing for me. . .
Kathleen - So one method tantalizes the children to decipher the message, the other is interactive
Mary K&1 - All writing is best done while the children are watching and participating. The teacher models the writing process - deciding what to say, saying the words slowly and thinking of how the sounds heard can be written.
regina/k/ny - I found a graet idea to highlight words in morning message. I bought book covers that are like contact paper. They come in lots of "hot" colors. You can see words through them.I store cut up rectangles on sheet protectors and are reusable because they just peel off
Kathleen - Paulie, do you do shared writing too?
Mary K&1 - It doesn't mean much to the children to view text that they had no part in creating
sunnin - is this writing all done before or after Calendar
Kathleen - and pleasehelpme, you shouldn't give your school info and town on the Internet!
Paulie - Oh yes, I do shared writing many times but not for the beginning of day activity
Kathleen - sunnin, I do mine after calendar, calendar doesn't take us long
pleasehelpme - y cant u help me ur teachers ur supposed to help me learn @#$%, oops sorry bout that i m used to that.,
sunnin - I feel the class has a hard time sitting for too long
olsen - Yes, all writing is best when all the children are watching, but with 23 very active little ones, some of my writing must already be written and then they decode what they can with my help.
sunnin - Kathleen I do that also. Calendar doesn't take long .
Lori - logged on.--- (152.163.204.73 - Tue Oct 26 6:36pm)
Kathleen - sunnin, break it up with some jumping to the name chant, sing a silly song
Paulie - Please, Kathleen gave you an address to find info please look at what she said
Kathleen - pleasehelpme, try the site I gave you,
Mary K&1 - You don't have to fill a whole chart in one sitting, it can (should) be done over a period of time.
sunnin - Olson that is sooo true with25!!!
Beanie - I break up the sitting time with something active-a musical stretch, being the words, etc. the kids have ideas too such as chanting-sometimes we stand and chant!
Paulie - mary I respectfully disagree
sunnin - How many of you teach all day K and how many teach half
meeha/ece/tx - logged on. --- (12.74.9.40 - Tue Oct 26 6:38pm)
Lori - logged off.--- (152.163.204.73 - Tue Oct 26 6:38pm)
Ardis - Ok, ok, plshelpme...you're not really a student..!
olsen - It means a great deal to my students. They love to look for letters they can recognize or high frequency words (which we call popcorn words because they pop up a lot of the time.
regina/k/ny - Full day K
Paulie - How else do kids enjoy books that they don't write?
Mary K&1 - Books have pictures that support the text. Charts usually don't - maybe a picture here and there, but it's not the same thing.
Peachy/K/NC - My children are at school for 4 hours.
Ardis - I teach 1/2 day Young Five's am & pm.
Cindy - Half day , which is only 2 1/2 hours. We have 30 minute music, gym and Library in that also. That means only 2 days with my kids all by myself. How do you use assistants best?
sunnin - Ardis, I have 4 and 5 yr . also
Beanie - I have the children cut and color mini books that they then read to each other. they are quick, easy to memorize words-Scholastic is a good source.
Ardis - We have Dec 1 cutoff date...so we have tons of students turning 5 right now and in Nov. 80% of other states have Nov 1 & earlier.
Paulie - My team teacher and the 2 hr aide I have supervise groups for centers we have 4 that rotate every 20 minutes
olsen - I teach a full day K program.
sunnin - Our cut off is Dec 31 !!
regina/k/ny - Ours, too sunnin!
Paulie - Are we gonna discuss anymore about Building Blocks?
Peachy/K/NC - Our cut off is Oct. 15
sunnin - We are supposed to get a full time assist. soon
Ardis - How does one fit in Math Skills into a BB day?
regina/k/ny - Great question, Ardis. Some days our only math is calendar.
Cindy - I feel that I have neglected Math somewhat. We get it at calendar time and centers are sometimes Math related
Ardis - Well, BB takes about 90 min. which is most of my day.
Kathleen - The charts are part of Building Blocks (shared writing with predictable charts) then creating a class journal entry together
Peachy/K/NC - Through literature and centers for me, Ardis
Beanie - I teach Math their Way and do it about 45 minutes each day. I integrate my literacy curriculum materials into my Math lessons. I DO have my kids for full day kindergarten.
Paulie - We count syllables/parts of words when we clap that is math
Kathleen - Does everyone post the children's names as a word wall? cut into the configuration of the words?
JJ - Yes
Paulie - yes!
regina/k/ny - Names are posted, but I haven't used word configuration.
Cindy - Yes. I love our name word wall with pictures. Visitors to our room alwyas notice and comment. I'm getting ready to do an enviornmental print word wall with cereal boxes.
Beanie - Yes, I do. I also have color words on the word wall but NOTHING else at this time of year. The children use each other's names and color words in their writing, so this is very helpful to them.
Peachy/K/NC - Our names are posted in several places, but not in configuration.
Kathleen - some math concepts to slip in while doing BB literacy: numbering the chart entries, keeping track how many have contributed, how many more, ordinals (first person's sentence, the third one, etc.) any other ideas about how to incorporate math?
Paulie - do environmental print with restaurants too and other advertisements from newspaper and magazines
sunnin - Envir. print ------- I was told to have child work on BB
JW - Does anyone have half day fours for Building Blocks?
Cindy - I'm sure most of us incoporate math with out even thinking about it. You are right, Kathleen.
Kathleen - yes, patterns are math, so watching for spelling patterns meets both needs, counting and clapping syllables (get some whole body stuff in there too, jump the syllables etc)
sunnin - I would like env. print though
regina/k/ny - I do lots of cooking. Our recipe becomes a chart activity. Lots of math, too
Kathleen - JW our kids can be 4 until Dec 31
sunnin - how about writing the letters correctly
Peachy/K/NC - My kids asked for to, from and the teachers' names so I put them on a small board.
Paulie - comparison words like big bigger biggest or more than less than and also direction words: above, in, over, under, behind, at the side of etc
Kathleen - sunnin, Pat Cunningham advises use environ print with k's, is that what you mean?
sunnin - is this addressed in your day
Kathleen - sunnin, you are modelling correct letter formation as you do the shared writing
Peachy/K/NC - We mostly model. I do talk about the formation as I write sometimes.
JW - What do you cover each day with fours?
Cindy - I've been trying this for handwriting, so that we do not form bad habits. On the overhead I write a letter. They write it. If it looks like mine they draw a red box around it. We don't use lines yet. There's something about finding a letter that looks like mine and drawing a red circle around it. We use red bic pens. It's a big deal.
Paulie - Half my class are fours. . .
Kathleen - regina, good point, using cooking incorporates everything
Paulie - Any other tips for Building Blocks?
regina/k/ny - Thanks, Cindy. I've been looking for a new overhaed activity!
sunnin - regina do you have an assist.
Peachy/K/NC - My kids love being the words and the tongue twisters.
Kathleen - how about using kids as letters for making words acticities
Cindy - Being the words is a big hit in my room too. How do you use tongue twisters?
sunnin - are you making words already
Shasta - I have names & color words on my word wall and will be adding an environmental WW soon. Should this wall be alphabetical or just put up in any order? I wanted to call it "We Can Read." Any suggestions?
Kathleen - the example in the book is assign a child to each of 3 letters for a word family like -ack, then others join them one at a time to spell back, pack, sack, etcd
JW - Our fours don't hardly talk, hold a pencil or anything yet. It's hard to do BB. Any suggestions from anyone?
Kathleen - sunnin, NO, we are not doing that yet. sorry, I jumped ahead
sunnin - do you teach a letter a week?
Peachy/K/NC - I use the ones in M by M and write them on sentence strips. One a day.
Paulie - My kids are making words we have done at, hat, hats, and it, sit sat and they know the and are learning my
regina/k/ny - Not formally. This year we have students from the community college on a work/study. They are not ed majors, so they're mostly used for materials prep. I do use parent volunteers and they seem to work out better.
Paulie - we do that for the at and it families Kathleen but not with kids with letter cards
Kathleen - Paulie, are they catching on to it well?
Cindy - Have you made baggie neclaces? These are so good for many things. Just tie yarn thru the baggie. Slip letter cards, pictures for beginning sounds, sequence pictures etc. in them. It's a great way to be the word. Did that make sense? It's getting late for me!!
Kathleen - Does anyone have any pointers for assessing progress?
Kathleen - Cindy, yes, I understand what you are describing, neat idea
sunnin - Paulie that's great!!!!
Peachy/K/NC - Yes, Cindy!!
Cindy - Yes, you can change them from letters, pictures, etc.
JW - I made up a song for the morning message to the tune of Are You Sleeping. Here's the message, here's the message. Time to read, time to read. Who will read a word today, who will read a word today? We will see, who can read.
sunnin - Paulie have you taught the letters you are working with in isolation already
regina/k/ny - Cindy, you're ideas are wonderful. I learned two new things in the last 15 minutes!
Peachy/K/NC - I use the Ellison machine to cut shapes for word memory games. Very popular.
JW - I also made one up for the king and queen that goes to Muffin Man. Who will be the king or queen, the king or queen, the king or queen. Who will be the king or queen, let me pick and see. Then I pick a name out of the can. They get a crown. Then we cheer the name, spell it. Etc.
JW - I don't have too much time for anything but the names, message, and the shared reading in a half day with fours. Does it sound like they get a good start for K?
Kathleen - JW, do you see them leaving you excited about 'reading' and writing, actively participating in those activities during your group work, noticing letters and sounds and some words?
JW - Yes, I do. It's just kind of frustrating right now because they haven't been exposed to much before school and they don't seem too interested yet.
Kathleen - Well, the hour is up. Thanks everyone for the helpful discussion.
Kathleen - Bye all, thanks!
