I found a new resource that can be used for all
grades and ages. The resource is:
The website is free to use. All you have to do is
create an account, and you have access to a plethora of lesson plans and
activities posted by other teachers. The great thing about this website is that
the lessons are in downloadable formats (mps, pdfs, ppt, etc.) so that you can
save and use them later. The interface on this website is user friendly, and
you can easily navigate and find what you are looking for. Just click on Teacher Resources and it will help you navigate
through grades and subjects.
I found a great lesson about teaching children the
difference between left and right while working on fine motor skills. Use a red
ribbon tied in a bow around their right wrist and a left ribbon tied in a bow
around their left wrist. When you sing the song, “If You’re Happy and You Know
it…” have the students raise/shake their left or right hand. The ribbons will
help them identify which hand is right and which is left.
Please feel free to email me at glbyrge@ortn.edu
to send feedback about this tip or suggestions about what other resources you
would like to see.
SLibrary of Congress
I hope everyone is having a wonderful week! I found
another great resource that I would like to share with everyone. The Library of
Congress has a teacher area on their website. This area allows you to select
state standards or Common Core standards, what grade (1-12), and subject (most
of the lower grades only have Language Arts). The search will take you to
resources within the Library of Congress, such as take away sheets, pictures,
songs, poems, etc. For example Yankee Doodle follows:
State: CCK12, Grade:
1, Subject: Language Arts
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1
Reading Standards for Literature
- Craft and
Structure
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or
appeal to the senses.
When you click on Lyrical Legacy, you can select the
American Revolution, 1763-1783. There is an article that discusses the history
of the song, and an opportunity for you to print the song sheet.
The
search page on this website is:
Please feel free to
email me at glbyrge@ortn.edu to send feedback about this tip or suggestions
about what other resources you would like to see.
Solution Kit
A few weeks ago, I talked about the wonderful
resource “Tucker Turtle.” On the same website there is a great resources called
the Solution Kit. I have used the Solution Kit in many different situations,
especially when there is conflict amongst students. The Kit has colored cards
with words that demonstrates an action that a child can take if there is a
conflict. Examples include: Share, Wait and Take Turns, Trade, or get a Timer.
I used these cards with my Preschoolers and they were able to resolve many
conflicts amongst themselves after I taught them the basic foundations. I would
recommend starting out with your top three cards, until the students get the
general idea. I would then recommend that you introduce new cards when you feel
your students are ready. The link to the webpage is below. If you scroll to the end of the page, you should be able to see the
link for the Solution Kit (on the right).
Please feel free to email me at glbyrge@ortn.eduto
send feedback about this tip or suggestions about what other resources you
would like to see.
Information Literacy: The Missing Link in Early Childhood Education
The article, “Information Literacy: The Missing Link
in Early Childhood Education” written by Kelly Heider (2009), focused on the
importance of information literacy in early childhood education instruction.
According to Heider, research suggests that early information literacy
instruction, such as teacher-librarian curriculum planning, using informational
texts, will promote critical thinking skills and helps increase a child’s
ability to problem solve. Also, when children are given assignments that match
their cognitive development in research, children are more comfortable with
using the library and researching through nonfiction and reference books.
One takeaway that I got from this article, was that there
is a strong importance on information literacy is in Early Childhood Education.
Information needs to be applied at an earlier age in order to lay the
foundation for the scaffolding that will occur throughout their education. I
found a great website called Reading Rockets which includes Literacy Apps, Parent
Engagement tips, “Out-of-School-Time” Learning, and teaching techniques for
literacy. The link for the website is
below:
Website
for Reading Rockets:
Please feel free to
email me at glbyrge@ortn.edu to send feedback about this tip or suggestions about what other
resources you would like to see.
National Geographic
Hello everyone!
National Geographic has a wonderful website that
includes areas for teaching resources. The website allows you to pick
activities, lesson plans, maps, and collections to utilize in your classroom.
The activities include directions, objectives, preparation, background and
vocabulary, extended learning, national standards, principles and practices.
The activities also include modifications that can be incorporated.
One activity I really liked was the Mapping the
Classroom. The activity focused on:
What is a map?
How can we use maps?
This activity is for PreK and K.
The activity was used to help students locate hidden
items in the classroom, while teaching them how to use a map.
The Common Core
State Standards are:
Common Core State
Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy
Integration of Knowledge
and Ideas, RI.1.7
Key Ideas and Details,
RI.K.2
The link to the website is below:
National
Geographic: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/activity/mapping-classroom/?ar_a=1
Please feel free to
email me at glbyrge@ortn.eduto send feedback about this tip or suggestions
about what other resources you would like to see.
Raft: Resource Area for Teaching
Hello everyone!
I wanted to share a new resource I found called, Raft
(Resource Area for Teaching). This website has idea sheets based on grade and
subject matter, standards and keywords. The website allows you to search for
these idea sheets based upon your preferences. The idea sheet discusses the
curriculum topics involved, the subjects covered and grade levels addressed.
The idea page also shows the standards that the activities cover.
One of my favorite activities on the website was the
3-D Tree. It reminded me of a similar activity I completed at TNCore training.
The activity has teachers die cut tree shapes and allow the students to create
3-D trees by combining 2-D cut outs. The activity also includes adding
clippings from evergreen trees and shrubs. This lesson also includes a
discussion about different trees. The national standards that apply to this
lesson are:
§
Use evidence
to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment. (Next Generation Science
Standards /// Grade 3 /// Life Science /// Heredity: Inheritance and Variation
of Traits )
§
Use a model
to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.
(Next Generation Science
Standards /// Kindergarten /// Earth and Space Science /// Earth and Human
Activity )
The link to the website is below:
Please feel free to
email me at glbyrge@ortn.edu to send feedback about this tip or suggestions about what other
resources you would like to see.
Art and Storytelling
Earlier this week I discussed Tucker the Turtle, now
I would like to share an article I read called, “The Importance of Art Viewing
Experiences in Early Visual Arts: the Exploration of a Master Art Teacher’s
Strategies for Meaningful Early Arts Experiences” (2007). This article was
written by Angela Eckhoff and was published in the Early Childhood Education
Journal. The article is about the importance of visual arts for young children.
The journal article discusses how the master art teachers of the Denver Art
Museum utilize teaching strategies to tell stories, engage young children, and
assist preschool-age children to create art.
Two of my favorite take-aways from this article were
the Eye Spy, color-match games, and the storytelling art project. The Eye Spy,
color match games, allowed the students to find specified colors that were
selected on a color match spinner. This helped students identify colors. The
spinners could be modified for shapes, numbers, words in the classroom, etc. I
have included a link for a spinner printout. All you will need is something to
connect the spinner and spinner board.
Blank Spinner Printout:
My second favorite take-away involved the teachers
showing the students art and telling them the story of the artwork. This was a
great section about questioning students and getting them to think more critically
about the story of the artwork. Afterwards the teachers would let the students
pick out a postcard of a piece of artwork they saw in the gallery and glue it
to one side of a piece of paper, on the other side the students would draw what
the story was about. I think this is a wonderful idea that can be used with
artwork or with books.
I have included one of my favorite resources below.
The website has many books to choose from and they are read by SAG
entertainers. (If Youtube is blocked, you can play this videos on My VR Spot or
SchoolTube.) Students can watch as known actors and singers read a
story, and you can let them create art based upon the illustrator’s media
(chalk, tissue paper, etc.) or they can draw what happened in the story, or
what their favorite part was.
Storytelling website: http://www.storylineonline.net/
Please feel free to email me at glbyrge@ortn.edu
to send feedback about this tip or suggestions about what other resources you
would like to see.
Have a wonderful day!
Gabrielle Byrge
_________________________________________________________________
Hello, my name is Gabrielle Byrge. I am currently an intern with Dr. Tracey Beckendorf-Edou at the School Administration Building. I am working on my PhD in Education, specializing in Curriculum and Instruction. I have taught Kindergarten, Preschool, and second grade students.
Each week I will be writing a post to provide Early
Childhood teachers with resources and ideas that can be utilized in the
classroom setting. In this first blog I want to introduce myself and one of my
favorite beginning of year ideas…. Tucker the Turtle. Tucker the Turtle is a
great resource provided by CSEFEL (Center for Social and Emotional Foundations
for Early Learning) by Vanderbilt.
The story is about Tucker the Turtle and what
actions he takes when he gets mad, which is to hit, yell, and kick his friends.
The book describes how to “think like a turtle” when they get mad. This is a
great way for students to stop, tuck, and breathe before they act. I always
liked to have a stuffed turtle when I read the story to my students and let
them pass the turtle around as I was reading the story. It is also a great tool
to use when students get upset. You can hand the turtle to them, and they can
hold it while they “think like a turtle.” The link to the story is down below:
(You will have to scroll through the page of great additional resources
to find the story).
Please feel free to email me at glbyrge@ortn.edu
to send feedback about this tip or suggestions about what other resources you
would like to see.
Have a wonderful day!
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