Pre-K teaching times, Vol. 9, Issue 1 (Sept. 2011)

Pre-K Teaching Times

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1

SEPTEMBER 2011

Back to School with Phonological Awareness

In This Issue
Back to School With Phonological Awareness
Nursery Rhymes Can Make You Smarter
Putting the "fun" back in Mathematics
Science
Social Studies
Small Group Instruction
CLASS
Assessment
Training
Call the BFTS office and Pre-K Consultant on duty at 404-6565957. Pre-K Consultant contact information also can be found on the website. www.decal.ga.gov

What an exciting time for the children in your classroom as they sing, dance, and learn rhymes, poems, chants and games. Phonological awareness refers to the ability to hear, discriminate, and manipulate the sounds of spoken language. Research supports that a foundation of phonological awareness is necessary for children to succeed in early literacy instruction. The foundational stage of phonological awareness is listening. Listening skills can be developed through singing, learning rhymes, chants, and many other activities. The following listening activities work well during small group instruction.
Same/different sound? Children should demonstrate the ability to discriminate if objects are the same or different before being expected to discriminate if sounds are the same or different. Children need to understand the concept of same and different, and visual discrimination is a prerequisite to auditory discrimination. Encourage students to use the words same and different when describing objects or sounds. Gather common items found in the classroom. Show two items that are the same and discuss how they look alike: (pencil, pencil; scissors, scissors; counting bear, counting bear). Then show children two items that are different and discuss how they look different: (pencil, block; puzzle, stuffed animal; book, cup).
Identifying sounds: Begin by showing and naming various musical instruments, and let children use and learn the name of the instruments. Collect two of each instrument, and place one set of instruments in front of a barrier and the other set behind the barrier. Ask one student to choose and make a sound with an instrument; then you identify the sound by holding up the instrument the student used. Then you choose and make a sound with an instrument and ask the student to match the sound you made. This is not a test to get the right answer but is an opportunity help students learn to recognize different sounds. Encourage students to reproduce the sound they heard using the instrument on their side of the barrier. By playing this game, your students can see you identify the instrument they used to make the sound. Have fun with this activity and move from musical instruments that are very distinct to other types of sounds, such as a squeak toy, an ink pen with a click button, a bottle with rocks inside, etc. Encourage students to use the words same and different when talking about sounds.
Sound match: Materials: an even number of small bottles or containers such as film canisters. Create pairs of containers that contain the same materials so that the containers will sound the same once they are sealed. Ideas for materials to place inside the containers: a single small rock, sand, rice, cotton ball, plastic button, macaroni, etc. Let the children match the containers that make the same sound. Then let them match the containers to a picture to show them what is inside. Make a photo of each item placed in the containers so that children can match the two bottles that sound the same to the picture of what they think is in the container. Place a colored dot on the back side of each picture and matching colored dots on the bottom of the two containers. These colored dots will enable children to confirm if they found the containers that sound alike and if they correctly identified the material inside the containers.

What do you hear? Each day, call attention to a sound heard inside or outside the classroom, e.g., an airplane, helicopter, dog barking, horn blowing, siren, someone walking up the hall in loud shoes, the sound of the air conditioning, a bird chirping, a clock ticking, etc.

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Nursery Rhymes Can Make Children Smarter
The language journey with your children begins the first day of school! One way to assure the journey for your class gets off on the right foot is to immerse them in nursery rhymes. In fact, research shows that children who have memorized nursery rhymes become better readers because they develop an early sensitivity to the sounds of language. (Marie Clay) Nursery rhymes naturally help young children develop phonemic awareness skills, which are the necessary building blocks that children need before they can begin to read. To take advantage of this classic and powerful teaching tool, teachers should choose nursery rhymes that are rich in rhyme, alliteration, and rhythm. "Humpty Dumpty," "Baa Baa Black Sheep," "Jack and Jill," " Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," and "Hickory Dickory Dock" have been cited as wonderful choices to get the journey of language started in high fashion (MacLean et al. 1987). Using nursery rhymes is a simple process; recite and sing to the children and have the children recite and sing to you and each other. One other important ingredient in the process is to have fun yourself and make it fun for the children! Consider using a rebus approach when first introducing a rhyme. Choose illustrations for major portions of the rhyme by accessing Google Images on line. Here is an example:

Humpty Dumpty

sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty

had a great fall

All the king's

horses

And all the king's

men

Couldn't put Humpty

together again.

Access to other nursery rhymes featuring rebus are also available at http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Rhymes.html. Print the chosen nursery rhyme on large chart paper so that all the children can see the text. Use a whimsical, fun pointer while reading the rhyme, showing children how our language works from left to right, top to bottom. Choose one rhyme per week. Share the chosen rhyme during large group time on successive days in a playful and fun manner. Ham it up as you repeat the verses each day until they become very familiar to the children. Your enthusiasm will help ensure that children cannot resist the temptation to "join in" the reading. During subsequent readings use different voices with the rhyme (e.g. use a GIANT voice, a tiny mouse voice, or a robot voice). Sometimes, let the boys read one line and the girls read the next. Once the rhyme is well known, allow one of the children to come and lead the class in reading the rhyme. Make the reading of the rhyme different, fun, short and sweet for the children every day during the week.

After your children have become familiar with the verses, place a copy of the nursery rhyme with rebus support in the reading area along with a fun pointer. You will be amazed when children begin to "read" the poem by themselves.......and it's then you will know that nursery rhymes have helped make your children smarter!

PRE-K TEACHING TIMES

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Putting the "fun" back in Mathematics

Mathematics in a Pre-K classroom should be fun, engaging, active, and hands-on. Young learners need the opportunity to manipulate real objects and learn mathematics concepts long before they ever put pencil to paper. When teachers make learning math an easy and enjoyable activity for children, it helps children learn to enjoy math instead of later seeing it as that dreaded, difficult subject. Children's play and interests should be the source of their first mathematical experiences. Successful preschool teachers use children's everyday activities to create meaningful child-related opportunities for children to actively participate in mathematics activities. When children learn math in a natural way with many chances for success and with encouraging feedback it helps them develop positive beliefs about mathematics and themselves as budding mathematicians. (NCTM) As teachers, we need to remember that how we teach mathematics is as important as what we teach. When teaching math to your four -year-olds, keep the following points in mind:
Children learn and develop at their own pace. Some students will catch on to a skill quickly, while others need repeated practice. Students need to build their knowledge like a pyramid. For example, a child needs to have a solid understanding of one-to-one correspondence before moving on to counting objects. Repetition is important when teaching four year olds math concepts. Learners who are exposed to concepts over and over have a more concrete understanding because they've had time to dig deeper into the skill. Children need to be actively engaged in the learning process, not idling watching someone else demonstrate or completing a mathematics worksheet. Students should have opportunities to work alone, with partners, and in groups to maximize learning. Teachers enhance children's mathematical ideas and vocabulary by asking questions such as, "Did you try it this way?" "What would have happened if....?" "Do you think you could..."? As children answer thoughtprovoking questions, teachers can assess their under-
standing and clarify any misunderstandings the child might be developing.

The teacher should always focus on the learning process, not just the product that is created. (adapted from the Preschool Professor online)
Many teachers think counting and recognizing numbers are the basis of math instruction. These are important skills for children to learn, however building a foundation for mathematical thinking begins in the early childhood years with the concept of sorting and classifying objects. As children learn to sort and classify objects they begin to notice how items in their world are alike and different, creating an awareness that is important for later mathematic learning. While we often jump right into creating patterns with children, they profit from having many experiences sorting, comparing and classifying objects before participating in patterning activities.
It is simple to create sorting games using everyday items found in your classroom. Provide opportunities for children to sort or group things by shape, number, color or texture. There is no limit to the items in a Pre-K classroom that can be used to teach sorting and classifying. You can use various sizes and types of beads, mini shape erasers, small plastic animals, pattern blocks, buttons, seashells, keys, pencils, and crayons to name a few. Using science as the basis, sort items that are attracted and not attracted to magnets or that sink or float when placed in water. During centers use cleanup as a time to practice sorting. Have the children sort the clothing and food items found in Dramatic Play, the different type blocks in the block area, and the art materials in the Art Center. Participating and talking with children as they sort items to clean up will not only help your clean up time go more smoothly but will also give you the opportunity to use every day experiences to build children's mathematical vocabulary and knowledge.

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Science
A child's job is learning, and the primary tools for this are through exploration and play. A stimulating science center supports the natural curiosity of how children learn and provides a base for the beginning of a child developing problem solving skills, questioning skills, and learning the strategies of scientific inquiry. It is easy to capitalize on children's interest in the natural environment by encouraging children to question, experiment, and test theories. It is important to always provide hands-on activities which capture the interest of children. Yes, most of the time this will involve making a mess, but with teacher involvement the engagement and learning taking place will be enjoyed by all. Let's capture the interest of our young scientists. Create a science center focused on rocks and soil. Provide a collection of various type rocks; encourage your children to add to the collection. Provide play dough for making impressions of rocks. Encourage sorting of rocks. Demonstrate the use of a balancing scale in weighing rocks. Provide a small container with a "fill line" marked for water. Children place rocks in the container and learn about displacement. Fill plastic bottles with sand and magnetic items and encourage children to use magnets on outside of bottles to find items hidden in the sand. Fill small glass jars or zip top bags (seal with strong tape) with various soil samples; ask children to bring in soil samples from home. Demonstrate how to use magnifying glasses to examine rock/soil samples. Sand in the sensory table with funnels of various sizes supports the discovery of fast/slow flow and filling of containers. Maintain a chart in the science area to capture children's discoveries. "Look, this rock has black spots!" Make sure you take pictures of children engaged in discovery and place in the science area. Books and photographs of rock and soil samples should be accessible for children to use as a reference. In addition to finding rocks in nature, you can visit a local nature store, craft store, garden center, or a local business that does home improvement projects featuring stone work.
Social Studies
The first day of the school year has always been considered a new beginning for both children and teachers. However in Pre-K this may also be the first school experience for many of the children in your class. It is especially important to help them make new friends at school, with whom they will be learning to take turns, cooperate, work, and play throughout the year. The classroom will be the first community the children will experience away from home. Help them develop a sense of belonging by making them feel part of the group. The first few weeks of school is a special time for everyone but can also be hectic as you try to establish routines. Here are some activities that you may incorporate throughout your lessons to get children to learn more about their new friends. Who Am I? Take face shots on the digital camera, transfer them to a Word document with all faces on the page, put first names under each child and lines across the page for cutting out. Then print out enough copies for each child. The kids cut them out and put them on the table in front of them in their "small group" or "large group" time. Teacher should say, find "Linda" and they hold up the picture. Children will have fun trying to match pictures with faces. Family Board Send home a poster board or construction paper for children to create a family board. Instruct parents to help children include a family photo or photos of family members, favorite things to do with their family, pet, favorite color, etc. This is an engaging activity for children to do at home and then display throughout the classroom. Have children share their family boards during large group time!
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Small Group Instruction
This school year, teachers have a choice of templates to use in planning Small Group Instruction. The four small group lesson templates can be found at the following link to our website: http://www.decal.ga.gov/Prek/Planning.aspx. Samples of completed templates are also available. Note that templates should change based on the needs of teachers and children (not one for the whole year). Our Teachers/Planning section now also contains a shortcut to P.R.I.D.E. (Pre-K Resource and IDea Exchange) hosted by Georgia State University Best Practices. Here you can do a search by topic or a key word to find ideas for your lesson planning needs. Once you access the P.R.I.D.E. database, simply click on the "Small Group Ideas" tab at the top to access a multitude of activities developmentally appropriate for four-year-olds. The IQ Guide for Planning Instruction has four requirements for Small Groups:
Small groups (2-8 children) change frequently based on the needs/skills of children.
Small group reading and supporting activity is documented at least once per week.
Developmentally appropriate and purposeful small group activities are planned daily. Teacher facilitated and independent activities should be documented.
Children are identified in independent and teacher-facilitated groups (name, initials or symbol).
Further information and clarifications for planning small groups can be found in the Small Group FAQ, also available in the Teachers/Planning section of the www.decal.ga.gov website.

CLASS

Georgia's Pre-k Program will continue to use CLASS (Classroom Assessment and Scoring System) to help new and experienced teachers as it relates to interactions with children in the classroom. It is these daily interactions that promote children's social and cognitive development. Children thrive when teachers create nurturing, wellmanaged settings and provide frequent and engaging learning opportunities. The CLASS is divided into three domains: Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support. Under the domains, there are ten distinct dimensions that are scored while being observed.

During the 2010-2011 school year, Pre-K consultants completed CLASS observations in 3,822 classrooms in order to collect baseline data. Reports were distributed to Project Directors in July identifying strengths and weaknesses across the state, and professional development models will be developed based on analysis of baseline data. These reports should be shared by directors with individual teachers. We will continue to use the CLASS during the 2011-2012 school year by scoring CLASS for 1/3 of the state with the priority being for classrooms that were not observed during the 2010-2011 school year.
Additional information about the individual dimensions will be highlighted in upcoming newsletters. If you would like more information on the CLASS, please visit our website and look for the CLASS page or visit www.teachstone.org.

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Assessment
We are working towards our goal of bringing the entire state online with Work Sampling Online as funding allows. This year we will be able to capture online assessment data for 45,540 students in Georgia's Pre-K which is a huge increase over last year. For this opportunity to be a success WSO teachers should have access to a computer with internet access in their classroom. Our pilot study over the past 3 years informed us that teachers who had to share a computer with a director or another teacher and did not have daily access to a computer were not as successful. WSO is web based and provides you the opportunity to access the program anywhere there is internet access. Work Sampling Online is designed to lessen the burden on you the teacher in the area of assessment. Tips and tricks will be shared with teachers during WSO training and in future newsletters.
When starting the new school year you will need to print the WSS or WSO IQ Guide off of the Bright From the Start website and follow the timeline. Before printing the WSS or WSO IQ Guide make sure you choose the form that meets your school year calendar. If you are in session 180 days choose the 180 day IQ or if you are in session 160 choose the IQ Guide for 160 days. In the left hand column you will want to list due dates for your timeline. This will ensure you are on track with your assessment collection and scoring.
All teachers should start gathering information during the first week of school. File the information as required by WSS or WSO and plan for activities to assess. The beginning of the school year will lend itself to self- help skills, routines, and motor skills. Using matrices will capture the student's actions. You will want to keep your camera charged to capture those spur of the moment building structures and children helping one another clean an area.

New Pre-K Teachers

Training Lead

2 face to face days (12 hours) Sessions held at the beginning of the year (August-September). A few additional sessions will be held in October or later
for teachers not hired at beginning of year Day 1 topics based on Emotional Support and Classroom Organization (for example: routines and procedures, child guid-
ance, setting up the environment, etc.) Day 2 topics based on Instructional Support (lesson planning, large and small group instruction, etc.)
Online course to introduce new teachers to Georgia's Pre-K assessment procedures and requirements.
Optional podcasts will address topics of interest to teachers as they set up their classrooms. Topics will include: building classroom community attendance class rules rest time read aloud

Note: If your center is participating in WSO, your new lead teacher must also complete 2011-2012 GA's Pre-K Work Sampling Online Training in addition to 2011-2012 GA's Pre-K New Lead Teacher Training.

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Training, continued
New Assistant Teachers must complete the 2011-2012 GA's Pre-K New Assistant Teacher Training (Boot Camp) (12 hours of classroom training plus 3 hours of online training). Topics will include routines and procedures, transitions, child guidance, language modeling, and developmentally appropriate practices. Returning Lead Teachers: There are several options to meet the training requirement of 15 hours. Further notification about these choices will be sent to Project Directors via PANDA notification. Option 1 Work Sampling Online Training see note below Option 2 Complete 15 hours of locally-developed/provided training. This must be approved by your Pre-K Consultant using Appendix Z in the 2011-2012 Pre-K Operating Guidelines. Option 3 Attend face to face regional training Outdoor Play and Learning (2 day regional face to face training with accompanying online components for a total of 15 hours) Option 4 - Attend Professional Development training as part of GaDOE's current Race to the Top grant assigned by DECAL. More details are forthcoming to the programs in these counties. (The following counties are part of the Race to the Top DOE grant: Fulton County (APS), Ben Hill, Bibb, Burke, Carroll, Chatham, Cherokee, Clayton, Dade, DeKalb, Dougherty, Gainesville, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Meriwether, Muscogee, Peach, Pulaski, Rabun, Richmond, Spalding, Treutlen, Lowndes, and White) Returning Assistant Teachers must complete ONE of the following 3 options: Option 1 Complete the 2011-2012 GA's Pre-K Returning Assistant Teacher Training (6 hours of classroom training, plus 9 hours of online training) Option 2 Complete 6 hours of locally-developed, Pre-K Consultant-approved training plus 9 hours of online training (submit plan using Appendix S in 2011-2012 Pre-K Operating Guidelines.) Option 3 Complete 15 hours of locally-developed, Pre-K Consultant-approved training (submit plan using Appendix S in 2011-2012 Pre-K Operating Guidelines) If you have been notified that your center will begin using Work Sampling Online during 2011-2012, you must ensure that your lead teachers are registered for and complete 2011-2012 GA's Pre-K Work Sampling Online Training (6 hours of classroom training plus 6 hours of online training.) New lead teachers will be required to complete BOTH 2011-2012 GA's Pre-K Work Sampling Online Training AND 2011-2012 GA's Pre-K New Lead Teacher Training. Returning lead teachers in centers approved for WSO, must complete 2011-2012 GA's Pre-K Work Sampling Online Training, which will satisfy their training requirements for the 2011-2012 school year. What's New? Additional Training Resources Lesson Planning Guide:
Lesson plan templates for first 6 weeks of school have been developed and are available for use by all teachers. These are now posted at www.decal.ga.gov . These plans are not required but are recommended for all new teachers.
Instructional guide/handbook for new teachers about the procedures and requirements of lesson plans
Wednesday Webinars: (optional for all teachers and directors) These webinars will take place monthly beginning in October and run through April. All dates and times and log-in information will be sent to all directors via PANDA notification.
PRE-K TEACHING TIMES