OKEEDOOKEE OKLAHOMA

You’re going to love these ideas that the teachers shared in Oklahoma City last week!

Punctuation Song  (Allison Stout)

(Tune:  “The Old Gray Mare”)

Every sentence starts with a capitol,

Starts with a capitol,

Starts with a capitol.

Every sentence starts with a capitol

And ends with a period!

Have a Cup  (Mona Hickerson)

You won’t believe all of the activities that Mona has come up with using plastic cups.  She showed me a video of her students playing one of the games and it was amazing how engaged they were!  I had to go right out, buy some cups, and make the game myself.  Cheap and simple!  Adapt for pre-K, K, and 1st.  Now that's what I'm talking about!  

Use plain colored cups and write letters on the tops and sides with a permanent marker or puff paints.  Children can put in ABC order, race with a neighbor to put them in a stack, make words, etc.

Use small bathroom cups with numerals on the sides and tops for math activities.  Make a mat with numerals 1-20.  Children match the cups to the numerals.  Mix up the cups.  How quickly can they stack them from 1-20?  Make a cup with a star to go on top.  Small cups can also be used for skip counting and stored in a Pringle’s can.

Give children different colored cups and paper plates to build a pyramid.  Can they make a colored pattern with their pyramid?

Rime Cups  (Amy McKelvey)

Stack two Styrofoam cups together.  Write the onsets on the rim of the top cup and the rime on the bottom cup.  Twist the cups to make words. 

Glue Song  (Amy McDelvey)

(Tune:  “Barney”)

Use your glue.

Use your glue.

Just a little dot will do.

Use a little dot

And spread it all around.

It will hold your paper down.

Line Up Chant  (Ainslee Davis)

Stomp, stomp.         (Stomp twice.)

Clap, clap.                  (Clap twice.)

Hand on your hip.         (One hand on hip.)

Zip your lip!                  (Pretend to zip lip with other hand with an attitude!)

Call Back  (Lauren Jenks)

Focus children’s attention with this chant from “Finding Nemo.”

Teacher says:         Shark Bait

Children respond:         Oooo ha ha

Animal Count  (Anna White)

Do the “Macarena Count to 100” using animal sounds.  For a dog you would count, “Arf, arf, arf, arf, arf, arf, arf, arf, art, arf…that is one ten.”  For cows you could “moo,” sheep “baa,” and so forth.

Math Lids  (Kendra Dorrough)

Number 1-20 on white bottle lids.  Write operations (+, -, =) on green lids.  Make doubles of numerals 1-5 as you learn more facts.

ARITHMETIC  (Bridget Weaver)

This mnemonic device will help you remember how to spell arithmetic.

A

Rat

In

The

House

Might

Eat

The

Ice

Cream

My Great Idea  (Heater Wilkinson)

Use funky duct tape each week to make a letter on the floor in front of the classroom door.  When you line up, go to PE, lunch, etc. each child says the letter and makes the sound.

Cool Cheer  (Amanda Kissling)

Woo woo!           (Arms in the air.)

I’m so hot,           (Wipe brow.)

But, you’re           (Point with index fingers.)

So cool!               (Fan self with palm.)

OZ AND OK

Last week I got to visit OZ (Wichita, KS - you know, "click your heels") and Oklahoma.  Honestly, every time I think I have heard all the great ideas that teachers can possibly come up with, I always learn something new.  That's what makes my job so much FUN!  My sister used to have a sign on her refrigerator that said, "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."  Well, if you're not happy, then it's doubtful if your children will be happy either.  It's my pleasure to share these ideas that I gathered (aka borrowed/harvested) on my travels last week.  I bet you'll find at least one or two things to make you happy in the weeks ahead.

Note!  The Charleston Airport was shut down Thursday evening due to weather and radar issues.  I ended up home Friday morning, but my luggage (with ideas from OK) is still en route.  Today I'll post ideas from Kansas, and tomorrow when my luggage (hopefully!) gets here I'll share ideas from Oklahoma.

Reward Cards  (Susan Galvan)

Save hotel room keys and used gift cards and cover them with colored card stock.  Write a “reward” that can be redeemed when a credit card is presented.  Here are a few ideas for rewards:

-eat lunch in the room

-free stick of sugar-free gum

-sit where you want

-no homework

-take off your shoes

Mystery Walkers  (Elizabeth Swingle)

Write each student’s name on a stick and put them by the door.  Every time you walk to PE, music, etc. pick two sticks and keep them a “mystery.”   If the mystery students walk to and from in the hall using good behavior they get their name written in the window with a Sharpie.  Each additional time they get picked they get a check mark.  At the end of the month they earn a treat for the number of checks they receive in the window.

Hankies  (Velvet Adrian)

At the beginning of the school year take a picture of each child with their family.  Using iron on transfers put a picture of the child, their family, the school mascot, etc. on the hankie.  Let the children write their name and trace around their hand and foot on the hankie.  Keep the hankies in a zip bag in their desks and let the children take them out and hug and kiss them when they miss their families. 

Children proudly showing me their hankies!

Pony Express – Turn a brown grocery bag into a “pony express” satchel.  Use it to send notes to the office, take exceptional work to show the principal, or deliver other papers throughout the school.

Christmas Is a Coming!   (Adena Connelly)

Send Christmas cards to students at home before they get out of school.  They will be thrilled to get mail.

*You can also have them write letters to each other and mail them.

Tickets to Skittles (Sandy Keopke)

Each student has a clear cup attached to their desk with Velcro.  For all sorts of good reasons they earn tickets.  They can also lose tickets for undesired behavior.  Every day at math they count their tickets and then go to the rug for calendar time.   (1 to 1 correspondence)  On Friday you can turn their tickets into Skittles (or another treat) and graph the results.

If there’s no snow, the toes must show!  (Jamie Welch)

Isn’t this a great motto?  It never ceases to amaze me that teachers all over the US wear flip flops when the weather turns cold.  I’m a flip flop girl myself, but South Carolina is a whole lot warmer than some states.  Keep those toes painted and wear flip flops as long as you can!

There’s No Place Like Cooper Elementary 

Dorothy thought there was no place like home, but I think there’s no place like Cooper Elementary in Derby, Kansas!  Thanks to my friend Velvet Adrian for inviting me to sing!  What a beautiful group of children – and behind all those wonderful students are GREAT teachers – and a GREAT principal!   

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ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT

L.K.5
-Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g. note places at school that are colorful).

Logographic Reading – Ask children to cut out words that they can read from old magazines or newspapers.  Label a poster “We Can Read” and have the children glue their words to the poster.

*Children could also make individual “I Can Read” books at home with their parents.

School Supply Catalogs - Use pictures from school supply catalogs for classroom labels and center signs.

Photos from School and Community – Take pictures around your school and community and use them for a bulletin board or a book.

For example:  Look!  Look!  It’s the U.S. Post Office.

Old Mother Hubbard - Ask children to bring in boxes from their favorite foods.  Put Old Mother Hubbard's rhyme at the top of each page and glue the label under it.  Invite children to say the rhyme and "read" the logo.

Deck the Room – Go on a “word hunt” around the school and see if you can find an object or word for each letter of the alphabet.  Write these down and use them to sing this song to the tune of “Deck the Hall.”

Deck the room with letters and sounds.

Abcdefg

Listen up and look around.

Hijklmnop

Get a book and you will see

Qrstuv

Words and letters read with me

Wxyz

A for alphabet /a/a/a/

B for boys /b/b/b/b/

C for cafeteria         D for door

E for exit                     F for fun

G for girls                   H for hall

I for inch                    J for jump rope

K for kids                     L for library

M for music               N for note

O for office                P for P.E.

Q for quiet                R for restroom

S for singing              T for teacher

U for understand     V for voices

W for worksheets      X “x” marks the spot

Y for yellow                Z the end of the alphabet

*Take photographs of different signs in your school or community and use them to make an alphabet book .

Box Tops – Have children bring in empty food boxes from home.  Cut the

fronts and backs off the boxes.  Mix them up, and then ask the children to match the fronts and the backs.  You could also play a memory game with the box tops.

Clothes – Read labels on clothes children wear to school, such as T-shirts, sports shoes, etc.

We Eat  - Ask children to bring in bags and logos from restaurants.  Bind these together to make a book called "We Eat."

OVER THE RIVER

Oh, my goodness!  Thanksgiving is just a week away!  How could I not remind you of a song I learned as a little girl.  And, I bet you learned it, too!  Time to keep the tradition alive and pass it on to your students.

Over the River

(Traditional Tune:  Happy Everything CD)

Over the river and through the woods       (Pretend to hold reins of a sleigh

To grandmother’s house we go.                   and drive as you bounce up and down.)

The horse knows the way                           (Put hands behind back and nod

To carry the sleigh                                    like a horse.)

Through the white and drifted snow.                 

Over the river and through the woods,         (Pretend to drive sleigh.)

Oh, how the wind does blow.                         (Wrap arms around self and shiver.)

It stings your toes and bites your nose         (Touch nose and point to toes.)

As over the ground we go.

Through the country and cities far               (Pretend to drive a car.)

In sun or wind or rain.

We might go by train                                   (Pull down on train whistle.)

We might take a plane.                                (Fly hand like a plane in the air.)

Or maybe a bus or car.                                (Hold out right hand, then left.)

Through low valleys and mountains high         (Look down low and then up.)

Now, grandmother’s house I spy.                  (Hand over eyes.)

Hurrah, for the fun!                                    (One fist in the air.)

Is the turkey done?                                   

Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!                        (Cheer with other fist.)

Comparisons – Use a Venn diagram to compare what it would be like to visit grandmother a long time ago and how we visit now.  How are things the same?  How are they different?

Graphs – Make a graph of how they will travel to their Thanksgiving dinner.  Car?  Plane?  Train?  Bus?  Boat?  Stay at home!

Family Celebrations – Holidays are a good time to talk about diversity.  Not all families celebrate Thanksgiving, but most families do celebrate something.  Ask children to bring in photos of celebrations they have in their home.  Put their pictures together to make a class book.

We Give Thanks

(Tune:  “Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore” – HAPPY EVERYTHING CD)

We give thanks for food we eat.

Hallelujah.

We give thanks for food we eat.

Hallelujah.

We give thanks for families…

We give thanks for friends so dear…

We give thanks for all the earth…

http://www.drjean.org/html/monthly_act/act_2007/11_Nov/1booksNov/weGiveThanks.pdf

*Let children suggest other things they are thankful for and insert the words in the song.

*Make a language experience chart of things children are thankful for.

Thankful Books – Make blank books for the children so they can draw pictures of what they are thankful for.

PUNCTUATION PAYS

Have you ever heard the saying, "If you give a child a hammer, he will find a million things to hammer?"  Well, if you give children punctuation, they will use it everywhere!  You know when the teacher has introduced a period because the students will use it after each word.  Here are a few tips for the standard:  "Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing."

-Capitalize the first word in a sentence.

Stand Up and Sit Down – Explain that a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence is like a green light.  It means go.  A period at the end is like a stop sign.  As you read books, charts, and other types of print have children stand up at the beginning of a sentence.  Remind them to sit down when they come to a period at the end of a sentence.

Cowboys and Cowgirls – Children get to straddle their chairs as if riding a horse.  They stand up at the beginning of a sentence and they sit down at the end.

Highlight – Children can use highlighter tape or markers to focus on the first word in a sentence.

Oops!  Children love to correct the teacher.  Occasionally as you write on the board forget to use correct punctuation.  Tell your students if they notice a mistake they can say, “Oops!”  Encourage them to correct your mistake.

-Recognize and name the punctuation.

Movements Make Meaning – Teach children movements for various punctuation marks.
Periods tell you when to stop.  Put your palm up when you see a period.                        Question marks mean you want to know something.  Put your finger by your brain when you see a question mark.
Exclamation points mean your are excited.  Put your fist up when you see an exclamation point. 
A comma reminds you to take a breath.
Quotation marks mean that someone is speaking.  Wiggle two fingers in the air.

As you read big books, charts, or other print invite the children to make appropriate movements.

Punctuation Sticks – Use jumbo craft sticks or paint sticks for this activity.  Draw a “.” “?” and “!” on the end of each stick with a marker.  Write simple sentences on the board.  Take one stick at a time and place it at the end of a sentence.  Children practice reading with that expression.

ABC?  Say the abc’s according to the punctuation marks.

            A  B  C?

            D  E  F  G.

            H   I  J!

            K L M N.

            O  P  Q?

            R   S  T!

            U   V  W.

            X   Y  Z!

*Write nursery rhymes and other familiar poems using unusual punctuation.

So What?  Read a story in a monotone voice without pausing to help children realize the importance of punctuation.                       

WHERE'S YOUR GRAMMAR?

Enough with the "turkey talk"!  How about getting back to those standards!

-Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs.

Name Cards – Make name cards for the students in your class from 8” sentence strips.  Write each child’s name and glue their picture.  Use these for songs, asking questions, transitions, and in the writing center.

Noun Hunt – Give children clip boards and send them on a “noun hunt” in the classroom or on the playground.  They can draw pictures or write words for the people and things that they see.

Verbs, Verbs, Action Words – Play the verb game by saying the rhyme below:

Verbs, verbs, action words

Things that you can do.

I’ll say a word, and if it’s a verb,

Show what you can do.

Run (Children run in place.)

Fly (Children pretend to fly.)

Dog  (Children shout, “That’s not a verb.”)

Continue calling out verbs for the children to pantomime.

*You’ll find this song on the CD “Kiss Your Brain.”

-Form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/

Say What?  The teacher walks around the room and makes comments about various objects.  If the teacher says something incorrectly the children shout, “Say what?”  The teacher says, “Well, you say it the correct way.”

For example:  We have 11 boy in our classroom.

Say what?  We have 11 boys in our classroom.

I see lots of book.

Say what?  I see lots of books.

Here Is a Turtle – Teach children this finger play using the masculine form.

Here is a turtle.  (Make a fist and stick out your thumb.)

He lives in his shell.  (Stick thumb in fist.)

He likes his home very well.  (Nod fist up and down.)

When he gets hungry he comes out to eat.  (Stick out thumb and smack lips.)

Then he goes back into his house to sleep.  (Put thumb in fist and close eyes.)

Zzzzzzzzz!

*Say the finger play using the feminine form.  Here is a turtle.  She lives …

*Say the finger play using the plural form.  Here are two turtles.  They live…

Block Center – Write nouns on 3” x 5” index cards and tape to rectangular blocks.  Write “s” on a 3” square and tape to a square block.  Children add the “s” block to the end of the noun and read the word.

Singular and Plural

(Tune:  “This Old Man” – Kiss Your Brain CD)

One is book, 2 are books.

One is cook, more are cooks.

Add an “s”  to the end of a word

Makes it plural, haven’t you heard?

One is toy, two are toys.

One is boy, more are boys.

I’ll say a word, then you add an “s.”

You make it plural - do your best!

Car                        Star                       

Dog                       Log

Cat                        Hat

Ball                         Wall

Coat                      Boat

Tree                       Bee

Now you know what plurals are for.

Add an “s” when there’s two or more!
*Cover the end of a fly swatter with paper and write the letter "S" on it.   Write words on the board and let children place the fly swatter by the end and read the plural.

LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

I take so much for granted, as I’m sure many of you do.  On this day, my heart is full of gratitude for our country and all the men and women past, present, and future who protect our “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.”

My heart is also full because of the amazing teachers I met last week at the NAEYC Conference in Atlanta. 

A highlight of the conference was meeting Brian Puerling, author of TEACHING IN THE DIGITAL AGE.  What a truly nice person and gifted author!  I admire Brian because he’s still in the trenches every day with children at the Catherine Cook School in Chicago.  He knows children and he knows technology!  He’s a rising star in our profession for sure!!!

I wish all of you much happiness today and every day!