Book Study: Chapter 6: Humor

What better way to start this post on "humor" than a good ol' kindergarten style joke...
What drink do alligators like? 
GATORade!
*boom, boom, ching!*

Now that right there was a high-quality kindergarten joke. All you kinder teachers know what I mean!
Usually, the quality of a joke (to a kinder) depends on how little the joke makes sense! The more random - the better!

Example:
Student: Knock, knock. 
Me: Who's there? 
Student: Jelly beans. 
Me: Jelly beans who? 
Student: Jelly beans in your house! *child laughs hysterically*
*confused teacher look + well rehearsed fake laugh*

(Oh, and if YOU want to get your class roaring... just throw the word UNDERWEAR into your lesson at any point for a guaranteed laugh. *please use responsibly*)


Ok... enough with the jokes... the real reason for this post is to link-up with Amanda at One Extra Degree for Chapter 6 of the book study Worksheet's Don't Grow Dendrites by Marcia L. Tate. This chapter is all about using humor to enhance learning.

"What we learn with pleasure, we never forget." (Allen, 2008, p. 99)

I find that humor lessens stress. Less stress = a better state for learning and retaining content.


I also find that humor unlocks the joy of reading for my students. My (and their) favorite read-alouds have an element of humor. I love when I have to wait for the laughter to subside before turning the page. I find that these books end up on the book shelf most of the year due to popular demand.

I've even found these humorous books to influence their independent writing. During free choice time a few weeks back, a group of students were writing books inspired by Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth.

"But the fly got tired so he rested on a wooden table."

"The naughty unicorn was knocking everything down."

I try to incorporate a little humor is through class cheers. When I call on a student to model....or they give an excellent answer... we give them a wacky cheer to celebrate. I'll say... let's give __so and so__ a "Yabadabadoo!" "Woop! Woop!" "Excalente!" "Yee-haw!" or "Cowabunga Dude!"

Let's not forget about dressing up....
This was me on the 100th day of school.

100 year-old "Granny Hanny"

One way Tate suggests for incorporating humor is through riddles. I do a version of riddles this time of year by sending the following note and a plastic egg home with each student. They create clues to help the rest of the class guess the item they hide in the egg. As students return their eggs, we use them as a quick activity during transitions.
Click HERE to head on over to Fun in First Grade and grab your free note that explains what to do.

Another way we add a humorous twist to just about anything is by using crazy voices! We read our addition sentences, skip count, sing the months of the year... by talking like robots, mice, football players... There are ENDLESS possibilities!
(Real Teachers Learn has some printable voice cards to get your creativity brewing.)

Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: Chapter 4....GAME ON!

I'm linking up with Katie from Queen of the First Grade Jungle to discuss how to enhance learning through GAMES! Come joins us for this book study as we learn about 20 instruction strategies that engage the brain. (This Saturday stop by Fabulous in First for Chapter 5: Graphic Organizers, Semantic Maps, and Word Webs.)

Kids enjoy games. We don't need any convincing on that! As far as Kindergarten goes... we teachers can turn anything - I mean ANYTHING into a game ("Let's see if you can clean up and be on the rug in 1 song?") Sound familiar?
This chapter pointed out WHY games are an effective teaching strategy. My favorite quote from this chapter stated that when you are engrossed in game playing "stress is lessened and memory for content is increased!" 
 

Here are a few learning games my kids ask to play! (If you want a full description of the game and how to play... just click on each picture.)

Fishy Words

This is a version of Hangman that we frequently play during snack time. My kids LOVE it!

Headbanz - Math Edition!

This game is a great way to grow critical thinking skills and reinforce math vocabulary and concepts:
"Your number is the sum of 3 + 4."
"It's 2 more than 5." 
"It's 3 less than 10."

Star Words
I love seeing my students' eyes light up when they spot a star I've hidden somewhere in our classroom. They quickly (and quietly) get to work finding are recording them. Last time I really got tricky and taped a word to the ceiling! Hehe!

Games are not only beneficial for increasing motivation and academic learning... but for developing social skills as well. All throughout the year I model how to be a gracious looser AND winner. I praise students when I catch them saying "good game", "thanks for playing", or "that was fun even though I didn't win".

Today it made me glow with pride as I saw 4 of my student cooperatively taking turns (and practicing their addition facts) while playing Countdown during free choice time. I was on standby... but they didn't come to me to settle a dispute or talk to someone about a "ha, ha, I'm winning" comment.... NOT EVEN ONCE! *teacher happy dance* (We have come a long way since September!)

Research from this book pointed out that games encourage cooperation and problem solving. Talk about important building blocks for academic success!!

Games = Learning Disguised as FUN!

Book Study: Chapter 3: Field Trips

For this week's blogging book study: Chapter 3 of Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites by Marcia L. Tate, I'm linking up with Miss Wills' Kindergarten.
 
After last week's linky about Chapter 1&2 hosted by Elizabeth at Kinckin' It in Kindergarten , I couldn't wait to to keep reading...

But... to be completely honest.... when I read the title for Chapter 3: Field Trips.... I had unpleasant memories of...

- coordinating busing
- rescheduling due to inclement weather
- bus rides (ibuprofen please)
- counting my students over and over (2, 4, 6, 8...) 

- Where's Jimmy's buddy?
- convincing students that the port-a-potty is their only option at the pumpkin patch...


THEN I read.... field trips don't have to involve all of that....STRESS! They can be outside on the playground, under the tree in the school's front yard. *sigh of relief*


To put it plainly - field trips are REAL word experience. Get out of the classroom! Change of setting! Show the connection between what they are learning in the classroom and REAL LIFE!

What are the benefits?

So glad you asked! 

For students, the following are enhanced by field trips: higher-order thinking skills, observation, questioning skills, confidence,  positive attitude, deeper memory, capacity for memory....

Every May we go on 2 "field trips" involving animals. First, our local zoo...and... an at-school safari!

We set out from the safety of our classroom... into the wild savanna (aka: school hallways. They can be wild.)

Get your own copy of this Zoo Animal Safari graph HERE.

 Each time we see an animal.... we graph it.

Along our safari, we discuss our graphs: "Have we encountered more lions or cheetahs?", "Which animal have we seen the most?"

 

It's amazing how excited my class gets about this activity. They usually don't get that excited about graphing in class... point proven - get out of the classroom!


Earlier in the year, during our shapes unit... we go on a Shape Hunt with our ipad.

Found a Sphere!

Rectangular Prism

Since we have a limit of 2 field trips per year, we've found other ways to bring REAL word experiences INTO the classroom.

One family at our school raises ducks each spring. This picture is from a few years ago when they brought a few ducklings in for the class to "ooooo and ahhhh" over. The mom shared some amazing facts about ducks and how God gave them unique features and instincts to survive.

I want one!

Come join our book study!
Next week is all about using games to enhance learning. GAME ON!

Five for Friday!

It's a double Friday week! Wednesday was technically Friday since we only had 3 days of school this week. Why? Because didn't use any of our snow days this year. THAT. NEVER. HAPPENS.

I'm linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching to share 5 highlights from our short week.

We kicked off Monday with a birthday celebration for Dr. Seuss! Complete with none other than GREEN EGGS AND HAM!

Students graphed their answer to "Do you like green eggs and ham?" by placing a green egg with their name under the YES or NO. I don't have a final picture, but the results were16 YES to 1 NO.

Headbanz - Math Edition! My kids love to play Headbanz during free choice time. Which got my teacher brain a-thinkin'....

I modified it a bit...
Whoever is "it" closes their eyes while I take a number out of our hundred's chart. 

I clip it in their headband. Then, they call on other students to give them clues to help them guess their "mystery number".

 It's a great way to grow critical thinking skills and reinforce math vocabulary and concepts:
"Your number is the sum of 3 + 4."
"It's 2 more than 5." 
"It's 3 less than 10."

Be prepared for everyone wanting a turn.

We finished our literacy weather unit last month, but I didn't start our weather journals until the end of the unit. February weather around here is just.... well...LAME! Last year I started our journals earlier and every page was practically the same: "It is cold. It is cloudy. It is very cold. It is very, very, cold...."  *yawn*

This year, I'm hoping March weather has a little more diversity. 

You can get these adorable journals from Tessa Maguire's TpT Store.

Even though we don't write in our weather journals every day, we always check the weather using the Kid Weather App. It's amazing! Totally worth the $1.99. It's kid-friendly, interactive, and.... you can graph the weather each day!

What better way to invite spring... than to make the classroom look like spring!
Take down those snowflakes!

We first watercolored our Rhyming Rainbows then added rhyming raindrops.
(The original "pinspiration" came from The Virtual Vine.) 

I'm looking forward to spending my day off drinking coffee (in my P.J's of course) and reading ahead.

Elizabeth at Kickin' it in Kindergarten hosted the first linky of a blogging book study: Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites by Marcia L. Tate. My book margins are filling up as I glean ideas from so many amazing teachers! Come join us tomorrow as we link up with Mrs. Wills' Kindergarten to discuss learning outside of our classroom's walls- field trips!

After reading Chapter 2, I challenged myself to find a way to incorporate drawing and artwork into this week's literacy lesson. We started our plant unit by reading  Oak Trees by Melanie Mitchell.

The writing extension focus skill was steps in a process.

Research states that "drawing is a powerful way to develop the thought processes and perceptions of children", in addition to helping them "comprehend and encode new content for later recall" (Source: Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites by Marcia L. Tate)

We made a pamphlet style book by folding a piece of paper in thirds.

 

 I only had my students write one step in the process. (I've learned from previous years, that having them write ALL of the steps can be very overwhelming for some students. I plan to do several more "steps in a process" writing projects later on in the year. Eventually, they will write all of the steps themselves.)

Have a fantastic Friday!

Book Study: Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites Chapters 1 & 2

I am stoked about joining this book study to learn how to better engage my students through reading Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites by Marcia L. Tate.

I set the stage... highlighter, coffee, cupcake...check, check, check!

Thanks Elizabeth for Kickin' it off at Kickin' it in Kindergarten!

I've always been a huge advocate for hands-on learning (especially since my first 2 years of teaching were in PreK and worksheets are NOT an option). It's great to be reaffirmed that so much of what I do daily in my classroom is research based! Yet, after reading the first two chapters I have a growing list of other strategy ideas I can start implementing!

At the beginning of the year, I feel like I spend a lot of time setting the ground work for productive discussion. I teach/model when to talk, how to answer a question, what it means to stay on topic, and how to be a good listener when someone else is talking. Routines and expectations are the framework for effective discussion.

Here is my favorite "trick" for giving students wait time...while holding the "blurters" at bay (a difficult balance in Kindergarten)...

I give a question and tell students to "whisper the answer" in their hand. They keep the answer "trapped" until I see that everyone has had time to process the question (their fists are in the air). When I open my fist, they copy me and "let out" the answers by saying them out loud.

A growth area for me is asking questions at various levels on Bloom's Taxonomy. It takes time to develop quality questions that stimulate higher-order thinking. One action step I plan to take is to develop a variety of questions (at various levels) for some of my read-alouds. I will type them up and tape them inside the book's cover so I have them ready!

It's obvious - ART is in SMART! I have always loved integrating art into daily learning.  My love for art is a reason I have an well stocked Art Center in my classroom. This is a FAVORITE center ALL YEAR LONG! During play time, I often have students take supplies to their table spot because all of the seats at the center are full. I rotate supplies and add word walls correlating with our themes. I also add dictionaries, themed vocabulary binders, and bar graph templates to encourage writing.

Here's two recent example of how we've integrated math and art.We created our own stick structures after reading 6 Sticks by Molly Coxe.

Then we counted how many sticks we used in our design and wrote the sentence:

 "____ sticks make a _____."

Volcano!

Symmetrical Hearts: We decorated a backdrop for our Valentine's program. Each child painted one of their hearts with a symmetrical design.

Not going to lie... it takes time to prep art projects! But the active learning that happens as a result is SO worth it!

Tell me, I forget. 

Show me, I rmemeber.

Involve me, I understand!

- Old Chinese Proverb