Reader's Theater has Taken Over the Classroom...

With the longest month (no vacation days) of March behind us and April vacation in sight, the Zakar's have been going through a bit of a slump.  I'm not saying we aren't learning, or we aren't excited about learning, I just think the kids are ready for some change, or something new.  I decided this would be a great time to introduce some reader's theater.  I knew that they would absolutely love performing in front of the class, but I didn't know they would love it this much.  i started off by giving one of my reading groups a play to work on.  We did a read through and assigned parts and then I had to children practice for about a week, working on their fluency and voice change.   I decided they were finally ready to perform this week.  So on Tuesday I had them make their character masks and we did quite a few run throughs.  Each time, I gave them tips on how to engage the audience and really perform their part.  I told them to use a loud voice, and to always face the audience, and to speak slowly.  The last run through they completely blew my mind.  I knew they were ready.  The play was called "The Giant Jumparee" and there was a rabbit, cat, bear, elephant, frog, and the giant jumparee.  Take a peek of the cast;

So they put on a such a great show that my other kiddos wanted them to do it again right away.  Not only did all the kids love the show, but they are all so excited about putting on a play themselves.  I already have two more groups getting ready for a play.  We have "Lion's Dinner" and "The Little Red Hen".  I have one more group to find a play for and I am sure that everyone will want to do more.  The best part about this is that when I ask them why doing these plays is such a great way to become a better reader, the response is "It helps with our fluency."  This is why I love my job! Stay tuned for a video of the Giant Jumparee upon getting permission from all the parents! Thanks for reading!


-Miss Zakar

Daily 5 MATH

So I have been using the Daily 5 math structure for about 2 years.  When I first heard about it through a pro-teacher forum, I was instantly drawn in.  Unfortunately, The Sisters had not come out with a book about this so I just played around with the idea at first.  Last year I implemented the Daily 3 Math, which I kind of made up with the help of some pro-teacher ideas.  They 3 came into play like this; Math by Myself, Math with a Buddy, and Math with a Teacher.  This definitely worked, but I was still missing something.  I was telling the kids which session they had to do and it just felt like I was taking the choice, that The Sisters talk so much about, away from the kids.  This year there has been a little more information from The Sisters about the Daily 5 Math so I decided to plunge right in and give it a go.  I have to say, I couldn't be more happy with the results.

So here is how I have it structured.  There are 5 different categories for the Daily 5 Math; Number Games, Fact Games, Paper and Pencil, Strategy Games, and Math Tools.  Each category is important in itself.  Here is a picture of my Daily 5 Math Board.

If you really want to learn more about this, I suggest going to www.thedailycafe.com.  They have some great videos explaining the importance of each category.  So just like Daily 5, during Daily 5 Math the children are able to choose which category they would like to go to.  Alot of the activities are games so once a child picks a game, I ask the class if anyone would like to play with them.  If there are no volunteers (which there rarely is), I will pick a name from my pile.  I had all my game boards backed and laminated and all my materials labeled so the kids knew just what to get.  After a couple of months of learning all the new games and getting into routine, the kids were as independent in the Daily 5 Math as they were in the Daily 5.  This gave me the room to pull and work with kids who were struggling and/or work on challenging my high flyers.  This structure worked great except for the organization of materials.  I didn't have a great system where the kids could find their game boards easily and it took a long time for them to get started.  This is why I decided to revamp the Daily 5 Math.   So here was my plan.  I was going to make each child a Math Game Binder.  Each child would have every game board (color coded by category), a dry erase crayon (best invention ever), 2 dice, a piece of felt for an eraser and a game piece.  These were the basic manipulatives I thought they needed. If they needed others they of course could go and get these.  Take a look at how they turned out.

 Blue is Number games, pink is Fact games, orange is Strategy games.  Some of these games I created, but a majority of these games I downloaded from a great website called www.kidscount1234.com.  Shari Sloan graciously has shared some great games that are perfect for kindergarten and first grade.  Some of the games I adapted from the Everyday Math Series that my district uses.  Other games I found on the internet and adapted them to fit my learners.  I will be posting and sharing some of my games in my next post, so stay tuned.  Lastly, here is what my math area looks like in my room.  I love my new organization.  This keeps the kids on task for a longer period of time with less distractions.  If you have any questions about this please comment and I will gladly reply!

-Miss Zakar

Symmetry with Pattern Blocks

I am currently using the Daily 5 math structure from The Sisters.  I loved their Daily 5 literacy structure that I just couldn't resist going all out for the Daily 5 Math structure.  I will be posting a lot more about Daily 5 Math because I have just organized everything in a very efficient way and I would love to share. To start off the sharing, I thought I would post pictures from my children who chose "Math Tools".   They decided to take their learning in their own hands and instead of just building and playing with the pattern blocks, they chose to make symmetrical designs.  I was pleasantly pleased when one of my students came up to me and said, "Can you take a picture of my symmetry with the pattern blocks?"  I was so pleased that I just gave the kids the camera and they continued to build symmetrical designs.  Here are some of their wonderful creations.  I am so proud of my kiddos.

A Look at our Bean Unit

The Zakar's are very busy here in Room 11.  Now that spring has arrived, it has given us a new, fresh boost of energy for our last trimester as Kindergartners.  Report cards went home yesterday and I hope all of the parents are as proud of their son/daughter as I am.  It is evident that the children have taken charge of their own learning and that they really understand why they are in school.

We started our bean unit by talking about living and non-living things.  We did many activities and the kids generated all of the characteristics of a living thing.  We know that they need water, air, food, the ability to change and grow, and the ability to reproduce or make more of itself.  We then decided that a bean seed was a living thing and we talked about the life cycle of a bean.  We began by dissecting a Lima bean.  We became scientists and took the seed coat off first.  The kids thought this was neat but very slimy.  The next part we saw was the bean's food.  We had to split open the bean to see this.  Last we saw the embryo or baby seed.  We took some great observations and shared what we learned. Ask your child to point out each part on this picture.

Through an educational video, we learned that a bean seed will start to sprout with just water. We decided to explore this idea and create our own little experiment.  We took a wet paper towel and put it in a plastic cup. Next we put 4 beans between the paper towel and the cup. Lastly, we watered our beans to make sure they were wet.  So far, some of the children have observed the roots beginning to grow.  As the week goes on, I bet they will be surprised as to what they observe.  This is what some of ours look like right now!

Let's try this again

Try this one...

Daily 5 Student Check in Form

Daily 5 Check-in (th/fri)

Daily 5 Student Check-In Forms

Here is a one of my Daily 5 student checklists.  Click on each link.  ENJOY!
sorry.. still learning about how to add a google doc to my blog.. it will be up shortly!

The Daily 5 Has Changed My Life...

It is only fitting that my first real post is going to be all about the Daily 5.  The Daily 5 was created by The Two Sisters; Gail Boushey and Joan Moser.  "The Daily 5 is more than a management system or a curriculum framework - it is a structure that helps students develop the daily habits of reading, writing, and working independently that will lead to a lifetime of literacy independence."  Since I have started structuring my classroom using the Daily 5 (about 2 1/2 years ago), I can't believe I ever structured it a different way. We are all reluctant of change.  If something works, why reinvent the wheel?  Well, what if something works better?  When I finally decided to take the plunge and dive into the Daily 5, I soon realized I was going to have to give up a lot of control in the classroom.  The day the children began to take charge of their own learning was the day I became a Daily 5 believer!  Before I continue, this control did not shift over night, not even over 4 months.  I have been tweaking and changing things for almost 2 years.  Hard work pays off.  This is the first year where I can actually say I am at a great place in my teaching and I truly believe I have created an optimal learning environment. I always give credit where credit is due and I am so glad that the Sister's system works.  So thank you Sisters.  The work you do continues to make me a better teacher! I have created many documents over the years that all coincide with the Daily 5.  I will be posting these documents here for all that are interested.  I believe that sharing and collaborating is the key to great teaching! I have benefited greatly from so many teachers out there who were willing to share their great ideas.  I am here to pay it forward! Stay tuned for more about the Daily 5.

Let the Blogging Begin...

Hello everybody.  I am very new to the blogging world, but I thought I'd give it a shot.  I am a Kindergarten-First Grade looping teacher who is full of ideas and loves to share!  I have recently obtained a Masters Degree in Special Education and it has become my passion.  I have created this blog for a couple of reasons.  I would love to let my parents take a peek into the world of the Zakar's.  This blog is also for sharing, collaborating, and inventing new teaching ideas.  I invite all educators, special educators, parents, administrators, and anyone else who would like to learn and share best teaching practices so our children can become life long learners!