My Top 5 Must have Books

There are 5 book that I must have for the beginning of the school year to help build our school community. 

My number one book is

 Meet Scary Mary. In the barnyard, she rules the roost. If the other animals come near, she chases them away! She keeps all the sunflower seeds to herself and builds a fort to keep the others out. Mary even practices making scary faces! Until one day she is alone. She clucks by herself, plays games by herself, and eats dinner by herself. Soon, Mary realizes that being scary can be lonely!

Number Two

This joyful Sesame Street song embraces the notion that no matter where children live, what they look like, or what they do, they're all the same where it counts -- at heart. It can also be purchased with a CD so that the children can sing along.

Number Three

It's okay to need some help.

It's okay to be a different color.

It's okay to talk about your feeling.

It's okay to make a wish...

I love starting the year out with this book, it shows the children that it is okay to just be who they are.

Number Four

 It has been a bad day for Horace. A very bad day. He’s come home feeling mean. But his mother knows just what to do to put a smile on his face!

As you read the book have the children do what is happening in the book, they will want to hear it over and over again.

Number Five

 Roxaboxen celebrates the imagination of children who, no matter the time or place, can create whole worlds out of what they find around them.

This book will help to show children that they can create a whole world around them and it teaches the teacher that we need to provide what children need for their imagination.

Brown Bear Freebie

Introducing my Brown Bear Color Mini Unit with a freebie.  Brown Bear Color Bingo Game.

 Start the school year off with a unit on color using the Brown Bear what do you see Book

 You can get the whole Brown Bear Color Mini Unit on Teachers Pay Teachers or Teachers Notebook.

Brown Bear Mini Color Unit is 58 pages.  Your students will be recognizing their colors before you know it with these fun hands on learning activities.

Includes:

Brown Bear Color Pocket Chart Story

Color Wall Cards

Color Word Wall Cards

Brown Bear Color Bingo Game

Color Matching Mats

Brown Bear Go Fish Card Game

Brown Bear Roll and Graph

Making Color Words Mats

Brown Bear Write and Wipe Cards

Brown Bear Color Race Game

$5.75

or You can Download it by clicking on the Add to Cart Button

         

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Grouchy Ladybug

The children have been enjoying the Grouchy Ladybug story so with all of their excitement with the book we had to make our own grouchy ladybugs. 

Here is a creative writing sheet that we will be using this week.

 Children will mark the clock to a time by drawing arrows on the clock and then they will draw a picture of the grouchy ladybug and what it came to.  Children can draw a picture of any animal it does not have to be one from the book.

You can download the art project template and creative write sheet below.

 Download for Free

Teachers Pay Teachers

 Teachers Notebook

What’s in the Zoo?

I just finished this unit and it is now available on Teachers Pay Teachers and Teachers Notebook.

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Notebook

 Here is what you can find in it.

Letter Z word cards

Pocket Chart Story

2 Flannel Board Stories

Word Wall Cards

Zoo Animal Class Book

Writing Workstation prompt sheets

Letter Sound Sorting Game

Letter/Letter Sound worksheet

Roll It, Say It, Write It Game

Zoo Theme Letter Practice Writing Sheets

Zoo Theme Collect all 8 Game

Zoo Grid Boards

Zoo Say It, Count It, Write Math Mats

Zoo Animals Measurement Cards

Measurement Worksheet

Zoo Graphing Work Mat

And 5 different zoo animals art projects

You can go to Teachers Pay Teachers or Teachers Notebook to purchase the unit for $7.75

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Dialogic Reading with Preschoolers

How we read to children is as important as how much we read to children.

This statement is why I started using the Dialogic Reading strategy in my preschool classroom.

Children learn about books and reading when they are actively involved in the process. This is why researchers developed a method of reading called Dialogic Reading. In dialogic reading, the adults help children become the tellers of the story.

There are three main techniques that you use when reading with the children.

• Asking “what’ questions

• Asking open ended questions

• Expanding on what the children say

When using these techniques it encourages the children to talk more and give descriptions about the story and what they see in the pictures.

Since I have been using the dialogical reading method, the children in my classroom have had a greater gain in oral language skills and vocabulary.

Here is what I do to plan a dialogic reading lesson in my class.

• First I read the story from state to finish with the children with little interruptions or interpretation of the story. This gives the children an understanding of the story.

• Next I complete a reading lesson plan that I will use when I read the story to the children the next time around.

Dialogic Reading Lesson Planner

Name of Book:________________

Completion: Child completes a sentence in the story with a word or phrase.

Recall: Child either is asked to recall parts of the story before a repeat reading, during a reading (before turning the page) or after the story has been read.

Open-Ended questions: Child has the freedom to answer questions about the story in a variety of ways.

W (who, what where, when, why/how?):

Distancing: Teacher will ask questions and look for responses that enable the children to relate text to their own life experiences.

The Napping House

The Napping House

We have been reading The Napping House this week since we have been getting so much rain. It seemed to fit the mood of the children and the teacher. After reading the story the children have been creating their own version of the Napping House.