Celebrate We Will!- Celebrating Students Learning Achievements

Kindergarten and the expectations of kindergartners has changed so much since I first began teaching.  We have been more focused on data to guide students learning.   I am always trying to think of ways to encourage and motivate my students to learn to keep up with the rigorous pace that is expected in kindergarten.  I wanted to share how I keep my students motivated, parents informed, and celebrate students achievements.

I created learning goals crowns as a way to reach these targets.

 

They are a favorite of students and I wanted to share how I use them in my classroom to keep students motivated!

I copy all material and have them prepped for August when we start school... I use crowns for letter names, letter sounds, number identification 1-20, counting to 100 and sight words.   I keep all of our crowns for the whole year in my assessment binder with each students tracking sheet.   Each time I assess students, I record it on their tracking sheet. 

I try to use a different color pen each time I assess and record the date in that color.   This also provides you with documentation on the child and their learning if you should happen to need it. 

If a child is able to identify something, I circle it.  I usually go back to recheck letters or numbers that are marked in the the previous color that I assessed, to make sure the student really remembers it.

The students also keep track of their learning on their crown.  They color in the letter names, sound or numbers that they know, each time they are assessed.

I store all of my crowns and tracking sheets in my assessment binder and students update them each time they are assessed.

I also copy my tracking sheet and keep it in my students homework folder and update it weekly... It is amazing how much they learn in a week and they the students know and their parents know what they still have to work on.

Keeping the tracking sheet in their homework folder and updating it regularly, has also helped so much in getting parents involved in their child's learning.

I try to assess each student every week for most of the first quarter and keep it updated it in their homework folder.  I usually have 25-30 students in my class each year so I make sure I assess a few students each day to keep it updated.  Using this accountability and motivation, it amazed me how quickly students are able to learn their letters and sounds.   Most of my students come in not being able to identify any letter names or sounds in August, and the majority of my class is usually able to master all letter names and letter sounds by the end of the first quarter. 

Once a student has mastered a concept, for example, knowing all of their letter names, they get their crown to wear home!  They love it and are always so proud of their achievement!!!

These crowns have really given students ownership and accountability for this learning.  On more than one occasion, I have assessed a child and sent them home. The next day they come into the classroom being so excited that they learned those last few numbers or letters.   They let the students know what their learning targets are for these basic skills an what they still have to learn to get there!

You can check out these Learning Goals Crowns in my TPT store by clicking on the image below, they have worked wonders in my classroom! Included in this packets are crowns for letter names, letter sounds, sight words, counting to 100, number identification 1-20, and also include and editable crown, just in case you would like to add more :))

What resources have you found to be effective for students to keep track of their learning?

Kindergarten No Prep Emergency Sub Plans and Half Day Sub Plans Freebie

As a teacher, planning for a sub on a day off can be such a chore and added stress!  I used to dread looking for resources for the entire day while I was out and finding meaningful activities for my students.  To make this task easier for myself, I created nursery rhyme themed emergency sub plans that are great for a sub tub or stored in a sub binder. 

Children love the rhyme and repetition of nursery rhymes and they are great for teaching many skills.  I was able to create a resource to cover all content areas that can be used while you are out.  Recently, I was out of my classroom for the day to administer a test for some students and these came in handy for me!

I choose to use my Jack and Jill sub plans. and I wanted to share what is included!

All I had to do was print everything, write the times on the cover sheet and fill out a simple form with times for the sub.  It was an easy peasy task!
Whole Group Reading
I began by an introduction of the poem to the students.  Students each have a mini book emergent reader of the poem. Using these little readers are a great way to build fluency with your students!

Comprehension
We then moved on to sequencing to the poem. 

This is a great comprehension activity.  You can also use it to encourage oral language development by encouraging students to talk about what is happening in each picture.  

Phonics
Next, we move on to a labeling activity. For my class, I have my students complete this during phonics time since they are using their knowledge of letter sounds to determine the words. 

They are to attend to beginning and ending sounds using the visuals provided by the picture.

The link to these first 3 activities, the emergent reader, sequencing and labeling are avail1able as a freebie at the end of the post and are easy to prep for a free half day out of the classroom!
Vocabulary/ Sight Words
Using the vocabulary from the poem and a sight word, students can then create a flip book.  I also included a sheet for the students to copy these sentences.

Grammar
For a grammar activity, I have included a mixed up sentence.  I love using these.  It not only teaches sentence construction, but also reminds students to begin sentences with a capital letter and end their sentence with a period. Students put the words in the correct order and then copy the sentence. 

Writing

We then move onto writing.  I have included a pre-writing activity where students copy the sentences.  This is great practice to teach students proper writing conventions.
As a writing activity, students fill in a picture and a sentence.

They substitute the names of Jack and Jill with their name and the name of their friend.  It would be great to turn this sheet into a class book!

In the sub packet, I have also included a more difficult respond to a prompt writing activity.   This can be used later in the year or to challenge your students a little more.

Math
In math, we had just finished learning about teen numbers so these pages were great for reinforcing that skill.   

The math practice pages were great for reinforcing these skills. Students filled in a tens frame to show teen numbers and the sorted teen number addition sentences as true or false.

I used these sub plans later in the year, but included in the packet, there is also a simpler math activity that can be substituted for this one if the concept has not been taught yet.  With the easier version, students can practice numbers to 10 in a tens frames and also a bunch of math extras that can be used to fit your needs.

Extras
Finally, I always over prepare so I included extras to practice rhyming and a sorting activity that could be used if necessary.

All I had to do was copy everything, write times on the cover sheets that include instructions and I was all done with my sub planning!  These are also great to have copied in advance for an unexpected day off. 

Also included are editable forms that you can use to communicate with your sub.  Since they are editable, you can type in them or simply write your information in.

You can find the entire sub plans in my Jack and Jill packet on TPT.  You can check it out by clicking on the image below:

You can grab the free half day kindergarten sub plans including the emergent reader, labeling and sequencing by clicking on this link: Jack and Jill Sample

I have made these sub plans for several different nursery themes and they all have the same format.  Also available are Humpty Dumpty, Little Miss Muffet, Hey, Diddle Diddle, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Hickory, Dickory Dock.

5 of these sub plans are bundled together in a Nursery Rhyme Bundle at a discount for week long sub plans (it is like getting one day for free!).  This consistency for sub plans not only makes it easier for the sub but also for your students since the activities are the same but the content changes.

Several buyers have left feedback on them saying instead of using them as sub plans, they are used when teaching nursery rhymes, which is also a great idea!!

Composing Teen Numbers

We have been working this week on composing teen numbers in my classroom.  I was impressed with how quickly most of my students understood the concept. We had worked on identifying teen numbers back in 2nd quarter so my students had that background knowledge.
I love introducing new concepts with youtube videos.  I know that all students learn in different ways and the catchy tunes I think really stick with some students.   One of my favorites for teen numbers is Jack Hartman's Teen Numbers.  I think the visuals and tune are great!

In our classroom, we do A LOT of work using ten frames as a support for my students.  We began by showing teen numbers on double tens frames. There was a lot of discussion on how these numbers in the teens are a group of tens and some more. 

By using a double ten frame, we were able to easily transfer of knowledge of addition to create number sentences for teen numbers.  I love involving my students in the creation of our anchor charts, giving them ownership of it, so as a group we made this anchor chart together.

We also worked with partners to make teen numbers.  My students love using spinners so we also created our own number sentences using tens frames.  Students spun a spinner to show that number in a tens frame and then created a number sentence to match. 

 You can find this product in my Teen Numbers Unit in my TPT store

Teen Numbers Unit 

We worked with partners to create teen numbers.  I gave each set of partners a dry erase board and a magnetic ten frame (which my students LOVE).  One partner wrote an equation to match a teen number and the other partner made it on a ten frame. 

We checked answers and then they switched jobs.  This gave both students practice on both tasks.  

As a culminating activity, students created their own snowman teen number.   Each students rolled a teen number dice so everyone was randomly assigned a number.  They represented that number in a tens frame and showed it in a number sentence.

I then had them q tip dot that number of "snowflakes" on their paper, showing that number in yet another way.

 

 I was so happy with how the final product turned out and my students were also super proud!

You can grab this freebie by clicking on the image below:

Once my students had fluency, we played race to the board with teen numbers.  I created this race to the board game at the beginning of the year and love it because I can use it for so many things in math.  We have used it for number identification, tens frame, and now teen numbers.  For this activity, we showed 10 + ____ number sentences and students solved the answer and raced to the number

It is amazing to be how quickly the students had this number fluency.  I really think that the amount of work that we did with tens frame and students really having an understanding of number sense really contributed to this success.