Word Work

Ideas for WORD WORK during The Daily 5.

Here is great word work freebie!! Its from Julie at Fabulous Firsties.There are so many cute ideas and this will be perfect for word work during the daily 5! 

 Click here to get a free copy at TPT! Thanks Julie!

I want to do this!
I got a hole bunch of these paint colors from Home Depot.
Now I need to make them!

Thank you whattheteacherwants for all these great ideas!

Here's a close-up of some of the labels:

Click {here} to download

Use  a menu they can glance at too:

Click {here} to download

I love the ideas from Growing Kinders and What The Teacher Wants.
They are AMAZING. Go to their blogs and check it out.

Creating a PASSWORD idea!
Every week, introduce the kids to two new sight words. Put a sign on the outside of the door that looks like this:

                               She made three versions –

  

Click here to find her link and FREE downloads.

This one is from What The Teacher Wants

Her idea:

Here's the breakdown. Post a laminated "Today's Password" poster outside of your classroom.  Each day, with a wet erase marker, write a different password on the poster and as your kiddos enter the room, they need to whisper it to you!  Well since they have to be able to write it also, I made a "Password of the Day Book".  After they whisper it to me, they need to go write that word in their book!  

This is the fun part!

Put the chants on popsicle sticks.
Growing Kinders made labels for you

Free Kindergarten sight words <here>.

Tattling

Kinders LOVE to TATTLE!

Here are some great books and resources for this lovely issue:

This is Tassie the Tattle Cow. 

Since my class is a western theme, we use a cow for tattles. Since there are so many tattles in kindergarten, this is a great way to have students share their tattles with something/one other than me.

Great Ideas for TATTLING!!

I love asking, "Are you TELLING (emergency) or TATTLING (not emergency).

We create a chart that shows that the difference.

This idea comes from What The Teacher Wants

Pocket chart sorting activity:

The fight chant:

The PROBLEM SQUARE: This is a great idea for the playground. Use tape/paint to draw a square on the ground with an X through the middle forming 4 triangles. When a student has a problem with another child they go to the problem square to solve it, not me!

Directions for the Problem Square (written for the class):1. Tell your friend "we need to go to the problem square."2. Take turns sharing what the problem was.3. Come up with a solution or "fix."4. Agree on the solution and shake hands.I can't even tell you how amazing it is to see a group of Kindergarteners discussing their problems, taking turns, and coming up with their own solution with out me! I promise that with a lot of modeling this will change your tattling.

How do you deal with tattling in your classroom?

Bucket Fillers

Bucket Fillers

I love the book "Bucket Fillers" by Carol McCloud! Kindergartners really grasp this concept and it is so adorable to hear them say, "You filled my bucket!"

If you haven’t read this book, it’s a story that encourages positive behavior and it illustrates how rewarding it is to show kindness, appreciation, and love toward others.  The story talks about how we each carry around an invisible bucket and when we use kind words and actions, we become bucket fillers {filling other people’s buckets}.  But when we say and do things that aren’t kind and compassionate, we’re bucket dippers…emptying all the good feelings out of everyone else’s buckets.  The book is well written in terms that kids can really relate to and they really got into this idea of bucket filling & dipping!

These are my WESTERN bucket fillers in my classroom.

I got the buckets in the dollar bin at Target. I wrapped them in burlap and with bandana ribbon.

I hot-glued a small clothespin and attached their sheriff badges with names. 

Soon, I will replace the badges with their cowpoke pictures.

I think this will be easier and quicker in the beginning of the year for students

 to see photos while filling buckets. 

This is my Bucket Fillers Anchor Chart.

I use Jessy, Woody and Bullseye to model how to be a bucket filler and a bucket dipper.

The kids LOVE it and think it is so funny when they don't get along.

After introducing the idea of bucket fillers, we practice in a lot of different ways.

On day 2, we made cards for another kindergarten class and practiced working as a team, 

giving compliments and saying nice things to our friends.

They did great!

Our class has several bucket filling GOALS :

1. To teach children how to reach out and express love, respect and appreciation to others

2. To help children become other-centered rather than self-centered

3. To help children express their feelings (good and bad) in a healthy manner

4. To help children understand where feelings originate and how to protect their feelings from being hurt

5. To establish a framework for more constructive words and actions and less bullying

6. To create more positive home and school environments

CONCEPTS LEARNED:

Bucket Filling (showing love and respect for others)

Bucket Dipping (bullying)

Click here for these FREEBIES below on TPT

                              

A student can fill another students bucket by filling this out:

I am going to use the forms found at  Mrs. Walker blog (she has lots of great ideas and free forms)

       

                    Thank you I'm Blog Hoppin for this anchor chart idea!

Bucket Filler Videos:

Great sites for more information:

Bucket Fillers for Life

Bucket Filler Bulletin Board Letters

Bucket Cut-Outs (for kids to color and put on a bulletin board)

Filling a bucket form

Picture of a colored bucket

Picture of a blank bucket

Whole Brain Teaching

I started hearing so much about Whole Brain Teaching last year. 

 

I found these great videos on Youtube and was inspired to start using these rules and gestures in my class. They were great!

Thank you Stephanie from Stephanie from 3rd Grade Thoughts and Ashley from The Polka Dot Patch for all your WONDERFUL thoughts, ideas and FREEBIES!

I love all these Whole Brain Teaching Rules!!!! I revamped the rules a little to fit my classroom.
 Looks like this:

1. Be safe, be kind, be honest.
2. Follow directions quickly. 
3. Respect others, respect yourself, respect our school.
4. Raise your hand to speak or stand (show peace and quiet)
5. Listen when your teacher is talking.
6. Show B.E.V.E (Bodies still, ears listening, voices quiet, eyes watching)

I used the posters below but changed the wording.

Click HERE for you FREEBIE! (Thank you Stephanie)

Here are the gestures that go with the 
Whole Brain Teaching-ish Rules:
The kinders practice these each morning before we begin our Morning Campfire Meeting.

Rule #1: Be safe (hug yourself), be kind (cover your heart with both hands), be honest (place right hand up, like you were about to testify). 

Rule #2: Follow directions quickly. (As we say this, we snap out fingers along with each word and say the rule quickly.)

Rule #3: Respect others (point out), respect yourself (point to yourself), and respect your school(point to the ground). 

Rule #4: Raise your hand (raise your right hand) to speak (make moving mouth motion) or stand use index and middle finger to 'walk').

Rule #5: Listen (point to your ears) when your teacher (kids point to me) is talking (move hands together and apart like a mouth).

Rule #6: Show B.E.V.E: Bodies Still, Ears Listening, Voices Quiet;

Eyes Watching

Whole Brain Teaching Posters:

Click HERE for your FREEBIE! (Thank you Stephanie)

I introduced this concept by reading Ms. Nelson is Missing.

We practiced what ELBOW BUDDIES look like and sound like.

We modeled correct and incorrect ways to do this. Then we practiced!!!

Elbow Buddy Questions:

1. Why were the kids misbehaving with Ms. Nelson?

2. How would you feel if kids in our class behaved like this? What would you do?

3. Describe Ms. Swamp

4. Where do you think Ms. Nelson is at?

5. Where would you look for Ms. Nelson

6. What did we learn at the end of the story? What was Ms. nelson's little secret?