Learning Outdoors

"Why not have class outside?" Easy for them to say .... ;) But ... with some prep, it can be fun and productive!

In these continuing pandemic days (or really anytime!), as the weather gets nicer in the northern hemisphere, we can look to the outdoors to supplement our classroom space, but only if our needs can be met there for safety and security :) 

First, think about safety. Is the surrounding area conducive to having class outside? Are there too many distractions from heavy traffic or loud noises? Is it too sunny/shady? The physical position of the teacher (and other adults) and students is also important, as you want to make sure no one is out of sight or close to hazards (like streets or steep slopes).

Next, this plan takes some prep work for the teacher, instead of a spur-of-the-moment decision. Try a rolling cart or carry basket pre-loaded with all the supplies you might need. (A small white board, markers, some chalk, sticky notes, etc.) Students could have pre-made "seats,"such as folded beach towels or small pillows tied inside plastic shopping bags for avoiding dampness. Clipboards are always a great addition, making things "official" :)

Then, choose what part of your daily lesson would work best outdoors. Some topics really work in outdoor settings, such as: 

• measurement or making patterns in math - Take your measurement tools outdoors and use objects found there to extend your lesson. Or, find natural objects outdoors to arrange and extend patterns on the sidewalk or in a grassy area.
• growing things or force and motion in science - Take these topics outdoors and plant in the dirt or in raised containers or offer wood planks and blocks to encourage experimentation with force and motion ideas. Add a few balls or toy cars and see what theories your friends can prove.
• poetry or descriptive writing or really any type of creative writing - Any age students would enjoy laying outdoors on a beach towel and writing/drawing about what they see/feel/hear.
• reading aloud with discussion - This would be great, even as a last-minute idea, and can break your day up, allowing for stretching and movement, as well.
• independent reading/paired reading (more room to spread out)/small groups - Experiment with different set-ups for reading time and spread your class out a little. Have something in mind to hold them accountable for what they are reading during this time. You may choose to pull a small group, as long as you can still monitor safety for the others.
• art with watercolor paints, chalk, recycled sculptures, nature sculptures - There are so many art projects that can be enhanced by being outdoors, and help your children connect art and nature.

Have Fun!

Photos as a Teaching Tool

With some students remote and some present in school, educators are scurrying to find engaging ways to interact with both groups and “up” the interest factor in their lessons. 

Using photographs as tools in the classroom is not a new technique, but maybe one to revisit in this day of COVID teaching. The strategy of popping a photo up without direction and leaving feedback open-ended makes the photo a “mystery” to be solved and encourages students to “lean in” by piquing their curiosity.  

There are so many ways to do this in very different areas ...

Use photos as Story Starters, giving students an opportunity to write a sentence or story about what they see. Embed lessons about sentence structure, word choice, etc. in a back door kind of way.  

Photos can be great language builders - descriptive words are a natural ... size, color, shape, etc. Try a word web on a topic using a photo as a launch point. 

 Science topics are a terrific fit for photo use! There is nothing like a visual prompt to get everyone involved in something like space, earth science, growing things ... any topic you want. 

KWL charts can be enhanced by using a few photos to boost the interest and grab your visual learners, prompting them to participate. 

An area where real life photos is underutilized is Math! Photos of block arrangements, groups of scattered manipulatives, or partially-filled containers with a “What do you notice?” will get your students thinking, looking for groups, similarities and differences, shapes or whatever else they come up with. They will begin to view math as a part of the everyday world. Great discussions and lessons can ensue! 

The BEST part is that, using technology, ALL of your students can see these photos at the same time and can feel that engagement of learning and exploring something new. A puzzle or mystery to be solved is sure to grab their attention.

Use photos as transition tools or do it just for fun, but toss a little learning in along the way ... What words can you make with these letters?

What do you see on these picture cards? Matches? Sizes? Lots of math concepts here ...

Have fun!

“Socializing” for Hybrid/Remote Learners

As the days stretch on in this age of COVID schooling, children are seeking social contact with others - friends, classmates, even family members. Some may be sad and quiet, some may be acting out - many are having trouble focusing on lessons when they are hungry to just chat and be a part of a social group. 

It’s also more complicated when some are in-person and some remote, or all remote ... and all “socially distant.” This lack of contact is becoming even more pronounced with the colder weather. 

In the interest of meeting the social needs of your kiddos AND getting those students on track for success, some time needs to be carved out for some simple, creative solutions. 

Try these ideas: 

Classroom Pen Pals: 

Since finding time is always a factor, incorporate some socializing into your writing time. Have students do pen pal activities, but do it within your class, to let them “mingle” without moving around :)  Pair remote students with in-person friends to improve spirits and make connections. Any age students will benefit from this - whether they are sending written letters, pictures or cards. Each week, pick names from a hat to rotate who is “pals” with who! 

Show and Tell: 

Each day, make it a part of your meeting time to give students a turn to talk about something personal they’ve been desperate to talk about. You can choose a theme, such as family or season, or even tie it to a science or reading lesson. A favorite book, artwork, or a family photo would work, too. Try an author’s chair - virtual or in-person - regular chances to interact with friends and express themselves will do wonders for morale :) 

Class Yearbook: 

Have students work on writing about themselves and doing self-portraits to compile a “directory” and provide one to each student. Establishing connections and finding out more about each other can only help with any isolation that students may be feeling. 

Good luck! And .... Have fun!

Playing Restaurant: Social Skills and Language Building

There is no better vehicle for developing language and social skills than an authentic play experience. Children love to act out familiar scenes, take on roles that are interesting to them, and interact in pretend play scenarios. Playing “restaurant” or “diner” or even just at-home eating can be a great time to practice those skills with little or no adult intervention. For those with little or no dining-out experience, this is also a way to gain knowledge of an unknown situation. 

You don’t need a lot to get started :) A simple play set is great, but you can also work with cast-off kitchen pieces and recycled containers - your kiddos will take over whatever you make available. Just make sure they’re clean and unbreakable, for safety reasons. 

If you have access to a pretend play kitchen area, your students can work with that, but a simple disposable plastic tub, turned over with Sharpie details was embraced by our friends as a cooktop :) 

This post - Make Your Own Toys!  - is all about making your own set from things you have at home :) Kiddos will work with whatever they find ... and a healthy dose of imagination! 

 

For “dining out,” don’t forget an order pad for students to role play and take down all their customers’ food orders!  Small friends may draw or make little marks, while older kiddos will get excited to try out their spelling tricks! 

Making a menu board or some menus might be another fun writing exercise. Invented spelling and drawn pictures, or illustrations cut from magazines, will complete this task :) 

Social skills such as taking turns and sharing supplies will get lots of practice, as different roles are taken on. Push in to work on specific vocabulary and language skills with those who would benefit from intervention, but sit back to observe the natural conversations that may emerge. 

Have fun!! 

 

Learning to Read and Write with Rocket

The Rocket books by Tad Hills are great tools to help kiddos gear up to learn about letters, sounds, and words to read on their own.

Rolling them out, book by book, over a course of weeks or months, with the continuing characters of Rocket and his “teacher,” helps the children see how the steps fall into place with the basic building blocks of reading and writing!! Use them as anchor texts to refer back to, keeping Rocket, the character, in their minds as a new reader and writer :) 

Start out with R is for Rocket to introduce the letters, one by one, and get excited about attaching importance to letters and sounds. Each page shows a few words, with pictures, to go with each letter, in ABC order, with Rocket and his friends as characters. Discussion and games can go on to extend the book, by looking around for other words that also begin with each letter, and matching them to the written words on each page :) 

Next up, when you’re ready, is How Rocket Learned to Read!! This follows a story format, as our buddy Rocket is approached by a little yellow bird who wants to be his teacher and to get him interested in reading. Rocket is resistant at first but eventually gets SO excited about learning words that it’s contagious!! Your kiddos will get excited too!! They may want to start labeling things around the house or classroom ... so let them! Grab some index cards, sticky notes, or cut up some paper and have some fun stretching words out to hear all the sounds!

 

When the time comes to launch some simple writing, Rocket Writes a Story is the third in the series and revisits the character of Rocket again. This book shows your kiddos how to put the words they know together, to get their thoughts down on paper. Rocket goes through all the same dilemmas as beginning writers do ... coming up with an idea, getting started, figuring out how to put words together in a sentence. He gets encouragement from his “teacher” who has great ideas, helps him get started, and cheers him on throughout! Your kiddos may see their own struggles reflected here and will cheer for Rocket when he gets going with writing! Use the word cards from the previous exercise and add in some basic sight words to help your children arrange word card sentences. Then, copy onto paper ... pretty soon, with practice,  they’ll be taking charge and putting it all together themselves. 

 

Get some inspiration going with Rocket and friends - and have fun!!

Remote Learning: At-Home Literacy (Fun!) Challenge

Looking for ways to help your child branch out in their literacy skills, while they're home?

Try putting the kids in charge :) This is a multi-step, fun project that could be broken down over several days :) They will learn about characters, setting, adding details, writing down information, making choices about writing, and compiling notes into a "report." All while having fun ....... :)

Step1:

Get out some art materials and design a character (animal or person) to write about. (They may be able to do this alone, or need help with outlines or models, depending on their age and/or ability. Sometimes just drawing a simple outline with shapes will help them get started...)

I picked a mouse for my character (and he has a lizard friend!) ... maybe you will choose a bear, a person, a snake, or something else. Look at books to get ideas, if you need to. Use colors and add details to make your character super cool! Definitely come up with a name for your character! When you're done, cut your figure out.

Step 2:

Design your character's "house." Find a small box or envelope (bigger than your character) and draw on the outside, making it into the type of place that your character would live in. Add pictures of accessories and cut them out to tuck them in, if needed/wanted.

Step 3:

Find some writing paper - computer paper, paper from a notebook, whatever you decide on will be great! Fold it or cut it into smaller pieces - either quarters or strips. I cut mine into strips so I could write across and then fold it up later to fit in my "house."

Step 4:

Decide on a list of questions that you want to answer about your character. Think about what your character looks like, what their house looks like, what his/her family is like, what their favorite color is, what they like to eat, play with, etc. If you need help, ask a bigger person to write them down. 

Step 5: 

Take one question at a time and write about your character. When all questions are answered, ask some more questions and write some more answers :) It could be as simple as "Snakey has no feet and is green," or much more detail, if you're older. Small friends can do this with a big friend. 

Step 6: 

Write an introduction, as if you were introducing your character to a friend. Line up all your writing pieces and decide which piece of information should go first, next, last. Put it all together into a book about your character. Staple or tape together, or rewrite if needed.

Step 7:

Make a cover and have an author's reading with the family - sit in a special chair and read aloud. Consider recording it on audio or video and sharing :)

So, you have your character forever now ...
maybe they'll take some adventures next ... !

Have fun!