A Ball for Daisy

I love how this adorable, wordless Chris Raschka book lends itself so well to a classroom game of oral storytelling. I simply display the colorful illustrations of this Caldecott Medalist on the overhead projector with all the lights out for added dramatic effect. Then, I have my students come up to the HoverCam one-by-one to tell a part of the story (each student usually gets one page or a page spread). Raschka's illustrations are fun to interpret and colorful enough to keep the attention of the whole class. I found that Kindergartners never tire of playing with the HoverCam, so it is an excellent motivational tool for covering those Speaking and Listening standards. This activity coaxed a smile from even my shyest student in the class. We were all giggling by the end of our story.

Happy Saturday!

Just Bob

The Common Core strongly recommends students get daily exposure to literature that is two or three grade levels higher than their current grade. A Snowman Named Just Bob fit the bill and then some! This tale of friendship uses many vivid adjectives which dance across the pages in poetical cadence. My Kindergarten students loved the rhythmic sound of the story as well as the charming illustrations and were eager for me to read it to them again.

After reading the story, it was time to get messy with a fun sensory activity! One of my Kindergarten team members shared with me her recipe for "snow" which is simply 1 part white glue to 1 part shaving cream. Mixed together it makes a fabulous goo the kids adore. My students opted for using paint brushes, but it could be used as a finger paint material if preferred. After painting a basic snowman shape, the students then cut miniature hats out of felt and chose two pipe cleaner "twigs" with which to embellish their creation. A dusting of sparkles to finish off was a big crowd-pleaser. My colleague had a treasure trove of sequence she let her students use as eyes, nose, and buttons. The goo dries puffy making it look like un-meltable snow. The kids went crazy over this! 

To weave in some sneaky writing practice, I gave each student a small strip of lined paper to write the name of the snowman from the story. In this example above, you see green highlighter with pencil markings close about each letter. This student has great difficulty writing independently and currently receives O/T services. At the beginning of this school year, he was often unwilling to even try holding a pencil without someone there to hand-over-hand the writing with him. Now, he will typically sit down without complaint and attempt to write independently just due to the simple use of highlighter on his paper! Green is his favorite color which adds to further the success of this intervention. I love seeing my students grow and improve over the course of the school year!

Stay tuned for some new web-resource shares coming soon. Have a fabulous rest of your week!

Looking for a good read?

Then you can stop your search now. I was blessed this past Christmas when my very insightful special education coordinator gifted a copy of this book to all of our building's intervention specialists. It has been a taxing year in our building and this book was precisely the pick-me-up I needed to take on the second half of this school year with an uplifted heart and renewed vigor. Richard Lavoie's straightforward, no-nonsense manner cuts straight to the heart of motivation-based issues and offers six powerful insights into the seemingly apathetic student. One of the key elements of Lavoie's book is that it holds a mirror up to the reader and challenges her or him to take a fresh perspective on the role they are playing in the situation - for the better or the worse. This book is overflowing with helpful tips, valuable insights, and compelling real-life stories. I whole-heartedly give it a five star recommendation. Let me know how you enjoy it.