Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Circus Theme Resources


School is officially out for the summer! I'll miss the group of students that I had, but I am looking forward to a new group of fresh young minds. Since it is summer break, it's the perfect time to first relax, but to also plan for the upcoming school year. In retrospect I have learned a lot this past school term. I noticed some things that worked really well and some that just plain flopped.

I observed this past year some of the students had not been introduced to a wide variety of different types of animals. So, for the upcoming year I plan on introducing a variety of animals throughout the school year. My wonderful assistant and I discussed the classroom theme, and we came up with a circus theme. I am currently working on bulletin boards, word walls, center signs, and classroom decorations and activities centered on the circus theme.


Cubby Tickets – A set of (4) colorful tickets with editable text boxes in Microsoft Word. I plan on using the tickets to label the children’s cubbies this coming up school year. I will also take a picture of them on the first day of school and add to the ticket. This will help the children that cannot recognize their name in print.
Sample of the Circus Cubby Ticket

Download >>  Circus Cubby Tickets File 1 (word doc.)
Download >>  Circus Cubby Tickets File 2 (word doc.)

Keep checking back for additional resources!

~ Catherine




Sunday, April 29, 2012

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Resources

Since this week our class is using the book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to review the letters of the alphabet. I have looked for ideas to incorporate into the lesson besides completing the alphabet pages for the students' own Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book to take home. I have found quite a few activities and lesson plan ideas. Listed below are just a few of the resources available. I am currently working on designing a cross curriculum comprehensive Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Resource Book. Check back for updates!

~ Catherine


Lesson Plan Ideas >>


Buy Chicka Chicka Boom Boom from Amazon.com

I have created a lesson plan incorporating the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom theme throughout the content areas and interest areas. Feel free to download and use in your classroom. Not all of the ideas listed on the lesson plan are my own ideas. Some I have borrowed from co-workers and found on the internet.


Download >> Lanie's Little Learners Lesson Plan

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, lesson plan ideas for the pre-k classroom!  The lesson plan includes the Georgia Performance Standards for Pre-K, activities for all content areas, and center ideas. Here is an excerpt from the resource:

To introduce the book, wear khaki overalls and safety pin construction paper letters all over them. Wear a hat that resembles coconut tree fronds. Ask the students to guess what you are pretending to be. Tell the class you are a coconut tree. Read the book to the class and stop when the alphabet is up the tree at “oh no” and have them predict what will happen next. Record their responses on chart paper.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Lesson Plan:  Virginia.edu incorporates four activity cards, one for each of the categories they believe to be important in children's development of literacy the categories are listed below:
Language Development: with attention to vocabulary and syntactic structures. 
Acts of Writing: including letter-sound relationships, print concepts, and genre knowledge
Artist's Craft: with attention to the ways authors and illustrators have created their works
Lots of Links: including inter-textual connections, connections to other content areas, and connections to children's lives


Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Sight Word Cards

Sight Word Cards >> I have designed sight word cards to go along with the story. There are approximately six sight words used frequently throughout the story. There are several ways in which the sight word cards can be incorporated during the read aloud of the story or as a follow up activity. Some suggestions include: memory concentration game, the use of magnetic letters and have children match the letters on the card.





Comprehension Questions >> You should only tackle these comprehension questions after reading the book to your child, at the minimum, at least two times. Some of the questions are open-ended which can lead to valuable discussions. Take the time to listen and respect your child’s point of view. The comprehension questions are from Read It Again.com.


Cross Curriculum Ideas >> Making Learning Fun.com has several great pintables FREE to use with the CCBB story. Some of the ideas include:
For their entire list of CCBB Activities click here.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Here We Come!!!


As I write this post, the TV is on with a Harry Potter movie, Mississippi (my two year-old yellow lab) is curled up on the floor snoring and my fourteen year-old is stretched across my bed... also snoring. The two of them are making wonderful noises. Okay anyway, since it is the count down towards the end of the year my pre-k class will be reviewing alphabet letters with the use of the book Chick Chick Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr., and John Archambault. I am a bit adventures because I want all of the students to have their very own Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book that they create. On Monday they are going to design their cover using their arm as the tree trunk and their hands turned outward as the palm fronds. Students have the choice to use paint, crayons, and/or markers to color/paint their tree. Then they also have the choice as to which ten letters to use to decorate the cover of their book. I plan on reviewing print concepts such as what is the purpose of the title of the book, what is the author’s and illustrator’s job before the students begin their project.

Then each day the students will create two alphabet pages from now until the end of the year. The students have a choice of either drawing three pictures beginning with the letter, finding everyday objects that begin with the letter and then glue them on the page or cutting out pictures starting with the letter. Since the students will be working in small groups, each group will have all of the supplies gathered by the two letters they will be working with. For example, for the letter C, the supplies would include pictures beginning with the letter C for them to cut out, objects such as cotton balls or corn to glue on their page. The students will also write the letter several times in rainbow colors, and finally write one word starting with that letter.

Below is the alphabet page we are using. There are three pages in the PDF. One page contains the header, What begins with ________ ? and instructions. Simply write the target letter for the alphabet page in the header and in the directions. The second page is the same as the first, but without the header. The third page is the same as the first page but without the header and instructions. Alphabet Book Page Template >>

Stay tuned for updates on the progress of our monumental task. :-)