Pay No Attention to the Clutter Behind the Interactive Board!
This is our group learning area, which we call Circle Time (CT). The cool purple TV-looking device is called a Tap-It and it is an interactive computer monitor which links directly to my desktop. I make and use mostly Boardmaker activities on it. The calendar area is on the left, and the large circle to the right is the schedule that we use during Circle Time. As we complete each activity, I velcro a black wedge-shaped piece over it to show them the passage of time. Of course, the activities are presented clockwise (but not in this picture!) ;) next to the symbol for each activity, I velcro a student's picture so that they are the ones responsible for leading that activity. Leaders for each activity rotate throughout the week, ensuring that everyone gets a chance to be both a leader and a follower in each activity. We do a morning and an afternoon Circle Time, which is why the pie pieces look counter-clockwise in this picture (because it's afternoon.) Here's a close-up of the circle schedule. There is a green dot to show where to start, and blue arrows to show what is next. When the activities are all covered, students know that the next step is to flip the circle over and see what's next! A large symbol of a preferred activity (centers, story time, playground, movie, cooking activity, etc. ) is waiting for them on the other side.
Wish you could see my students. They're adorable. ;)
Wish you could see my students. They're adorable. ;)
Classroom Helpers
Every day, each student in the class is responsible for one job. The students get to choose jobs and put their picture under the job that they have chosen. This is a good activity for teaching choice and a good opportunity for the students to see that behaving has its rewards! I pick who gets to choose first by describing a behavior choice that I witnessed that morning that is favorable, such as sitting in the chair during breakfast, and then naming the student who made the choice. Whoever goes first almost always chooses to be the video helper, which is the student who picks a favorite video to watch during the transition time right before lunch. It's only five minutes of video, but it is a very strong motivator to be the student who gets to choose it. (For some reason, the video helper symbol isn't in this photo.) Even though the video helper job is the favorite, each of the jobs offers some aspect that the kids enjoy, so they are always excited about choosing and carrying out their job for the day. We also have a fish helper for the student who feeds the fish, which is another strong motivator to get chosen early in the picking lineup :) If I have a student who is being difficult or who has unusual interests, I figure out at least one job that will be a strong motivator to that child. For this reason, the jobs change periodically. In this photo, we have a floor helper job because I had a student who was strongly motivated by vacuum cleaners- but not much else, so we came up with that job just so he could vacuum the carpet in the play area. I allow students to take the job symbol with them to the area of the room where the job is located so that they have a reminder of what they are there to do, and they return the job symbol when they complete the job. They also put a symbol that says "finished" under the job symbol when they are done.
Our Calendar Area
We count to the next number, decide what number is next, review how to write the numeral, find the numeral that I just wrote, put it in its proper location, sing and point to the days of the week.... We point out the month, discuss letters in the month, what objects or activities might happen in that month, and then we cross it off on our actual wall calendar.
While I LOVE technology, I prefer a real calendar to a screen-based version, although there are a lot of great interactive ones available. Later in the year, if my students are bored with this one, we'll switch to using one on the Tap-It. We do weather and the seasons on there already. Below, you can see what our interactive weather and season board looks like. Each student has one in their lap so that they can follow along while the Weather Helper uses the Tap-It board to complete the onscreen board that looks just like it. This way, everyone is engaged.
While I LOVE technology, I prefer a real calendar to a screen-based version, although there are a lot of great interactive ones available. Later in the year, if my students are bored with this one, we'll switch to using one on the Tap-It. We do weather and the seasons on there already. Below, you can see what our interactive weather and season board looks like. Each student has one in their lap so that they can follow along while the Weather Helper uses the Tap-It board to complete the onscreen board that looks just like it. This way, everyone is engaged.
Here is a youtube video from my favorite resource for children's music- Super Simple Learning. They are the source for all of the music that I use during Circle Time. Their website has many free or low-cost resources, including wonderful songs, visual aids, printables, videos, and activity suggestions.
Classroom Management Stuff...
Each child in my class has a specific color assigned to them to help them learn where they are supposed to be. Every morning, I place a sticker with each child's color on the rug where they will later place their cube chairs. After breakfast, they stand on their colored sticker and do some movement exercises to get the wiggles out before we move on to table work. I teach them to "hide" their sticker from me with their feet. I spontaneously award students who are standing on their stickers when I check. Later in the morning, when it's time for Circle Time, I ask the students to get their cube chairs and put them over their stickers. The heavy work that carrying the chairs provides seems to help them to get ready for sitting for a 20-minute-long Circle Time. After we're seated, if staying in their cube chair is a continuing problem for them (AND if I believe that they can do better), I will take their sticker when I see it. I stick it on the "I Sit" chart, which means that they owe me one minute of extra wait time when it's time to dismiss from Circle Time to go play in centers. When we dismiss from Circle Time and their friends go to play in Centers, the non-sitter :) sits at the table with their sticker chart and we count how many minutes they must wait to play (how many of their stickers they chose not to hide), and they read me the line that says "I sit during Circle Time." I don't point out how awful they are for not sitting earlier, and this is not a punishment. Rather, I reinforce the idea that they do their work first and then they play, and that sitting is part of their work. They wait until the timer beeps and then go play. If i don't make a big deal out of it, neither do they- usually :) It does teach them to be more self-aware and it reinforces for them that they can control their bodies. Students will even warn each other when they see their friend's sticker. If necessary, I also put a sticker in the student's chair seat, but usually just leaving it on the floor is enough, plus it makes them keep their chairs still!
Dot sticker chart... Next to it is a visual cue card for my behavior system. It is a reminder of their ability to stop and think about their options before they choose the wrong thing. I point to it or even hand it to them if they need to hold it, but I try not to verbally remind them- if I can help it. These yellow signs are all over my classroom so that I can reach one quickly. It's my way of trying to proactively address behavior problems, and it works pretty well. The idea came from a program called "Red and Green Choices" which is easily googled if you'd like more information on it. If you don't have a positive behavior intervention system in place, I highly recommend this. I have made adaptations to it, of course.
These are my red and green choices sorting charts, which have velcro-backed symbols for many different behavior choices. We discuss them, role play them and problem-solve them. They are great reminders for the students of how their choices fit in to the classroom as a whole. I teach what each behavior choice symbol means, and I remind them of the criteria for red choices and green choices so that they can evaluate what kind of choice it is. Green choices are safe, help people to feel happy, keep things from getting broken, and help the fun keep going. Red choices hurt people, break things, make people feel sad and make the fun stop. Yellow is a warning that I use to indicate to a student that their current choice may become red soon, such as their volume, speed, force, etc. Another important concept for me is that the kids understand that they always have a choice, and that every red choice has a green opposite (and vice versa). I also use little prompts around the room in problem areas that remind the kids of what their options are in that situation, such as the bathroom. There is a small green picture of handwashing next to a small red picture of playing in the water in the sink. Students see their choices and make the right decision without me getting involved.
Want to guess which colors I make sure that kids learn first every year? :)
Want to guess which colors I make sure that kids learn first every year? :)