Week 1:
Common Core Standard(s):
N/A—First day, get to know the students
Title(s) of book(s) used:
N/A—First day, get to know the students
Summary of the lesson:
We had the students break into two groups. My group each got a little cup of M&M’s and they had answer three questions that I ask about themselves in order to eat their M&M’s. The students seemed to really enjoy this and had plenty to say. I was able to narrow in on what they want to read about. Nicole’s group passed a ball around and the students had to state their opinion on the topic given (i.e. Favorite animal).
What went well and why:
We were able to learn a lot about what the students want to read about and some activities that may help us select appropriate material for the students that would fully engage them. The students seemed to enjoy the activities when it was their turn to talk.
What you would change if you could re-do the lesson:
I would make this lesson much more active. Many of the students wanted to run around and move. We forget how short a kindergartener’s attention span is. So we would select something that would have had the students moving.
What you learned about your students during this session:
We learned a lot of things about the students. We learned their favorite books (like Elephant and Piggie books! How perfect is that?), as well as their favorite movies, animals, what they like to do in their spare time, and what they want to be when they grow up (there were lots of prospective teachers out there!). We also learned that the students are really active and want to move a lot.
How you will use what you learned about students in planning next week’s activity:
Next week, we have the students doing a very fun activity that involves problem solving and team work. We have a book picked out, and the coordinator helped set us up with the book and the activity kit. She is very optimistic about this activity, and we are very excited to bring the kit to life.
Questions/Concerns about the After School experience:
At this time, I do not have any questions or concerns about the after school experience.
Week 2:
Common Core Standard(s):
CSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.9 “Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
Title(s) of book(s) used:
The Three Little Pigs’ Sledding Adventure written by Stephen Krensky and illustrated by Michele Shortley
Summary of the lesson:
We began by reading to the students. The students then partook in two activities. All students began by playing "The Big Bad Wolf" tag. And for the second activity we would pull four students from the game at a time to partake in the second activity which was an activity that explored acceleration. The students would roll car down a ramp and by changing the height of the ramp the farther the car will knock the block at the end of the track.
What went well and why:
Monday went really well! We plan on continuing this lesson into next week as we were unable to get all students through the car versus the block. So we will start with that next week. Students seemed to respond much better this week as we had them moving. A lot. The students really enjoyed running around and were able to pay attention better when they were pulled from the activity to focus.
What you would change if you could re-do the lesson:
I would shorten the process of the second activity. There were more students then could make it through the activity and we had made the activity more in depth than was necessary for the students to grasp the concepts.
What you learned about your students during this session:
The students grasped concepts faster than originally expected. Students stayed engaged after running and getting their wiggles out. They were able to focus for a longer period of time which made this activity run much more smoothly.
How you will use what you learned about students in planning next week’s activity:
We will make sure we keep an active component involved. Keeping kids active before we settle in and read, made the students pay attention better. We will definitely keep this as it makes book club much smoother. I really enjoyed this week. And we will continue with this activity next week.
Questions/Concerns about the After School experience:
None at this time.
Week 3:
Common Core Standard(s):
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.9 Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
Title(s) of book(s) used:
A Big Guy Took My Ball by Mo Willems
Summary of the lesson:
We finished up the lesson from last week for a majority of the time. For the last bit to help the children “cool down” after running around for an hour, we read the Elephant and Piggie book. We asked the students some comprehension questions.
What went well and why:
The successes were much the same as that of the previous week. Students were very engaged in both activities. The book reading went much better than last week’s. Students seemed to better-read out expectations for when we read a story (there was not as much interruption as last week.
What you would change if you could re-do the lesson:
If I could redo the lesson I would probably just pull students out of the larger group instead of having students remember their groups (they tended to forget this and there were “fights” about whose partner was whose). I would just ask the students who had not partaken in the car activity yet, and take those that raise their hands in groups of 4-5. I figured this out at the tail end of Monday that it was a more easy and fluid method, and when crunched for time, it was more efficient. I also wish we had had more time to read to the students.
What you learned about your students during this session:
Our students get bored very quickly. And their attention spans are shorter when they’re at one activity and they are “stuck” at the other. This was a problem at the car station, but there were also students that wanted to go repeatedly roll the cars down the track and did not want to play the fox tag game.
How you will use what you learned about students in planning next week’s activity:
If you are doing two different activities, having them in separate rooms would potentially help out attention span time. Providing a cool down activity after running around for an hour really helped the students to slow down and relax back into a temperament in order to head home with parents.
Questions/Concerns about the After School experience:
None at this time!
Week 4:
Common Core Standard(s):
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson
Title(s) of book(s) used:
Elmer by David McKee
Elmer and Rose by David McKee
Summary of the lesson:
Students began by listening, first, to Elmer and we discussed what Elmer learns in the story and a message that they heard from the book. The students then had to go over to the table and quietly sit and wait for directions. Each student received a glue stick, a pair of scissors, and a cut-out of Elmer, groups of students received every color construction paper provided. Students were then tasked with decorating how they want Elmer to look by cutting shapes (circles, triangles,squares, etc.). out in the construction paper and then they have to paste those shapes onto Elmer. After they were done, they laid the Elmer's along the wall to dry and then had to clean up their area. Once done with that, students had to join me at the reading circle. Once all students got there we closed with Elmer and Rose.
What went well and why:
Students seemed to be really engaged in the book this week and seemed to highly enjoy both books. The Elmer project was very popular and all the Elmers turned out really well. They were also able to describe what happened in the story using their Elmer creations. This lesson went really well, I was impressed with the results and how much the students enjoyed the activity.
What you would change if you could re-do the lesson:
If I could redo the lesson, I would have liked to have the students in a classroom rather than a corner of the gym. The gym seems to instill ants in the children's pants. Which would make sense, I do not think I would prefer to do storytelling in a gym setting. The students are just too distracted by what they want to do, rather than focusing on what they're supposed to do.
What you learned about your students during this session:
I learned that my students have a wide variety of artistic abilities. On one hand, you have students who have gone into great detail and spent the entire time trying to perfect their elephant, while on the other hand, you have students who stuck some pieces to Elmer and then looked at the teachers and said "I'm done. Now what?"
How you will use what you learned about students in planning next week’s activity:
Next week we will aim to get back to playing a running game before we sit down for any book or activity. The students just have way too many ants in their pants at this time of day to sit still, read a book, and then focus on an activity. We hope to make next week more physically active.
Questions/Concerns about the After School experience:
None at this time.
Week 5:
Common Core Standard(s):
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
Title(s) of book(s) used:
Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
Summary of the lesson:
Students came into the gym and went straight to the center circle. The strings (“tightropes”) were on the ground when the students entered the gym. Once they were settled in, students listened to a reading of Mirette on the High Wire. Once the reading was done, we explained the expectations for our “tightrope” walking. Students then proceeded to their tightropes and then we gave them different challenges to get them comfortable with the ropes, and then we let them experiment with movements as well as manipulatives across the tightropes. We then gave five students (that had been really focused and behaved) a chance to showcase their talents.
What went well and why:
Students really enjoyed this activity and the book. This was the first book I read, where there was no commotion, and students were entranced by the book. They sat quietly and there was no blurting out. It felt like someone had just put them in a trance. It was wonderful! The movement was perfect for this level of students. They seemed to have fun with the activity.
What you would change if you could re-do the lesson:
If I could redo the lesson, I would make sure to have more manipulatives for the students to use. For example, have a 1:1 ratio of hula hoops to students as well as more pans for the students to use. This would have let the students focus more on their own work, rather than trying to steal the hula hoops from other students.
What you learned about your students during this session:
Our students seemed more engaged in the reading when the reading level challenged their comprehension level. They really had to think about the story and what the words meant. This kept them quiet and focused. Previously, using books that were really simple, seemed to give them more chances to blurt out. This book challenged their knowledge, and I think that really helped the attention spans to this book.
How you will use what you learned about students in planning next week’s activity:
We will choose a book that, again, challenges their reading level. Not to the point where they will not understand anything about the book, but just enough to keep them thinking about what the words mean, and how they match up with the pictures.
Questions/Concerns about the After School experience:
None at this time.
Common Core Standard(s):
N/A—First day, get to know the students
Title(s) of book(s) used:
N/A—First day, get to know the students
Summary of the lesson:
We had the students break into two groups. My group each got a little cup of M&M’s and they had answer three questions that I ask about themselves in order to eat their M&M’s. The students seemed to really enjoy this and had plenty to say. I was able to narrow in on what they want to read about. Nicole’s group passed a ball around and the students had to state their opinion on the topic given (i.e. Favorite animal).
What went well and why:
We were able to learn a lot about what the students want to read about and some activities that may help us select appropriate material for the students that would fully engage them. The students seemed to enjoy the activities when it was their turn to talk.
What you would change if you could re-do the lesson:
I would make this lesson much more active. Many of the students wanted to run around and move. We forget how short a kindergartener’s attention span is. So we would select something that would have had the students moving.
What you learned about your students during this session:
We learned a lot of things about the students. We learned their favorite books (like Elephant and Piggie books! How perfect is that?), as well as their favorite movies, animals, what they like to do in their spare time, and what they want to be when they grow up (there were lots of prospective teachers out there!). We also learned that the students are really active and want to move a lot.
How you will use what you learned about students in planning next week’s activity:
Next week, we have the students doing a very fun activity that involves problem solving and team work. We have a book picked out, and the coordinator helped set us up with the book and the activity kit. She is very optimistic about this activity, and we are very excited to bring the kit to life.
Questions/Concerns about the After School experience:
At this time, I do not have any questions or concerns about the after school experience.
Week 2:
Common Core Standard(s):
CSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.9 “Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
Title(s) of book(s) used:
The Three Little Pigs’ Sledding Adventure written by Stephen Krensky and illustrated by Michele Shortley
Summary of the lesson:
We began by reading to the students. The students then partook in two activities. All students began by playing "The Big Bad Wolf" tag. And for the second activity we would pull four students from the game at a time to partake in the second activity which was an activity that explored acceleration. The students would roll car down a ramp and by changing the height of the ramp the farther the car will knock the block at the end of the track.
What went well and why:
Monday went really well! We plan on continuing this lesson into next week as we were unable to get all students through the car versus the block. So we will start with that next week. Students seemed to respond much better this week as we had them moving. A lot. The students really enjoyed running around and were able to pay attention better when they were pulled from the activity to focus.
What you would change if you could re-do the lesson:
I would shorten the process of the second activity. There were more students then could make it through the activity and we had made the activity more in depth than was necessary for the students to grasp the concepts.
What you learned about your students during this session:
The students grasped concepts faster than originally expected. Students stayed engaged after running and getting their wiggles out. They were able to focus for a longer period of time which made this activity run much more smoothly.
How you will use what you learned about students in planning next week’s activity:
We will make sure we keep an active component involved. Keeping kids active before we settle in and read, made the students pay attention better. We will definitely keep this as it makes book club much smoother. I really enjoyed this week. And we will continue with this activity next week.
Questions/Concerns about the After School experience:
None at this time.
Week 3:
Common Core Standard(s):
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.9 Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
Title(s) of book(s) used:
A Big Guy Took My Ball by Mo Willems
Summary of the lesson:
We finished up the lesson from last week for a majority of the time. For the last bit to help the children “cool down” after running around for an hour, we read the Elephant and Piggie book. We asked the students some comprehension questions.
What went well and why:
The successes were much the same as that of the previous week. Students were very engaged in both activities. The book reading went much better than last week’s. Students seemed to better-read out expectations for when we read a story (there was not as much interruption as last week.
What you would change if you could re-do the lesson:
If I could redo the lesson I would probably just pull students out of the larger group instead of having students remember their groups (they tended to forget this and there were “fights” about whose partner was whose). I would just ask the students who had not partaken in the car activity yet, and take those that raise their hands in groups of 4-5. I figured this out at the tail end of Monday that it was a more easy and fluid method, and when crunched for time, it was more efficient. I also wish we had had more time to read to the students.
What you learned about your students during this session:
Our students get bored very quickly. And their attention spans are shorter when they’re at one activity and they are “stuck” at the other. This was a problem at the car station, but there were also students that wanted to go repeatedly roll the cars down the track and did not want to play the fox tag game.
How you will use what you learned about students in planning next week’s activity:
If you are doing two different activities, having them in separate rooms would potentially help out attention span time. Providing a cool down activity after running around for an hour really helped the students to slow down and relax back into a temperament in order to head home with parents.
Questions/Concerns about the After School experience:
None at this time!
Week 4:
Common Core Standard(s):
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson
Title(s) of book(s) used:
Elmer by David McKee
Elmer and Rose by David McKee
Summary of the lesson:
Students began by listening, first, to Elmer and we discussed what Elmer learns in the story and a message that they heard from the book. The students then had to go over to the table and quietly sit and wait for directions. Each student received a glue stick, a pair of scissors, and a cut-out of Elmer, groups of students received every color construction paper provided. Students were then tasked with decorating how they want Elmer to look by cutting shapes (circles, triangles,squares, etc.). out in the construction paper and then they have to paste those shapes onto Elmer. After they were done, they laid the Elmer's along the wall to dry and then had to clean up their area. Once done with that, students had to join me at the reading circle. Once all students got there we closed with Elmer and Rose.
What went well and why:
Students seemed to be really engaged in the book this week and seemed to highly enjoy both books. The Elmer project was very popular and all the Elmers turned out really well. They were also able to describe what happened in the story using their Elmer creations. This lesson went really well, I was impressed with the results and how much the students enjoyed the activity.
What you would change if you could re-do the lesson:
If I could redo the lesson, I would have liked to have the students in a classroom rather than a corner of the gym. The gym seems to instill ants in the children's pants. Which would make sense, I do not think I would prefer to do storytelling in a gym setting. The students are just too distracted by what they want to do, rather than focusing on what they're supposed to do.
What you learned about your students during this session:
I learned that my students have a wide variety of artistic abilities. On one hand, you have students who have gone into great detail and spent the entire time trying to perfect their elephant, while on the other hand, you have students who stuck some pieces to Elmer and then looked at the teachers and said "I'm done. Now what?"
How you will use what you learned about students in planning next week’s activity:
Next week we will aim to get back to playing a running game before we sit down for any book or activity. The students just have way too many ants in their pants at this time of day to sit still, read a book, and then focus on an activity. We hope to make next week more physically active.
Questions/Concerns about the After School experience:
None at this time.
Week 5:
Common Core Standard(s):
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
Title(s) of book(s) used:
Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
Summary of the lesson:
Students came into the gym and went straight to the center circle. The strings (“tightropes”) were on the ground when the students entered the gym. Once they were settled in, students listened to a reading of Mirette on the High Wire. Once the reading was done, we explained the expectations for our “tightrope” walking. Students then proceeded to their tightropes and then we gave them different challenges to get them comfortable with the ropes, and then we let them experiment with movements as well as manipulatives across the tightropes. We then gave five students (that had been really focused and behaved) a chance to showcase their talents.
What went well and why:
Students really enjoyed this activity and the book. This was the first book I read, where there was no commotion, and students were entranced by the book. They sat quietly and there was no blurting out. It felt like someone had just put them in a trance. It was wonderful! The movement was perfect for this level of students. They seemed to have fun with the activity.
What you would change if you could re-do the lesson:
If I could redo the lesson, I would make sure to have more manipulatives for the students to use. For example, have a 1:1 ratio of hula hoops to students as well as more pans for the students to use. This would have let the students focus more on their own work, rather than trying to steal the hula hoops from other students.
What you learned about your students during this session:
Our students seemed more engaged in the reading when the reading level challenged their comprehension level. They really had to think about the story and what the words meant. This kept them quiet and focused. Previously, using books that were really simple, seemed to give them more chances to blurt out. This book challenged their knowledge, and I think that really helped the attention spans to this book.
How you will use what you learned about students in planning next week’s activity:
We will choose a book that, again, challenges their reading level. Not to the point where they will not understand anything about the book, but just enough to keep them thinking about what the words mean, and how they match up with the pictures.
Questions/Concerns about the After School experience:
None at this time.