American Symbols

One of  my favorite units to teach my kindergarten students is American Symbols. This unit was especially interesting this year, because of the election. (It is always interesting to hear student opinions, aka repeated opinions that they hear from home, media, older students, etc.) In our school we have 2 weeks to teach this unit and have an emphasis on teaching students to write facts.  

The Big Book that I used throughout the week was America's Symbols by Judith Bauer. We did not read the book front cover to back cover and we did not read it in order because I wanted to expose students to the fact that nonfiction books are read differently than fiction books.  I would recommend this book because there are nice photographs and age appropriate text.



I also supplemented with these awesome Scholastic News Readers. These books came with my classroom so they are a few years old, but really peaked the interest of my little ones. My favorite was Who Works At The White House. After reading this book the children completed a writing project about which job they would want. So Fun!

While we were learning about American Symbols, it was important for my students to stay organized. I made the children flip charts where we recorded information about 4 different American Symbols. Students created their own pictures and wrote their own facts. On top of writing facts, we were also able to review some handwriting rules, and expose students to main idea/ details.

 After two weeks of American Symbol fun, we ended this unit writing a class letter to the president. The plan was to have this be an interactive writing experience, but due to a snow day, it was more of a shared writing experience. This is the first time I have had a class write to the President, so I will need to check back and let you know if we get a reply.

Assessment Tip:
After completing the Space and American Symbol Units, I give my students this free Main Idea/ Details Assessment that can be found on my TPT page.

Student Clipboard Gifts

   I always try to start the school year off with ideas about what gifts I will give my littles for Christmas and graduation, but those ideas always seem to change as I get to know my students. It seems that every year the children are interested in something different. Two years ago the children loved chapter books, last year fancy pens, and this year ... clipboards.  My students LOVE clipboards! I have been collecting them for the last few years so I have a handful and they are one of my most popular items. In our class students can choose to write at their table spot or find a quiet place to work, using a clipboard as their writing surface. The rule in our class is, if you choose a clipboard, it is a 0 voice area. (This rule has helped focus clipboards from a social area to a working area). Using this passion as a guide, I decided to customize clipboards for each of my students to bring home. 


Materials

Scrapbook paper
Scissors
Rubber Cement
Clipboards
Letter Stencils
Stickers (Optional)


Directions

1. Trace out student names on scrapbook paper and cut out.
2. Use rubber cement to glue the letters 
3. Add stickers under the clipboard clip so students can do some of their own decorating.

Although this project was a little time consuming, it was a fun craft project that my students will surely enjoy.

Added notes

* I bought the clipboards from Dollar Tree, only costing one dollar each.
*I tried using Mod Podge, but it ended up staining the clipboards and not sticking well. I strongly suggest rubber cement.
* If you pick a busier paper, I found it best to trace the names to make them easier to read.
* Don't forget to print out one of these fun color by numbers so that students can practice using their clipboards right away.

Newsletter

5 Things To Include In A Kindergarten Newsletter

I am a strong believer in weekly newsletters, but I am also a strong believer that newsletters shouldn't be a long drawn out process. Families are busy, they need right to the point, short tidbits of important information. I send out my newsletters weekly via email, only providing hard copies to families upon request. I do not print my newsletters in color, because I know that a

after a viewing, they will get recycled anyway. 

Things to include in a kindergarten newsletter

   

  1. Upcoming events 

I put this on the front page, because this is what parents are looking for. I include field trips, upcoming student birthdays, due dates, and community events. 

   2. What can we work on at home?   

This is not designed to be a list of things to do, that is too overwhelming for parents, especially with students whom are struggling in multiple areas. I like to start this section with a question. Can your child ______, if not it is never too early to start practicing. 

An example might be, 

Can your child count to 100, if not it is never too early to start practicing. 

Kindergarten students are expected to be able to count to 100 independently by the end of the school year. Some great times to practise are in the car, waiting in line at the grocery store, or even during bath time. Counting to 100 is tricky, so please be encouraging and don't think that you have to start your child at one each time. Maybe your child has mastered counting to 39, start at 30 instead.  Thank you for your continued support at home.

   3. Photos, Photos, Photos

Nothing gets parents more engaged in a newsletter than seeing a picture of their adorable kindergartner. (Make sure to follow school policies about pictures in regards to confidentiality.) I love taking pictures of the kiddos and sharing them with families. I have a google doc checklist where I keep track of which student is presented in the newsletter each week to keep things fair. I am lucky enough to have the world's best gym teacher whom also provides me with pictures often. So fun!

   4. What are we learning?

Nothing drives me more nuts than hearing a parent ask their little one what they did in school today and they respond nothing. AHHHH! This section lists the concepts we are learning for the week to help parents stay up to date and guide at home conversations

   5. Cutesy!!!

Who wants to read a boring newsletter, not me. Add some color, add some clip art, add something. We make learning fun for our students, lets provide some fun for the parents too. If you are interested in any of the clip art on this page click here School Supplies Clip Art, created by yours truly.
                                                                           




                  My Newsletter Example

Sign Up Genius

Every year our kindergarten has a friendship feast. Each class is required to make a dish to pass and share with ALL of the kindergarten students. Our school has five kindergarten classes with roughly 20 students in each class. Yikes! Although this event takes lots of planning, the outcome is amazing! All of the students come to the gym with a handmade hat and placemat. We have long strips of paper laid on the gym floor as their tables and children get to sit wherever they would like. After the principal shares a holiday story, the children get to sample all of the different foods that the classes made. It is so wonderful to hear the students talk about the food that they made and hear how proud they are. 

This year my class will be making  Fruit Pizza. I like to ask parents for donations on events like this and would get so frustrated keeping track of who was bringing what. Luckily I found https://www.signupgenius.com/this year. I highly suggest giving it at try! The website is free, easy to use, and even has the option to send parents reminders. I decided not to invite parents via email and listed the link on my newsletter instead. I love anything that will save on paper.