I was a funny little first-year teacher last year. I learned about classroom management. I learned a lot about Kindergarten. Kindergarteners learn a lot more than the alphabet and numbers like I once thought. Kindergarten is about growing a little older, a little wiser, and about learning the very basics of reading. Teachers teach little ones to listen to stories, comprehend stories, visualize the stories, sound out words, memorize other words, read phrases fluently, and get from reading level aa books (two & three word sentences) to level D-E books (considered beginning 1st grade). Many students are successful. Some students work really hard but they can't learn THAT MUCH in 9 months.... that's where I come into the picture this year. I am the teacher of the second-years, the transition to 1st grade teacher.
This year, my students are a little older (with spring birthdays... all six), come with experience with alphabet and sounds, and are eager to grasp everything Kindergarten in their efforts to move forward towards first grade.
This year, I am not teaching the alphabet in a one letter per week fashion as Kindergarten teachers do. Saxon is a good program, and the students learn SO much through the lessons, but.... I just knew this new group of older Kinders needed more than what Saxon had to offer. I was not given another option for a program, so I am doing it my own way, and I think in the process, I'm learning how to really teach. I'm not leaning against scripts & scheduled lessons to tell me what to teach my students and when. I am making decisions based on assessments, and I am constantly monitoring my students.
This year, I have fallen in love with a book called The Daily 5, which has changed my view on centers. I am teaching my sweet students to be independent when I teach guided reading which is a 360 degree turn from centers last year. My students interrupted my lessons constantly last year..... which hurt the students I was trying to teach how to read. This year, we are slowly building stamina with independent reading-to-self, writing, working on words, listening to reading, and buddy reading. The students do five activities independently throughout the reading instruction, and they are growing as readers and writers.
Every day, I am amazed at how much my students are improving with spelling words in different word families, writing sentences that not only include subjects & verbs... but also adjectives & articles. I love watching them guiding their fingers under the words as they listen to fluent reading on tape or with their Leap Frog Tag books/pens. My students this year are not only learning to read, they are learning to love literacy. Their book baskets are filled with books they enjoy, and they get so excited when I ask them to pick one to read aloud to me. The love finding their sight words they've learned so far, and they work hard to sound-out new words. One of my students last year is with me again this year. Last year, it took him ALL year to identify 26 letters. He never grasped sounds. This year, he can write words like mosquito, dinosaur, and science. He will be a successful first grader next year because of the extra time he spent in Kindergarten.
It's also amazing to have a WONDERFUL para-professional who loves to teach, too. I have passed Calendar Math lessons over to her so I can assess and prepare for afternoon lessons. My days are more scheduled, filled with better teaching, and I can admit my students are happier than my students were last year.
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