Peek at My Week and Plans . . . Daily 5 Here We Go!
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Well, I made it through the first week of school. In one piece and with my wits still about me. I call that a ‘win.’ I’m trying to get myself in some kind of routine to post my plans for all of you. Slowly but surely, I’m making my first attempt of the year. It’s a bit tough when your class is still in the ‘learning procedures and routines’ stage and when you start school about three weeks later than everyone, but for what it’s worth, here is a peak at my up-coming week. I’m linking up with Deedee at Mrs. Will’s for her weekly peek, so make sure you click on the link at the bottom of the page to see others’ great plans too. I started Math Stations on Day 2 of school this year, and I am sooooooo pleased at how well my students have gotten into the routine and the procedures and steps for each activity. This will be the 2nd week of stations (it takes about 3 weeks for everyone to work at each station twice).
All of these activities are from my Back To School Math Stations Galore pack (and I actually had a couple of activities to spare — I’m placing the extras in my exploratory ‘Learning Centers’ to get good use out of them.)
If you would like a print copy of this Math Station schedule, go ahead and click on the schedule above to get it.
Otherwise, here’s a quick overview and you can click on any picture to get more information:
1. Back To School I-Spy
2. Sensory Table Color Sort
3. Lost Lunch
4. Write The Room for Back To School Supplies
5. Linking Back To School Numbers
6. Count Your Supplies
7. Play-doh Back To School Numbers
8. Back To School Crayon Patterns
9. Counting On Friends
This week’s big goal is to introduce rotations for Daily 6 (my version of Daily 5). Half the battle is establishing a good system. In my class, I do not have my students choose where they go (this is a huge difference between what Daily 5 preaches and the reality of what has worked for me in my classroom) but once the routine is established, my kinders get plenty of opportunities for choice within each station.
Here’s the schedule of stations and how we rotate through them. You can click on the picture if you would like to print this out.
If you downloaded this earlier, I went back and tweaked it because it didn’t flow with my room layout but it’s the same idea. I wanted to update it though so if I ever referred back it would match up.
For these first two weeks (and perhaps more depending on how ready they are) we are doing a revised schedule in order to acquaint everyone with the stations and expectations. I have an extra body in my classroom this year with my student teacher, and I’m taking full advantage of it with help getting Daily 6 stations started and going.
We are still working on building stamina for ‘read to self.’ So at that station, I have an activity for them to use instead. Once they build stamina to 15 minutes, I will implement read to self as a permanent station for them.
I also have an extra Word Work station in place of ‘Read to Someone,’ because my students just aren’t ready for that for several months. Once they are, I will replace Word Work 2 with Read to Someone.
Also because it is only the second week of school, I still have some assessing to do and will not start differentiating these stations for another week or two unless I see they are ready for it sooner.
Here’s a quick overview of Monday and Tuesday Daily 6 Stations: 1. Work on Writing – Back to School Write the Room (I have an adult walk them through this first together before letting them go out on their own.)
2. Listen To Reading- I have individual reading bags with personal CD players, a book, clipboard, pencils and crayons. We won’t start response to listen reports until a bit later.
3. Word Work 1 – Back To School Play-doh Letters. These are the same picture cues that are used in my Early Learners Alpha books and Charts.
4. Read to Self- Since we aren’t ready for this quite yet, my students will be working on Back To School Linking Letters.
5. Meet The Teacher-This is the time that I will be doing guided reading. We won’t be quite there for a while so I will be working with students on the Early Learners Alphabet Chart with Magnets at this station.
6. Word Work Station 2- Back to School Bingo Dotter Letter Fun.
And so then Wednesday-Thursday Schedule of events are the following:
1. Back To School Write the Room Fun- This time they are on their own and independent. (Same as above)
2. Listen to Reading
3. Word Work 1- Back to School I-Spy Fun. My kinders have been using I-Spy activities over in the Math Stations so they won’t need to much guidance… even so…there will be a little exploring going on still with magnifying glasses before they get down to work.
4. Read To Self-Of course they aren’t there yet so this time they are going to be doing Bead Exploration. We use beads a TON in my classroom, so getting them started on a small scale with sorting and writing their name and just getting acquainted with how to string them on pipe cleaners really helps. If you don’t have this yet, it is a freebie in my store. Just click on the picture for the link to get it.
5. Meet the Teacher – We are going to working at Back To School ‘What’s Missing’ at this station. It ends up being a self-correcting, independent station, but I like to work with my students to make sure they understand the concept.
6. Word Work 2 – Time for Recess. This is a pocket chart game where students take turns hiding and guessing where the recess slide is hidden. Students take turns guessing letters by naming them until the slide is found. Whomever finds the hidden slide gets to hide it next. It’s part of Back School Word Work Stations Galore.
I know a bunch of you have asked me about my Daily Schedule, and I’m working on a post that includes that as well…be patient with me. But for now, you have a peek at my Daily 6 and Math Stations. I’m still trying to find a plan template for these visual plans that I love but I’m not quite there yet. I’ll keep tweaking as I go along. Until them, here’s hoping week two goes as well as week one.
Don’t forget to check out Deedee’s plans and everyone else’s by clicking on the link below.
With nearly 20 years of experience as a full-time kindergarten teacher, I’m committed to creating a classroom where learning is joyful, engaging, challenging, and fun. Each day, I work to ensure that my students feel successful through instruction that considers their unique interests, learning profiles, and readiness levels. I believe that students should be excited to come to class and enjoy a myriad of hands-on activities that encourage exploration and discovery.
While I continue to teach full-time, I find so much joy in connecting and building friendships with teachers worldwide. It’s why I started this blog back in 2012. My hope has become a reality as I have been able to forge relationships with teachers, sharing ideas and building friendships beyond my little neck of the woods through professional development sessions and this blog.
So by all means, take some time to look around and explore A Differentiated Kindergarten. Gather some new ideas, fun tips, and most importantly, don’t forget to reach out and say, ‘Hi!’
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