Final Update on Action Research

I have found that using the ninja letter cards along side phonic phones have worked really well with students! My students are still engaged with both of these things. Although the specific student that I intended this for is slowly losing interest, my other students have truly increased in their learning and engagement. They really enjoy being able to create ninja moves with these letters.

So if I go back to the beginning of my first action research in including technology for calendar and weather, the technology helped with student engagement. I made sure that technology was more of a support than a replacement in teaching the concepts in calendar and weather. When doing this, I found that students showed engagement in learning. One of their favorite things to do was dress up our weather bear through the Smartboard to show each other what the weather was like that day.

The next action research of using ninja cards and phonic phones also showed an increase in engagement in students. I have found that both of these tools and the combination of both of these tools have helped students want to learn. They seem to have more fun and are willing to listen to what we are learning as a class. I have been continuing to use these tools and I really look forward to the end of the year as they increase learning in letter concepts.

The Napping House by Audrey Wood

A lesson that I do with my students every year is based on the book, The Napping House, by Audrey Wood. Students learn how to retell the story by using musical instruments to go along with the story. This encourages the students to follow along with the story and be able to retell the storyline in a fun way. The story itself is repetitive and each animal or character in the story repeats itself.

(here is the reading of the book if you are unfamiliar with the actual book) 

After reading the book aloud, I ask students to choose an instrument that best matches the sounds of the different characters in the book. Then, as we read the story again, students are able to play the instruments when their character comes out in the story. 

To add technology, I think I would actually record the students as they play the instruments while reading. This would allow them to watch what they have created. My students love seeing what they have made. I think that this would be a fun way to create something as a class while learning how to understand a story that uses sequencing. 

Exercise: An Antidote for Behavioral Issues in Students? by Amy Norton

This article was extremely interesting to me. I have a student in my class that has some behavioral issues that we have been trying to coach him in throughout the year. I have tried mini exercises with just him but have not seen a huge success. I wonder if it wasn't long enough because it literally has been 15-20 jumping jacks (prekindergarten style). This is something that I would like to try. I'm wondering if his behavior would slightly improve if we had time to exercise as a whole class that was more structured. I think this would be a fun action research project that I could do for the rest of the year to see if it helps.

This particular student struggles with his immediate reactions after quarrels of any kind. He struggles to control his temper and resorts to physical actions that are not appropriate in the classroom. This is something that I will try and update on here to see there is any improvement in his behavior.

Furniture is becoming Comfy by James Vaznis

I love using alternate seating in our classroom! In my classroom we have kid-size exercise balls that students sit on in place of regular chairs. We actually have half chairs and half exercise balls in which we alternate everyday. I have found that this has improved focus in some of our students. I understand when one of the educators in the article said that seeing "her 7-8 year old students bouncing up and down and wobbling around during the day's lessons took some getting used to" (Vaznis). I also felt the same way, then realized that a little bounce is okay if it allows students to focus a little better when learning.

The students are much used to it now and we've seen a lot of benefit from this sort of seating. With a little bit of movement, they are able to stay focused on their tasks. The balls allow them to do this without being too distracting.

here is a link to the exercise balls that we have in the classroom!

Digital Citizenship Lesson

Goal: Students will learn how to safely navigate the internet. They will learn 3 basic rules.
1. Ask a parent first
2. Only talk to people you know
3. Stick to places just right for you

Question: How do I stay safe on the internet? Why do I need to be safe when going on a computer with internet access?

1. Discussion: Discuss with students why being safe on the internet is important. Discuss student thoughts and write them down on the board.

2. Show Digital Citizenship video about using the internet.

3. Discuss the three rules of going on the internet and do a hands on activity. The video talks about "walking" through the internet safely, just like when we cross the street. As we discuss this, students would have to decide if a certain example feels safe, "ify'" or dangerous.
Green=Safe
Yellow="ify"
Red=Dangerous

Here are some examples of pictures that could be used for this activity: 

There would be other examples and scenarios that would be discussed as a class. I think that this would be a fun way for younger students to learn how and why we need to use caution as we surf the internet. 

Helpful Website for Pre-K!

IXL

This website is a fun way to assess my students as a whole group. It has a series of questions that relate to math and literacy skills and they are separated by grade level. I used this with my students and they love it. They are able to visually see what they need to know. We did this on our smartboard and students loved getting the opportunity to come up and choose the correct answer. I think that this is a fun and simple way to assess student skill and knowledge. I especially like that the questions are simple enough for pre-k students to answer without that much help in reading the questions.

Update on Action Research: NInja Letters

It has been fun using ninja alphabet cards to enhance student learning in letter sounds. I haven't had the opportunity yet to use the phonic phones but I decided to make up a fun game using these cards for the students to remember their letter sounds. 

I'd show them the letter cards with the ninjas, and the students would have to move their arms in writing the letter while making the sound of the letter in a martial arts related manner. My students have really been enjoying this and seem to have more fun learning the material this way. This also allows for physical movement, which we love!