Pre-K Teachers Learning Environment Activities

As the school year started teachers are at different levels professional on classroom management, preparation and an array of other areas.  A key component in education is to share knowledge where others may use and/or modify for their student's needs.  Click the link below to expand what you can bring to students and their parents.

http://my.brainshark.com/Pre-K-Teaching-Learning-Environment-Activities-707803839

Again these are just some activities implemented through study theme topics engaged by students and their parents.  Hopefully, you will implement and/or modify with the class.

April is financial literacy month: Pre-k finance activities

April is financial literacy month.  Educators of pre-k age students are given the task to integrate study theme topic content and 21^st century content throughout lesson plans and classroom instructional practices.  This article will focus on “financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy” taken from the list adapted from the 21^st Century Partnership’s Milestones for Improving Learning and Education (MILE) Guide and served as a foundation for the North Carolina Professional Standards.

The lesson plans and activities throughout the learning environment reinforce financial knowledge of money, currency, and credit/debit card, saving and so forth in relationship to daily life.  Create a focus board on a bulletin board, tri-fold display board or chart paper on various related content information on financial literacy.  Some examples are US coins and currency with name included in different languages (English, Spanish, sign language) checkbook, bank statement and plastic credit card.  The Internet is a good resource to secure other countries currency.

After secured information from different countries use the world map to plot, discuss and place related pictorial/written information on country.  The students can tell country or state they would like to travel to displaying and discussing how to travel, cost, method of payment, clothes for trip, saving money and so forth.

Various centers can be changed giving the feel of being in that state or country.  Discuss, display name of event, photo, and cost, passport and other needed steps.  Students can create passport with photo.  The block center can have blueprints of different buildings, modes of transportation to build that will be followed up with planning cost, designing, and building collaboratively.  A guest speaker can share his/her experiences that is cultural developmental age appropriate conversation.

Engage the students in upcoming activities by recording materials, discuss cost and how to obtain good and/or services.  Students can record entries in the journal to show their level(s) of financial literacy.

Remember, finance literacy will be related to past, present, and future activities throughout the school year.  It is important to help students understand using money responsibility that the skills will be taken into their future.

Check out the slide show to view a few of in class activities reinforcing financial literacy.  Here are some other ideas.

1.     Graph how many pennies long item is and record,

2.     Create coin patters by color, upper case letter, lower case letter, coin shape and so forth,

3.     Create coin and/or currency lace cards and/or puzzle,

4.     Let students dictate their story on financial literacy accompanied with their picture, and

5.     Sink and float different number of coins on different objects.  Record predictions and hypothesis first then afterward record to see who’s guesses were correct.

Share different ways you help preschoolers understand financial knowledge.

Pre-k Teachers Demonstrating Leadership for Standard One

It is important for new pre-k teachers to have an understanding of how to document artifacts for their state teacher license teaching portfolio to move from one level to the next one in professional growth.  The article will focus on Standard 1 teachers demonstrate leadership and element B – “teachers demonstrates leadership in the schools for North Carolina teachers.  There are four (4) different levels for teacher to document current status.  Below are documented ways teachers can move from “developing” to “distinguishing”.

1.      “Developing” – attends professional learning community (PLC).  You only attend the PLC and place the agenda in the teacher portfolio (Standard 1B – developing),

2.      “Proficient” - participates in PLC.  There are several different options to document participating in a PLC.  First, if you attend face-to-face meeting talk with the facilitator of different topics you would like to present on at upcoming meetings.  After date is set, place the agenda with your name, date and topic of presentation.  It is good to include any handouts distributed and/or power point slides used.  And second, if online such as blog (http://drbkw-ece.blogspot.com ) or Face Book (Dr. Williamson – PLC closed group) take a snapshot of your posts and/or replies to different topics then place copy in teacher portfolio Standard 1 at proficient level,

3.      “Accomplished” – assumes a leadership role in PLC.  One can assume a leadership role in PLCs by securing presenters for face-to-face facilitators and/or set up listserv through email or use text system such as www.Remind.com to members updated periodically. If the PLC is online create blog page (www.blogspot.com) and/or Face Book page to start posting topics, articles and so forth for people to respond to with their input.  Also let people know of the PLC to be active through attending and/or participating to make information and conversations more in-depth. Teacher can take a screenshot as evidence of setting up PLC and people are actively participating.  Provide documented evidence in teacher portfolio for Standard 1B as accomplished, and 

4.      “Distinguished” – collaborates with colleagues to improve the quality of learning in the school.  Set up face-to-face meeting with colleagues (age/grade) and if in child development center include all teaching staff and non-teaching staff to participate toward discussion on specific child concerns and resolution steps so all are implementing strategies and articulating same message, review upcoming study theme topics for input from whole school to have active role for implementation or discuss cultural development age appropriate techniques through discussing school policies, challenging behaviors and modifications as needed for all to understand and share as needed when asked.  Provide documented evidence in teacher portfolio for Standard 1B as distinguished.   

If you have questions or not quite sure how to set up your teacher portfolio review this YouTube clip “Setting up teacher portfolio according to NC teacher evaluation” at http://youtu.be/yJyfh3lKs3I .  The goal has been to stimulate your thought process of what is currently being implemented for demonstrating leadership in the school moving you on the professional development continuum from “developing” to “distinguished”.

Early childhood educators' tips for classroom environment

The school year has brought successes and challenges ensuring a positive learning environment for each child enrolled.  It is important to share with colleagues’ techniques/strategies that have worked well for areas of leadership, learning environment, instructional content, assessment data and self-reflections.  Here are some tips that can be incorporated as or modified to your setting.

1.     1.   Use various means of technology to keep parents abreast to important dates and events happening in classroom and/or school.  Check out http://www.remind.com to give short text messages,

2.      2.  Create a class website to post pictures, work samples, dictations, and other helpful information.  Check out www.google.com or www.wix.com,

3.      3.  Post next to the entrance door the “Question of the Day” that reference content discussed so parents can engage in conversation with child of what was learned.  This is also a great tool to record children’s conversation (dictation) the next day,

4.      4.  Select a student to be class reporter and use flip camera to decide what event(s) to verbally record the action.  Afterward, post direct quotes from class reporter,

5.      5.  Teach children different helpful words in sign language as another means of communication.  The child can sign a need while teacher is talking with another person,

6.      6.  Write caption of children’s end products and include skills, domain areas, and other information deemed needed to gain better understanding of what’s being viewed,

7.      7.  After discussion of study theme topic, let the children draw picture and give dictation.  Laminate the pages and compile into a book that is displayed in book/literacy center or another related center for content, and

8.      8.  Record topics of interest shared by children, then let them vote to determine upcoming study theme or align with another theme to enhance learning to higher levels of cognitive thinking.

As the school year continues other helpful tips will be shared to assist early childhood educators to implement best practices.  If you have helpful tips please share ensuring our children will become productive citizens of society.