Self-Portrait Unit

I like to do self-portraits particularly when we are having Open House-always a crowd-pleaser for parents. :) It amazes me how the kids really don't think about what color their hair or eyes are so I have little mirrors they can use. We talk about taking up the whole paper otherwise they just draw a small circle in the corner.

I teach the students what the term is. And then we create self portraits in different mediums.

We make a self portrait using natiure.

And their favorite version-Snack Self-Portraits

Does Changing the Setting Change the Details?

One of my favorite activities to do for critical thinking is changing the setting of a story. I am reading Charlotte's Web a chapter per day to my Kinder students. It is set on a farm-farm animals, Mr. Zuckerman is a farmer, the descriptions of all the farm sounds and sights. What would happen if we changed that setting? What other details would change? It wouldn't be a pig, geese and a rat-who would it be?

I assign the settings and show them pictures of those places to give them ideas for characters and plot points.

Nursery Rhyme Rigor

Nursery rhymes are a staple of laying a foundation for phonemic awareness in our young learners. But how can we make the activities more rigorous?

1) Substitute new rhymes-how does it change the details? Little Miss ______, sat on a __________. Little Miss CAT sat on a MAT-does it change the other details in the rhyme at all?

2) Compare and contrast nursery rhymes-Little Bo Peep and Mary Had a Little Lamb.

3) Nursery Rhymes from different perspectives-the farmer in Little Boy Blue or the Spider in Little Miss Muffet.

4) Nursery rhymes are from the past-what will nursery rhymes of the future look like?