"Making Small Miracles a Big Success"

ICS Head Start, in Grenada, Mississippi, prepared for the new school year with Pre-Service Workshops on August 13, 2009. The Reading Aloud class that I taught focused on learning skills to use for pre-reading, during reading, and after reading.
Asking questions before reading the story helps the teacher recognize the child's background knowledge and experience with the subject. During reading the teacher may pause to clarify vocabulary or meaning of text. She may stop and ask the class "What do you think is going to happen next?" before she turns the page. Extensions that follow reading aloud a story help the child pick out important parts, learn sequence, and apply higher order thinking. Each teacher received a TIME FOR READING FUN bag with items to use in their story times. These included: Eyeball It, Frog & Toad puppets, Read My Lips Signs for retelling, and a Read Aloud Learning Wheel that showed best practices for reading aloud. Also in the bag was a foam star with the 5 W's - Who, What, When, Where, & Why, and yes, we did 'Dance with the Stars'. Lastly, a song sheet had words to familiar tunes that could be used while teaching basic concepts. Learning takes place when we engage our students in the process.

Learning Around the Clock

Wednesday, August 5th, Head Start Teachers and assistants in Tupelo, MS learned components of reading aloud and new ways to present stories to build a love for reading with young children. Since language and music are cousins, we learned some songs to use with themes and attention-getters too.

Try some of these:

Song: SNEEZE (Tune: Shorten Bread)
If you have to sneeze, sneeze, sneeze,*
If you have to sneeze, look what I’ve found.
Sneeze in your elbow, elbow, elbow.
Stop those germs from spreading around.
If you have to sneeze, sneeze, sneeze,
If you have to sneeze, do it right!
* cough

Chant: RHYMING WORDS
Do you know 2 rhyming words, 2 rhyming words, 2 rhyming words? Do you know 2 rhyming words that sound a-lot alike?
Bake & Cake are rhyming words, rhyming words, rhyming words, Bake & Cake are rhyming words that sound a-lot alike!

Song: COLORS
(Tune: Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes)
Red, & yellow, green & blue, green & blue. (2X)
Black & brown, purple & orange,
Red & yellow, green & blue, green & blue.


Fingerplay: LITTLE RABBIT
Hop little rabbit, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little rabbit, don’t you stop!
Hop little rabbit, 1-2-3.
Hop little rabbit, just like me!

Save the Date - November 17, 2009

Join me at MSU on November 17, 2009 for the Enrichment Class "Gifts from the Heart".

Read more on the webpage: www.ce.msstate.edu/pe
Click on the blue sidebar that says Fall classes.
Look under Miscellaneous - Gifts from the Heart.
Homemade is best!

BOOKS ARE GREAT! BOOKS ARE NEAT! READING BOOKS JUST CAN'T BE BEAT!

Last week, friends at United Christian Day Care & After School held a Puppet Theater Class. Fluency was a big thing as we learned how to use expression in our voices. Puppeteers really made us laugh by just the way they said things!

We all learned that putting on a show is hard work. Although puppeteers read their scripts posted on the stage wall, it was necessary to be familiar with the words so that you don't get tongue tied. Your arm can sure get tired holding that puppet in place for a whole skit. Remembering to move the puppet's mouth as you are speaking is kind of like patting your head and rubbing your stomach all at the same time. These friends were definitely shining stars!