Excellent Instructional Practice

From the Minnesota Public Schools, recommendations and examples of instruction that "beats the odds" while creating learning success for youngsters.   Movies include lessons on phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, oral comprehension & vocabulary development, writing, and resources.

 http://rea.mpls.k12.mn.us/uploads/teachers_who_beat_the_odds.pdf

50 Ways to Learn the ABC's

"Too much of a good thing is wonderful."  ~Mae West

http://handsonaswegrow.com/2012/08/50-ways-for-preschoolers-to-learn-their-abcs/

Websites for Youngsters

There's a little bit of something out there for everyone.

http://www.readingresource.net/websitesforkids.html

Practice Makes Perfect

You can't go wrong when encouraging learners to practice new words in different, sensory-rich ways!

http://www.readingresource.net/support-files/spellingpractice.pdf

Shining Moments

Creating and Celebrating Learning Potential Everyday at Parkside!

http://parksidekids.blogspot.com/

GAME: "Rhyme Time"

Fun for one-to-six B-I-N-G-O players who will identify rhyming words and establish essential pre-reading skills.  Why?  Phonemic awareness skills are crucial for reading success.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/readingresourcekatieuploads/rhymetimebingo.pdf

GAME: "Hickety Pickey Bumblebee"

Help young readers by using this easy-to-remember rhyming game.  Let's play "Hickety Pickety Bumblebee" & emphasize the phonemes (sounds) in words.....familiar ones like student names!
Once they master them, the possibilities are endless.

http://www.readingresource.net/support-files/hicketypickety.pdf

GAME: Let's Play "Sound Boxes"

Young readers need to be able to recognize the distinct sounds that make up a word. 
This colorful game will give them the chance to distinguish from two to five sounds
in different words. 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/readingresourcekatieuploads/soundboxes.pdf

Phonemic Awareness Activities

Activities & games galore for learners who are developing phonemic awareness  skills- right here!

http://www.readingresource.net/phonemicawarenessactivities.html

All About Fall

Look no further for ideas and books that help young children celebrate fall!

http://site.lotstolearn.com/blog/?p=2590&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Foster Language Skills Today

Developing language skills for reading success just got easier with activities from Scholastic.  

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bll/index.htm

The Child Entering Kindergarten

What K-students should know

First and last name and parent's first and last name.

Follow instructions from teachers and parents.

Recognize letters (both lowercase and uppercase) and numbers (up to 10).

Communicate wants and needs (like hunger, pain, happiness) through words.

Know basic colors and shapes.

Be able to be apart from parents during the day.

Use the bathroom independently, dress and undress, and wash hands.

Sit quietly for short periods of time.

Solve problems without hitting, biting or yelling.

Show curiosity and enthusiasm for activities like story or art time.

Source: The Urban Child Institute
Read more:
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/apr/28/maturity-key-for-kindergarten/

Maturity Matters the Most

The debate of "when" to enroll a child in Kindergarten is faced continually.  Hold them back, or enroll them?  The research is clear:  AGE does not matter as much as DEVELOPMENT.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/apr/28/maturity-key-for-kindergarten/

Make Reading Fun for Everyone!

Between the Lions

http://pbskids.org/lions/games/

GAME	DIFFICULTY	SKILL	NOTES
“The Quiet Machine”	Matching letters to pictures	*beginning sounds	Phonemic awareness
Leona’s Coloring Pages	Reading and writing	*beginning reader activity	Printable book
“The Messy Attic”	Picture identification	*listen, then follow directions	Pre- reading skill
“Arty’s Smarty Doors”	Rhymes	*rhyming words	Pre-reading skill
“Dub Cubs”	Rhyming words	*word families	Reading skill
“Hopposites”	Opposites	*words with opposite meanings	Reading skill
“Sky Writing”	Letter recognition	*varying styles of the same letter	Reading skill
“Monkey Match”	Match	*letters, sounds, rhymes	Reading skill
“Theo’s Puzzles”	Letter recognition	*consonant puzzles	Puzzles & a video
“Trampolini Game”	Word meanings	*inflectional endings ‘er, ‘est	Reading skill
“Blending Bowl”	Match blends with endings	*-ack, -an, -ap, -ar, -est, -ick, -ig, -ip, -it, -ock, -op, -up, -uck matched up with beginning blends	good for partners
“Synonym Sam’s Lab”	Choose synonyms	*this game is self-checking	good for partners
“ABCD Watermelon”	identify missing letters	*alphabet recognition	Pre-reading skill
“Alphabet Soup”	unscramble letters	*reader uses given letters to find a solution	101 riddles
“Chicken Stacker”	phonemic awareness	*listen and read words with the same short vowel sound	Five sets words
“Flood”	categories	*listen and read book titles	Hints given
“Fuzzy Lion Ears”	phonemic awareness	*letter sounds beginning/middle/ending	Six rounds
“Word Play”	good for partners	*read words and then  “click” to see the action	25 words: three sets
“Talking Gizmo”	recognize parts of a sentence	*readers experiment with sentences and word order	J good for partners
“Pounce”	word matching	*listen, then choose a word	Reading skill
More Literature	Pre-K through fifth graders	http://pbskids.org/lions/stories/	Kids can listen and read along with stories.

Songs and videos:  http://pbskids.org/lions/videos/

Kindergarten Common Core Resources

Teaching Common Core Standards for Kindergarten pupils just got a whole lot easier.  Teachers will find activities, worksheets, and step-by-step research based instructional help to improve learning opportunities for their young learners.


http://corecommonstandards.com/core-curriculum/kindergarten-common-core-workbook/

Teaching and Learning Sight Words

Welcome to "Cando Flashcards," where finding and assessing a child's knowledge of Fry Sight Words just got a whole lot easier.  Why is this important?  Individual reading fluency and comprehension are greatly enhanced when a youngster can automatically recognize these words.

http://w4.nkcsd.k12.mo.us/~kcofer/fry_words_pg.htm#Frys_Lists_Flashcard_with_Graded_Response

Productive Parenting

This site has activities for newborns to children who are five-years-old.  Membership
is free and we can follow Productive Parenting on Facebook. 

http://www.productiveparenting.com/aspx/ActivityLibrary.aspx

2012-13 DIBELS Reading Goals

All Parkside pupils are evaluated using goals from the University of Oregon.  There have been recent increases in state and federal standards calling for stronger literacy skills that yield higher-level comprehension processes.  Goals for Kindergarten through grade six are below:

https://dibels.uoregon.edu/docs/DIBELSNextRecommendedBenchmarkGoals.pdf