Mini-lecture

This photo of me is an example of a mini-lecture. In this photo I was explaining to students what they will be doing for peer groups with the learning books. A mini-lecture is a concise way to provide students with background information to spark interest and give them a target--setting up an activity or discussion.

Small Group

This picture shows my afternoon session students working on a cutting exercise in a small group. Both my morning and afternoon session students are always put into groups to make transition periods into the different centers easy-flowing. In small groups, students working together can help stimulate each others creativity. Small group activities are cooperative, but have less formal structure than cooperative learning. These activities encourage collective thinking and provide opportunities for participants to work together and increase social skills.

Celebration

This photo was taken on October 31, 2007 on Halloween day. We were celebrating the Halloween occasion with costumes and the children had snacks for the day as well. A celebration is an activity that focuses on the joy of completion and accomplishment. These activities serve as reminders and markers. It is appropriate to stop and acknowledge and appreciate their accomplishments.

Student Expert

This photo of Roger shows him in our math center with the rest of the class. He is our student expert and helps his fellow classmates count from 1-100 using the pointer and the counting chart. Having a student expert is another way of having active learning. Give the student information and let them read and learn what they will then resent to the class. In this case, Roger is an experienced student and knows this part of the lesson very well that he is able to assist his classmates.

Simulation

Delvin and Fionna were simulating a cashier and a customer in this photo. This photo was taken during our unit theme, “Helping Hands”, based on community helpers. They used their prior knowledge of customers and cashiers to do a simulation of community helpers. A simulation is an activity structured to feel like a real experience. Participants are asked to imagine themselves in a situation, or they play a structured game or activity that enables them to experience a feeling that might occur in another setting. The power of a situation is that the students, participants FEEL the experience.

Games

In this photo, my students were combined with the other kindergarten students for P.E. When we have indoor P.E. we create games for the students using music to observe their listening, thinking, and fine and gross motor skills. Again, games go hand-in-hand with puzzles and focus on review, reinforcement, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making.

Puzzles

In this photo, Niffton and Raj were working together to finish a puzzle. This activity was a great start to show students team work and cooperative group learning. Puzzles can be used to provide a different learning environment in which learning can take place. Usually puzzles go hand-in-hand with games in which both strategies focus on review, reinforcement, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making.

Illustration Analysis

This photo was taken in the library during the week of Halloween. I was trying to simulate an illustration analysis with a book related for the upcoming Halloween occasion. Illustration analysis activities, participants observe, thing about and discuss the meaning of an illustration. These activities provide opportunities for students to work together, share ideas, and find out that people sometimes see things differently.

Cooperative Group

This picture was taken to show a cooperative group experience at this grade level. Students were given a chance to work on their individual assignments, but with a twist in order to get a true feel for what a cooperative group was like at their age. For this grade level, we had students work on their own assignments. When they done with their work we have them help their group members finish their work so that they can move to the next center as a group.

Artistic Expression

This picture shows my student, Putra, in the writing center coloring his work. I chose this picture to show an artistic expression strategy that we use in the classroom to get students to use their creativity with illustrations they are given. With these illustrations students are given a chance to express their views on color schemes through prepared illustrations that relate to the days lesson. Artistic expression accommodates to the different learning needs and talents of students. Completed work is usually displayed.