Apples, Apples, & More Apples!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to highlight my week with Five for Friday.  Let's take a look at our apple themed fun!

 

After reading "Ten Apples Up on Top", we tried to see how many 'apples' {beanbags} we could stack on top of our heads…….

My littles loved this!  It brought lots of giggles out.  :)

We taste tested red, green, and yellow apples and then voted on our favorite.

This year 'Yellow Apple' was the favorite.  We graphed the results and then to show our favorite, each sweetie made their own apple in the color they liked best.

We are going to add arms, hands, legs and feet next week.

To practice positional words, we did a few different things each day.  The repetition really helped them remember by the end of the week.

We glued 'worms' on each page {yarn pieces} according to the directions.  You can find a copy of this free positional word reproducible book resource HERE.

We then used apple cut-outs to practice positional words on our bodies.  This got them up and moving, which is always a good thing in pre-k, especially for kinesthetic learners!

We also practiced positional words on the interactive whiteboard.  

Then each little learner was pulled aside later and asked to glue apples on various parts of an assessment page so I could see how much information was retained

 {If you wanted to assess the class at the same time to make it easier to assess, you could use the black and white copy of the apples colored different colors.  Then you could be more specific and tell them to glue the yellow apple X, the green apply Y, and the purple apple Z, etc.}

This page is part of my Assessment pack that you can find HERE.

Speaking of my Assessment pack, I wanted to show a few photos of how it is organized.

I am using clear pencil pouches to hold the cards needed for a particular assessment. Any charts are kept in page protector sheets.

I also keep the portfolio pages in clear page protector sheets for easy access.

The data pages are three hole punched and kept behind the divider page for that particular area of assessment.  It has made assessments SO much easier.  :)

This week we also sorted apples by size, which is always a harder skill than realized.  Sometimes it surprises me!

We also match apples to color words.

This is from a fantastic freebie you can find HERE.

This week, our nursery rhyme was 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'.

You can find patterns for this and more nursery rhymes HERE.

Thanks for taking a peek into our week!

Have a great day.  :)

Assessments!

Since I changed schools this year and am now teaching a slightly different program I am in charge of my own assessments.  I have been working a long time {obsessed is more like it} on a new assessment pack.  Well, I'm FINALLY finished and super excited about it.  It's packed with assessment tools, data sheets, mini progress reports, and portfolio pages.

Here's a look at what's in it and how I plan to use it.

For color and shape identification I have both charts and individual cards.  Why have both?  Sometimes a little one will give more than one answer when assessing a skill.  By having two different ways to assess I can go back and double check any answer I'm not 100% sure was correct.  It also allows me to see what level of mastery the student is on.  Can he/she name colors or is he/she still at the matching or pointing to colors/shapes when named.  Having both helps me narrow down and really understand where the student's level of mastery is.

Depending on the age and the level of my students, I will choose which assessments to use.  For instance, if my little ones haven't mastered 2D shape identification, I won't proceed to 3D shapes.  However, for my little ones who have mastered that skill and are ready for a new challenge I have 3D shape cards and charts.  

I have also identified Common Core State Standard expectations.

There are tons of counting activities to choose from, including one to one correspondence, number identification, sequencing numbers, writing numbers, and ten frames.  I can feel confident my learner knows math concepts.

For alphabet activities, there are uppercase, lowercase, and letter sound cards to see what my learners know.  I also have several recording sheets and charts to choose from.

Other skills assessed include Rhyming and 3 or 4 Step Sequencing…

Sorting, Size Order, and Patterning…

Positional Word Assessment.  It always amazed me at how hard this can be for my little ones.  It seems we can't get enough practice with this concept.

These are just some of the activities PLUS there are data sheets {class and individual}portfolio pages, and mini progress reports,  GALORE!

Binder covers and dividers come in color and black and white.

Plus directions, ideas and tips on how to administer the assessments!

Here's everything that's included:

Ultimate Assessment, Data Collection, and Portfolio Pack; What’s Included:

• Color Cards and Color Chart

• 2D Shape Cards and Shape Charts

• 3D Shape Cards and Shape Charts

• Numbers Cards from 1-20

• Uppercase Alphabet Cards and Charts

• Lowercase Alphabet Cards and Charts

• Letter Sound Picture Cards 

• Rhyming Cards

• Counting Cards

• Sorting Cards and Charts

• Size Order Cards

• Ten Frame Cards

• Positional Word Charts/Activity

• 3 and 4 step Sequencing Cards

• Greater Than/Less Than Chart

• Cutting Pages

• Tracing Pages

• Drawing Pages

• Individual Student Pages to put in Student’s Portfolio.  These include: Upper and Lowercase Assessment Sheets, Letter Sounds, Rhyming Assessment, Sequencing Numbers, Tracing/Cutting/Drawing Pages, Ten Frame Assessments, Sorting Assessment, 3 and 4 

Step Activity, Positional Word Activity, Size Order Activity, Greater Than/Less Than Chart, Counting Activity

• Class Data Pages for all math activities, all literacy activities, Gross Motor, Fine Motor,

 Personal Information, Social Skills, Stages of Writing, Body Parts, 

• Data Assessment Binder Cover Pages

• Divider Pages

• Portfolio Cover Pages

• Individual Data Sheets

• Mini Progress Reports to send home throughout the year

• Stages of Development and Teaching Tips

   If there is something not included in this pack that is needed, I will be happy to make it for you.

You can find it HERE and if you click on the picture below.

Right now it's half price, so check it out!

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

A Colorful Week {And a Freebie}!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching and 'Five for Friday' to showcase our week.

We started off the week reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" Then, we went on a hunt to find the animals from the story.  Each little learner searched the room until they found a card.  To encourage language skills, they had to tell us the name of the color, the animal, and where it was found in the room, plus they had to do it in a complete sentence.  Afterward, everyone had to find the picture on their recording sheet and color it in.   

Another one of our 'Brown Bear' activities was with this story comprehension activity.

I was super proud with how well everyone did.

Each little love also painted an animal in the story to make our own class book.  Any class book we make seems to get a lot of read time.  I love the fact that my sweeties take ownership in their work.

These activities are from my 'Brown Bear Retelling Pack and Extension Activities'.

'Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes' was another one of our books this week. 

To help with colors, this emergent reader came in handy.  The little learners first matched colors, then colored the shoes the same color.

We then used 'thumbs up' and 'thumbs down' to answer questions about the story.

These activities are from my 'A Cat's Colorful Shoes Retelling and Extension Activities' Pack

We read 'The Day the Crayons Quit' and then answered questions about the story on our teamboard. You can get this freebie HERE.  

It's a PowerPoint presentation that can be used on an interactive whiteboard. 

We then wrote a story about being a crayon.  One concerned student said he couldn't write.  A short mini-lesson was conducted about different types of 'writing'.  After he finished and read his story, he proudly proclaimed he was an 'author'!  Boy, oh boy, did that make my heart sing.  :)

Speaking of crayons, each little one decorated their own color by adding a face.  

They were displayed in our circle time area.

 This super cute crayon pattern is from Cara Carroll.  You can find here freebie HERE.

Something new I am trying this year is to incorporate nursery rhymes once a week instead of a specific theme.  We started with 'Itsy Bitsy Spider'.  The little loves made this craftivity to go along with the rhyme.  By the end of the year, we will have a completed nursery rhyme book to take home.  You can find patterns for the book HERE.

I hope you had a fabulous week.  Link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to let us know!

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)