Gan - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Gan Alef and BetLiteracy Centers

Shoshana

Freedman

2011-2012Slide2

Centers are necessaryEntering kindergarten students bring varying skills and talents to the classroom. Some are still learning the letters and sounds in the alphabet, and others can decode with confidence.

To meet the needs of every student, my co-teacher Jami

Rechtman

and I designed literacy centers tailored for our classes.

Students rotate in small leveled groups between the centers. Groups consist of 2-4 students.

Students complete a full rotation every week.Slide3

The centersListening Center: Students listen to a story and complete an activity. The focus for the activity changes every one or two weeks.

Game Center

: Students play a game cooperatively or complete an activity independently. The game changes weekly.

Writing Center

: Students write about various topics guided by Ms.

Rechtman

. Students also complete dictated words and sentences.

Reading Center

: Students read stories with me, focusing on decoding, comprehension, and fluency.Slide4

The StudentsAssessed higher than most studentsRead independently at H level on the

Fountas

and

Pinnell

spectrum at the start of the school year

Assessed lower than most students

Recognized less than half of the letters and sounds in the alphabet at the start of the school year

Shayna

RachelSlide5

The StudentsAssessed in the middle between the studentsRecognized all letters, most sounds, and a handful of sight words at the start of the school year

Assessed in the lower-middle of all the students

Recognized most letters and sounds, and a handful of sight words at the start of the school year

Zellik

AmberSlide6

The Listening Center Slide7

Listening Center AssignmentListen to the story and share the book provided, following the story along with the recording

Record student name and story title

Identify the beginning of the story using pictures and wordsSlide8

Listening Center Work

Shayna

Rachel

Zellik

AmberSlide9

Game CenterSlide10

Game Center AssignmentStudents work cooperatively to accurately sequence at least one scenario

Some groups successfully complete three scenarios; others manage to complete all scenes

Students can check their work by flipping the cards over to the other side; the backsides have images that fit together if the sequence is done correctly.Slide11

Writing CenterStudents work with Ms. Rechtman

to write dictated words and sentences.

In conjunction with the Orton-

Gillingham

approach, students work to isolate individual letter sounds, finger-tap the sounds they hear in the words, and write the sounds they hear.

Sentences are structured to give symbolic clues to students:

Capital letters

Punctuation

Red words (non-phonetic sight words)Slide12

Writing Center Work

Shayna

uses lowercase letters consistently. She is working on placing the lowercase “a” in the correct location on the handwriting paper.Slide13

Writing Center Work

Rachel uses a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters. She is encouraged to write the last word in all lowercase letters.Slide14

Writing Center Work

Zellik

works to accurately form lowercase letters. He is persistent and works to adjust his letters to lowercase. He accurately spells “the” but flips the “e”. In his efforts, he forgets to include punctuation. Slide15

Writing Center Work

Amber’s lowercase letter formation is consistent. She first forgets to use an uppercase letter in her sentence, but then remembers with the visual symbol and adjusts. She mishears “the” as “a” and adds it in without erasing “a”.Slide16

Reading CenterStudents work with me reading stories and completing activities to further their literacy skills, including:

Letter and sound recognition

Sight word recognition

Blending sounds to read words

Using picture clues to help decipher unknown words

Reading with inflection, keeping in mind punctuation and changes in print

Understanding new vocabulary

Thinking beyond the text: making predictions, inferences, looking at theoretical differences in the story, looking into character’s motives and feelingsSlide17

Blue Reading Group: High

Students take turns reading pages in the story. The group discusses how a person’s voice changes when they read words characters say aloud. Students also consider the animals’ feelings as they read, using the illustrations to assist their responses.Slide18

Blue Reading Group: Low

Students take turns reading and use picture clues to help decipher unknown words. We discuss how the story progressively focuses inward, from the city down to a bird.Slide19

Red Reading Group

Students take turns reading, using picture clues to help decipher unknown words. They then work together to build words in the –it family with lowercase letter bears.Slide20

Yellow and Green Reading Groups

Students take turns reading stories with the group, focusing on specific sight words. Picture clues help them decipher unknown words.

Students then take turns reading these stories in pairs to each other. They begin to look past identifying the words and read with more rhythm.Slide21

Flexibility in CentersStudents are periodically assessed in their letter and sound recognition, sight word recognition, and comprehension throughout the year

As students grow and change, the activities and assignments are adjusted to accommodate those changes.

Students may change groups depending on their needs.Slide22

Georgia Performance Standards Met During Centers

ELAKR1

The student demonstrates knowledge of

concepts

of print

.

ELAKR2

The student demonstrates the ability to identify and orally manipulate words and individual sounds within those spoken words

.ELAKR3 The student demonstrates the relationship between letters and letter combinations of written words and the sounds of spoken words

.ELAKR4 The student demonstrates the ability to read orally with speed, accuracy, and expression

.

ELAKR5

The student acquires and uses grade-level words to communicate effectively

.

ELAKR6

The student gains meaning from orally presented text

.

ELAKW1

The student begins to understand the principles of writing

.

ELAKLSV1

The student uses oral and visual skills to communicate

.