Blog Hoppin'

Clever School Teacher Giveaway

I'm having a giveaway to the Clever School Teacher! If you haven't checked out their book bundles, you need to link now. All books are package based on comprehension strategies, genres, writing traits, common core, etc...

Click here to check out the giveaway...
Click here to check out my pinterest board for Clever School Teacher products!

If You Take a Mouse to School

Do you love Laura Numeroff? Do to love If You Take a Mouse to School?

I happen to think those blue overalls are too cute.

Here is a fun, little set of If You Take a Mouse to School Activities

You can grab this unit here.

It includes:

-Sequence Cards
-Writing Activities
-Reading Comprehension Game with answer key
-Memory Game
-Sequence Sheet

What do you wish you could ask your upcoming students to bring to school?

{I wish I could ask them for their own headsets for listening stations.}

Mary Amoson, Sharing Kindergarten

http://sharingkindergarten.com/
http://www.facebook.com/SharingKindergarten

Learning to Listen Linky

*You can right click to save the graphic above to use in your link up.

Teaching students to listen is no easy task. Sometimes, I feel like I am trying to herd a bunch of cats!

I use a “Whole Body Listening” poster in my classroom. The speech pathologists and ABA teachers at my school inspired the Whole Body Listening posters. They use a Whole Body Listening Social Story they created through Boardmaker to give the students an idea of what whole body listening looks like. Whole-Body Listening is a term coined by Susanne Poulette, a New York speech pathologist, in this article (click {here} to read it): Whole-Body Listening: Developing Active Auditory Skills, Susanne P. Truesdale Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools Vol.21 183-184 July 1990.

As you know, many students on the spectrum struggle with eye contact while speaking. I have found that through my years of mainstreaming, the social story worked well for all of my students. So I decided to make a poster instead of social story to remind them. When I need students to listen, I simply say “Whole Body Listening.” Click the pictures below to hop to my blog to download my posters and a class-made book activity for free.

I have always used this book, Listen and Learn by Cheri J. Meiners as an introduction to listening in my classroom.

Another adorable book is called Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen by Howard Binkow.

Through a bit more internet searching, I found this book called Whole Body Listening Larry at School!. It was also inspired by Susanne Poulette's article. I think this book would be great to read to your students on the first few days of school.

Please, do not make "Whole Body Listening" a rule. Most students cannot sit still for long periods of time. Listening should be modeled through "Whole Body Listening" and exceptions need to be made for students with various needs. I know I cannot sit still and listen for long periods of time.

Here are some tips to help kids focus and listen:

Point to the "Whole Body Listening" Poster when you want students to listen.
Shrink the poster, laminate it, and place it on your students' desks. When a student is not doing one of the characteristics of "Whole Body Listening," point to that characteristic. So if he/she is not looking, touch the "my eyes are looking" part of the mini-poster. This is a good non-verbal reminder for the student and does not distract your other students from the lesson.
Allow students to stand while working, as long as they push their chairs in. I find they like to stand during center time and while creating art projects.
Purchase "Movin' Sit Cushions." These help the especially fidgety children by letting them bounce or move a bit in their chair while still sitting down.
Place Velcro inside the student's desk. He/ she can run his/her fingers along the soft and hard Velcro instead of playing with/cutting things in his/her desk.
Give students a squeeze ball to squeeze so that he/she has something to do with his/her hands.
Abilitations Integrations "Chew"lery Chewable Jewelry helps those students who tend to chew on inappropriate things. This is a safe way for them to chew and focus at the same time.

Chewlery!

*Susanne Poulette, a New York speech pathologist coined the term "Whole-Body Listening" with this article (click {here} to read it): Whole-Body Listening: Developing Active Auditory Skills, Susanne P. Truesdale Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools Vol.21 183-184 July1990.

Gift Bag Journals

Do have heaps of old gift bags sitting around your house like I do? Here's a great project that requires a gift bag, some duct tape and a few brass fasteners. Gift bag journals are perfect for students to write in, and can be hung on hooks on students' desks, or on a bulletin board. For a full tutorial of how to make a gift bag journal, visit my blog, Teaching In the Early Years, by clicking on the image below.

See you there!

Going for the Gold {and a FREEBIE}

Happy Summer to those of you who are already enjoying the sunshine! I am super excited about having a few months to relax poolside! So, before I head off to make that dream a reality, I just wanted to share my newest unit with you as I prepare for a new year!

With the summer OLYMPICS right around the corner, this year my kiddos will be "Going for the Gold." This is a perfect unit for back to school and will inspire and motivate your kiddos to dream big! You can check it out by clicking on the picture below!