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Researching in Kindergarten | Part 2

April 17, 2024



Welcome to part two! In this post I'm going to share with you how the researching stage of this unit looks like in my classroom. If you haven't already, be sure to check out my last post where I discuss how I introduce the research unit to my class.

For this part of our unit my class will begin their research to answer the following questions:

  • what does my animal look like (diagram)
  • where does my animal live?
  • what does my animal eat?
  • what is an interesting fact about my animal?

They will utilize the various sources that we've introduced and explored. These sources include NF books from the library, Epic Books, and an online database called Pebble Go. I typically have students spend one day for each of the questions they must answer. This allows them to have ample time to locate the information and copy it onto their planning sheet.




Once their planning sheets are complete, students are now ready to begin creating their published non-fiction books. This stage is completed during our reading and writing blocks because we focus on both reading and writing TEKs.

Diagrams


For this lesson, students have the opportunity to review key text features of non-fiction/informational texts. The one feature we focused on was diagrams. We explored different texts and reviewed how diagrams help the reader understand the parts of something.

I found this awesome video that explores diagrams, too (although, we didn't watch the whole video). It was a great supplement to my lesson. I loved how it included various examples of diagrams and made planning this lesson easier.




Student-Made Diagrams

Now, students were ready to explore Epic Books or the books they checked out from the library to hunt for diagrams of their animals. I provided them their publishing paper where they were to copy the diagram from their source and include at least three labels. I was so proud to see them navigating their sources with such ease.


Preparing for misconceptions or confusion...

One aspect of this lesson that I had to make sure students understood was that they were not so much reading to find information, but rather perusing the pictures to find a diagram. I also wanted them to know that not ALL non-fiction books include diagrams. This meant they would have to look through a variety of books to find this text feature. Luckily, they were pros and were able to find some pretty great examples of diagrams to use for their books.


In part three of our research unit, I'll share how students transfer their information from their planning page to their final non-fiction books. This will be a 2-3 day process where students complete a page that answers the questions: what my animal eats, where they live, and their interesting fact.


Feel free to get my full research unit on TpT!




See you then and happy teaching!

Introducing Research in Kindergarten | Part 1

April 16, 2024

 


One of my all-time favorite units in reading/writing to teach is research. Year after year, my students find it to be highly engaging and I see them gaining so much confidence through each of the components. By the end of this unit, my students have truly become experts in their chosen animal and the best part is they've equipped themselves with a multitude of research skills. These skills include:
  • identifying what sources are/their use and logging into those sources
  • guiding their research through questions
  • recording their findings with a graphic organizer
  • sharing their findings with a culminating writing project and poster

It is always a joy to see the benefit of this research unit and just how engaged students are. Here's what our research unit looks like in my classroom!

Introducing Research

The first week of this new unit our class spends a lot of time building up their schema around the foundations of research. We discuss things such as:
  • The purpose of research
  • Steps to research
  • Facts vs opinions
  • Sharing our research with others

This helps students begin to conceptualize what research is and how they'll be moving through this process throughout the unit. 

Exploring Sources

This year I changed up my introduction to research to include a day where students get to explore different sources. We discuss what sources are and how we plan to use them throughout the unit. The sources we use in our class include:

I spend a day or two for students to engage with and explore these different sources. At this point we haven't jumped into research just yet, but rather giving students the chance to explore and get excited about the work that's coming ahead.


We discuss the features of each source and students get a feel for the source they prefer and discuss why.

Pebble Go 




PRO: In kindergarten, we love using Pebble Go (our district has a subscription) because it's an online source that's easy to navigate and the site reads to the students.

CON: One of the downsides to Pebble Go is that there is a username and password. For my kinders, this is tricky because they're only beginning to read/write. To help with this, I print our username and password for each student and tape it into their supply boxes. This helps me a lot because my more capable students get really good at logging in themselves and that frees me up to help my other students to log in.

So, after I model and they practice logging in, students have time to explore around the Animals section to decide on the animal they're most interested and excited to research about. By the end of this lesson, my students have chosen their animal and have experience logging in to the source they'll be using most often during this unit!

Asking Questions to Guide Research

Building upon their understanding, students then learn all about the steps to research: planning, researching, recording, and sharing. I simplify it into these steps to provide an easy-to-follow outline for my students. Furthermore, I explain that as they become experts they will be researching to answer four main questions:

  1. What does my animal look like?
  2. Where does my animal live?
  3. What does my animal eat?
  4. What is a fun fact about my animal?

First, we discuss how we already come to our research already knowing a little bit about our animals. We take a moment to share out one thing they already know. After this, students then begin to think about the questions that will guide their research in the four areas outlined above (a diagram of their animal, its habitat, its diet, and a fun fact).

I love sharing this video with my students which covers this exact topic:



Now that students have a strong understanding of the purpose behind their research and have guiding questions, they're ready to begin!





I use a simple graphic organizer that helps students track their research. This organizer is already broken into sections for each question students will answer. I collect this organizer after each lesson and pass them back out the next day for the next lesson. 

Check out my next post to see what the researching stage looks like in my classroom! And feel free to get my full research unit on TpT!

Kindergarten Writing Portfolios

February 28, 2024

 



In kindergarten, it's so exciting to see the growth each child goes through within a school year. It's one of the most treasured moments I have year after year. One way my students can show off their growth and success is with their Writing Portfolios!

I love incorporating a writing portfolio each year because it's one of the easiest ways to track their progress and having these work samples available also makes for great references during writing conferences (or even parent conferences). I remember when a student of mine was so discouraged and didn't think they were writing as well as their peers. But one look at their work and how it's progressed over the year gave them the confidence to keep going. Such a powerful moment!


Storing Portfolios



I have a black crate that I use with hanging file folders for each child and I just keep it tucked away in my classroom. There are so many different ways you can use to store your student's writing, but this has been a system that has worked for me. I've seen teachers use binders or folders...either way, just find a system that keeps your student's work organized and easy to access.

Monthly Self-Portraits



One of the skills that I love building in my students is their sense of self. I stock my classroom with skin-tone crayons and markers and we spend a lot of time at the beginning of the year discussing and drawing ourselves. I love using personal mirrors (used for phonics when learning how to make the correct mouth formations) so they can notice the different qualities about themselves - often for the first time!


We notice how we're alike and how we're different (Social Studies objective right there!), what our skin, hair, and face look like. We notice our hairstyles and eye color. We have discussions around these concepts and students are given plenty of practice to draw. We also discuss how we can draw using different shapes and lines. Curved lines for our faces, spirals for curly hair, lines for straight hair, and circles for eyes. With all of this foundation laying, students are ready to begin their self-portraits for their portfolios!



I heavily model how to draw a self-portrait at first. It takes quite a bit of scaffolding and practice for something so simple. Students first watch me as I bring their attention to different features about myself as I draw. Then, we add color - this is an awesome time to introduce those skin-toned crayons! Finally, they begin to write their names.


Each month students will continue this process all the way to the last month of school! You'll notice that they'll need less and less support as they get more comfortable drawing themselves. You'll also start to notice them applying these skills to other people in their stories during writing time - which is also very cool to see.

End-of-the-Year Gift

When it comes to the end of the school year I love presenting parents and families with their child's hard work. After our kindergarten graduation ceremony, parents return to our classroom where they're presented with their child's portfolio and other keepsakes. 


Parents are always so excited and proud of their child's hard work because their portfolios give them a snapshot of where they started and where they're ending the year! Plus, as a teacher, this gift is completely FREE and very meaningful.





I hope you find writing portfolios to be a successful addition to your classroom this year or upcoming year!

Gingerbread Composing Activity

February 25, 2024



One of my favorite concepts to teach my kinders in math is composing and decomposing numbers. If you're not familiar with the term, it simply references how numbers are made by combining different quantities. It's foundational number sense that builds over the school year to eventually being able to add and subtract (or join and separate).


What I enjoy about it is that you can see how students begin to make connections and for them to demonstrate how numbers are created. At the beginning of the year, we begin with composing numbers to 5, then to 10, and at the end of the year we jump up to 20. It's very cool to see how this progression allows students to become little number experts and truly understand how numbers represent quantities and that we can manipulate those quantities in different ways.

...but anyways...


One activity I enjoy doing with them around the holidays is this gingerbread composing craftivity!


Gingerbread Composing

Sorry, it's not a great photo, but here's an example of one of my student's work.

I use this activity after we've spent a lot of time building upon the understanding of number sense to 10. We spend weeks learning how to represent, count, compare, and write numbers in different ways. Then, as a means to have students show off what they've learned they complete this fun and engaging craftivity!

Students are provided a set of 10 gingerbreads that are both boys and girls. They are to select a quantity of each to compose numbers of their choice from 5-10. I encourage students to think about the different "number pairs" or "number partners" that we've discussed in previous lessons when composing. It helps them stretch their understanding beyond the easy peasy number pairs like 5 and 5 make 10. 

Words vs Symbols

To finish, my students must complete the solution statement that describes the number they're composing. In my district, we use the phrase: "____ and _____ make ______" and not the symbols. We move towards working with the symbols at the end of the year as to make the link between building numbers to addition. 

I see a lot of great resources on TpT and other teacher blogs, but rarely do I see "and" and "make" being used. So, I've included both versions just because I know different classrooms use different verbiage to describe composing. 



I've seen teachers get super creative with this activity by adding foil to the background to make it look like the gingerbreads are baked on a cookie sheet. So cute!


In addition to the gingerbreads, I've also included marshmallows to represent the same concept of composing to 10. Simply choose the activity that best suits your learners.

Sprouting Seeds: Living & Non-Living Science

 


One of my favorite science units to teach in kindergarten is our unit on Living and Non-Living! We spend a few weeks building our knowledge around what makes an object living or non-living then explore the differences between needs and wants.


What's more, this unit is a wonderful opportunity to expose students to non-fiction texts if they haven't learned about them already. I highly recommend digging through your school's library for some NF texts on living and nonliving things to have students read and explore. Epic Books and Pebble Go are other great virtual resources as well!


Week 1: What is Living/Non-Living

This introductory week allows students to develop a strong understanding of what makes an object living or non-living. They will use key vocabulary to describe objects (tying in their vocabulary from a previous unit on attributes/properties) and sort them based on what makes them living or not.


Week 2: Needs of Living Things: Animals & Plants

This week students build on their understandings and focus on living things as plants and animals. Students begin to identify the certain "needs" of living things and how they require these things to survive. This is a great opportunity to discuss needs vs wants...which ends up being a bonus discussion about accepting no. 


I really enjoy using this resource from Kindergarten Creations. It has a lot of great visuals for this unit and for the student work pages, I size my copies down so students can glue their work/thinking into their science journals. 


And who doesn't love a good Cookie Monster moment?? This is a fun video to share with students to drive concepts home about the basic needs of living things.



Week 3: Seed Sprouting Lab

In this week our class begins to apply what they've learned to a lab where they sprout a lima bean seed! 


This ends up being my favorite week because students get the opportunity to sprout their own seeds and observe the beginning of a plant life cycle! In our class, we use lima beans (nice connection to our read-aloud A Bad Case of Stripes) and place them inside Ziplocs. You can use any type of bean (I've used some pinto beans from my sensory bins before!) as they all begin sprouting relatively quickly. I found this cute greenhouse cover where students write their names and decorate them. Afterward, I tape them up to our window and the watching begins!


It ends up taking a week or so before students can begin to see changes in their seeds. I place 3 inside their greenhouses to give them a greater chance of sprouting something. 


Pick up this FREEBIE over at my TpT store so your students can begin sprouting their own seeds in a classroom greenhouse!




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