Materials Needed: 2 bowls, 30 or so small jingle bells per group or student, large tweezers, dice block
Have students roll the dice and then using the tweezers move that many jingle bells from the one bowl into the other empty one. Have them continue repeating until activity is up or they run out of bells.
This will help students with dice number recognition as well as counting out up to 6. Using the tweezers also assists in their fine motor skills.
Source: childcareland.com
Literacy Activity: Music and Feelings
Materials Needed: Speaker or sound system to play music from, paper (or pre-made worksheet)
Play songs popular and familiar to your students in your class. These can be modern pop songs, classic songs, etc. As you play songs, have students sit and think about how the song makes them feel and have them write it down. If they are unable to create a word to describe how they feel you can always allow them to draw pictures.
This will help students to connect more emotionally with music, be more aware of their feelings, and practice saying them as well as writing them out. This would be good to consult the counseling office beforehand so they have an opportunity to come into the class and talk about what different feelings are.
Standard: 3.0.2.3.1 3. Create original artistic work. Benchmark: Choose a musical sound to share.
Make your own windpipe!
Materials needed: Scissors, 5-10 straws per student, light and clear tape
Cut a long piece of tape and lay down on a table sticky side up
Place straws given in a straight row on the tape
Wrap remaining tape around so it surrounds the collection of straws
Use scissors to cut straws in a diagonal on the opposite end of the tape
Have students blow into the straws and notice that their breath sound changes depending on whether the straws are long or short
Source: laughingkidslearn.com
Rationale/Motivation: Students love creating things they can use and show off to others or bring home. Creating things like instruments or noise makers give students a craft that is pleasing both by touch and by sound. Another plus of this specific project is that it is quiet and non-disruptive which tends to make parents very happy.
Purpose: Help students while they learn the ABC song by pointing along with the song to the board.
Design: Make the letters large and easy to see. Pre cut letters from an education store would be best in this situation. Keep the background less distracting while they are initially learning. Having a border around the bulletin board within the theme is also helpful!
Bulletin Board 2: Teaching rhythm with the Kodaly Method
Purpose: Teaching students how to pronounce rhythm using the Kodaly method (the most commonly taught method) and being able to interact with the board as well.
How to interact: Change the rhythms you have written out every 1-2 weeks that get increasingly difficult. Have the students go through and practice saying the rhythms using the Kodaly method until they can comfortably do it at increasing speeds. This would be great to collaborate with the music teacher to see when they introduce this skill.
Intro for students: This book goes through all of the letters of the alphabet while telling a fun story of them trying to climb up a coconut tree! As we go through this book we will focus on the rhythm of the words as well as some actions we can do with our bodies when we hear certain words!
Read book to students so they can be familiar with it
Instruct students to clap every time it says “chicka” and stomp every time it says “boom”
Have students come up to the front of the room every 1-2 pages and point to the letters of the alphabet as they come up on a large board where you have all letters written out
Go through the story with the actions and alphabet involvement as you read
After students are comfortable with the speed to read the story in rhythm, try to teach them to say the alphabet in rhythm with you as you go along
Art project: Have students use construction paper and try to create trees like shown on the cover of the book. All of the art throughout could be more easily recreated by kindergarten students than most illustrations, so this might be a great way to have them gain some confidence while they do it.
Materials needed: Construction paper, scissors, glue stick
Minnesota Kindergarten Education Standards: 0.10.1.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Benchmark 1: Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking: (a) Print many upper- and lowercase letters.
Motivation: Learning the alphabet is something kids either excel in before the school year starts or it takes a little time to learn as we get going. It is crucial to continue reviewing the alphabet all year round which may get tedious at times, but I have come up with a game for the end of the year that will keep it exciting! This would be great to play outside or inside with plenty of space.
Materials Needed: Laminated 8.5” by 11” pieces of paper with the letters of the alphabet on them. You will need to make a set of both upper case and lower case.
Lay out both sets of the alphabet in a circle on the floor in a random order; placing one set in the outer ring and the other in the inside
Start music and have two students walk around between the letters
Stop music and call out a letter
Have both students find the letter as quick as possible, one claiming upper case and one claiming lower case and sit down or stand on them
Ask each student to say what case their letter is before sitting down
If they do not answer correctly or cannot find the letter, have them jump back in line to try again
If they do answer correctly and find the letter, have them sit down
You can use this game as a competition or just innocent learning fun
This concept was created by myself playing off of the idea of musical chairs.
The purpose of these charts is to introduce music to young children. My first chart introduces the different instruments children can choose to play in their elementary school bands, and my second chart introduces the basic notes involved in music.
My first chart is not in an organized setting, but more of a spread with the different options they have. If I had the proper resources, I would make sure to involve pictures of each instrument near them so they can begin recognizing them and naming them.
My second chart is in a much more structured style with all the proper labels and images of all the topics covered.
Materials Needed: Paper or poster board, colorful markers, Stickers or printed out images of instruments, ruler for straight lines, laminator if available
Motivation: Music is a powerful tool that people will never be able to comprehend. Music creates healing, calmer environments, and an endless resource for teaching tools regarding memorization, left and right brain involvement, and so much more. I will encourage for my students to get involved with music every single day. While music is not always considered a core subject, it is truly the most powerful and can be considered one of the most important in many ways.
Advice: Get your students involved in music! If possible, put them in lessons! Get them involved in a youth choir! Put them in classes! You will be amazed at the difference in developmental growth once children add music into their studies.
When teaching math to my students, I love to incorporate music in to help with memorization and adding more fun! This is an activity I do early on in the year when I begin to introduce the concept of subtraction. I have the students listen to a recording of the rhyme, “Five Currant Buns” and then teach them some actions as it goes.
Five Currant Buns Five currant buns in a baker’s shop (hold up five fingers) Big and round with a cherry on the top Along came (child’s name) with a penny one day, Bought a currant bun and took it away (tuck one finger down into fist).
Continue repeating the rhyme, subtracting one from the verse each time while putting down a finger to show one has been eaten!
Snack Time!
One fun activity that can be done along with it is changing the words around and singing the song during snack time to give the students a hand on visual of what happens when they get eaten and you lose one each time!
Ex: Five goldfish in the classroom shop, big and round with a smile on the top, etc.
Steps:
1:Play a recording of the rhyme so students can get a feel for it
2: Pass out goldfish to each student and have them put 5 in front of them while setting the rest aside
3: Teach them the rhyme with the new words “goldfish” and “classroom shop”
4: Perform rhyme while letting them eat one goldfish at the end of each verse
5: After the rhyme is completed and all goldfish are eaten, ask them for feedback and questions! See if the subtraction element made sense to them through this process.
The concept came from an article written by Christie Burnett, a teacher to young students. I enjoyed her example with the “Five Currant Buns” song, but created the goldfish concept on my own thinking it would give students a hands on way of understanding what happens when you take one away, or in this case, eat one!
Standard: 1 Benchmarks:3&4
3: Count, with and without objects, forward and backward to at least 20.
4: Find a number that is 1 more or 1 less than a given number.
Just like I will do my best to get to know all of you and my students very well, I hope you can get to know me a little as well.
I was born and raised in Billings, Montana until I moved out here to attend Concordia College. I was in the flagship choir at Concordia, which allowed me to express my passion for music each day while also attending all of my classes to get me where I am now. While I do have a passion for music, my ultimate passion in life is teaching young students.
Not only do I love music and teaching, but I love cats. I have three fluffy creatures of my own: Primrose, Willow, and Pico. I am fortunate enough to have been able to rescue each of them, and I also foster other cats that are still waiting to be adopted as well!
Traveling is something that I always get excited about, and I hope to keep adventuring to new places. Some places I have been to include: Sweden, Denmark and Mexico! I will also be traveling to Italy this coming summer to spend four incredible weeks learning the language, singing in incredible venues, and eating far too much gelato.
If you ever have questions for me, please let me know! I am happy to sit down and chat in the classroom or over a cup of coffee. I look forward to getting to know each of you as this year progresses.
Ms. Armstrong's Kindergarten Class 