Happy Monday, y’all. Today seems like a great day for sharing teaching tips, and I’ve got a couple of super topics for ya! Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, I do have a big stack of $20 gift certificates at my elbow. This means if an editor selects one (or more!) of your tips for publication, you’ll receive for each tip a $20 gift certificate that can be used toward the purchase of a book or a magazine from The Mailbox. Cool beans!
Here are the topics!
Sharing: How do you help little ones (and not so little ones) learn to share?
Taking Turns: Whether it’s taking turns during a game or taking turns speaking, what are your secrets to get students to take turns?
Leave your favorite tips right here on this blog before the end of July!
Eager to hear!
Diane
Sharing: With my kindergarteners at the begining of the year, I use an oversized five minute hour glass timer. The children love being able to gauge their own time and watching the sand fall. When the children can tell time we use a digital timer. I have one that gives a two minute and one minute warning before time is up. This helps with preparing for the transition.
Taking turns: iIn kindergarten, we pass the truck. I have a small squeeze truck that DRIVES (passes) from one student to the next as the students take their turns. We practice this a lot at the beginning of the year until the children are able to take turns with the truck on their own.
I have one simple rule: If you can’t share, neither of you will play with the toy or game or whatever it is for the rest of the day. Works great, every time!
Taking Turns: I have a bright blue cup filled with colorful craft sticks. Each stick has one of my students name written on it with a permanent marker. I draw a stick to determine who’s first. Once this student completes the task, he places his stick into a red cup, draws a new stick from the blue cup and calls the next student’s name. The procedure continues until all the students get a turn. This method is effective when I want all the students attention on the speaker and when one student is working independently on the assigned task while the rest of the class is engaged in a different activity.
In order to teach my prek class to listen and take turns talking at circle I have a wand. I point to the child that gets their turn to talk while the others listen. Then I move on to the next child who has something to share.
Sharing the letter bag is difficult for my prek class. We use a chart to rotate turns. Its a great way to be able to remind them you had a turn 2 days ago or your turn is coming up in 3 days.
Taking Turns Speaking: To help kids learn to take turns speaking AND to be active listeners, I’ve used talking sticks. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy – popcicle sticks, straws, markers, etc. After I read a story, I pair up my students and give one child in each pair a “talking stick”. They have 1-2 minutes to talk about a prompt I’ve given them (i.e. favorite part of the story, the characters, the problem/solution). Then when it’s time to switch, they hand the stick over. The other person has to repeat what they heard (“I heard you say ____”) and then share their own thoughts. You can repeat with a new prompt. It’s fun to see their little minds at work, and it builds so many skills!
Sharing for not so little ones:
The teacher should model bad behavior by not sharing something fun with the class, such as candy, or perhaps a really funny book passage (Louis Sachar). Tell students you’ll share if they can write five sentences about how they feel when they don’t get to be take part. When they turn their sentences in, they can get the candy, or can hear the passage. Afterwards, teachers can have an open discussion about sharing, and how exclusion is like bullying.
I won’t lie, I wasn’t always great about taking turns, but two of my best teachers taught me turn taking with one simple game, monkey in the middle. My siblings always made me be the monkey, mind you I was younger and slower than both.
Have students model a game of monkey in the middle, in which the monkey can’t get the ball (make sure the monkey knows not to catch the ball). After a minute of modeling, in which the other students observe, have them openly discuss why the monkey felt bad. Students will empathize with being left out, as one of the strongest reinforces, and can come to a conclusion that not taking turns can be bullying. Model a better game such as tag, with no tag backs and everyone has to be it once. (great for an outdoor lesson, and collaboration with a P.E. Teacher)
Each student receives a packet of coded index cards with a picture matching play centers (and some academic ones, including iPad and computer). Students may “reserve” their choices for the day. One center per day is allowed. The cards are collected at the end of each day and I keep them until I determined that all the children have had a chance to work or play there. The next day the children must put a different card in a different center. An interesting thing happens about mid year. Some students will change their minds about working in a center, so they have the option of allowing another student work there instead, 2nd student must always ask the one that reserves it before working there. This really limits any arguments. It also enables students to be both “in charge” of something and to show generosity to fellow students.
We have several opportunities during the day, in first grade, to be the ‘helper’ or the person to write on the board. In order to be sure that everyone gets a turn, I have a clean, recycled honey jar (label intact) with a popsicle stick representing each student. When it is time for a helper or a turn at the board, I just shake out a stick and call on that student. To be sure not to repeat a name, I turn the stick upside down until all of the names have been called.
Why a honey jar? Because they are all my ‘sweeties’!
I send the children who are having a disagreement to a quiet corner of the room to discuss the problem. If it’s an object that they’re arguing over, I set it on my desk for safekeeping while they are in discussion. They have to tell me how they solved the problem before they return to their activities. The peacemaker gets praise, and if one child is always the aggressor or the victim, I can plan ways to help him or her with that behavior.
In order to teach students to take turns speaking, I have a small stuffed turtle (small enough to fit in their tiny hands). I announce that Mr. Turtle has arrived. I ask them a question, “What is your favorite color”. Then I say Mr. Turtle wants to hear your answer. I immitate how to answer, “My favorite color is Blue”. Then each child passes the turtle and speaks. Having the turtle in hand helps them focus and wait for their turn. It makes learning to take turns speaking fun and having an object to see and hold also keeps their hands busy.
When we do show and tell in my pre-k class, I have each child draw a numbered popsicle stick. We then go in order from 1-12. Great way to help them learn to recognize and learn numbers and number order.
In our preschool class, after center time,we review or talk about what we did or what we learned. We use 2 old telephones. I have one and so does one of the children in the circle. I make a pretend ringing sound, and the child with the other phone answers his phone. I say, “hi _____” and wait for a response. Then I ask him/her a question like ” Tell us what you did during center time today.” Or ” what did you write /draw about in your journal today at the writing center?” The child responds in the phone, and of course we can all hear it. We each say “Goodbye” and hang up the phones. Then he/ she passes the phone to the next person and we do it again. Later in the year, instead of the teacher on one phone, two children use the phones and take turns with each other sharing what they learned. It gives the children practice, too, so that when they get home, and someone says what did you do in school today, they have already talked about it and have an idea ready to tell mom or dad.
Have some of the most prized object be reserved for share teams. Example Jimmy you can play with the helicopter if you decided who your sharing partner will be. When the lights twinkle( flash on and off)it will be your partners turn.
Using visuals such as a movie, listening to a book, or role playing are ways I demonstrate sharing in my classroom.
I teach k/1 and to get my little people to share we spend several weeks building a sense of community in our classroom. We talk about the way a community is like a small family and we all help one another learn and grow. I also build sharing “Stamina” by having them play together for 3 min to start and slowly increasing the time.