Back-to-School: Our First Six Weeks

• PRINT
• EMAIL

The beginning of the school year is the ideal time to discuss the term community and what it means to be a responsible citizen. We studied the Responsive Classroom approach and use it to teach that rules are important and that everyone deserves to be heard and respected. We collect evidence of their learning by recording daily observations with anecdotal notes and file their early drawings and writings. During the lessons, we ask questions that prompt the students to clarify their thinking. Also, at the end of each lesson, we ask the children to evaluate the activities and their participation. This process allows us to monitor student progress, interpret our evidence, modify our instruction and give feedback to our students by using role-play, modeling, and paired/small group activities.

OBJECTIVE

Help students develop awareness of themselves as growing individuals. Children learn about values, ideas, customs, and traditions through folktales, legends, music, and oral histories. Focus is placed on children's relationships with others in the classroom and the school as sources for learning. Children also begin to learn about their role as citizens by accepting rights and responsibilities in the classroom and by learning about rules and laws. — New York State Social Studies Learning Standards.

Students will:

• Learn classrooms are organized for student learning.
• Learn that a school community helps children learn.
• Learn what it means to be a good citizen of a school community.
• Learn rules are important and a classroom has rules for all to follow.
• Learn that students have classroom responsibilities.
• Learn that members of a classroom deserve to be heard and deserve respect.

LESSONS FOR THIS UNIT
Lesson 1: Hopes & Dreams
Lesson 2: Creating Our Class Rules
Lesson 3: Reviewing the Rules

REPRODUCIBLES
Hopes & Dreams request letter (PDF)
Hopes & Dreams parent template (PDF)
Class Rules Letter for parents (PDF)

CULMINATING ACTIVITY

1. Create a large poster board version of the class rules for everyone to sign. Add wallet-sized photos of them on the poster for an additional touch. Post it in a place where it can be seen at all times, or have the children work together to illustrate each rule separately.
2. Ask children to create drawings that illustrate their hopes and dreams for their kindergarten year. Ask parents to do the same. When the parents hand in their hopes and dreams, share them with the class. Post both the child's hopes and dreams and their parents' hopes and dreams side by side where it is visible to all.

SUPPORTING BOOKS

See our shared book list entitled — Our First Six Weeks.

A PreK-K Teacher Advisor with co-teacher Naomi Randolph, Alexandra Savvas teaches kindergarten in an independent school in New York City.

Naomi Randolph, co-teaches Kindergarten with Alexandra Savvas in an independent school in New York City.

ARTICLE	Nature's Source Community Planting Day Teacher Sweepstakes - Official Rules Community Planting Day Teacher Sweepstakes - Official Rules
LESSON PLAN	The Rag Coat Lesson Plan The Rag Coat is a nice title to begin a dialog about the needs of people. Students loved helping to fold and sort the clothes, as well as counting...