English Language Arts Kindergarten
Speaking and Listening Standard 6
English Language Arts Kindergarten
Reading: Literature Standard 2
English Language Arts Kindergarten
Speaking and Listening Standard 1 a.
Students will explore five different "Discovery Buckets". These buckets will give them opportunities to practice expressing both their thoughts and feelings.
Bad Day Discovery Bucket
Flannel Board Discovery Bucket
Dramatic Discovery Bucket
Name Discovery Bucket
Feelings Discovery Bucket
Additional Resources
Books
Media
As educators, we recognize that an increased ability to communicate thoughts and feelings gives children the skills they need in their interactions with others. Acceptance by peers is not only correlated with positive attitudes toward school; it is a powerful predictor of social adjustment throughout life. For these reasons, it is vital to teach children about their emotions and how to appropriately express thoughts and feelings with others.
Because children learn through play, providing a variety of materials for children's independent learning activities (alone or with peers) is one dimension of effectively responding to individual differences in the classroom. Teachers can accommodate for the many different learning styles within their classrooms by providing a variety of activities for children to explore and discover.
Student with low language skills tend to cluster in the following areas:
1. Demonstrate a positive learning attitude.
2. Demonstrate responsible emotional and cognitive behaviors.
3. Communicate clearly in oral, artistic, written, and nonverbal form.
All of the stories and literature should to be presented to the students prior to these activities.
Use Three Billy Goats Gruff, the Three Little Pigs, A Bad, Bad, Day, and a variety of books about feelings with this activity. The unit teaches about expressing thoughts and feelings. Use Discovery Buckets to allow exploration and communication to occur. Explain that you will introduce five different Discovery Buckets.
Invitation to Learn
Sit your class down in a circle and then show them an ordinary apple. Without explaining why, show the kids that the apple is ordinary and then ask each student to take the apple and give it a good whack on the floor (not too hard). After they look at you like you have gone crazy, they whack it on the floor. After it has passed around the circle and has returned to you, show them the apple again. Show them that the apple still looks normal on the outside. Next cut it open and show the kids all the bruising and brown spots the whacking did to the apple. This is a great way to illustrate how even though we can't see how we hurt people, on the inside we all have feelings that can be hurt by bad words, etc.
Explain that we will explore five different Discovery Buckets. These buckets will give the students opportunities to practice expressing both their thoughts and feelings.
Instructional Procedures
Bad Day Discovery Bucket
Flannel Board Discovery Bucket
Dramatic Discovery Bucket
Name Discovery Bucket
Books:
- My Mommy Doesn't Know My Name, by Suzanne Williams
- Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes
- A Porcupine Named Fluffy, by Helen Lester
- Andy (That's My Name) by Tomie De Paola
Feelings Discovery Bucket
Books:
- Feelings, by Aliki
- Today I Feel Silly: And Other Moods That Make My Day, by Jamie Lee Curtis
- When Sophie Gets Angry, Really Angry, by Molly Bang
- Glad Monster, Sad Monster: A Book About Feelings, by Ed Emberley and Anne Miranda
Word Wall
Create a class word wall with the list of feeling words. If you took photos of students making faces that captured the emotion, you could display them next to the word.
Class Book
With an empty picture frame take photos of students making the emotions discussed in class.
Combine them to create a class emotions book.
Check-in Board
Create a check-in board where children place their name clips or photo next to a feeling picture. Follow up with children, talking with them about the emotion they chose and the circumstances related to their feelings. As the day progresses and feelings change, you can facilitate children's changing the placement of their name clips to match their new feelings.
Family Connections
Research Basis
Joseph G.E. and Strain, P.S., (2003). Topics in early childhood special education. National Association for the Education of Young Children. http://journal.naeyc.org.
Research shows that when educators teach children the key skills they need to understand their emotions and the emotions of others, handle conflicts, problem solve, and develop relationships with peers, their problem behavior decreases and their social skills improve.
Church, E. B., (2004). Everyday word play. Scholastic Parent & Child; Apr/May 2004, 11 (5), p67-68
This research shows that communication is central to the learning process. Literacy is about communicating ideas by any means, and there are plenty of opportunities each day to build these important skills. Providing children the opportunity to choose and carry out learning activities independently supports the development of effective self-direction and intrinsic motivation.