My precious little ones enter my class as young and inexperienced 4 year olds. It is my goal that by the end of the year they will leave me as proficient students that are familiar with their school and the world around it. Many of my students come from families where they have been given limited experiences outside of the home. Their world is very small and they are excited and eager to learn and broaden their horizons.
Mr. Rogers put it best when he said, "Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning, but for children play IS serious learning.
Play is really the work of childhood.” My pre-K students learn best through developmentally appropriate activities that allow them to explore their world socially and imaginatively. It is difficult to be an early childhood student in a time where play is being pushed aside in favor of assessments and testing. My wonderful students are lucky to be a part of a school and community that puts their developmental needs first.
My Project
Shared reading is a critical part of a young child's literacy education. Through shared reading, my young 4 year old students learn how to track text, where to being reading, what to do when you reach the end of a line of text, how to respond to punctuation, and a host of other pre-reading skills. In addition, students learn how to read by copying the teacher's fluency, and help problem solve together when they reach difficult or unfamiliar words.
In shared reading, every student must be able to engage in the text.
These big books will allow all students to see the text and follow along. We will use pointers (magic wands!) to track the text, we will identify letters and beginning sounds as we decipher words, and we will practice the "big kid" reading strategies that are so critical as our young kids develop into readers.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Argraves and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
