Do not adjust your computer screen- Live, Laugh, I LOVE Kindergarten has gotten a makeover! Thanks to Alicia from Dreamlike Magic Designs!
Today during writing, I had an unannounced observation. This time with like 4 adimns...AH! My kids were AMAZING though! Like literally EVERYONE was engaged and so quiet. YES right!? NO! They were checking in on learning targets...ugh! I could be better with them. I don't know the best way to post them! Some teachers put them on their SMART boards, but I don't use my SMART board all the time and what happens when I need to use my document camera...the targets are no longer posted and that would be when someone comes in to just "stop by".
How do you post your learning targets!? Do you spend way to long getting them ready?! HELP!
I will leave you with the best thing EVER! Stop now if you are afraid of kids and tacks! Kristin from A Teeny Tiny Teacher posted this freebie the other day!
Your kiddos take a tack and poke the dots to make the word! She was NOT lying when she said your kiddos will be so quiet! Make sure to explain to them HOW to use the tack..aka the tack only goes through the paper.
I made this our "fun activity at the end of the day". Meaning if you don't do your work, then you won't do this until you are finished. I only had 2 who tested this until the very end of the day, when they realized I was not going to budge on my word they were quickly getting their unfinished work done.
They LOVED it! I LOVED it!! :)
In my district K-2 don't have to post our learning targets. I teach K and don't post my targets because most of my kids can't read them. I state the target and the students know what I am talking about. When we have our drop in visits the admins ask the students what they are learning or what the target it. That is how they are checking on our targets And obviously if they are there for the whole lesson they would hear it. I'm sorry this isn't more helpful to you, but I just thought I'd share.
ReplyDeleteKari :)
No thank you! Every insight helps!:-)
DeleteOMG, can I ever tell you about those gosh-darned learning targets. Pa-yuke!
ReplyDeleteOk, I change them once a week and have a bulletin board set up with, "I can. . . " in the top center.
Then each heading is a subject and I quickly fill them in on Fridays for the next week. We have to have them typed up and sent to administration by Thursday of the previous week. In addition to posting in our classroom, we have to have the typed version posted in our hallway, so that anyone, at any time, can know exactly what we're supposed to be doing. (Are you starting to see my crazy obsession and anger with our district?!)
This isn't even the big deal. Our kids need to be able to regurgitate these "I can" statements at any given moment that admin walks in the room. My boss comes in every Monday morning to check. I wish this was a joke. Then randomly people come in, interrupt what my kids are doing and ask them, "What are you doing?" and expect a 5-year-old to answer them with an "I can" statement. Sorry, this should be a blog post, or we should be drinking a beer over this. . .
AAAAHHH!
You just had a "learning walk" though, right? Not your formal, full????
Love the new look!
xo
Miss your face,
Leebs
Learning With Mrs. Leeby
Omg!! My head is spinning! I need to get better! I found out after it was just a data collection practice for the admin team...something they are doing that we will find out about at a later date? Ah! Help me! Haha!
DeleteThank you!!!:-)
ReplyDeleteSo, I've seen many teachers at my school do the same thing as Mrs. Leeby. One teacher just designates a whole white board for it, and writes the new ones at the end of the week. My school is probably the only one that doesn't focus on the MPS mandated FI and all it's parts, but I think just having a specific spot in your room will be the best thing. Especially, if you only post it weekly, then it's not that much of a nuisance.
ReplyDeleteI was at the FI Cohort yesterday, and one of the district ladies said there will be no way they get rid of it. Annoying.
Hope things work out, Kim!
Love the new look. Good luck with the learning targets. As of now, we just have to have essential questions posted (thank goodness). If they'd let us teach, instead of trying to "post" crap (oops--can i say that? ok---those targets) on the wall, we'd get more done! LOL :)
ReplyDeleteNicki
Mrs. Thigpen's Kindergarten