Working in a Kindergarten Classroom

1. Presentation developed by Mary Barbera, Janis Jank, Jean Dunaway and Gwen Chalmers Working in a Kindergarten Classroom

2. PRE ASSESSMENTPLEASE SUBMIT TO YOUR ADMINISTRATOR AACPS-Division of Special Education – Para Educator Training Videos Name: School: Date: 1. Requisite learning behaviors are a. the independent skills a child needs in kindergarten like zipping their jacket or using the bathroom independently. b. the skills a child needs in order to be ready to learn, such as sitting quietly or following routines. c. the basic skills needed before academic learning such as naming colors and shapes or writing their name. d. the higher order thinking skills stressed in Common Core. 2. Instruction should be differentiated because a. children have different learning profiles. b. not all students in the classroom are at the same level of achievement. c. children have different interests that serve as motivators. d. all of the above.

3. PRE ASSESSMENTPLEASE SUBMIT TO YOUR ADMINISTRATOR 3. Which of the following statements is most true about giving directions? a. you should give directions only once so children learn to pay attention. b. you should give 1 step directions to all kindergarten students. c. directions should focus on what you want the children to do instead of what they should stop doing. d. you can expect all kindergarten students to follow directions within two seconds. 4. The most important goal of a positive behavior support plan is a. to teach the child to communicate her needs using appropriate behavior. b. to reduce the number of office referrals and suspensions. c. to get the student to stop inappropriate behavior. d. to make the classroom climate positive. 5. Limited choices are important for children who want to control their environment because a. children shouldn’t always get their own way. b. the teacher cannot let each child do whatever they want. c. the teacher sets the limits, but the child can exercise her power by making a choice. d. children need freedom within the school day.

4. Closer Look at Kindergarten Adapted from an observational form created by Early Childhood and Itinerant Special Educators to inform ECI teachers about expectations in typical Kindergarten classrooms Can be used as an informal assessment of a student’s strengths and needs in the classroom. Highlights skills to reinforce and scaffold areas of weakness.

5. Social and Emotional Expectations • Get on and off bus • Find their way around school • Exhibit independent self care (eating and bathroom) • Put on/off clothing within a reasonable amount of time • Manage personal items • Express emotions and feelings appropriately • Communicate own wants and needs • Separate from parents and accept school personnel (lunch monitor, nurse, administrators, cultural arts teachers) • Respond to social recognition and reinforcement • Respect others and their property

6. Requisite Learning Expectations Attend to speaker in large group Wait to take turns and share Stay in own space and control voice during activity Raise hand to participate in activity Ask questions and get information Follow directions given by teacher

7. Oral Language and Reading Expectations • Recall and complete tasks demonstrated previously (rhyming, letter/word identification, sequencing, letter sounds, etc.) • Answer questions about literature (sequencing, main idea, cause and effect, summarizing , predicting) • Respond with words or compliance when comments are directed to him or her • Ask questions and get information

8. Writing Expectations • Relate experiences and ideas to others • Generate ideas to represent in drawing and writing • Respond to prompt by drawing and/or writing independently • Ask questions and get information

9. Workshop – Rotations - Treasure Time • Independently chooses from a menu of literacy activities • Use a variety of manipulatives appropriately • Initiate and complete a task independently • Wait to take turns and share • Recall and complete tasks demonstrated previously • Follow three-part directions related to task • Understand role as part of a group

10. Some Ways to Differentiate Instruction Input: How is the material presented? Difficulty: Does it need to be harder or easier? Level of Support: What sorts of prompts are needed? Output: How will the student show us what she knows? Alternative Goals: Is there another more relevant goal for this student during this activity?

11. Suggestions to Support Language Difficulties • Use multisensory strategies, especially for initial teaching • Add (or maintain visual aids) especially for academic information presented orally • Preteach concepts • Visual models of work • Word banks • Communication books/boards

12. Hierarchies to Facilitate Differentiation Concept Hierarchy Visual Cue Hierarchy Tool Hierarchy Prompt Hierarchy

13. Concept Hierarchy Match Recognize Identify Find the one the same color Same word spoken to same word spoken – Are “sing” and “sing” the same? Point to red Do “sing” and “ring” rhyme? What color is this? Say a word that rhymes with “king.”

14. Object: Photo: Realistic Color Illustration: “Cartoon” Color Illustration: Realistic Black and white Illustration: “Cartoon” Black and White Illustration: Rebus + Word: pencilWord: pencil VisualCueHierarchy

15. Writing Tool Hierarchy Marker Pipsqueaks Color Changers (to encourage tracing) Chalk Crayons Big -bulb crayons Erasable Twistups -Twistables Slick Stix Colored pencils as substitutes Pencil Large vs. small Triangular grips

16. Make an “always be prepared” bag Visual Supports Token system or behavior checklist and reinforcers Special tools (scissors, pencil grip) Alternate activities if the student cannot do what the rest of the class is doing, finishes quickly, needs to be removed from the class

17. TOP TEN LIST EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

18. 1. How can I get them to follow directions? • Clear simple language • Start vs. Stop directions – Walk vs. don’t run • Fewer words • Stop and Listen • Modified routines to facilitate following direction • Place in line • Special duties • Special location

19. 2. What is “Wait Time?” • To respond to directions • To answer questions • Give the student time to respond to the natural teacher direction before giving a prompt (our kids don’t need to be perfect) • Individualized

20. 3. Review and Rehearse • Expectations • Rules • New events (picture day)

21. School Picture Day

22. Smile!

23. 4. How do we build independence? Most Intrusive to Least Intrusive Full Physical Partial Physical Model Visual Gestural Verbal Independent

24. Use the least assistance the child needs • Example: Jean is not able to write her name other than J, how would you prompt her? • Copy the model Trace the letters Jean _ean

25. 5. Let’s Get Visual • Visual Learning Style • Poor communication skills • What do you do when you don’t have an appropriate visual My Teacher is Sick Today Ms. White is absent. We have a substitute. Ms. White left plans so Mr. Brown knows what to do. I will be O.K.

26. Schedules 1 2 3 Break / Choice FIRST THEN

27. Independent Work System:

28. 6. Why is she doing that? • Function of the behavior • Attention • Escape/avoidance • Sensory • Power and control

29. 7. What do you want her to do? • Teach appropriate actions to replace inappropriate ones • That behavior must meet the function of the inappropriate behavior • If you “punish” or “correct,” you only stop the one behavior

30. 8. Allow limited choices whenever possible • Why? • Examples • Materials • Location or position • Timing • Choice of activities

31. 9. Would you work for a sticker? • If it doesn’t increase appropriate behavior, it is not a reinforcer • Must be individualized • Must be immediate (or almost ) • Menu of reinforcers for some (limited choice of activities, etc.)

32. Tokens and Menu of Reinforcers I am working for

33. 10. Communicating with the Team • Confidentiality • Who’s in charge? • Ask questions • What do you do when the advice given conflicts with what someone else had said? • Emergency Plans (Fire Drills, behavior issues)

34. SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LITERACY Information provided by: Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning Materials to use with students can be found on the Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior at the following web address: http://www.challengingbehavior.org

35. Children with a Strong Foundationin Emotional Literacy: • tolerate frustration better • get into fewer fights • engage in less destructive behavior • are healthier • less lonely • less impulsive • more focused, and • have greater academic achievement

36. Skills To Teach Friendship skills Following rules, routines and directions Identifying feelings in self and others Controlling anger and impulse Problem solving

37. Steps to Teaching Throughout the Day: 1. Identify the skill you want to teach 2. Teach the Social Skills Concept –during large group, small group and provide individualized instruction for children who need it 3. Give children opportunities to practice – role play,  prompting children through an interaction (scaffolding), embedding instruction 4. Model the behaviors in every day interactions 5. Reinforce the behavior in context – use positive descriptive feedback to comment on children engaging in the behavior 6. Help children reflect on the skills – individually or in a group

38. Teaching Strategies from this website Adult Modeling Modeling with Puppets Preparing Peer Partners Songs Finger plays Flannel Board Activities Prompts Priming Reinforcements Incidental Teaching Use of Games Use of Children’s Literature Social Stories http://www.csefel.uiuc.edu/whatworks

39. Feeling Wheels & Feeling Dice

40. Checking In How do you feel today? • Teachers and children can “check in” each morning by choosing a feeling face that best describes their affective state and putting it next to their name. Children can be encouraged to change their feeling faces throughout the day as their feelings change.

41. Problem Solving Steps Would it be safe? Would it be fair? How would everyone feel?

42. Identifying Teachable Moments • Use natural occurring situations to teach social-emotional • skills. • Model what you want them to do during typical situations that occur during classroom instruction. • Seize the moment when children are looking and listening! • Use natural occurring mistakes/frustrations as a teachable moment. • Teach as you are standing in line, during wait times, during center time, while you are walking around the classroom, or in the hallways.

43. Incidental Teaching Provide emotional labels as children experience various affective states - “Tamika and Tanya seem really happy to be playing together! They keep hugging each other!”

44. Kindergarten builds a firm foundation

45. POST ASSESSMENTPLEASE SUBMIT TO YOUR ADMINISTRATOR AACPS-Division of Special Education – Para Educator Training Videos Name: School: Date: 1. Requisite learning behaviors are a. the independent skills a child needs in kindergarten like zipping their jacket or using the bathroom independently. b. the skills a child needs in order to be ready to learn, such as sitting quietly or following routines. c. the basic skills needed before academic learning such as naming colors and shapes or writing their name. d. the higher order thinking skills stressed in Common Core. 2. Instruction should be differentiated because a. children have different learning profiles. b. not all students in the classroom are at the same level of achievement. c. children have different interests that serve as motivators. d. all of the above.

46. POST ASSESSMENTPLEASE SUBMIT TO YOUR ADMINISTRATOR 3. Which of the following statements is most true about giving directions? a. you should give directions only once so children learn to pay attention. b. you should give 1 step directions to all kindergarten students. c. directions should focus on what you want the children to do instead of what they should stop doing. d. you can expect all kindergarten students to follow directions within two seconds. 4. The most important goal of a positive behavior support plan is a. to teach the child to communicate her needs using appropriate behavior. b. to reduce the number of office referrals and suspensions. c. to get the student to stop inappropriate behavior. d. to make the classroom climate positive. 5. Limited choices are important for children who want to control their environment because a. children shouldn’t always get their own way. b. the teacher cannot let each child do whatever they want. c. the teacher sets the limits, but the child can exercise her power by making a choice. d. children need freedom within the school day.