Hygiene lesson from a 6 year old

I am a pretty busy and tired person... I will be honest, I don't shower everyday. My hair is usually in a pony tail. My students always comment when I do take a shower and take the time to blow dry my hair. Apparently it is a big difference, because a Kindergartner said to me today, "Mrs. Valadez, you took a shower today!" Wow... that was an eye opener... do I really look THAT bad every other day??? I guess so!

Comprehension using Expository Texts

The fourth grade slump has been attributed to the lack of informational texts used in pre-school through 1st grade.
Research proves that informational texts are increasingly important in students comprehension abilities.
Informational texts are not as predictable in their story structure as a narrative text.
They give the reader 3 times the opportunities to use comprehension skills than narrative texts.
When reading a story as a read aloud, think about reading informational texts. Your students will no doubt benefit!

Free Header

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Manipulatives for reading?

I have determined that my little low achieving kindergartners will be lucky if they go to 1st grade knowing their letter names and sounds. I have tried EVERYTHING. Now there is only so much I can do in 15 minutes a day for my small group. But, here are some of my new things.

Play dough: make a letter with your play dough. (What letter says /s/? Show me with your play dough)
Stamps: Let the students explore with letter stamps.
Bingo: find the letter that says /b/ and put a marker there.