Pre-K Teaching Times
April 2016 Edition
Theme- Make It Move
How does wind make things move?
What are the different ways things move?
What can we do to make things move?
Scream the Theme
Whiteboard Activities for Make It Move
Social Emotional Development
Second Step curriculum has a great social and emotional activity that accompanies the "Make It Move" theme. Brain Bulder 3- Stop and Start on page 21 of the Early Learning SecondStep Teaching Materials book, involves lots of moving and following directions. A copy of a stop sign is needed to play the game. The teacher will explain the rules by saying, "when I say START, move in your own space, and when I say STOP, show me the stop pose". This game should only be played for a few minutes at a time. It can also be used during transitions. You can propose different forms of locomotion, such as a train, airplane, animals, and so on to make the game more challenging.
TALK Strategies- Parallel Talk and Self Talk
According to the Hanson Initiative for Language & Literacy, center time provides a valuable opportunity to engage in extended conversations by observing what children are doing, then commenting, asking questions and expanding on what is said. For chidren whose language skills are not as developed, engaging in back and forth conversations may be difficult. Techniques such as parallel talk and self talk can be effective to model the language for them. These techniques help to encourage conversation.
Parallel talk allows children to hear words and sentences that describe the world. The teacher talks about what they are doing while they are involved in an activity.
Self talk is another way to give children opportunities to hear words and sentences by talking about what you are doing. These techniques allow children to hear words paired with objects and actions in order to learn language.
OWL End-of-Year Assessment
- Soon we will be administering the OWL End of the Year Assessment to see how kindergarten ready our students are. The data gained from this assessment will allow us to measures gains, strengths and weaknesses of our instructional program. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for the Literacy Assessment and about 10 minutes for the Math Assessment. The assessment window begins April 25th. This data will be entered into a spreadsheet with student data. You will receive the spreadsheet by May 1 or sooner.
Materials needed:
* End of the Year Assessment Recording Form
* Assessment Visuals- Alphabet Knowledge, Phonological Awareness,
Concepts of Print and Numbers and Operations
* 10 Color Cubes from manipulative kit
* An age- appropriate storybook
Important Lottery Information for Parents
The Office of Early Learning is excited to announce that the 2016-2017 Pre-K lottery is here! Atlanta Public Schools' Pre-K program is an age-appropriate instructional program that prepares students for a successful transition to kindergarten and beyond. APS' Pre-K lottery will be accepting applications from April 1-24, 2016. ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MIDNIGHT ON APRIL 24, 2016. For more information or to complete an application visit us at www.atlanta.k12.ga.us.
Get a jump start on the process by gathering the necessary documents listed below.
Pre-K Enrollment Requirements:
Birth Certificate or Passport
Parent Photo ID
Proof of Residence (electric, gas or water bill, lease or mortgage statement) Cable and phone bills are not acceptable OR
Affidavit of Residency (if the utility bill, lease or mortgage statement is not in parent's name)
Child's Social Security Card or waiver
Proof of Guardianship (if applicable)
Proof of Income- Head Start Sites only (W-2, Tax Return, SSI, TANF)
Child's Peachcare, Medicaid or Health insurance card
Immunization Certificate (Form 3231) and Ear, Eye and Dental Form (Form 3300)
For Head Start locations- Head Start dental and physical exams are required
Upcoming April Dates/Events
1st WSO Screening (entering and linking documentation)
11th Begin theme- "Make It Move"
11th-22nd PALS Testing Window
25th End-of-Year Owl Assessment begins
27th Monthly PD (3:30-5:00)
29th Health and Safety Checklists Due (Head Start sites only)