Kindergarten Rocks!
Kindergarten Rocks!
This is a fantastic book to read towards the end of the first week in kindergarten or even the end of the month. It goes well with the back-to-school theme. I also like to read it to focus on the social emotional needs of kindergarteners.
There are a lot of nerves that surround starting kindergarten. A lot of our babies are starting school for the 1st time. Even the ones that have been in pre-k or child-care before, can still come in with some big emotions. This book is a perfect read that gives many relatable examples.
It is also a wonderful gateway to discussing how all the students felt and are currently feeling about their classroom. In class I like to pause the reading after hearing about Dex, the main character’s concerns and make a class list that incorporates everyone’s feelings.
Before making a class list I pose the general questions and give kids a chance to talk about their feelings with their partners. This is called Think, Pair, Share (TPS). Then we come back together as a class and share those ideas with the whole class. This is a great way to get the students to engage and practice taking turns speaking. Making a class list is also a great way to model writing skills.
After making the class list we continue to read the book and find out about how the main character’s feelings have changed. At the end, I like to make a second class list that shows how they feel differently now. This is totally dependent on the class, I’ve had some years where the kids were done by the end of our 1st class list. Which is a great pausing point to move on to the next activity and return to the book later. I’ve also had some years where we finished the book and both class lists on the same day. It’s always important to read the room and keep going as long as your students are still engaged.
A quick tip that helps move the class list quicker, is having your chart paper and sentence stems written out prior to the read-aloud. This way all you need to plug in, is the student’s words for the emotions they are feeling and the subject it’s pertaining. (An example is included in the document linked above.) If multiple students use the same example, I add their name next to the sentence as to not write it again.
If you’d like to read Kindergarten Rocks in your classroom you can download the lesson plan, aligned with common core state standards here. All worksheets and activities that go along with the book are attached. I hope your kids enjoy it as much as mine did!
Happy Teaching!
