Ben

General Education Student.

Ben is a kind and social child who wants to be a police officer when he grows up. He loves Paw Patrol, especially Chase, the team’s police pup. He is an active student who is open to trying new experiences, especially anything involving the Smartboard or IPad. He likes spending time in the block and writing centers. He also enjoys putting puzzles together. Ben often speaks of his little sister and tells amazing stories of their adventures, especially when they visit their grandparents in Long Island.

Activities Planned

Although Ben participated in rhyming poems and shared readings like the 1,2, Buckle my shoe found below, he was not meeting the Pre-K standard for noticing and discriminating rhyme during the Fall checkpoint. I deliberately planned engaging activities that targeted this objective. Building on his love of puzzles, activities included Rhyming Sounds Match-Ups and Rhyme Sorting Houses. After playing these types of games, Ben could complete rhyming phases and was able to decide whether two words rhymed. As time progressed, I incorporated more rhyming games and activities such as scavenger hunts into our day and exposed Ben to rhyming games on the computer. As a result, Ben learned to generate rhyming words spontaneously. He would chant, “Ben, when, den,” as he built a tower in the block center. At the spring checkpoint, Ben was above the Pre-K standard for noticing and discriminating rhyme as he was able to produce a group of rhyming words when given one word.

In these poems, students would use picture clues to determine what it was about. Then I would recite the words for each line and students would echo me. Once students gained familiarity with the reading, they would be invited to the Smartboard to identify and color rhyming words.

Ben and his partner look around the classroom during one of our rhyming scavenger hunts.

During transitions, students would solve riddles. Ben's riddles, such as the ones below, focused on rhyming words.

Activities Planned

Each morning, during circle time, we began our day by singing a song that included hello in all the languages of our class. Aicha’s face lit up each time she heard “Bonjour!” I also played music in the various languages spoken by my students. It is important to me that all students feel comfortable and have a sense of belonging. Incorporating home languages was one way to accomplish this goal.

In order to improve Aicha’s ability to speak and understand English, in addition to referring to visuals and sticking to a predictable routine, I modeled new language and vocabulary consistently throughout the day. I would help Aicha by adding words, asking closed end questions with visuals as choices, or assist her with prompts when she needed help to express herself. In addition,I made sure to provide her ample time to respond. During read-alouds, I would include vocabulary cards with targeted words and visuals. While working with students in small groups, I would ensure Aicha was placed with children who had strong English language skills. Aicha had opportunities for self directed activities that matched her interest and language abilities.

During breakfast one Monday morning in April, 2019, children talked about what they had done the previous weekend. After one student spoke about going to the playground and enjoying the swings, Aicha replied, “Yesterday me and Ryo is going to the park and our babies. We see ice cream but have no money. We play slide in the park.” Then Aicha and the other student engaged in a brief conversation about other activities they enjoy at the park, including the see saw and monkey bars.

Mathematics

In the beginning of school, after I explained that a pattern is an arrangement of things that repeat, children demonstrated patterns with their bodies (clap, stomp, clap, stomp, etc.) and with crayons (green crayon, orange crayon, green crayon, orange crayon, etc.). During center time, Ben combined various unifix cubes and erroneously informed me it was a pattern. He proceeded to touch each cube and identify its color as shown below:

Cognizant of Ben’s interest in patterns, I introduced him to a teddy bear pattern game where he could match the various colored bears to the colors on the cards. Together we said the colors aloud as he placed each bear on the card. After the card was completed, I encouraged him to touch each bear and say its color.

At the Fall checkpoint, Ben was approaching the Pre-K level standard for demonstrating knowledge of patterns since he was able to copy simple repeating patterns. I encouraged Ben to notice repeating parts in items around us. These include stripes on his shirt, alternating colored floor tiles, and colors on the Candy Land game board. When families brought in clothes for our dramatic play area during our clothing unit, we went on a pattern search to find articles of clothing with patterns. At the winter checkpoint, Ben was able to make a pattern without using the cards, but was unable to extend patterns.

Ben, along with many of his peers, reverted to an A-B pattern in the example above.

Since Ben had an affinity towards computers, I played some electronic pattern games with him. By the spring checkpoint, Ben was able to independently extend and create simple patterns such as the one shown below. He was also able to add on to existing patterns.

While making his
self-portrait, Ben attempts to make a pattern with stripes on his shirt.

Some of our findings from our
pattern search during the clothing unit