Active Learning

The way our day typically goes is that I teach a lesson for about a half hour and then they do more "hands-on" kind of learning.  Today I had a five stations set up where they could work with a partner or partners for 10 minutes and then the moved on to the next station.  

Working like this teaches the students to learn to work in a group and get along.  They also learn from each other.  At the beginning of the year, this is very difficult for them to do, but now they do much better and they are all engaged in learning. It goes quite smoothly and they seem to like it.  Sometimes they think that they are playing when really they are learning.  The lower elementary teachers have to be a little sneaky sometimes!

Today's stations: 

• work on sounding out words with the teacher
• make play-dough numbers 6-10
• use pattern blocks to pictures
• read the past kindergarten books 
• make the reading words with magnetic letters

You can see the different groups throughout the room.

They love to use the play dough - even if it is to 
make numbers!

This one got them thinking because the magnetic letters 
were all capital, so they had to adjust.