T is for Transportation

With a room FULL of boys you have to keep the block center BIG, the ideas fresh and the pace quick!  This week is right up their alley- transportation. We are learning about the many "Ways to GO".  Our literacy centers for the week are full or transportation fun as we learn how people and things move around our community.  

Our first teacher led center has children writing their "Ts" with trucks!  We taped markers to the backs of the trucks and asked the children to drive them around their papers.  

I love that the activity forces them to think about the individual strokes involved with making each letter. The words for making each letter are sort of like a map for the trucks: Big line down, little line across...  If you follow the map, you get to the right place! I also love that a child that is struggling with fine motor development can experience great success in this exercise.  Driving the trucks with the markers attached called for movement more from their shoulders and elbow, rather than the small muscles in the fingers. 

 I thought this would be more of a challenge for them, but it wasn't at all.  In fact, it was so easy for them, they ended up writing their names and sight words.  

Our second teacher led center had us stamping license plates for the state of NC.  

This group was tasked with writing the 3 sounds they could hear in each word.  We did the first one together.  We isolated the sounds, and stamped them one at a time.  Once I was comfortable that they were ready, I turned them loose.  

I was then able to help each child with their individual needs: for example, understanding why we put "c" with "a" in cab, instead of "k", or helping differentiate the /u/ and the/o/.  I treasure this small group time when I can challenge the kids in the just right way.

Our independent group for the week is making traffic signals.  Their job is to put those pincer grips to work and tear paper into small pieces.  

Then they squeeze the glue with all their might and fill in the circles.  

Remember, please don't tell them they are learning, they think they are having fun!

Meanwhile, we watch them develop small muscles, sort, complete a spatial visualization task, use teamwork, make a plan,  and think about their place in the world around them.  

Tomorrow we rotate and everyone does a new center!

*For my teacher friends, I made the NC license plate CVC template.  I also made one for my beginning readers who are just now hearing beginning sounds.  It provides the medial and ending sounds, leaving one blank for the beginning sound.If you would like a copy, just let me know. Happy to share.  The objects were picked knowing that it was be a teacher led center, meaning that I would be there to make sure they spelled cab instead of taxi, and jet instead of plane.