When I Do, I Learn!

Funded Sep 17, 2021

We have been busy acquiring language and literacy through hands on learning centers! The kiddies were so excited when I opened the packages and showed them the different materials we were going to work with. I had initially shown then the materials and then put it away in our closet. But one of the students went to the closet and opened it and said, "Can we please use them now?" How could we not tinker with keys and locks and realia?! We are a TBE classroom where we use our native language, Spanish, to help acquire English. After a whole class mini-lesson (whether it be phonics, writing, guided reading, etc) we break down into smaller groups to practice the skills/concept we just learned. The kiddies usually use worksheets to practice skills but English Language Learners need tactile experiences, they need realia to develop language! This is where our new materials came into play. Kiddies worked in different centers developing different skills. In our simple words learning locks, students worked together to look at the pictures and tinker with different keys to match to the right picture! Then, in our letter crayons building we worked cooperatively to use letter sound recognition and form words! These materials have been exciting for us and we will continue to use them this whole year. We love learning through play and the tactile!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Lainez