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PRESENTATIONS FOR KINDERGARTEN – GRADE 1 TEACHERS

Here are some of Lori Jamison’s most popular workshops for Kindergarten teachers. Workshops may be extended and combined to suit your time frame, from 60 minutes to full day. 

Contact Lori at ljamison@sasktel.net to customize a program for your professional development needs.

READ, WRITE, PLAY, LEARN:  LITERACY INSTRUCTION IN TODAY’S KINDERGARTEN

Today’s Kindergarten program is a fine balance of discovery, exploratory play and explicit teaching.  This special session for Kindergarten teachers will look at what Kindergarten children need to know about literacy – and how best to teach them.  We’ll discuss oral language development – the foundation of literacy – and ideas for reading to, with and by children, as well as skill development in a joyful learning environment.

WRITE FROM THE START

For many of our youngest learners, writing develops more easily and naturally than reading.  In this session, we’ll look at developmentally appropriate writing instruction through modeled, shared and interactive writing.  You’ll pick up ideas like bubble-gum writing, sticky dot details and overcoming the hurdle of “I don’t know how to write.”  You leave with many tips for integrating writing into all aspects of the Kindergarten day, including helping children document their own learning during projects and play.

FLOATING ON A SEA OF TALK

It has been said that literacy floats on a sea of talk.  From their earliest years, our children learn words and how they go together in order to think, to interact with others and to begin to read and write.  This presentation will focus on the ways that play supports oral language development and how educators and caregivers can support and scaffold that development.  We’ll also talk about ways to build children’s vocabulary, both through incidental experiences and planned instructional events such as read-alouds and word games.

SHARED AND GUIDED READING:  LEARNING TO READ BY READING

Read-aloud, shared reading, guided reading and independent reading:  each component serves its own unique purpose in the guided release of responsibility.  This session will focus on the “WE DO” of reading instruction:  shared and guided reading. These routines are the opportunity for students to practice reading with support, gradually increasing difficulty and building independence. We’ll share ideas for a weekly shared routine and planning small group reading routines for emergent and early readers.

WHAT DO YOU (WANT TO) KNOW?  RESEARCH & INQUIRY IN K-2

Even at the earliest levels, we can turn children’s questions and wonderings into investigations. Inquiry projects help children learn to read for information, to count, to communicate, and to work cooperatively together. The challenge for teachers is to give up control of “what” children are learning and focus on “how” they are learning. This means weaving shared reading and written documentation into an inquiry-based environment. In this session, we’ll look at the stages of inquiry and share practical examples of engaging children in a topic, helping them gather information and then recording and sharing their learning.

TEN MINUTE TEACHING

We know that children learn best from discovery and exploration, but some concepts still need to be explicitly taught.  However, these teaching moments must be brief, focused and multi-level.  In this session, we’ll discuss the power of the 10-minute minilesson and share practical ideas for teaching alphabet and phonetic concepts, high frequency words and more.

What teachers are saying:

“Thank you for your wonderful workshops.  You were motivating, inspiring and honest … it made me feel that I am doing a good job – thank you!  I was able to take so many new ideas back to my classroom and am excited to implement them.” – Sue G., Kindergarten Teacher

Contact Us

We are happy to answer your questions. Send us a message and we will get back to as soon as we can! Feel free to include your phone number.

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