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Subject: Language Arts,
Grade: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1-6
"To the five-year-old," says Shirley Wyatt, Port Murray, New Jersey, "the bridge from home to school is not one easily traveled. The child who is instantly acknowledged, then actively involved, finds the transition easier." This kindergarten teacher at Mansfield Township School knows what she's talking about. Her orientation/language arts project not only smoothes the home/school transition but creates an atmosphere of wonder, magic, and delight.
Kindergarten teacher Shirley Wyatt describes Mansfield Township as "a semi-rural area sandwiched between two sizable towns." She identifies three distinct groups: middle-class families who live in the township but work in the large metropolitan area within an hour's drive; residents who have lived in the area for generations; and newly-arrived apartment dwellers including single parents, two working parents and economically-pressed families. "School is the only place many of the children have to see each other because the township is so large," Wyatt admits. She sees other problems--and opportunities--as well.
"School is a sprawling, elegant facility built in 1963. Surrounding the buildings are lots of trees, woods, and plenty of grass for children to play. School population currently is 510; the professionals number 38, and onsite support staff, eight.
"The class for which this project was designed is typical of the school's population. Characteristic of the mix of lifestyles is its highly transient nature, its lack of jell. Children are prime victims. There is little permanence in their lives. Students come and students go; there is scarcely a ripple. A teacher is notified that a student is about to enter; the student never arrives. Or, a child is entered for a mere burp of time. As a result, there is this incessant clamor for attention.
"Thus, there is a very real need to involve the child with instant acceptance and to give him immediate tools for survival while developing as many skills as possible to give chase to the sense of isolation," Wyatt suggests. "This need is not unique to my township. It is as real in the inner city or on the high plains. This unit is intended to deal with, among other things, a spiritual hunger to be loved and wanted."
"In this project, child and teacher communicate before opening day. When a personal letter from the teacher arrives in the mailbox, it provides an instant and intimate opportunity for the parent and child to discuss, in a meaningful way, the events about to unfold. The child's response to this letter becomes pivotal to the orientation process. On the first day of school, as the child alights from the bus, there is instant appropriate focus for communication between teacher and child. The child is greeted by his/her own artwork hanging in the classroom. As the child and teacher work together to post a photograph with his/her drawing, the child once again is active and acknowledged.
"What unfolds in the days that follow is a dramatic interaction with school personnel in a self-generating scenario: the children create something (a gingerbread man), only to find that it is lost in this big, wonderful, new, but awesome place. All members of the school family get involved in tracking down and caring about the missing member. There is a happy ending, and, in the meantime, the jitters of starting school are left far behind. A spirit of togetherness, borne of common focus, has emerged. Some rather sophisticated learning skills have flowed through the experiences and involvements.
"Later in the semester, as the children look to next year, a new tour of the facility is arranged and expanded to include the special places and people first graders meet. In a gesture of cool expertise, the veteran students lay groundwork for the new kindergarteners about to enter. Finally, using cameras independently now, they are left to wonder about the magic of photography."
"This unit can be used in part or as a whole," says Wyatt, who was a junior high school teacher for 21 years before "doing a total flip-flop" just three years before she entered and won a major prize in the NEA/Kodak program. "It breaks neatly into the following blocks of activity:
Phase I: Initial Introductory Activity (PreSchool and Day One)
Phase II: Introduction To School Setting (Gingerbread Chase)
Phase III: Orientation to Grade One (Visitation Day)
"The beauty of this unit is that it is flexible enough to fit any school setting or any frame of time. The equipment needed is common, and makeshift is possible. Activities can be adapted to fit the schedules of the personnel involved. It might be expanded to include community helpers as well. Indeed, no matter what the setting, this magic is manipulative!"
"One week prior to the opening of school, the teacher addressed a letter to each student. In a vernacular only a preschooler would identify, the letter said, "Please draw me a picture of you. On the first day of school I will know who you are."
The envelope sent with the letter was self-addressed and stamped. Children returned (mailed) drawings to the teacher. Drawings -- and envelopes -- became sources for bulletin board display on opening day.
"That first day, there was a discussion of the drawings. The teacher took a photo of each child. The photo was added to the existing bulletin board display of drawings.
"On Day Two, the teacher took a photo of the boys and girls and introduced the concept of 'the class' as a group of people who work together. There was a discussion with recall of the entire sequence of events which led to the taking of the class picture. It was agreed that we should make a picture story of these events. With the children posing as models, we role-played, and then created the student-directed photo essay for a new display. The children discovered the need to work together to make things happen."
"On Day Three, the teacher and students decided to make a gingerbread man for snacktime. The class prepared batter and cut out a large cookie. The class transported the cookie to the kitchen and met the cook. She put the snack into an oven to bake. As the cookie would not have baked in time for this day's snack, the class would pick it up tomorrow. For consolation, the teacher read the story of The Gingerbread Man.This caused children to speculate that our gingerbread man, like the one in the story, might become a runaway.
"On Days Four through Seven, an adventure unfolded. The class returned to the kitchen to claim the cookie. A distressed cook could not find it. A note -- with smudges -- directed the children to one of the other helpers, the school nurse. The sympathetic nurse encouraged the children to look everywhere in her office. She explained some of her tools and how she assists children. She promised to let the class know if the gingerbread man showed up at her office.
"Each day another helper got involved, finding a note or helping to search in a given area. He or she likewise explained his or her role. The runaway may have left a clue to be followed, or someone would have 'seen' the crafty fellow. Bus driver Ralph McDermott, for instance, discovered the clever cookie had been on his bus and had left behind a dot-to-dot picture of his gingerbread house.
"From the first day, the children recognized that the camera would be a tool to help them remember; thus, we always took it with us as we tracked. The children snapped a photo of our helper; the teacher shot pictures of the children. The search spilled over the school boundaries: excited kindergarteners queried parents, siblings, as well as school personnel regarding the whereabouts of their gingerbread cookie. All the accumulated clues and photos were reviewed and then added daily to comprise a bulletin board display.
"On Day Eight, the gingerbread man finally was found -- with much acclaim and instant status for the lucky helper, the secretary in the main office. By now, the children were not at all convinced that they wanted to eat the gingerbread man although snacktime was a special occasion this day.
"On Day Nine, the bulletin board display was now complete. The sequence of these experiences and activities was reviewed, and the class decided that a thank-you letter to the entire staff was in order. We composed it on chart paper, then signed it and carried it to the school lobby where it was displayed.
"On Day Ten, to promote again the idea that things get done if we work together, we discussed how a team would be necessary if we were to make likenesses of the school helpers. By using crayons, five foot lengths of craft paper, and photos from the bulletin board, teams or committees of children traced the outline of one child to create the shapes for the school helpers. Photos taken during the search for the gingerbread man served as resource materials for reviewing body parts, names, physical characteristics, special clothing, etc. The paper likenesses were displayed in the room.
"On Open House/Parents' Night, to promote positive school image, visiting parents were invited to remove both drawing and photo of the child (taken the first day) as a remembrance of the child's initial kindergarten experience."
"Later in the school year, the children began to look forward to first grade with both eagerness and apprehension. In our district, the current kindergarteners move to first grade for a one-hour orientation at the same time the preschoolers are visiting kindergarten.
"The day before visitation, the gingerbread man was recalled and anecdotes related by a now-quite-experienced class of children. During discussion, it was decided that we might welcome the newcomers by fixing a snack and creating a 'gift.' We baked individual gingerbread cookies for visitors to take home and then decorated a paper gingerbread man for the bulletin board. We also discussed our visit to Grade One and how exciting it would be. What a good idea if we might take a photo of the teacher! But, this time, each of us would have a camera! After a proper (seemingly eternal) orientation, fifteen sets of eager fingers practiced holding, aiming, and clicking. It was love at first sight.
"On Visitation Day, in the first grade rooms, the teacher posed for the young camera enthusiasts in a spot that had been prearranged with me. This was desirous so that we might plot just a bit of magic for the children. To add to the fun, later, when the children were gone, we shot a second photo, with the teacher positioned similarly. This time, however, a gingerbread man is superimposed somewhere in the background for the pintsized photographers to discover when the prints were returned.
"In the days that followed, the film was sent away for developing and printing. While the children waited for the return of their photos, we spent time writing an experience chart about the visitation. We recycled portions of the original experience by meeting the music teacher, who will be new to the children's Grade One world. This time, the children use the cameras as we visit people and places. We return to the cafeteria. The cooks become our teachers as they show the children the new-to-them procedures for using the school cafeteria. They set up their trays; they push the trays down the stainless steel counter; they choose foods for their trays; they carry their trays to the table. Best of all, they eat in the cafeteria--just like first graders!
"On the day the film came back, the teacher merely posted all photos on an easel, sat back, and let the children discover the mischief. As of this writing, they are still speculating, creating alibis, seeing imaginary footprints, and sniffing bogus aromas. Each child will take a photo home as a keepsake."
"The only absolutely essential piece of equipment is the camera along with enough film to photograph class members and school helpers. I used my own Kodak camera and borrowed 15 more. I bought stamps, paper, and envelopes (two per child); I also provided the gingerbread mold, mix, and utensils to prepare the batter. School-issued materials included: chart paper, markers, stickers, crayons, mimeographed materials, construction paper, and craft paper. In Phase One, cost could be cut by including the first letter in the usual summer mailing through the school office. In Phase Three, perhaps, the final photo printing could be done on site. What sheer enchantment it would be to have the gingerbread man appear before the children's eyes!"
"Parents who took the time to write tell me 'Your tendency to go that extra mile is certainly appreciated ... Regardless of how your proposal ranks, you'll always be a winner to us ... We thought at the time it was a great idea -- so glad to hear someone else did, too!'
"There was coverage in two of the local papers and in the NJEA Review, our state association magazine. Our county association, of which I am past president, carried an article as did my church monthly magazine. My administrators at school issued a formal notice both to the faculty and the board of education.
"My colleagues posted a big banner in the teachers' lounge. Nevertheless, I received a mixed reaction. I either got rave reviews, or I got blank stares. 'You what?' Most of the former came from colleagues who have somehow been involved with primary children. The latter came from those teachers who have little idea of what this thing called 'kindergarten' is. As one who has been in both positions, I can empathize with both reactions.
"By far, the most exciting reaction came from the people who comprise the cafeteria and custodial staff. They were genuinely thrilled for me, for the little ones, and for themselves. To this day, their enthusiasm remains unabridged."
"There remains tangible evidence that a series of activities such as I've described achieves a desired effect. That effect is measurable in the absence of fear as the children nurture and care about a lost comrade. There is this immediate willingness to travel to a given point at school outside the immediate classroom environment. The project can be assessed in the children's use of new vocabulary such as titles, names, and places as well as in the child's interaction with the new people in his/her life.
"Specifically, the children know the names of the others instantly; they can direct appropriate questions and/or comments to professional/support staff with no teacher prompting. Additionally, parents know how to direct proper inquiry of staff members because the children relate names and places to them each day. There is no crying.
"Because there has been important purpose for recall as each phase develops, there has been evident a strong interest and subsequent skill building in the sequencing of action. Activities like the drawing of self (Phase I) assess the child's view of him/herself; the tracings of likenesses in committees (Phase II) provide the teacher with evidence of leadership or the lack thereof. In Phase III, the visitation provides yet another subtle, well-timed glimpse into a mysterious, but anticipated, reality for the child.
"Most of all," says kindergarten teacher Wyatt, "self-confidence is measured through the child's desire to return the next day to school--where something wonderful will happen all over again."