Express Yourself: Do You Hear Me?

Expressing your ideas to others requires
speaking effectively and listening attentively. 

Today the children thought about what it means to listen with their whole body. I listed the various parts of the body and they identified what that body part "looks like" when someone is listening very well.  This chart will be very helpful as we refer to it whenever someone needs a reminder to listen with their whole bodies while a speaker is expressing an idea. 

They practiced listening skills with a List Game; I recited a list of words and when I said a specific word they stood up. They had great fun playing this and everyone was really listening with their whole bodies!  The children took turns reciting a list too. This is definitely a game we will play again!

Max's Words by Kate Banks is a story about a boy who collects words from magazines and newspapers. He collects them in piles until he realizes he can make sentences with them and eventually whole stories. The children used word cards took turns choosing some and arranging them in the structure of a sentence. Lots of fun was had as I read the nonsensical sentences. I noticed that the children were able to put most of the words right side up showing they had letter recognition.