Adventures Ahead Internship Manual

Adventures Ahead Internship Manual How to Teach Kindergarten at an After School Program

Jessica Keolani Booker TechMission Corps Intern 2009-2010 Here’s Life Inner City/ Redeemer Community Partnership August 25, 2010

Table of Contents PROJECT PROPOSAL 3 DEDICATION 4 ADVENTURES AHEAD 5 ACADEMIC COMPONENT: LITERACY FOCUS 6 KINDERGARTEN STANDARDS IN LANGUAGE ARTS 8 SEMESTER 1 & 2 LESSON PLANS 10 PHONEMIC AWARENESS & PHONICS 27 READING SKILLS PYRAMID 28 SAMPLE BOOK LIST 29 COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY 30 MY NAME 31 SAMPLE DAILY SCHEDULE 32 CLASSROOM SCHEDULE COMPONENTS 33 CLASSROOM AESTHETICS 37 DISCIPLINE 38 ATTENTION GETTERS 40 SOCIAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT 41 CROSS-CULTURAL SENSITIVITY 46 TEACHER SELF CARE 50 APPENDIX A: WINNING PHONEMIC AWARENESS PACKET 54 APPENDIX B: BEHAVIOR CONTRACT 87 APPENDIX C: CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES 88

2 Project Proposal

Early literacy profoundly shapes and impacts a child’s future educational and life opportunities; therefore Adventures Ahead is primarily focused on literacy development. Since the program’s set curriculum begins at the first grade level, the kindergarten class structure and curriculum fluctuates with the annual (and at times semester) teacher turnover rate. We’ve spent this past year experimenting with ideas and methods to bring a strong structure to the kindergarten class.

I’ve researched, compiled, and created a manual of this process to pass on to future

Kindergarten teachers for them to refine and build upon the information and suggestions. The long-term goal is to equip the intern teachers of all the elementary grades (1st-6th) in our program by expanding the scope of this manual. For now, the activities, discipline tactics, etc. will be helpful to those primarily working with younger grades (K-2), but some aspects may transcend age constraints (i.e. teacher self-care) and be useful to all who work with youth.

3 Dedication

To you dear intern, This manual is for you as you embark on a journey, That will stretch you beyond what you thought you were capable.

Expect growth, expect frustration, expect surprises, and expect your heart to expand with divine love and acceptance for your students.

A Special Thanks To….

Editors: Matthew Booker, John Hernandez, and Kimberly Herron

Directors: Donna Perkins and Lauren Tigrett

Graphic Designer: Christal L. Green

4 Adventures Ahead Our Purpose, Our Roots, and Whom We Serve

Who We Are Adventures Ahead is the after school-tutoring program of the larger nonprofit, faith-based community development corporation named Redeemer Community Partnership. The goal of Adventures Ahead is simple: to achieve grade-appropriate literacy among children K-6 who are enrolled in the tutoring program, and to nurture each child’s enjoyment and experience of success in their development as lifelong readers.1

Our Roots The story of Adventures Ahead After School Program is a simple one. In the fall of 1996, three neighbors realized that youth in their neighborhood needed academic help. They opened their homes and with a few surplus chairs, tables, books, and donated materials, they began to tutor children in reading and math. The founders were quickly overwhelmed with children and moved to formalize the program seeking help and funds from their neighbors and friends. From this small community volunteer effort a substantial program quickly developed. In July 2001, Redeemer Community Partnership was incorporated as a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) corporation to further develop the Adventures Ahead program and pursue new community development initiatives. There are currently 35 children involved in the after-school program. The program is well known throughout the community and spots in the program are in high demand.2

Whom We Serve The Adventures Ahead program is directed toward children and their families living in the area located west of the USC University Park Campus. The target area is bordered by Vermont Avenue to the east, Exposition Avenue to the south, Western Avenue to the west, and the 10 freeway to the north. The 2000 Census reported that 32% of this community was African-American, 60% Latino, 3% White, 2% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 3% Other. The 2000 Census figures also revealed that approximately a third of the community is under 18.3

1 Ralphs/Food 4 Less Foundation Grant Proposal 2 Ralphs/Food 4 Less Foundation Grant Proposal 3 Ralphs/Food 4 Less Foundation Grant Proposal

5 Academic Component: Literacy Focus

 California Standards in Language Arts for Kindergarten

 Lesson Plans: Fall Semester 2009

 Lesson Plans: Spring Semester 2010

 Phonics and Phonemic Awareness

 Reading List

 Technology: Computer-Based Projects

6 Kindergarten Standards in Language Arts

California Standards4

READING 1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development Students know about letters, words, and sounds. They apply this knowledge to read simple sentences.

Concepts About Print 1.1 Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book. 1.2 Follow words from left to right and from top to bottom on the printed page. 1.3 Understand that printed materials provide information. 1.4 Recognize that sentences in print are made up of separate words. 1.5 Distinguish letters from words. 1.6 Recognize and name all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Phonemic Awareness 1.7 Track (move sequentially from sound to sound) and represent the number, sameness/difference, and order of two and three isolated phonemes (e.g., /f, s, th/, /j, d, j/). 1.8 Track (move sequentially from sound to sound) and represent changes in simple syllables and words with two and three sounds as one sound is added, substituted, omitted, shifted, or repeated (e.g., vowel consonant, consonant-vowel, or consonant-vowel-consonant). 1.9 Blend vowel-consonant sounds orally to make words or syllables. 1.10 Identify and produce rhyming words in response to an oral prompt. 1.11 Distinguish orally stated one-syllable words and separate into beginning or ending sounds. 1.12 Track auditorily each word in a sentence and each syllable in a word. 1.13 Count the number of sounds in syllables and syllables in words.

Decoding and Word Recognition 1.14 Match all consonant and short-vowel sounds to appropriate letters. 1.15 Read simple one-syllable and high-frequency words (i.e., sight words). 1.16 Understand that as letters of words change, so do the sounds (i.e., the alphabetic principle).

4 http://www.teachingfirst.net/standardskinder.htm

7 Vocabulary and Concept Development 1.17 Identify and sort common words in basic categories (e.g., colors, shapes, foods). 1.18 Describe common objects and events in both general and specific language.

2.0 Reading Comprehension Students identify the basic facts and ideas in what they have read, heard, or viewed. They use comprehension strategies (e.g., generating and responding to questions, comparing new information to what is already known). The selections in Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight (California Department of Education, 1996) illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students.

Structural Features of Informational Materials 2.1 Locate the title, table of contents, name of author, and name of illustrator. Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text 2.2 Use pictures and context to make predictions about story content. 2.3 Connect to life experiences the information and events in texts. 2.4 Retell familiar stories. 2.5 Ask and answer questions about essential elements of a text.

3.0 Literary Response and Analysis Students listen and respond to stories based on well-known characters, themes, plots, and settings. The selections in Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students.

Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text 3.1 Distinguish fantasy from realistic text. 3.2 Identify types of everyday print materials (e.g., storybooks, poems, newspapers, signs, labels). 3.3 Identify characters, settings, and important events.

WRITING 1.0 Writing Strategies Students write words and brief sentences that are legible.

Organization and Focus 1.1 Use letters and phonetically spelled words to write about experiences, stories, people, objects, or events. 1.2 Write consonant-vowel-consonant words (i.e., demonstrate the alphabetic principle). 1.3 Write by moving from left to right and from top to bottom.

Penmanship 1.4 Write uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently, attending to the form and proper

8 spacing of the letters.

WRITTEN AND ORAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS The standards for written and oral English language conventions have been placed between those for writing and for listening and speaking because these conventions are essential to both sets of skills.

1.0 Written and Oral English Language Conventions Students write and speak with a command of standard English conventions.

Sentence Structure 1.1 Recognize and use complete, coherent sentences when speaking.

Spelling 1.2 Spell independently by using pre-phonetic knowledge, sounds of the alphabet, and knowledge of letter names.

LISTENING AND SPEAKING 1.0. Listening and Speaking Strategies Students listen and respond to oral communication. They speak in clear and coherent sentences.

Comprehension 1.1 Understand and follow one- and two-step oral directions. 1.2 Share information and ideas, speaking audibly in complete, coherent sentences.

2.0. Speaking Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)Students deliver brief recitations and oral presentations about familiar experiences or interests, demonstrating command of the organization and delivery strategies outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0.

Using the listening and speaking strategies of kindergarten outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0, students: 2.1 Describe people, places, things (e.g., size, color, shape), locations, and actions. 2.2 Recite short poems, rhymes, and songs. 2.3 Relate an experience or creative story in a logical sequence.

9 Semester #1 Lesson Plans

Weeks Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Week 1 Rules Review Rules “Me” Book September 15-17 Getting to Know You “Me” Book

Week 2 Write Names Alphabet Folders Letter M, m September 22-24 Alphabet Assessment “Mom” book “Mom book” Test

Week 3 Review Letter M, m Letter D, d Review Letter D, d September 29- “Mom” book “Dad” book “Dad” book October 1

Week 4 Letter R, r “A House” “A House” October 6-8 Review Letter R, r Letter L, l

Week 5 Letter S, s “Big Things” Letter F, f October 13-15 “Big Things” “Little Things”

Week 6 Review of letters CCDA Conference CCDA Conference October 20-22 Groups of letters Teacher Absence Teacher Absence “Little things”

Week 7 Vowels Review Vowels, “Dressing Up” October 27-29 Begin Tail Letters Halloween

Week 8 “Playing” “Pets” Finish “Playing” project November 3-5 Tech Assessments (Part 1)

Week 9 “We go Out” Veteran’s Day Vacation “Time for Dinner” November 10-12 Week 10 “At the Zoo” “Moms and Dads” “The go-carts” November 17-19 Week 11 “In the Shopping Cart” Thanksgiving Break November 24-26 Week 12 Online Safety Training “Climbing” End of Semester December 1-3 Prize Day Celebration

10 First Day of School September 15, 2009

Teacher Focus: Explain, Rehearse, Reinforce Students’ Focus: Getting to Know…/ “Me” Part 1

Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently Thinking Caps 4:10pm Daily Talk Topic Get to Know Each Other 4:20pm Daily Talk Topic Get to Know Each Other 4:30pm Reading Together Dr. Seuss Book 4:40pm Outside Play/Games Duck-Duck-Name! 4:50pm Book Activities Read “Me” 5:00pm Snack Time 5:10pm Homework 5:20pm Homework 5:30pm Homework 5:40pm Homework 5:50pm Clean Up Sing “Clean Up” song 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

The first day and week are very significant. It is the first contact your students have with you, and will set the tone for the rest of the semester. If you start off on a rocky foot, it’s hard to get back on track. The most important thing you can do is establish the rules and procedures of your classroom. For most of your students, this will be their first exposure to a classroom environment, so a lot of patience, repetition, and practice are needed to get them to acclimate.

Greeting Greet your students with a big smile and handshake. When all students are present say: . Hello Kindergarteners! Welcome to Adventures Ahead. I am Miss Keo. My name sounds like the letter “K” and the letter “O” put together. And like the song “boom boom boom everybody say Kay-O, Kay-O.” I am very excited to be your teacher. We will have much fun together and learn many cool things. As you will learn much from me in our time together, I anticipate learning much from you all this year. Relax, you can trust me. So let’s get started!

Get to Know You Activities . Activity 1: Go around in a circle. Have students say their Name, Color, and Favorite Food. . Activity 2: Read the rules and take time to talk about each one. Ask “What does the word RESPECT mean? Can u give me an example?” . Smiley Points (aka Bean Jars): Use cleaned out spaghetti jars. Write each child’s name on a piece of tape and stick it on the jar. Use dried pinto beans or any other kind of bean. When

11 children are doing an excellent job, tell them they can put a bean in their jar. The hands on is exciting for them and helps you keep track of how many points to record on their point sheets to take home. . Sad Face Chart is a card-based discipline chart. Each child has a pocket of colored cards. When they don’t follow the rules they have to change the color of their card. With each change of the card, the consequence becomes more severe. See Discipline section of manual for full details.

“Me”- See Starter’s One: Teacher’s Guide . Do Exploring the Book Activities . Do Hello, Hello! How are you? Rhyme

12 Second Day of School September 16, 2009

Teacher Focus: Explain, Rehearse, Reinforce Students’ Focus: Getting to Know…/ “Me” Part 2 Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently Thinking Caps 4:10pm Daily Talk Topic Get to Know the Rules 4:20pm Bathroom Procedure 4:30pm Reading Together Dr. Seuss Book 4:40pm Book Activities “ME” 4:50pm Snack Time 5:00pm Homework 5:10pm Homework 5:20pm Outside Game Simon Says 5:30pm Homework 5:40pm Homework 5:50pm Clean Up Sing “Clean Up” song 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

Getting to Know You Go around the circle sharing highlights and lowlights. For example, Highlight- I get to be with you guys today and we have a new student. Lowlight- I had a hard conversation with a friend about finding a job.

Getting to Know the Rules Briefly review rules and introduce the smiley points and sad face chart.

Bathroom Procedures (Learn and Practice) Explain the rules of the bathroom. Introduce the bathroom signal. Children make an R in sign language (cross middle finger over index finger) and quietly raise the sign. Then proceed to practice how to go to bathroom. 1. Walk to bathroom together in a line 2. Have them line up against the wall QUIETLY so as not to disturb the other classes. 3. Have each of them enter the bathroom next person knocks opens door and other goes in others stand back against wall to wait for others 4. When everyone is done, walk back quietly as a class

“Me”- See Starter’s One: Teacher’s Guide . Do Looking at Language- Language Pattern

13 Third Day of Semester September 17, 2009

Teacher Focus: Assess how much kids know their alphabet Students’ Focus: To practice their alphabet and have fun!

Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently Thinking Caps 4:10pm Daily Talk Topic Getting to Know You

4:20pm Reading Together 4:30pm Reading Time Alphabet Assessments 4:40pm Reading Time Alphabet Assessments 4:50pm Snack Time 5:00pm Homework 5:10pm Homework 5:20pm Outside Play/Games Duck-Duck-Goose 5:30pm Homework 5:40pm Homework 5:50pm Clean Up Sing “Clean Up” song 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

Alphabet Assessments Give each child a piece of paper and pencil or color crayon. Ask them to write as many of their alphabet letters as they can. Give them a 10-15 minute time frame, which is stretching for their attention span. Tell them not to copy, but to do the best they can.

14 Fourth Day of Semester September 22, 2009

Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently Thinking Caps 4:10pm Reading Together 4:20pm Reading Time Name Project 4:30pm Reading Time Alphabet Assessments 4:40pm Reading Time Alphabet Assessments 4:50pm Snack Time 5:00pm Homework 5:10pm Homework 5:20pm Outside Play/Games Duck-Duck-Goose 5:30pm Homework 5:40pm Homework 5:50pm Clean Up Sing “Clean Up” song 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

Alphabet Assessments Give each child a piece of paper and pencil or color crayon. Ask them to write as many of their alphabet letters as they can. Give them a 10-15 minute time frame, which is stretching for their attention span. Tell them not to copy, but to do the best they can. Name Project Writing Their Names (see worksheet): On the top line I have written your name, please practice tracing the letters on the first line. Then try writing your name (the letters you see above) 2x on the line below.

15 Fifth Day of Semester September 23, 2009

Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently Thinking Caps 4:10pm Reading Together Are you My Mother? 4:20pm Reading Time “Mom” 4:30pm Reading Time “Mom” 4:40pm Reading Time Alphabet Chart/Folders 4:50pm Reading Time Alphabet Chart/Folders

5:00pm Snack Time All Kinds of Mom (poem) 5:10pm Homework 5:20pm Homework 5:30pm Outside Play/Games Duck-Duck-Goose 5:40pm Homework 5:50pm Homework 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

“Mom”- See Starter’s One: Teacher’s Guide . Do Exploring the Book Activities and ESL activity.

Alphabet Chart Read through alphabet chart. Read each letter and explain word/letter association. We will be using this chart very much through out the year.

Alphabet book project Purpose to learn the names of our letters, how to write them and how to use them in reading and writing. Build basic computer skills. Drawing, keyboard and mouse use.

Alphabet Folder Introduce Alphabet folders- We will be keeping track of our work and project in these folders. Have children decorate their folders.

16 Sixth Day of Semester September 24, 2009

Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently Thinking Caps 4:10pm Reading Together 4:20pm Reading Time “Mom” 4:30pm Reading Time Introduce Letter M, m 4:40pm Reading Time Introduce Letter M, m 4:50pm Snack Time

5:00pm Homework 5:10pm Homework 5:20pm Outside Play/Games Duck-Duck-Goose 5:30pm Homework 5:40pm Homework 5:50pm Clean Up Sing “Clean Up” song 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

“Mom”- See Starter’s One: Teacher’s Guide:  Do Looking at Language Activities.

Letter M, m Activities See Letter Activity Worksheet for guidelines.

Name Project Continue to finish worksheet. Write name on Alphabet Folder

17 Letter Activity Worksheet

Note to Teacher: Feel free to experiment and tweak any of these activities as you assess your students’ needs.

Part A: The teacher introduces this letter through a series of activities that engage the students’ 5 senses. Write the Letter on the whiteboard and answer the questions below.

 Name the Letter (include both upper and lower case)

 What does the Letter look like?

- Use images like mountains, animals, lollypops, etc. to describe the shape of the Letter.

 What sound does the Letter make?

- Make the sound together.

 How does the Letter feel in our mouth?

- Describe what the tongue, teeth and cheeks do to create the sound.

 How do we write the Letter?

- Everybody gets out their air-pencils and traces both the capital and lower-case Letter in the air. Give them directions such as up, down, and curve as they trace.

- Play-dough: Have them construct the letter with play-dough. Print out Letter mats and laminate them. Have kids trace the Letter with the play-dough, then have them flip the mat over and have them build the Letter from memory.

 What words have the Letter?

- Try to illicit a word from each student. Write down the words on the whiteboard and have students ECHO SPELL. If students get stuck, pull out the objects of the Alphabet Bag to get them started.

Part B: The second part is independent. Students complete this work on their own with minimal help.

 Draw a picture. Fill paper with cutouts from magazines and/or colored pictures that begin with the letter F. They can use books and any other materials from the room.

18  Pull out Alphabet Chart color Letter on Chart. Answer: What is the word on the alphabet chart?

19 Semester#2 Lesson Plan

Weeks Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Week 1 Rules Review Rules “Shopping Mall” Jan. 18-20 Getting to Know You/ ART: My family Mini-Test Review Classroom “Shopping Mall” Week 2 Alphabet Assessment MOVIE DAY “Look At Me” Jan. 26-28 Test “Look At Me” Week 3 “The Way I go to COMPUTER: “The Way I go to Feb. 2-4 School” Introduction School” Black History Month Tech Assessments Week 4 “The Skier” ART: Make paper hearts Holiday Party Feb. 9-11 for someone special “The Skier” Valentine’s Day Week 5 “The Skier” COMPUTER: “Out in the Weather” Feb. 16-18 Technology Teaching President’s Day Week 6 “Out in the Weather” “Cat and Mouse” “Cat and Mouse” Feb. 23-25 Computer Class Computer Class Prize Day Week 7 “Where are the babies?” ART: Bird Nest “Where are the babies?” March 2-4 Christal Teaches Week 8 “Packing my bag” COMPUTER: “Packing my bag” March 9-11 Name Project Week 9 “The Rock Pools” St. Patrick’s Day “The Rock Pools” March 16-18 ART: Trinity Shamrocks Week 10 “My accident” COMPUTER: “My accident” March 23-25 Teacher Absence Name Project Share Computer Projects. Week 11 Spring Break & April Fools Day March 30- April 1 Week 12 “Stop!” ART: Stop Sign Cookies “Stop!” April 6-8 Christal Teaches My Birthday Week 13 “Sally’s New Shoes” Christal Project “Sally’s New Shoes” April 13-15 Tech Assessments (Part 2) Week 14 “Ben’s Red Car” Earth Day “Ben’s Red Car” April 21-23 Christal Project Tech Assessments Week 15 “Ball Games” Christal Project Adventures Ahead April 27-29 Prize Day Ceremony

20 First Day of Semester January 18, 2010

Teacher Focus: Explain, Rehearse, Reinforce Students’ Focus: Getting to Know Rules, Each Other, and Classroom

Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently Thinking Caps 4:10pm Daily Talk Topic The Rules- talk about what each of them mean Charades: Take turns acting out scenarios 4:20pm Reading Together Dr. Seuss Book 4:30pm Outside Play/Games Duck-Duck-Name! 4:40pm Book Activities “The Shopping Mall” 4:50pm Book Activities “The Shopping Mall” 5:00pm Snack Time Introduce Popsicle Sticks Topic: School Vacation 5:10pm Homework- Group 1 Introduce Homework and Play Stations- set Play- Group 2 up players first and then homeworkers 5:20pm Homework- Group 1 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give Play- Group 2 them a heads up 5:30pm Homework- Group 2 Play- Group 1 5:40pm Homework- Group 2 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give Play- Group 1 them a heads up 5:50pm Clean Up Sing “Clean Up” song 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

TO GET KIDS ATTENTION: CLAP 2x and touch nose and look at me.

Charades Write rules on index cards and explain each rule to the kids. Give different scenarios and ask children which rule has been broken (or followed) in each situation.

“The Shopping Mall”- See Starter’s One: Teacher’s Guide  Do Exploring the Book Activities. Bring items in a bag.  Do Looking at Language Activities.

21 Second Day of Semester January 19, 2010

Teacher Focus: Explain, Rehearse, Reinforce Students’ Focus: Getting to Know Rules, Each Other, and Classroom

Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently 4:10pm Daily Talk Topic Review the Rules Bean Jars & Smiley Face Chart Bathroom Procedure 4:20pm Reading Together Dr. Seuss Book 4:30pm Outside Play/Games Red Rover 4:40pm Art Project My Family and Me Drawing 4:50pm Art Project My Family and Me Partner Sharing 5:00pm Snack Time 5:10pm Homework- Group 1 Play- Group 2 5:20pm Homework- Group 1 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give them Play- Group 2 a heads up 5:30pm Homework- Group 2 Play- Group 1 5:40pm Homework- Group 2 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give them Play- Group 1 a heads up 5:50pm Clean Up Sing “Clean Up” song 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

My Family and Me Drawing Have children draw using crayons a picture of their entire family spending a day in the park. This may include grandmothers, etc. After 15 minutes, have each child share about their picture. See Kinetic Family Drawing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_family_drawing.

22 Third Day of Semester January 20, 2010

Teacher Focus: Explain, Rehearse, Reinforce Students’ Focus: Getting to Know Rules, Each Other and Classroom

Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently Thinking Caps 4:10pm Daily Talk Topic Mini Test Review- Rules, Classroom, Each Other Prize: 3 Books 4:20pm Reading Together Dr. Seuss Book 4:30pm Outside Play/Games Duck-Duck-Name! 4:40pm Book Activities Re-Read “The Shopping Mall” 4:50pm Book Activities “The Shopping Mall” 5:00pm Snack Time 5:10pm Homework- Group 1 Play- Group 2 5:20pm Homework- Group 1 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give Play- Group 2 them a heads up 5:30pm Homework- Group 2 Play- Group 1 5:40pm Homework- Group 2 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give Play- Group 1 them a heads up 5:50pm Clean Up Sing “Clean Up” song 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

Mini Test Review This test is a simple interactive test to help kids remember the rules and identify where things are in the classroom. Ask each child in an orderly fashion, one question and wait for her answer. If the child needs help, he can ask another child for help.

“The Shopping Mall”- See Starter’s One: Teacher’s Guide  Do Looking At Words- Direction Words. Have kids split up in pairs.  Do Developing Concepts- Direction Words and Store Items Activity- dividing them up into pairs.

23 Mini Test Review January 20, 2010 OBJECTIVE: To test level of familiarity with rules, procedures, classroom, classmates, and teacher. Questions: 1. Where is the play center? 2. If Javier had to go to the bathroom, what would he do? 3. Where do we do homework? 4. Name one person in our class. 5. What is my name? 6. If Andy hit Giselle, what rule did he break? What would happen? 7. Show me what Miss Keo does when the class is talking and she wants their attention. 8. Where are the bean jars? What might Miss Keo do if Rodrigo was working really hard on his homework? 9. Before we walk to our classroom, show me what we do? 10. If your card was on the color green what does that mean? What would happen if it were changed to blue? 11. Bonus: Who teaches the class next to us? Answers: 1. In the back corner 2. He should raise his hand and ask the teacher before he goes. 3. At the table in our groups 4. Group 1: Javier, Giselle Group 2: Rodrigo, Andy 5. Miss Keo 6. Rule 1 and 3. Giselle and him would talk, and his card would go straight to yellow for timeout. 7. She claps her hands 2x and touches her nose 8. One the table next to the couch. He might get a bean in his jar. 9. We zip our lips, lock them and throw away the key.

24 10. It means we are behaving/loving well and following the rules. We would have to go to Miss Lauren’s office. 11. Bonus: Miss Colleen

25 Fourth Day of Semester January 26, 2010

Teacher Focus: Assessing Student Abilities through Observation and Test Students’ Focus: Assessment

Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently Thinking Caps 4:10pm Reading Together Dr. Seuss Book 4:20pm Assessment Alphabet Assessment 4:30pm Outside Play/Games 4:40pm Book Activities Read “Look At Me” 4:50pm Book Activities “Look at Me” 5:00pm Snack Time 5:10pm Homework- Group 1 Play- Group 2 5:20pm Homework- Group 1 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give Play- Group 2 them a heads up 5:30pm Homework- Group 2 Play- Group 1 5:40pm Homework- Group 2 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give Play- Group 1 them a heads up 5:50pm Clean Up Sing “Clean Up” song 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

Alphabet Assessment Have children write down the letters of the alphabet.

“Look At Me”- See Starter’s One: Teacher’s Guide  Do For the English Language Learner section and dramatize/pantomime.  Do Exploring the Book- during and after reading.  Do Looking at Words- Action with -ing (use the large whiteboard for this)

26 Fifth Day of Semester January 27, 2010

Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently Thinking Caps 4:10pm Read Together Dr. Seuss Book 4:20pm Homework- Group 1 Play- Group 2 4:30pm Homework- Group 1 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give Play- Group 2 them a heads up 4:40pm Homework- Group 2 Play- Group 1 4:50pm Homework- Group 2 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give Play- Group 1 them a heads up 5:00pm Snack Time 5:10pm Movie 5:20pm Movie 5:30pm Movie 5:40pm Movie 5:50pm Clean Up Sing “Clean Up” song 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

Movie Veggie Tale “Josh and the Big Wall.” Watched with the first grade class. If time, have children draw a picture and write a couple sentences about their favorite part of the movie.

27 Sixth Day of Semester January 28, 2010

Time Activity 4:00pm Kids Arrive Procedure- zip lips, lock them, walk in line Greeting/ Gather Kids silently Thinking Caps 4:10pm Daily Talk Topic 4:20pm Reading Together Dr. Seuss Book 4:30pm Outside Play/Games Phonemic Game (Cycle 1; Lesson 1) 4:40pm Book Activities Re-Read “Look At Me” 4:50pm Book Activities “Look At Me” 5:00pm Snack Time 5:10pm Homework- Group 1 Play- Group 2 5:20pm Homework- Group 1 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give Play- Group 2 them a heads up 5:30pm Homework- Group 2 Play- Group 1 5:40pm Homework- Group 2 Quick check in w/ the group at play, give Play- Group 1 them a heads up 5:50pm Clean Up Sing “Clean Up” song 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

“Look At Me”- See Starter’s One: Teacher’s Guide  Do Looking At Language- Language Patterns. Reverse Roles.  Do Looking At Words- Action Words  Do Developing Concepts-Sequencing dividing them up into pairs.

28 Phonemic Awareness & Phonics The Building Blocks of Literacy Development

Phonemic Awareness “ Phonemic awareness deals with the structure of sounds and words. Phonemic awareness is the understanding that words are made up of sounds, which can be assembled in different ways to make different words. Once a child has phonemic awareness, they are aware that sounds are like building blocks that can be used to build all the different words.“5

In the classroom, I used games from the WINNING Phonemic Awareness Packet. I attempted to do one lesson (about 2 games) a week with the students. Some games my students picked up right away, others it took some time for them to catch on, and still others were ineffective. For the most part, I would say WINNING is a good supplement to your normal curriculum plan. The WINNING Phonemic Awareness Packet is located in Appendix A of this manual.

Phonics “Phonics is method of teaching reading, based on sounding out letters to read words. Let’s say you learn that the letter i makes the /i/ sound, and the letter t makes the /t/ sound. When you read these sounds together, /i//t/, you have the word it.”6

In my lesson plans, I did not cover much phonics. This could be an area to build upon for the coming years. Letter flashcards and fill in the blank word games are great to play because they give your students opportunities to associate sound with written form through sounding it out.

Additional Resources Below are a couple websites with free resources for phonic activities. http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4494 http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/consonants.htm

5 Time 4 Learning. http://www.time4learning.com/readingpyramid/awareness.htm 6 Hooked On Phonics Website, http://www.hookedonphonics.com/our-approach#Understanding

29 Reading Skills Pyramid

The chart above is from the Time 4 Learning Website.7 It is a visual breakdown of the building blocks essential by age group for students to reach literacy. Print concepts, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension are all important components to have in class curriculum.

7 Time 4 Learning. http://www.time4learning.com/readingpyramid/awareness.htm

30 Sample Book List For Enjoyable Classroom Read Alouds Below is a list of books I read aloud to the kids this year. Check Book Lists online at:

 http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/

 http://www.amazon.com/Read-Aloud-Favorites-Kindergarten/lm/R166YEUF5C05WB Carle, Eric. The Hungry Caterpillar. New York: Philomel Books, 1969. Dr. Seuss. Cat in the Hat. New York: Random House, 1957. Dr. Seuss. Hop on Pop. New York: Beginner Books ®, 1963. Eastman, P.D. Are you My Mother? New York: Random House, 1960. Eastman, P.D. Go, Dog. Go! New York: Beginner Books, 1961. Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper & Row, 1963. Tillotson, Katherine. On top of Spaghetti: A traditional story and song. Orlando: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. Viorst, Judith. Alexander, and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. New York: Athenaeum Books, 1972.

Computer Technology The Future of Teaching

31 Teaching Technology When it comes to computers, your students are intuitive. They are not as intimidated as adults by this type of technology because computers have always existed in their lifetime. The formal teaching style of walking students step by step through how to do things is not necessarily needed through the whole lesson time. In fact, students might become easily bored if you say, “press this yellow button, then this one, then this, etc…” Just give them some basic guidelines (or let them see you do it) and allot them time to work on their own. They will naturally explore and press buttons. As a teacher, your role will be more facilitative than formal instruction. You have an opportunity to show your students the many things they can do on computers (like researching, writing, media production, etc.). You can teach them that computers are more than just games and music videos, but a vast expanse of knowledge and information at their fingertips.

The following page is a sample project I did with my kindergarten students this year.

Safety Precautions While computers are wonderful tools and means of creating and learning, there also exist dangers. Therefore, it is important to take precautionary measures to insure the safety of your students. These include: 1. Teach your students online safety 2. Have safety filters on computers in place 3. Make sure your students are on task 4. If necessary, check your students’ computer “trail”

Check out TechMission’s website www.safefamilies.org for more resources and information on Internet Safety.

My Name Project-Based Learning: Kindergarten

32 Objective: To increase students’ knowledge in computer skills and letter identification

Materials: Computer, Microsoft Word

Step 1: Students opens up a Microsoft Word Document and writes their full name.

Step 2: Using Font and WordArt, students make their names into a work of art.

Step 3: Teacher laminates students’ work of art.

This is my name. KEOLANIKEOLANI The Classroom: Set up and Discipline

 Daily Schedule

 Classroom Components

 Environment- Aesthetics

 Discipline Strategy

 Attention Getters

33 Sample Daily Schedule

 Kindergarteners have short attention spans. It’s best to split class time up into 10 or 5-minute increments.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are Reading Activities, but Wednesdays switch between Art and Computer Activities.

 Homework is best done with all the students at once. Volunteers are most useful during this hour of the day.

Time Activity 4:00pm Students Arrive Greet & Gather Students 4:10pm Daily Talk Topic 4:20pm Reading Together 4:30pm Outside Play/Games 4:40pm Book Activities (Computer or Art) 4:50pm Book Activities (Computer or Art) 5:00pm Snack Time 5:10pm Homework 5:20pm Homework 5:30pm Homework 5:40pm Homework 5:50pm Clean Up & Circle Time 6:00pm Departing- Line Up at Door Goodbyes

34 Classroom Schedule Components

Procedure to Class Do a regular routine with the students to start off the day. It could be as simple as having them sit in their seats with their homework out. Since the kindergarten classroom is located in the backroom, I have a procedure that attempts to focus them for our time together. Model and practice these procedures as necessary.  Line up in a straight line at the Computer Lab door (Chose a line leader, a snack carrier, and a caboose, the student who’s responsible for shutting the doors behind us)  Pantomime zipping your lips, locking them and throwing away the key in the trashcan (This signals that all talking stops.)  Motion for them to follow you quietly in the straight line.  Upon reaching the door, put your hands on your head and tell your children to put their Thinking Caps on. Students will put their hands on their head too. Feel free to compliment the imaginary hats.  Instruct students at the door to enter in quietly, put their backpacks by their chairs and to take a seat on the floor.  Tell students to hand you their point sheets from the day before as they enter the room. If they have them, they get to put a bean in their jar.

Discussion Time After students are seated on the rug in a circle, we usually have a discussion time. Discussion time varies from day to day in length and subject. At the beginning of the year, it is a perfect time to learn names and introduce the rules and classroom procedures. Throughout the year, I’ve used this time to make announcements, reflect about the day, build social knowledge among students, talk about Holidays, and excite students about what our time together holds.

Teacher Read Aloud This section of the day is incredibly significant. Since many of our students are learning English as a second language, it is important they build listening skills and hear the rhythms of the English language. Reading aloud has many benefits such as instilling the joy of reading, expanding knowledge, and building skills.8 In this manual, I’ve included a list of sample books my students enjoyed this past year. Some tips for reading aloud:  Hold the book to face the students, so they can see the pictures and print. This may require you to read upside down or from the side.  Ask students to not interrupt you while you are reading.  Read in an animated, expressive voice. Change voices for different characters in the book.

8 Fountas, Irene and Gaye Pinnell. Help America Read: A Hand Book for Volunteers. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 1997.

35  Ask questions about the pictures, what they think will happen next, what’s going on, etc. Make sure conversations are brief, so the flow of the story is not lost.

Reading Hour The most varied section of our time, the majority of activities are done in groups and sometime pairs. Rarely do I have students do independent work, but that is perhaps something that can change. Most of the activities I do with the students are found in the Starters One and Two Curriculum (ask the director for these books). I’ve also pulled resources from various Internet Sites and used Here’s Life Inner City resources. This hour morphed from doing reading activities all three days of the week to doing two reading activity days and one day of art, drama, or computers. The variation of activity keeps my kindergarteners engaged, and gives them learning experiences in other areas.

Snack Time Sing a song to signal that it is time to transition into Snack Time. Sample song below. Lord we thank you really really thank you, Lord we thank you, thank you for our food. I use Popsicle Sticks with the students’ names on them to decide who helps me pass out the plates and cups of water. As students’ names get chosen, leave them out of the cup so that each child will have an opportunity to help each week. If a child is absent, draw another name. Once everyone is seated squirt out hand sanitizer into each student’s hands and pass out snack.

Outside Play and Games Kindergartners are active and have short attention spans. At this point they are learning mostly from experiencing the world around them using all 5 senses. It is unreasonable to ask them to sit for long periods of time, especially when they’ve already been to school earlier that day. Time playing outside let’s them get their wiggles and jiggles out (which means more focused attention in class), and is important for building social skills like teamwork. I’ve found the game ideas from the Play Works website helpful. http://www.playworksusa.org/games.

Homework Hour Homework time usually lasts 40-45 minutes. I love having volunteers for this time because it is the most challenging hour! Students cannot yet read the homework directions on their own, therefore they need explanation on how to do each page in the homework packet. This can be a challenge when you have 6 hands raised at ones yelling, “Teacher, teacher I need help!” Another challenge is helping students finish the huge amount homework. Some ways to help manage these problems:  Ask for volunteers! Pair up volunteers with the students that need the most attention and help.

36  Have students do their homework at the same time and motivate them to finish with extra playtime as a reward  Give students a specific amount of pages they must complete before they can play. We’ve also given away free small books to students who’ve completed 3 or more pages.  Seat together students with the same homework packets so that you can explain a homework page to all at once.  Use a silent gesture that students can use to signal they need your help. I have my students touch my shoulder, I put my hand on their hand acknowledging I know that they need my help, and then I address them after I finish helping the first student. This will take some practice.  Communicate with parents to work on homework at home with their students. It is not possible to complete the entire homework packet in only the 3 hours that we do homework. Most directions are written in English and Spanish.  Find out what motivates your students. For example, when we come to a new page of homework with Javier, I set the timer for 3-5 minutes (depending on the difficulty) and his competitive spirit takes over and he races against time to finish.  Praise your students after completing a difficult problem or when they’ve completed the day’s assignment. I like to do a silly dance with them and chant, “Go Giselle, you did it, you did it!”  I check my students’ work to make sure that everything is correct. If there is a mistake, then I review it with the student. Encourage your students to double check their work on their own, establish this habit while they are still young.

Clean Up Although the students are young, this is a wonderful opportunity to teach them responsibility and teamwork. Sing the song… Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody everywhere. Clean up, clean up, Everybody do your share. …to transition into clean up time. Tell students to clean up their own messes (i.e. put homework in backpacks, put games back in boxes, erase whiteboards, etc.).

Dismissal Procedure Always try to leave off on a positive note with your students! The end of the day can feel rushed to get the students lined up and back to their parents. Some suggestions are:  Verbal Praise: Have students sit on the floor. For each student, say one thing you noticed or appreciated that they did that day. For example, “Javier, I loved how you helped Rodrigo clean up the blocks today” or “Lupita, great job sounding out the word l-o-g during homework time.” Refer to specific, concrete actions. Make eye contact with them as you compliment them and give them their point sheet. Have all the other students clap for the student and even open it up for the students to give verbal praise to one another and to you too if they want.

37  Day Awards & Stickers: Have specific awards that you will give at the end of the day. This motivates students to strive for specific and multiple awards. Some suggested awards, “Best Attitude” and “Biggest Help.” After clean up, seat students around table and on the whiteboard write the awards and the names of the students who earned them. Students can clap for one another. Make sure that the number of awards you give is the same as the number of students you have: Each student should get an award! Have pockets of stickers for each award and allow them to choose one or two to take home with them.  A Class Cheer: Maybe your class can get a bit creative and come up with a rocking cheer and hand motions to go with it. Something my class began to cheer, not just at the end of the day, but throughout the day was: “¡Sí, se puede! Yes, we can!” We motioned a fist pumping in the air as we said it.

38 Classroom Aesthetics Creating an environment of learning

Moving furniture around, hanging up student work, and setting up different work stations are an important part of giving structure to the classroom and making students feel comfortable.

Dividing Space Many teachers like to divide their classroom into learning stations like the Writing Table, the Reading Rug, and the Make-Believe Play Corner. This helps keep the flow of activities going in an organized fashion with little direct instruction from the teacher. At Adventures Ahead, the kindergarten and first grade class are in one large room together. The first grade teacher and I divided up the room in such a way that would create two separate spaces for each of our classrooms. In my area, I continued to divide the space into smaller sections for particular activities (i.e. reading, writing, play, homework, and art). Sometimes one space serves two purposes. Below is a diagram of the sectioned space of the room.

Interior Decorating Not only is spatial division important, but also the wall hangings of a classroom help stimulate and encourage students to learn. On the walls, hang up students’ artwork or written projects. When students see their work proudly displayed, it boosts their self-confidence and instills a sense of pride in the work they are doing. It helps to remind them that their hard work is paying off and helps them to see how far they’ve progressed. Whenever a student gets frustrated, sometimes I will point to a piece of work that they did and say, “I know this problem right now is hard to do, but you are smart and can do it. You can do amazing things; remember this beautiful sentence you wrote. You are a writer.” Another key thing to have in sight on the wall are the rules. Students need clear boundaries; they feel safe and secure with them. When a student is misbehaving, sometimes I will point to the rules on the wall and the visual aid helps the student make a connection between their concrete actions and the abstract rule. Other suggested objects to hang on the wall in a kindergarten classroom are a number chart from 1 to 100 and an alphabet chart. Eventually cover these, so that your students can do their homework from memory. Kindergarten Class First Grade Class Books Table Books Books Supply Closet Whiteboard Circle Table Time Couch

Play Area Computer Door Snack Whiteboard Table DDoor Fold out Table

39 Discipline You Are Not Their Friend; You Are Their Teacher

This may be a difficult statement to swallow. I know for me it was difficult to switch my paradigm of thinking from seeing myself as the students’ friend to an authority figure in their lives. The truth is your students have peers and volunteers in the program who can fulfill the role of friendship easily, but you have a unique opportunity as their teacher to help them grow and develop and nurture their minds. Your role as a teacher carries a responsibility to create a safe, consistent, and fun learning environment for every student.

Purpose We do not discipline for punishment sake. The purpose of discipline is not to shame or torture a student. You do not do it because you are a “Big Meanie” (although you may feel like it), but because you love your students. It is a means, not a result. “Discipline is training that is expected to produce a specific character trait or pattern of behavior.”9

Discipline Strategy There are five key discipline strategies according to the Here’s Life Inner City Volunteer Training Manual: consistency, teaching/training, positive reinforcement, consequences, and giving choices/options.10 I will discuss each in brief, and share personal experiences from this year in the classroom. To discipline effectively, it is important to know your students (their background, motivation, etc.): one method might work for one, but not for another.

Consistency The base for the next four strategies is consistency. It is important that as a staff team, we are consistent in our rules, consequences, and rewards. When we are more unified as a team, our students will know what is expected of them and feel secure. Rules for Adventures Ahead Respect people and property Follow directions Keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself

It is important that we remain consistent and steady in our reactions to them. For example, when my students yell out answers with out raising their hands, it is imperative that with each of them I calmly give a warning. It would be confusing if I gave one student a warning, but with another student I became furious and immediately asked them to change their behavior card.

Teaching/Training Teaching moments happen every day. Teaching our students how to behave well is important. We need to verbally explain what we expect of them, model it, and give them opportunities to

9 S.A.Y. Yes! Volunteer Training Manual 10 S.A.Y. Yes! Volunteer Training Manual

40 practice it. Sometimes a student misbehaves simply because they do not know the way we expect them to behave. For example, at the beginning of the year, we explained to our students that there was no running, only walking. With my students, we practiced walking to our classroom. When students ran to line up at the door, I would ask them to walk back to where they were before, and to show me how to walk to the door. Repetition and patience is key in teaching procedures and rules. I like to review with my students the rules mid-way through the semester and whenever the classroom reaches utter chaos.

Positive Reinforcement Simply said it is reinforcing good behavior. We use Bean Jars in my classroom. Students get to put a dried bean into an empty, clean spaghetti sauce jar labeled with their name. They get beans for bringing back their point sheets, sharing, listening to other students, answering a really tough question, helping the teacher, etc. They really love this because they get to physically participate in it. Our first grade teacher this year had another brilliant positive reinforcement: Daily Awards and Stickers. At the end of every day, she would announce which student got which award for the day (Most Encouraging, Biggest Help, Best Attitude, etc.). Each award would have a pocket of stickers from which the students could choose two stickers to put on their hands or faces.

Consequences Sometimes reinforcing good behavior or teaching is not enough. In these cases, have set consequences for students’ misbehavior. I usually give my students a warning before I make them change a card on the Color-Card Chart. Each student has a pocket on the Color-Card Chart with 5 different colored cards (green, yellow, orange, red, and blue) in it. When students break one of our three rules, I ask them to change their card.  Green- Everyone starts off the day  Orange- Time Out on a happy face  Red- No Play Time  Yellow- Warning  Blue- See Miss Lauren (the director)

Giving Choices This is a wonderful tool because it acknowledges the power of the student and gives them the power to impact their own lives through their own decision. It teaches the student that they are responsible for their own behavior through the choices they make. An example of giving a choice would be: “Ioshua, it’s your choice- you can either sit down and work on the sentence or not. If you decide not to, you will be telling me that you want to stand in the corner for a time out. It’s your choice.”

Note: In cases of extreme misbehavior, we use behavior contracts. See a sample of one in Appendix B.

41 Attention Getters Getting Your Young Ones to Stay Focused

“ Short attention span” means your students will get distracted easily. It can be frustrating trying to re-focus your students every 5 minutes. It can take a toll on your voice when you keep telling students, “Be quiet,” “Listen up,” or worse, “Shhhhh.” Here are some tips to get your students’ attention and save your voice:

With all signals it is important that you explain to your students beforehand what you expect from them when you do them.

1) Make up a Hand Gesture.  Raise one hand in the air. Wait until all eyes are on you and every mouth is shut before continuing.  Raise one hand in the air, put your index finger over your lips. Have students touch their fingers to their lips  Put your whole hand over your mouth and have students repeat what you do.  Stick your fist in the air and count to 5 on your fingers.

2) Make up a Hand Gesture Pattern. Keep it short; don’t make it too complex or complicated.  With my students, I clap 2x and then I touch my nose. My students watch me and repeat me. I lower my index finger from my nose, when all my students’ mouths are shut and their fingers are on their noses.  Zip lips, lock them and then throw away the key. I use this one with my students before we leave to walk to the backroom.  You can make up any pattern of clapping, stomping, snapping, knee slapping, and finger pointing.

3) Words and Gestures.  Say “Alligator, Alligator. Chomp. Chomp.” Have students repeat this with you. As you say, “Chomp, Chomp” stretch your hands out and clap them together 2x like an Alligator’s snout.  Say, “One, two, three. Eyes on me.” Point to your eyes and then to your chest. Students say, “One, two. Eyes on you.” They point to their eyes and then point to you.  Count down from 10 to 0. This has been the best method during transition times, for instance from snack time to homework hour.

4) Other Attention Getters:  Be silent, focusing your gaze on the students who are talking. Wait until talking stops, before you begin to talk again.

42  Stand behind a student who is talking and gently touch their shoulder. They will be silent by default because they “got caught.”

Social & Psychological Development

While Adventures Ahead is primarily literacy-focused, it is important to consider the developmental stage of the students you teach. Understanding the level they are socially, psychologically, physically, and cognitively will help you create relevant and relatable lessons for your students; communicating ideas and concepts in terms that they can understand. It will also help you structure your classroom schedule. For example, knowing that although my kindergartners are potty-trained they still need lots of bathroom breaks, as they do not anticipate when they need to go. It is important to know the growth stage of your students in order to know what you can expect from them and to plan age-appropriate activities. The next couple of pages are child developmental charts. The first chart is of the development in early childhood (ages 5-6) from psychologist Laura Berk’s textbook, Child Development.11 Development is categorized into physical/perceptual, cognitive, language, and emotional/social. The following chart is from the Here’s Life Inner City S.A.Y. Yes! Volunteer Training Manual, and also includes categories of various aspects of development for primary aged students.12

A Brief Summary of Ages 5-6 (primary) Development . Students desire to please adults and respond well to affirmation from them. . Students become more aware of their gender, and gender-based stereotypes increase as well as same-sex play. . Students have a lot of energy and short attention spans. . Students think concretely, abstract concepts are hard to comprehend. They begin to replace magical beliefs with plausible, literal explanations.

Next, is a list of the 40 Developmental Assets.13 The Search Institute has done extensive study (surveying 2.2 million young people) across the United States in youth development, resiliency, and prevention. Bottom-line: the more assets a child has the less likely they are to engage in high-risk behavior. This resource is meant to help you understand your role in developing specific assets for students as their teacher. On the website are suggested action steps to take to build and strengthen these assets. Also, this resource encourages you to engage and work with your student’s families because they are the largest influence in their lives.

11 Berk, Laura E. “Milestones: Development in Early Childhood.” Child Development (7th ed). Chicago: Pearson, 2006. 12 S.A.Y. Yes! Volunteer Training Manual 13 Search Institute, Developmental Assets, and Healthy Communities-Healthy Youth. “40 Developmental Assets for Children Grades K-3 (ages 5-9).” Search Institute. 2009. Web. http://www.search-institute.org/40-developmental-assets-children-grades- k%E2%80%933. 14 April 2010.

43 Additional Resources For more charts on early childhood development see http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/ect/behavior_development/dev_charts.htm.

45 Primary Age- First, Second, Third Grade Area of Development Explanation

Social Friendships are important; boys and girls are not afraid to play together. The primary child wants to please and responds well to affirmation from adults. Physical Growth is sporadic and will vary from child to child. The primary child is still very active. He has high energy and needs to be on the move. Asking a child to sit still for an extended period of time without body movement is a failure to recognize how God has created the child. Intellectual He/she is beginning to read and write. He/she is still a literalist and needs to be taught in the concrete. The primary child is not able to think much about her future. He/she deals in the present. Emotional Younger children are learning how to trust the adults in their lives. They need a lot of approval and positive attention. By this time, they have a healthy sense of guilt when they realize they have done something wrong. They need a stable and secure environment with adults they can trust. *Adapted from the S.A.Y. Yes! Volunteer Training Manual

46 47 Cross-Cultural Sensitivity Building relationships across differences through understanding

Developing Awareness The purpose of this section is to help you be more aware to some of the cultural differences between you and your students. We want you to keep cross-cultural sensitivity in mind while interacting with your students. Cross-cultural sensitivity is the quality of being aware and accepting of other cultures. This is an essential skill for you as a teacher to have.

Cultural sensitivity requires you to make an attempt to be free from prejudices and preconceptions about other cultures. Being a culturally sensitive teacher requires you to acknowledge differences between your culture and your student’s culture, and understand that these differences affect your relationship and the way you communicate with each other. It also means acknowledging that as humans we do not know everything and will make mistakes. Sometimes what seems acceptable in your culture might be seen as rude and derogatory in the cultural eyes of the students. However through humility, intentionality and perseverance, barriers can be broken down and mutual respect built.

Before we name some of the general ethnic and socio-economic differences, let’s define a few key terms.

Defining Terms Culture- the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. This is a limited definition, but serves for the scope of this manual.

Ignorance- the lack of knowledge or awareness that leads to believing in an untruth or generalization/stereotype about a group of people. Ignorance is broken down when we develop close personal relationships with people and we begin to recognize the falsehood of untruths we believed.

Prejudice- a preconceived judgment or opinion, or even a hostile attitude directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics. You and your students are mentally programmed with prejudices, whether based on media, personal experience or family teaching, that need to be actively countered in thought and deed.

Again, there are many aspects of culture but I’ve only mentioned two below: ethnic and socio- economic.

I. Ethnic/Racial (See Appendix C for different Cultural Perspectives)

48 Historically in the mid-twentieth century, West Adams was predominantly African American. Today, most of the students you work with at Adventures Ahead are Latinos, specifically from Central America. Most of the families are recent immigrants, in which Spanish is the primary language. Therefore most of your students are learning English as a second language, a very difficult task to do.

Below are some listed aspects of Latino and African-American culture.14 REMEMBER these are generalizations and cannot be applied to every individual in the culture.

Some general characteristics of Latino Culture:  High value placed on relationships  Community, especially the family, is important  There is great diversity in Latino culture derived from what nationality and how many generations have lived in America before.  Identity is not found in achievements but from roots and in relation to others

Some general characteristics of African American Culture:  Direct communication style, if you have something to say you say it  Strongly advocate positions they believe in  Authenticity and openness  Event-oriented, there is no specific start or end time

Ways to Connect Some ways to connect with your students in the classroom could be to celebrate Black History Month, César Chávez Day, and other holidays that honor the contributions of minorities. Discuss holiday traditions you do with your family, and then ask your students to share what they do with their families. Food is an important aspect of culture! Bring food to share with students or discuss with students what they eat, whom they eat with, and how they eat. The possibilities for cultural sharing are endless! In the classroom, be aware that discipline tactics will vary in effectiveness, not only based on your students’ personalities but also their culture. For example, “calling out” and directly confronting misbehavior may be an effective tactic for your African American students, but may cause a deep sense of shame and embarrassment for your Latino students. When learning new vocabulary, ask children how they would say the word in their native language. Pick age-appropriate books to read aloud that are written by minority or international authors that share stories and traditions in their culture.

II. Socio-Economic: Generational Poverty vs. Middle Class vs. Wealthy Depending on your economic background, you may also encounter differences across class. All of the students in our program are low-income. However poverty is not one- dimensional and there are many different factors of why people are poor. Too often the middle class write off the poor with simple answers like “just get a job,” or “why don’t you just…” without understanding the culture of poverty or even the dynamics of living in generational

14 S.A.Y. Yes! Volunteer Training Manual

49 poverty. While different cultures have distinct advantages and disadvantages, not one culture is superior or inferior to another.15

Hidden Rules Chart The chart below lists some general class-based rules. REMEMBER that these rules are generalizations and do not apply to every individual in that socio-economic category.16

Generational Poverty Middle Class Wealthy The driving forces for decision- The driving forces for decision- The driving forces for decision- making are survival, making are work and achievement. making are social, financial and relationships and entertainment. political connections. People are possessions. It is Things are possessions. If material Legacies, one-of-a-kind objects, and worse to steal someone’s security is threatened, often the pedigrees are possessions. girlfriend than to steal a thing. A relationship is broken relationship is valued over achievement. That is why you must defend your child no matter what he has done. The “world” is defined in local The “world” is defined in national The “world” is defined in terms. terms. The national news is watched; international terms. travel tends to be in the nation. Physical fighting is how conflict Fighting is done verbally. Fighting is done through social is resolved. Respect is accorded Physical fighting is viewed with inclusion/exclusion and through to those who can physically distaste. lawyers. defend themselves. Other Rules Discipline is about penance and Discipline is about changing Not Available forgiveness, not change. behavior. Noise level is high, emotions are To stay in middle class, one must be Not Available openly displayed, and the value self-governing and self-supporting. of a personality to the group is your ability to entertain.

Destiny and fate govern. The Choice is a key concept in the Not Available notion of having choices is lifestyle. The future is very foreign. important. Formal education is seen as crucial for future success.

Conclusion Even though there exist these differences, cultural sensitivity will help you to build bridges of understanding and respect between yourself and your students. Be honest and aware about your own ignorance and prejudices, and expect to learn from your students. Celebrate, honor, and share the diversity cultures bring, and also acknowledge the commonalities we share as human beings. Remember, the characteristics given above in regards to Latino and African American cultures are merely generalizations, as well as the characteristics of socio-economic classes. Each student is an individual with unique experiences and that must not be generally

15 S.A.Y. Yes! Volunteer Training Manual 16 Adapted from Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne (S.A.Y. Yes! Training Manual)

50 projected onto others in their culture. You want to maintain an authoritative, respectful stature with your students, without humiliating or making them feel incompetent. Once again, the goal of relating across different ethnicities and cultures is NOT to assimilate the other to your mindset, but instead to be reconciled to one another and transformed by one another. So enjoy the diversity of your students! Share with them your culture and learn about theirs!

51 Teacher Self Care Do Not Gloss Over This

As I wrote this manual, there is a reason why this section was the first one I chose to write. Not only does this section excite and humble me, it is also an accumulation of what I have intensely learned and experienced the past five years. I’m thrilled to share my experiences with you and hope that this information will free you to be a better, healthier you beyond your year(s) interning at Adventures Ahead. I am humbled because out of anything in this manual, taking care of myself has been the most challenging. It’s hard when you work/volunteer in a job, where success lies in how much you give of yourself to others. It is hard being a teacher, which requires you to constantly think and place your students, their families, and your staff before yourself, and suddenly you find yourself at #15 on your priority list, or worse not even on the list. There is much ground I could cover in this area, but for the sake of length and time I will introduce the most pressing principles. We will briefly discuss what self-care is, why it is important, and then how to practice it.

What is it? You are most likely serving at Adventures Ahead because you care. You love the children who are in your classes, and you want to make a difference in the world that will result in a positive and lasting change through the next generation of young minds. And guess what? You are doing this every week in the classroom! Let this sink in and be an encouragement to you. However, sometimes the danger of caring is that we can lose ourselves. We may get lost in the lesson planning, in the literacy activities, in the frustration with an unjust educational system, and in our thoughts of insignificance. For me, mostly I get lost in the “doing.” There is always one more thing I could do, something I could be doing better, another way to reach a child or get them to grasp a concept. The temptation to overextend myself is a close companion, especially in a position and community where there is great need. For this very reason, learning self-care is important: if not more important for us teachers to grasp. Self-care very simply means taking good care of you. It is about establishing a lifestyle that tells you that you love you. Boy, Burnout: Burnout is a state of emotional, does that sound selfish! But before leaping to mental, and physical exhaustion caused by conclusions, let’s explore why loving ourselves is excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when important. you feel overwhelmed and are unable to meet constant demands. Burnout reduces your Why do it? productivity and saps If we want to teach or help others long- term, we must take care of ourselves. About 40% your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly of teachers “burnout” and leave within the first helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. five years of teaching.17 Over 60% of workers working with urban youth experience at one point in their time of service “vicarious

17 http://newteachersupport.suite101.com/article.cfm/warning_signs_of_new_teacher_burnout

52 trauma.”18-19 Self-care is a crucial, non-negotiable component to ensure and sustain a healthy disposition for Vicarious Trauma: years. It can be easy to be caught up with the problems NOW, but remember that if we want to be able to do this Vicarious trauma is an ongoing next year or the next 10 years we must practice self-care. process of change over time that Another reason to take care of us is that the quality results from witnessing or hearing of our care for others increases. Let’s face it: you are a about other people’s suffering and nicer, friendlier person after you get a good night’s sleep, and NOT when you are running around sleep-deprived need. Your commitment and and half crazed. You are more patient with your students sense of responsibility can lead to when they don’t get it the first, second or even fifth time high expectations and eventually around. You can respond quicker and more effectively in contribute to your feeling a situation of crisis. Overall, you become a better teacher burdened, overwhelmed, and and person, able to give yourself more fully. perhaps hopeless. How to do it? Each of us has ways we take care of ourselves. It can be as simple as the routine of brushing our teeth, washing our face, and putting on deodorant in the morning. I will highlight just a few that have been crucial for me. The methods listed below come from the trusted, research-based, non-profit called HelpGuide.org.20

SLEEP Try to establish a regular sleep pattern. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. I attempt to be in bed by 10pm and usually wake up around 7am. According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep is vital in “regulating mood and weight, and is related to learning and memory functions.”21

EATING RIGHT The foods you eat nourish your body, so it can be at its best. It is important to eat lots of fruits and vegetable and nuts and legumes. When I can afford it, I prefer to eat organic, so as not to consume the pesticides and other unhealthy chemicals used in the growing process. Some changes I’ve made have been to cut back on meat and dairy intake, by replacing them with beans, legumes, and soy/veggie alternatives. I also try to go to a farmer’s market once a month to purchase fresh, organic produce and to support local farmers. Changing your diet can be

18“Understanding Vicarious Trauma.” Headington Institutehttp://www.headington-institute.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2648 19 Melinda Smith, M.A., Ellen Jaffe-Gill, M.A., Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Robert Segal, M.A. “Preventing Burnout: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Coping Strategies.” HelpGuide.org. 17 March 2010. December 2008. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/burnout_signs_symptoms.htm. 20 HelpGuide.org. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/burnout_signs_symptoms.htm. 21 Davila, David G. “Diet, Exercise, and Sleep.” National Sleep Foundation. December 2009. 22 March 2010. http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/diet-exercise-and-sleep

53 challenging, so do it in small increments. For example, if you eat fast-food every day, the first week try to consume it only 5 times a week, the second week every other day, the third week 2 times (once on a weekday and once on the weekend), and so forth until you are rarely eating fast- food. Eating healthy can sometimes be more costly, but in the long run you save money on medical costs by preventing diseases like diabetes, heart attack, and obesity. 22

HAVING RELATIONSHIPS THAT GIVE BACK I realized that in the majority of the “friendships” I had, I was the giver. I initiated most of our talks and get-togethers. I listened to their problems and counseled them with little encouragement or desire on their part to hear my own struggles and problems. This was taking its toll. I needed people I could laugh with and who would listen to me as well. I needed friends who would encourage me. When I am drained or at the end of my rope, these friends help me laugh and refresh me. Who in your life is a refreshing, calming, life-giving presence?

EMOTIONAL OUTLETS Dancing to music on my iTunes, painting with acrylics, journaling, taking a neighborhood walk, punching a pillow, lighting a candle, and crying have been crucial in releasing frustration, tension, stress, anger, and helplessness associated with work.

SET BOUNDARIES Boundaries are important in helping us recognize where we end and another person begins. It helps us recognize what we are responsible for and what others are responsible for. It helps us recognize our limits. Some practical boundaries I’ve set are 1) turning off technology when I’m in the resting-mode and 2) not making a commitment unless I look at my calendar. Boundaries are flexible. You can invite people to step over it with your permission and you can also change it according to season and time.23

Self-Care Tips Chart The chart below has a variety of practical suggestions to take care of you. Keep in mind these are general suggestions, and it is fine to disagree based on what may not be in line with you personal beliefs or convictions.24

22 Schweigerdt, Bronwyn M.S. Free to Eat: The Proven Recipe for Permanent Weightloss. Sacramento: Peripety Media, 2010. 23 Cloud, Henry and John Townsend. Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No to Take Control of Your Life. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1992. 24 Harrill, Suzanne E. “Self-Care Tips.” The InnerWords Messenger Newsletter. 18 March 2010. http://www.innerworkspublishing.com/news/vol1/selfcare.htm

54 Physical Emotional/Social Mental/Social Take a walk Deep breath and think, “I am calm and Say an affirmation peaceful.” Ride a bike Share feelings about an experience with a Read a book or magazine article friend Soak in a hot bath, with candles and Listen to music you like Express your thoughts & feelings in a music journal Exercise at the gym or play a sport Sing or makes sounds Make a to do list Stretch and move to music Hug someone, ask for a hug Write a poem Practice Yoga postures Pet your dog or cat; Write a letter Hold an infant Take a course in Tai Chi, water Paint or draw what you are feeling Listen to podcasts about an area you aerobics, or yoga know little about Sit in the sun for 15 minutes Telephone a long distance friend or Email a friend relative Change one thing to improve your Notice what you are feeling several times List things you will do to improve your diet a day life Watch birds and animals interact in Write a letter to someone who has hurt Update negative beliefs that limit your nature you, but do not send it life Go swimming Feel your fear and take a positive risk for Journal write daily about your reactions, change thoughts and feelings for a month Sit in a garden or park Smile at a stranger and send them List your traits, needs and wants thoughts of peace, acceptance, joy Take a nap Affirm your self daily Make a list of short term and long term goals Get a massage Watch children play; talk to your inner Preview your day upon awakening, child in a loving, joyful way Review upon retiring Eat totally healthy for one day Acknowledge yourself for Work on your family tree accomplishments you are proud of

55 Appendix A: WINNING Phonemic Awareness Packet Supplement to WINNING Reading Program Contents 1. Phonemic Awareness Introduction 2. Outline of skills – the five components of Phonemic Awareness 3. Phonemic Awareness Lessons . Lessons One to Ten - Cycle one . Lessons One to Ten - Cycle two

Ten Phonemic Awareness Lessons Introduction:

The English language has 44 to 45 distinct individual sounds (or phonemes). Our language uses 26 alphabet letters in more than 100 combinations to represent these 44 to 45 phonemes. Phonemic awareness is an educational term referring to the ability to hear these individual sounds within words. The key insight you are trying to convey in these lessons is that words are made up of separate sounds. Phonemic awareness also includes the ability to pick out and manipulate sounds in spoken (not written) words. Adults take for granted the concept that words are made up of sounds and they can take for granted the skills needed to manipulate those sounds. School age children, however, often do not have the awareness of word-sounds that they need in order to learn to read. Children often unconsciously start gaining the insight that words are made up of separate sounds through word games, nursery rhymes, clapping games, and other natural verbal interactions. This early childhood word play also helps children hear and distinguish different sounds. However, many children miss key elements of phonemic awareness and are unprepared to learn to read. A description of each of the five components of phonemic awareness is included following this introduction. It would be helpful to read these pages to understand how the following lessons prepare children for reading.

Important: Phonemic awareness activities are purely oral. Many of these activities will introduce sounds whose spellings have not yet been introduced. These activities are not concerned with the letters that correspond to each sound. No writing is involved. You will not be using the names of letters in these exercises. You will be using just the sounds found in words. The designation / / is used to show that you are to say the sound of the letter, not the name of the letter: For example: /s/ represents the sound the letter s makes. When you see /s/ say the letter- sound not the letter-name. The following ten lessons each contain two phonemic awareness games. It is recommended that the first game be used as a warm up before a WINNING reading lesson. The second game can be used as a finale after the regular reading lesson is completed. Any of these games can also be played during less structured times. The lessons are simple and short, and are intended to be fun. The children should be encouraged to continue this kind of play outside the lesson time. These ten lessons appear in two cycles. Each of the two cycles has the same ten lessons,

56 but teach progressively more complicated skills. The students first complete Lessons One to Ten - first cycle. When Lesson Ten - first cycle is completed, then the students proceed to Lesson One - second cycle. In Cycle Two you will be using the same games you and your students have already learned in Cycle One, but you will be playing these games to learn more advanced skills. The advantage of this is that after the first ten lessons neither you nor the students have to learn any more games, but the students can still progress in skills.

Outline of Skills - The Five Components of Phonemic Awareness:

1. Oral Blending: Oral blending is the skill needed to slide sounds together to hear words. Beginning readers can often fail to hear how a group of separate sounds form a word. For example, if given the separate sounds /c/,/a/,/t/ in sequence, a child can have difficulty hearing the word “cat”. As adults we can take this skill for granted, but it can be a difficult for skill for beginning readers.

2. Segmenting: Segmenting is the term used to describe the skill of breaking a word apart into its separate sounds. It is the complementary skill to oral blending. (Segmenting is the skill of breaking words apart into their sounds; blending is the skill of running the sounds together to form words) When a student reads a word, he/she will first have to break the word into its component sounds (segmenting) then blend the sounds together to form the word (oral blending). When spelling a word the student will have to hear the word in his/her head, and then break it down into its component sounds (segmenting) in order to identify the letters needed to spell those sounds.

3. Rhyming: The ability to identify rhymes is an important sound awareness skill. Rhyming makes children more sensitive to hearing and distinguishing sounds. Rhyming becomes an important skill as students progress in reading/writing skills. Though not directly taught in these lessons, the insight that words that rhyme often have similar spellings is an important part of reading development.

4. Phonemic Matching: Phonemic matching is the ability to hear similar sounds in different words. 5. Phonemic Manipulating: This final skill involves applying the blending, segmenting, rhyming and matching skills that the students are developing. The exercises for this section involve playfully substituting letters in words. Most of these exercises will involve songs and chants.

57 Lesson One (First Cycle) These ten lessons appear in two cycles. Each of the two cycles has the same ten lessons, but teach progressively more complicated skills. The students first complete Lessons One to Ten - first cycle. When Lesson Ten - first cycle is completed, then the students proceed to Lesson One - second cycle. In Cycle Two you will be using the same games you and your students have already learned in Cycle One, but you will be playing these games to learn more advanced skills. The advantage of this is that after the first ten lessons neither you nor the students have to learn any more games, but the students can still progress in skills.

Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Slow Talking (beginning oral blending skills) “Slow talking” is an entertaining activity you can do anytime during your daily routine when you want to give directions or have a simple conversation with the students. It is nothing more complicated than talking very slowly and having the children decipher what you are saying. Talking in slow motion helps children hear separate sounds as a single word. (Just for fun, your conversation can also be speeded up). Directions: Here is an old rhyme that gives directions. Say this very slowly. The children will have to listen carefully to first decipher and then follow the slowly articulated directions. You can say each direction more slowly than the last. Explain to the students that they will listen carefully to your very slow verse. When they hear a direction, they should act that direction out. The children will not respond orally, they act out your directions silently. The students will concentrate on listening. This exercise gives the students listening practice. Teacher: T-e-d-d-y b-e-a-r T-e-d-d-y B-e-a-r T-u-r-n a-r-o-u-n-d Students: (Turn around in their place) Teacher: T-e-d-d-y b-e-a-r T-e-d-d-y B-e-a-r T---o---u---c---h t---h---e g---r---o---u---n---d Students: (Touch the ground) The game continues trough several verses: Teacher: Teddy bear Teddy bear Show your shoe (Children act that out) Teacher: Teddy bear Teddy bear Say achoo (Children act that out) Teacher: Teddy bear Teddy bear Blink your eye (Children act that out) Teacher: Teddy bear Teddy bear Tell me hi (Children act that out) Teacher: Teddy bear Teddy bear Go upstairs (Children act that out) Teacher: Teddy bear Teddy bear Say your prayers (Children act that out) Teacher: Teddy bear Teddy bear Turn out the light (Children act that out) Teacher: Teddy bear teddy bear

58 Say goodnight (Children act that out) (If you and the children are up for more, add actions of your own or have the children suggest some – the directions don’t have to rhyme)

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Hand-clap games (beginning segmenting skills – separating syllables) The first step in separating words into sounds (segmenting) is being able to separate words into syllables. Children do this naturally when they play hand-clapping games. The children may know many handclapping games; encourage them to share the ones they know. Do these hand- clap verses during down time, or during playtime. Directions: Set up the children in pairs (be one of the clappers if there are an odd number of kids). The children may also be very good at fancy hand-clap patterns. This basic hand-clap pattern is fine to start with: Each partner first claps his/her own hands together then each clap each others’ hands palms out. To teach this verse, recite the first line to a student, without clapping, then the student repeats the line, breaking up the syllables by clapping the syllables against their partner’s hands. Syllables are natural word segments, so you will find that the students will clap in syllables intuitively. Teacher: Pitter patter, pitter patter Students: (clap out the syllables) Pit-ter pat-ter pit-ter pat-ter Teacher: Listen to the rain Student: (clap out the syllables) List-en to the rain Teacher: Pitter patter, pitter patter Students: (clap out the syllables) Pit-ter pat-ter pit-ter pat-ter Teacher: On my window pane Students: (clap out the syllables) On my win-dow pane Once the students know the verse they can clap the entire verse with each other. To keep the game flowing, have the children repeat these short verses several times. Pit-ter pat-ter pit-ter pat-ter List-en to the rain Pit-ter pat-ter pit-ter pat-ter on my win-dow pane After the children have learned this rhyme, tell them that when they clap out the words they are actually breaking the words into syllables. Explain that syllables are word sections that naturally stay together when they are clapped. Ask them how many claps are in “pitter” (2), how many in “listen” (2), how many in “rain” (1), how many in “window” (2).

Play “You’re Out” This is an eliminating game in the style of “Eeny Meeny Miny Mo”. This game uses verses to give children a feel for dividing words into syllables. Instead of clapping at each syllable they’ll be pointing to someone for each syllable. Again, syllables are natural word segments, so you will find that the students will point in syllables intuitively. Directions: The teacher recites the “You’re Out” rhyme first, pointing to a different child at each syllable. The child who gets pointed at on the last syllable will be eliminated. But before he/she is eliminated he/she must do the rhyme as the teacher did, pointing at each child for each syllable. After that child has done the verse, then he/she retires from the game. Last one left is the

59 winner. If you are tutoring just one child, play the best out of three against each other. One, two three Mo-ther caught a flea Flea died, mo-ther cried Out goes she (he) (player who gets pointed at on the “she” repeats verse and then goes out) After the game is finished ask how many finger-points (syllables) in “mother” (2) “died” (1)

60 Lesson Two (First Cycle) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Hand clapping (segmenting skills – separating syllables) The first step in separating words into sounds (segmenting) is being able to separate words into syllables. Children do this naturally when they play hand-clapping games. The children may know many handclapping games, encourage them to share the ones they know. Directions: Address each student individually with this verse. Clap the verse as you address each child. Clap in this basic hand clap: clap your own hands together then each clap both of the student’s hands palms out. Syllables are natural word segments, so you will find that the students will clap in syllables intuitively. Teacher: Each peach pear plum When does your birth-day come? Student: (Claps out the month his/her birthday falls on.) Teacher: How many claps in that month?

Play “Pass it on ” Directions: Teacher starts clapping this verse. The verse is “passed” to a student as instructed in the words of the verse. This student says the verse and passes it on to the next child. To avoid hurt feelings it is best to instruct students to say name of next student on their right (or left). Cal-i-for-nia or-an-ges fif-ty cents a pack Come on, student’s name and tap me on the back. After the verse has been “passed” to everyone, ask the kids how many claps in California (4); in students’ names. Rooms for rent In-quire with-in As I move out Let ______come in. Ask the kids how many claps in rent (1) within (2).

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Be a poet (rhyming skills) Directions: Students will try to find rhyming words to complete the verse. It does not matter if their contribution makes any sense, just as long as it rhymes. Teacher: Once I saw a goat It had a brand new ______Student: Coat (or boat or throat or note or oat) (If students have trouble thinking of a word give them hints, i.e.: it kept the goat warm (coat), or he could go out in the lake with it (boat). Use these words: cat, car, pig, seal, pest, kit, bee, Ted

61 Lesson Three (Cycle One) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Simon Says (oral blending skills - blending syllables) Directions: You can use the traditional game of “Simon Says” to practice oral blending skills. You will be “Simon”. You will give the direction broken up into syllables. The students will have to blend the sounds to follow the directions (if “Simon says”). At this stage the children will be blending syllables only, not individual letter sounds. Separate the syllables with a longish pause so that the children have to really listen in order to blend the syllables and follow the directions. Teacher: Simon says: “Eat a ham……….bur……….ger” Students blend “ham” and “bur” and “ger” and act out eating a hamburger. Other words to use: Simon says: Watch te…le...vi...sion Fly an air…plane Say the al…pha…bet Write a let…ter Sit in a rock…ing chair Open a win…dow Show it’s win…ter Walk like a mon…key Walk like a kan…ga…roo Slice a piz…za

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Give Me Five (phonemic matching – listening for /long a/ and /long e/) This game help kids practice hearing vowel sounds in words. Hearing vowel sounds correctly is a difficult skill for many children. Directions: Tell the student to close his/her hand into a fist. Tell him/her to listen for the /long a/ sound. Do not use the letter-name “a” just model the /long a/ sound. Give a word and ask the child to say whether that word contains the /long a/ sound. You are not concerned with the various spellings the /long a/ sound can have. You are only helping kids identify the /long a/ sound. If the word does contain the /long a/ sound, the child puts up one finger from his/her closed fist. When the child has identified five words with /long a/, all his/her fingers will be up and he/she can get a big “high five”. Example: Teacher: Does the word “pan” have /long a/? Student does not lift finger because “pan” does not have the /long a/ sound Teacher: Does the word “say” have /long a /? Student: Lifts one finger because “say” does have the /long a/ sound. Listen for /long a/ sound: Words to use: (When given the underlined words the student will lift one finger) First round: place, gray, try, moose, snack, rice, hay, eat, boats, Jane, race Second round: bike, clay, wink, play, pat, sad, rip, tape, snake, sink, coffee, rain

62 Third round: kitten, wood, black, pain, food, fake, kangaroo, trip, rail, fix, track, take, jam, jump, tame Repeat the game for the /long e/ sound Word to use: First round: me, flag, red, ice, key, tickle, rumble, seek night, sick, flea, fast, race, cabin, tree Second round: thick, stick, land, tea, fan, wiggle, see, jump, basketball, speak, chicken, week, fun, we Third round: sandwich, she, bus, break, beak, touchdown, he, camel, elephant, free, Saturday, honey

63 Lesson Four (Cycle One) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Simon Says (oral blending skills - blending syllables) Directions: You can use the traditional game of “Simon Says” to practice oral blending skills. You will be “Simon”. You will give the directions broken up into syllables. The students will have to blend the sounds to follow the directions (if “Simon says”). At this stage the children will be blending syllables only, not individual letter sounds. Separate the syllable with a longish pause so that the children have to really listen in order to blend the syllables and follow the directions. Teacher: Simon says: “ride a mo…tor…cy…cle” Students blend “mo” and “tor” and “cy” and “cle” and then act out riding a motorcycle. Other words to use: Simon says: Work at a com…pu…ter Rock a ba…by Lick an en…ve…lope Play a gui...tar

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Waiter, Waiter (segmenting skills - identifying missing beginning and ending sounds) In this game the students will try to identify what beginning or ending sound has been left out. This helps them start to hear the separate sounds in words. Directions: You will recite the following interactive verse. For the first segment, the students will identify the missing beginning sounds. They will hear a word that is missing its beginning sound. They will be asked what the word should be and then what sound was left out. They will not be asked to say the letter-name, just say the missing sound. Repeat these verses 7 times, substituting a new day of the week and a new food word for each repetition. Teacher: I’m at a restaurant and I’m going to order. You are the waiter. I’m going to say my order wrong and you will correct me. Teacher: Waiter, waiter, listen to me. It is Monday and I’m hungry. Please serve me a ___ andwich quick, quickly. That’s __andwich Student: S andwich Teacher: Waiter waiter don’t make me shout I said __andwich , you said sandwich Tell me, tell me what I left out Student: /s/ Teacher: You’re so cool you’re so hip, I will give you a very big tip. Repeat this for the rest of the days of the week, using these words: Tuesday: __atermelon (watermelon) Wednesday: __izza (pizza) Thursday: __acaroni (macaroni) Friday: __ancakes (pancakes)

64 Saturday: __eeze burger (cheeseburger - the sound that was left out was /ch/; /ch/ is a single sound) Sunday: __eat balls (meatballs) In the second segment, the students will identify the missing ending sounds. They will not be asked to say the letter-name, just say the sound. Repeat this for every day of the week, using these words: Monday: Ice crea__ (ice cream) Tuesday: Fried chicke__ (chicken) Wednesday: Spaghett__ (spaghetti) Thursday: Roast bee__ (roast beef) Friday: Chicken noodle sou__ (chicken noodle soup) Saturday: Potat__ (potato) Sunday: Brea__ (bread)

65 Lesson Five (Cycle One) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Old MacDonald had a Bag (oral blending - blending first sound with the rest of the word) The children will practice blending using the lyrics and tune of “Old MacDonald had a Farm”. At this stage the students will practice blending the first sound with the rest of the word. This includes blending words with beginning consonant blends (flag: f…lag, “fl” is called a consonant blend). The letters used here will be “continuants” or consonants that flow easily into the rest of the word (f, l, m, s, n, r, z). These are easier for children to blend. Directions: Use the lyrics and the tune of “Old MacDonald had a Farm”. You will say the first two lines of the verse. You will break apart the underlined word as shown, separating the first sound from the rest of the word. The children will respond with the chorus, blending the word you just separated. Teacher: Old Mac Donald had a bag, E I E I O And in that bag he had a “/s/…(pause)…andwich” E I E I O (make the pause long enough to make the children really listen) Students: With a sandwich, sandwich here And a sandwich, sandwich there Here a sandwich, there a sandwich Everywhere a sandwich, sandwich Old Mac Donald had a bag E I E I O Use these words: /s/…weater (consonant blend) /l/…etter /s/ …poon (consonant blend) /r/…abbit /z/…ebra /f/…lower (consonant blend) /m/…acaroni /n/ …ecklace

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Segmenting Cheer (segmenting skills – separating the first sound from the rest of the word) Since student are just beginning to practice their segmenting skills, their task is only to separate the first sound from the rest of the word. Directions: Tell the children they are going to do a cheer. Teacher: Ra ra sis boom bah! Say Boat Student: “Boat” Teacher: Give me the first sound Student: /b/ (student does not to give letter-name, only the letter-sound) Teacher: Give me the rest of the word Student: …oat Teacher: What do you have? Student: Boat! Teacher: Go (student’s name)! Use these words: See, knee, neat, feet and room boom, right, light

66 Lesson Six (Cycle One) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Knock-Knock (Oral blending – blending the first sound and the rest of the word) Directions: Use the traditional knock-knock joke routine to blend sounds. In this lesson the students will be asked to blend the first sound with the rest of the word. Challenge the students to listen carefully by really pausing between the first sound and the rest of the word. Teacher: Knock, knock Teacher: Knock, knock Student: Who’s there? Student: Who’s there? Teacher: Qu…….ake Teacher: B…..lank Student: (blending “qu”….and “ake”) Quake Student: Blank who? who? Teacher: You’re welcome!. Teacher: Quake up you sleepy head. Teacher: Knock, knock Teacher: Knock, knock Student: Who’s there? Student: Who’s there? Teacher: G….oosie Teacher: I…..ce w……ater Student: Goosie who? Student: Ice water who? Teacher: Goosie who’s at the door. Teacher: Teacher: Knock, knock Teacher: Knock, knock Student: Who’s there? Student: Who’s there? Teacher: F…reida Teacher: T….urnip Student: Freida who? Student: Turnip who? Teacher: Who’s a Freida the big bad wolf? Teacher: Turnip the volume, I can’t hear. Teacher: Knock, knock Teacher: Knock, knock Student: Who’s there? Student: Who’s there? Teacher: A…venue Teacher: c…ows Student: Avenue who? Student: Cows who? Teacher: Avenue heard enough knock, Teacher: No, no Cows moo. knock jokes?

Rhyming riddles (rhyming skills) While you are doing knock-knock jokes, add the following riddles, which reinforce rhyming skills. Teacher: They bite harder than fleas They also buzz And they are called… Student: ______(bees) Teacher: If you have two mice You have one mouse… Student: ______(twice) Teacher: It is croaking on a log, It’s probably a… Student: ______(frog) Teacher: What starts with /hard g/ and rhymes with cold fish? (Remember to say the hard /g/

67 sound, not the letter-name) Student: Goldfish Teacher: What starts with /p/ and rhymes with joke? Student: Poke Teacher: What starts with /ch/ and rhymes with sneeze? Student: Cheese

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Blue bananas (Phonemic matching – hearing matching sounds) Directions: Read one of the following sentences. Ask the students if all the words in that sentence start with the same letter-sound. If all the words in the sentence start with the same sound then the sentence is a “blue banana” sentence. If one or more words start with different sounds then it is “rotten banana” sentence. Example: Peter Pig prefers peanuts (blue banana sentence) Peter Pig pitches baseball (rotten banana sentence) Ask the students whether the following sentences are “blue banana” or “rotten banana” sentences. When the students correctly identify a “rotten banana” sentence, ask them to name the “rotten banana”, or the word that did not fit the beginning-sound pattern. Dirty dogs don’t do dishes. (blue banana sentence) Cranky cat got cold. (rotten banana sentence) Children choose chocolate. (blue banana sentence) Sick squirrels speak slowly. (blue banana sentence) Tigers don’t take trains to Texas. (rotten banana sentence) Blue bananas bake badly. (blue banana sentence) Queens quit taking quizzes. (rotten banana sentence) Patty practiced baking perfect pancakes. (rotten banana sentence) Eagles eat eels. (blue banana sentence)

68 Lesson Seven (Cycle One) Sound Off: (Oral blending – blending first sound with the rest of the word) The students continue to blend the first sound with the rest of the word. This game makes blending a little more difficult, because they must blend word sections said by different people. Directions: The students will blend sounds said by different people. Example: Teacher: When I point to you say the sound /t/ (the student will say the sound /t/ not the letter- name) I’m going to say sounds too. We will say them one after the other and see if we can hear what word we are putting together. Teacher: points to student Students: /t/ Teacher: /…able/ Teacher: What word did we just say? (repeat if necessary) Student: Table You can reverse it: Teacher: When I point to you say “eat” I’m going to say sounds too. We will say them one after the other and see if we can hear what word we are putting together. Teacher: /m/ … then points to student Students: /…eat/ Teacher: What word did we just say? (repeat if necessary) Student: Meat Use these words: /p/…aper /d/…octor /s/…ong /l/…ake /m/…eal /s/…ee /z/…oo /b/…ean /p/…et /t/…ime /s/…plash /p/…rince /c/…rab /t/…rain /c/…razy

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Segmenting Cheer (segmenting skills – separating the first part of a word from its ending sound) Students will now separate the final sound of a word from the first part of the word. Directions: Tell the children they are going to do a cheer. Teacher: Ra ra sis boom bah! Say Street Student: “Street” Teacher: Give me everything but the last sound. Student: /stree/ Teacher: Give me the last sound Student: /t/ (student does not to give letter-name, only the letter-sound) Teacher: What do you have? Student: Street! Teacher: Go (student’s name)! If students have trouble with this, warm up by asking for the ending sound of the word first. Use these words: Slee…p tea…ch tru…ck plea…se

69 Lea…k ho…me gra…pe fro…g Spoo…n drea…m sna…p fli…p

70 Lesson Eight (Cycle One) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Change your name: (phonemic manipulation - substituting first letter) Directions: Have a child pick a letter sound. Have the kids rename themselves substituting the first letter of their name with that sound. Remember that for this exercise the students are only dealing with letter sounds, not letter names. Example: If the sound /t/ is chosen, Shakia becomes “Takia”, Manuel become Tanuel. If a student’s name already begins with the target sound, let the student try his/her last name. Have another child pick another letter sound.

Game2: (After WINNING lesson) Brothers or Cousins? (Phonemic matching – listening for matching beginning sounds) Directions: The student is given two similar words. The student determines whether the beginning sound is the same or different. If the beginning sounds are the same the students calls the pair “brothers”. If the beginning sounds are different the student calls them “cousins”. Teacher: Listen to the beginning sounds: beg / big; Student: Brothers Teacher: Listen to the beginning sounds: big / pig; Student: Cousins Use these words:

Brother words: Mat / met sad / sat sing / song rat /rot pan /pin Ran/run hot / hit pot / pit tip /top get / got

Cousin words: Can / pan fat / sat tick / pick jam / ham link / sink Let / get tent / bent moon / noon vat / bat zoo / Sue

71 Lesson Nine (Cycle One) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Segmenting Cheer (segmenting skills – separating consonant blends) Students will now separate the beginning sound of a word from the rest of the word in word that begin with consonant blends. Directions: Tell the children they are going to do a cheer. Teacher: Ra ra sis boom bah! Say Block Student: “Block” Teacher: Give me the first sound Student: /b/ (student does not to give letter-name, only the letter-sound) Teacher: Give me the rest of the word Student: …lock Teacher: What do you have? Student: Block Teacher: Go (student’s name)! Use these words: Skin flip broom play brag Plant flag smart flew swat

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) It’s a bird… (Phonemic manipulation – substituting last letter sound) Directions: The students will substitute the last sound in the word “Superman” with a sound given by the teacher. Teacher: Change the last sound in “Superman” with the sound /t/ Teacher: It’s a bird … it’s a plane … it’s Student: It’s … Supermat Do the same with various letters.

72 Lesson Ten (Cycle One) Game1: (Before WINNING lesson) What’s the Secret Sound? (Phonemic matching – listening for same sounds in different words) Directions: The student is given a series of words and the student must identify the secret sound the words have in common. These words will have either the same beginning or end or middle sounds in common. Teacher: What’s the secret sound? sing, salt, sock Student: The secret sound is /s/. (The student will say the sound he/she hears, not the letter name) Teacher: Is that /s/ sound in the beginning the middle or the end of those words? Student: Beginning Tip, hop, sleep (the secret sound is ending /p/) Meal, meet, fear (the secret sound is middle /long e/) Use these words: Head, had, him (beginning /h/) puff, laugh, stiff (ending /f/) pat, sad, can (middle short /a/) eagle, each, eel (beginning long /e/) oreo snow go (ending long /o/) kite, cake, karate (beginning /k/) fish, wash, push (ending /sh/) night, mice, pine (middle long /i/) chop, child, chocolate (beginning /ch/) silly, funny, dirty (ending long /e/)

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Twisted verse (phonemic manipulations – substituting beginning letters) Directions: The beginning sounds in some traditional rhymes can be substituted to make some silly verses. Teacher: Let’s make an /f/ version of “Row, Row, Row your Boat”: Instead of: Row, row, row your boat Gently down the stream Merrily , merrily merrily merrily Life is but a dream. Do: Fow fow fow your foat Gently down the stream Ferrily, ferrily, ferrily, ferrily life is but a fream

Here are some other rhymes that can be revised: The wheels on the bus go round and round Round and round Round and round The wheels on the bus go round and round All over town.

Baa baa black sheep have you any wool Yes sir yes sir three bags full One for my master one for the dame One for the little boy that lives down the lane

73 Lesson One (Cycle Two) Start this lesson after you have completed Lesson Ten – first cycle. Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Slow talk (oral blending and segmenting skills) “Slow talking” is an entertaining activity you can do anytime during your daily routine when you want to give directions or have a simple conversation with the students. It is nothing more complicated than talking very slowly and having the children decipher what you are saying. Talking in slow motion helps children hear separate sounds as a single word. (Just for fun, your conversation can also be speeded up). Directions: When you did “slow talking” last time (Lesson One - first cycle) you did the talking. Now the kids will begin to separate individual sounds words (segmenting) by answering back in slow talk. Interview the students: Teacher: (very slowly): What’s your name? Student: Answers very slowly. Teacher: (very slowly): What’s your favorite food? Student: Answers very slowly. Teacher: (very slowly): What’s your favorite color? Student: Answers very slowly Teacher: (very slowly): If you could be an animal what would you be? Student: Answers very slowly Teacher: (very slowly): What is something you might like to do when you grow up? Student: Answers very slowly Teacher: (very slowly): If you could have any pet in the world what would you choose? Student: Answers very slowly

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Hand clap games (segmenting skills – separating words into syllables) The first step in separating words into sounds (segmenting) is being able to separate words into syllables. Children do this naturally when they play hand-clapping games. The children may know many handclapping games; encourage them to share the ones they know. Do these hand- clap verses during down time, or during playtime. Directions: Set up the children in pairs (be one of the clappers if there are an odd number of kids). The children may also be very good at fancy hand-clap patterns. This basic hand-clap pattern is fine to start with: Each partner first claps his/her own hands together then each clap their partner’s hands palms out. To teach this verse, recite the first line to a student, without clapping, then the student repeats the line, breaking up the syllables by clapping the syllables against their partner’s hands. Syllables are natural word segments, so you will find that the students will clap in syllables intuitively. Teacher: As I was walking near the lake Students: (clap out the syllables) As I was walk-ing near the lake Teacher: I met a little rattlesnake. Students: (clap out syllables) I met a lit-tle rat-tle-snake Teacher: He ate so much of jelly cake Students: (clap out rhymes) He ate so much of jel-ly cake Teacher: It made his little belly ache.

74 Students: (clap out syllables) It made his lit-tle bel-ly ache Once the students know the verse they can clap the entire verse with each other. To keep the game flowing, have the children repeat these short verses several times. As I was walk-ing near the lake I met a lit-tle rat-tle-snake He ate so much of jel-ly cake It made his lit-tle bel-ly ache Ask the kids how many claps in rattlesnake (3) jelly (2)

Play “You’re Out” This is an eliminating game in the style of “Eeny Meeny Miny Mo”. This game uses verses to give children a feel for dividing words into syllables. Instead of clapping at each syllable they’ll be pointing to someone for each syllable. Again, syllables are natural word segments, so you will find that the students will point in syllables intuitively. Directions: The teacher recites the “You’re Out” rhyme first, pointing to a different child at each syllable. The child who gets pointed at on the last syllable will be eliminated. But before he/she is eliminated he/she must do the rhyme as the teacher did, pointing at each child for each syllable. After that child has done the verse, then he/she retires from the game. Last one left is the winner. If you are tutoring just one child, play the best out of three against each other. Ee-ny mee-ny choo cha-lee-ny I buy gum-ba-lee-ny Ach-ee pa-chee li-ver-a-chee Out you go (player who gets pointed at on “go” repeats verse and then goes out) After game is finished ask how many finger-points (syllables) in “eeny” (2) “gumbaleeny” (4) If you have more time try: Icky bicky soda cricky Icky bicky boo Icky bicky here’s the tricky Out goes you. After game is finished ask how many finger-points (syllables) in “soda” (2) “goes” (a)

75 Lesson Two (Cycle Two) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Hand clapping (segmenting skills- separating syllables) The first step in separating words into sounds (segmenting) is being able to separate words into syllables. Children do this naturally when they play hand-clapping games. The children may know many handclapping games; encourage them to share the ones they know. Also do these hand-clap verses during down time, or during playtime. Directions: The children will clap this verse individually. To teach this verse, recite the first line to the students, without clapping, then the students repeat the line, breaking up the syllables by clapping the syllables. Syllables are natural word segments, so you will find that the students will clap in syllables intuitively. Once the students know the verse they can play it as a “Pass it on” game. Have one student recite the verse, clapping the syllables out on his/her own hands. When a student finishes the last line (“But do you like my grin”), he/she grins at the child sitting next to him/her. It is that child’s turn to recite the verse. Moo moo spot-ted cow do you have a beak? No sir no sir no If I did, I’d be a freak Tweet tweet pret-ty bird do you have a snout No sir no sir no No with-out a doubt Dir-ty pig dir-ty pig do you have a fin? No sir no sir no But do you like my grin? (Player gives the student next to him/her a big smile, that student must now recite the verse) After this verse has been “passed” to everybody, ask how many claps in spotted (2) grin (1) dirty (2)

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Be a poet (rhyming skills) Directions: Students will try to find rhyming words to complete the verse. It does not matter if their contribution makes any sense, just as long as it rhymes. Teacher: Once I saw a fly It had a brand new ______Student: Tie (or pie, or eye, or thigh) If students have trouble thinking of a word give them hints, i.e.: he could eat it (pie) or he could wear it on his neck (tie). Use Jill, Joan, bride, mink, fish, weed, yak, Ted, chum,

76 Lesson Three (Cycle Two) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Simon Says (oral blending skills - blending individual sounds (phonemes)) The students have now progressed to where they will be blending individual sounds (phonemes). Directions: You can use the traditional game of “Simon Says” to practice oral blending skills. You will be “Simon”. You will give the “Simon Says” directions broken up into individual sounds (phonemes). The students will have to blend the sounds to follow the directions (if “Simon says”). Some of these three-sound words may be spelled with more than three letters, but you are not concerned with how words are spelled in this exercise. Separate the sounds with a longish pause so that the children have to really listen in order to blend the sounds and follow the directions. Teacher: Simon says: “Wave your h…a…t” Students blend “h” and “a” and “t” and act like they are waving a hat. Other words to use: Simon says: t…ou…ch your t…oe…s t…ou…ch your n…oe…s t…ou…ch your h…ea…d s…i…p from a c…u…p stretch your l…e…g t…i…p your c…a…p h…i…t your h…i…p twist your n…e…ck p…e…t the c…a…t clap your th…u…mb

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Give me five (phonemic matching – listening for /long i/ and /long o/ and /long oo/) This game help kids practice hearing vowel sounds in words. Hearing vowel sounds correctly is a difficult skill for many children. Directions: Tell the student to close his/her hand into a fist. Tell him/her to listen for the /long i/ sound. Do not use the letter-name “i” just model the /long i/ sound. Give a word and ask the child to say whether that word contains the /long i/ sound. You are not concerned with the various spellings the /long i/ sound can have. You are only helping kids identify the /long i/ sound. If the word does contain the /long i/ sound, the child puts up one finger from his/her closed fist. When the child has identified five words with /long i/, all his/her fingers will be up and he/she can get a big “high five”. Teacher: Does the word time have /long i /? Student: Lifts one finger because say does have the /long i/ sound. Listen for /long i/ sound: Words to use: (When given the underlined words the student will lift one finger) First round: why, tag, bath, pie, show, grass, green, tie, snake, plane, buy, rug, eight, nine Second round: seed, horse, side, slip, tube, watermelon, wide, paper, rice, sand, fry, tree, cry Repeat the game for the /long o/ sound

77 Word to use: First round: so, rude, some, slip, heat, no, hammer, luck, mow, pot, octopus, toe, guitar, cool, road Second round: camp, ten, groan, teen, mean, toast, shirt, pig, pole, cute, boats, sad, kite, row Repeat the game for the /long oo/ sound Word to use: First round: spoon, two, candy, cake, juice, deer, tie, book, June, mice, cook, boot Second round: chew, my, sky, prune, look, zoo, pancake, test, duck, goo, hook, goose

78 Lesson Four (Cycle Two) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Simon Says (oral blending skills - blending individual sounds (phonemes)) The students have now progressed to where they will be blending individual sounds (phonemes). Directions: You can use the traditional game of “Simon Says” to practice oral blending skills. You will be “Simon”. You will give the “Simon Says” directions broken up into individual sounds (phonemes). The students will have to blend the sounds to follow the directions (if “Simon says”). Some of these three-sound words may be spelled with more than three letters, but you are not concerned with how words are spelled in this exercise. Separate the sounds with a longish pause so that the children have to really listen in order to blend the sounds and follow the directions. Teacher: Simon says: “p…o…ke your ch…ee…k” Students blend “p” and “o” and “ke” and then “ch” and “ee” and “ck” and then poke their own cheek. Other words to use: Simon says: t…a…p your sh…oe act s…a…d t…a…lk on the ph…o…ne act m…a…d ch…o…p th…r…ow a k…i…ss m…o…p h…o…p f…a…n your f…a…ce p…u…ll your h…ai…r

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Waiter, Waiter (segmenting skills - separating the individual sounds (phonemes) in a word) The students will be separating two and three sound words. Some of these words may be spelled with more than two or three letters. You are not concerned with the spelling of these words, just in identifying their two or three sounds. Directions: You will recite the following verse to each student. When asked for the “recipe” the student will give the sounds that are the “ingredients” of the word. See example. Some of these words may be spelled with more than two or three letters. You are not concerned with the spelling of these words, just in identifying their two or three sounds. Repeat these verses 7 times, substituting a new day of the week and a new food word for each repetition. Teacher: I’m at a restaurant and I want the recipe of the food I order. You are the waiter. When I ask for the “recipe”, give me all the sounds that make up the word. Teacher: Waiter, waiter, listen to me. It is Monday and I’m hungry. I need gum and I need the recipe. That’s gum. Student: Gum, gum, let me see this is the recipe: g…u…m Teacher: You’re so cool you’re so hip, I will give you a very big tip. Repeat this for the rest of the days of the week, using these words: Tuesday: Jam (j…a…m)

79 Wednesday: Ham (h…a…m) Thursday: Pie (p…ie) Friday: Soup (s…ou…p) Saturday: Cake (c…a…ke) Sunday: Coke (C…o…ke)

80 Lesson Five (Cycle Two) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Old MacDonald had a Bag (oral blending - blending three and more individual sounds (phonemes)) The children will practice blending using the lyrics and tune of “Old MacDonald had a Farm”. At this Stage the students have progressed to blending individual sounds (phonemes). You are not concerned with the actual spelling of these words, just the sounds that make them. Directions: Use the lyrics and the tune of “Old MacDonald had a Farm”. You will say the first two lines of the verse. You will break apart the underlined word as shown, separating each individual sound.. The children will respond with the chorus, blending the word you just separated. Teacher: Old Mac Donald had a bag, E I E I O And in that bag he had a “/s/…/n/…/a/…/ck/” E I E I O (make the pause long enough to make the children really listen) Remember that you are saying sounds here, not the letter-names. Students: With a snack, snack here and a snack, snack there Here a snack, there a snack Everywhere a snack, snack Old Mac Donald had a bag, E I E I O Use these words: b…u…g w…i…g p…i…n g...r…a…pe s…a…n…d d….u….s….t b…oo…k s…n…a…ke m…u…d

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Segmenting Cheer (segmenting skills – separating the sounds in three-sound words) The students have now progressed to where they can practice separating each sound in a three- sound word. The students will be giving you the separate sounds, not the letter-names Directions: Tell the children they are going to do a cheer. Teacher: Ra ra sis boom bah! Say Pig Student: “Pig” Teacher: Give me the first sound Student: /p/ (student does not to give letter-name, only the letter-sound) Teacher: Give me the middle sound Student: /i/ Teacher: Give me the last sound Student: /g/ Teacher: What do you have? Student: Pig! Teacher: Go (student’s name)! Use these words: rat mat bed red tip rip pot hot pup cup

81 Lesson Six (Cycle Two) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Knock-Knock (Oral blending – blending all the individual sounds (phonemes) in a word) Directions: Use the traditional knock-knock joke routine to blend sounds. In this lesson the students will be asked to blend each separate sound in a word. Challenge the students listen carefully by really pausing between the sounds. Teacher: Knock, knock Teacher: Knock, knock Student: Who’s there? Student: Who’s there? Teacher: B…oo Teacher: J…e…nn…y Student: (blending “b”….and “oo”) Boo Student: Jenny who? who? Teacher: Jenny body home Teacher: Aww, don’t cry. Teacher: Knock, knock Teacher: Knock, knock Student: Who’s there? Student: Who’s there? Teacher: A…sh Teacher: S…a…r…i Student: Ash who? Student: Sari who? Teacher: Gesundheit. Teacher: Sari, wrong number Teacher: Knock, knock Teacher: Knock, knock Student: Who’s there? Student: Who’s there? Teacher: E…dd…y Teacher: C…o…m…a Student: Eddy who? Student: Coma who? Teacher: Eddy body have a tissue? I have Teacher: Coma your hair. bad

Teacher: Knock, knock Teacher: Knock, knock Student: Who’s there? Student: Who’s there? Teacher: A…n…d…y Teacher: B…e…n and D…o….n Student: Andy who? Student: Ben and Don who? Teacher: Andy all lived happily ever after. Teacher: Ben there, Don that. cold.

Rhyming riddles (rhyming skills) While you are doing knock-knock jokes, add the following riddles, which reinforce rhyming skills. Teacher: If your mouth gets too full of gum You can’t sing You have to … Student: ______(hum) Teacher: There once was a very wet otter Who lived in the very wet… Student: ______(water) Teacher: Birds chirp Pigs… Student: ______(slurp or burp) Teacher: What starts with /s/ and rhymes with Billy? (Remember to say the /s/ sound not the

82 letter-name) Student: Silly Teacher: What starts with /r/ and rhymes with pocket? Student: rocket Teacher: What starts with /b/ and rhymes with pow-wow? Student: Bow-wow

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Blue bananas (Phonemic matching – hearing matching sounds) Directions: Read one of the following sentences. Ask the students if all the words in that sentence start with the same letter-sound. If all the words in the sentence start with the same sound then the sentence is a “blue banana” sentence. If one or more words start with different sounds then it is “rotten banana” sentence. Example: Peter Pig prefers peanuts (blue banana sentence) Peter Pig pitches baseball (rotten banana sentence) Ask the students whether the following sentences are “blue banana” or “rotten banana” sentences. When the students correctly identify a “rotten banana” sentence, ask them to name the “rotten banana”, or the word that did not fit the beginning-sound pattern. My marshmallow melted. (blue banana sentence) Sharks seldom share shampoo. (rotten banana sentence - /sh/ and /s/ are different sounds) Rattlesnakes rarely read. (blue banana sentence) Shaved sheep should shiver. (blue banana sentence) Eagles eat eggplants. (rotten banana sentence) Exit empty elevators. (blue banana sentence) Don’t buy big burgers before breakfast. (rotten banana sentence) Elephant enjoy eating eggs. (rotten banana sentence) Nathan never noticed Nyesha’s necklace. (blue banana sentence)

83 Lesson Seven (Cycle Two) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Sound Off: (Oral blending – blending individual sounds (phonemes)) The students continue to blend the separate sounds (phonemes) in a word. This game makes blending a little more difficult, because the students must blend sounds said by different people. Directions: The students will blend sounds said by different people. Example: Teacher: When I point to you say the sound /a/ (short a) I’m going to say sounds too. We will say them one after the other and see if we can hear what word we are putting together. Teacher: /m/… then points to student Student: /a/ Teacher: /t/ Teacher: What word did we just say? (repeat if necessary) Student: Mat Remember that you are only blending the sounds that make up a word, you are not saying the letter-names. Use these words: wig wet sit sat set big bag bug tag tug dog hog log tap tip

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Segmenting Cheer (segmenting skills – separating the sounds in three-sound words) The students have now progressed to where they can practice separating each sound in a three- sound word. The students will be giving you the separate sounds, not the letter-names. Directions: Tell the children they are going to do a cheer. Teacher: Ra ra sis boom bah! Say Ship Student: “Ship” Teacher: Give me the first sound Student: /sh/ (student does not to give letter-name, only the letter-sound -/sh/ is one sound) Teacher: Give me the middle sound Student: /i/ Teacher: Give me the last sound Student: /p/ Teacher: What do you have? Student: Ship! Teacher: Go … (student’s name)! Use these words: ship shop thin chip chop kick path patch match cash

84 Lesson Eight (Cycle Two) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Change your name: (phonemic manipulation substituting last letter) Directions: Have a child pick a letter sound. Have the kids rename themselves substituting the last letter of their last name with that sound. Remember that for this exercise the students are only dealing with letter sounds, not letter-names. Example: If the sound /t/ is chosen, Henderson becomes Hendersat. If a student’s last name already ends with the target sound, let the student try changing the last sound of his/her first name. Have another child pick another letter sound.

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Sisters or Cousins? (Phonemic matching – listening for matching ending sounds) Directions: The student is given two similar words. The student determines whether the ending sound is the same or different. If the ending sounds are the same the students calls the pair “sisters”. If the ending sounds are different the student calls them “cousins”. Teacher: Listen to the ending sounds: sat / sad Student: Cousins Teacher: Listen to the ending sounds: big / pig; Student: Sisters Use these words: Sister words: Mat / bat can / ran pick / sick go / row six /fix Ham / jam tag / wag fall / ball bee / flea play / say Cousin words: Mat / map tab / tag bus / buff fad / fat Sid / sit Pam / pan hem / hen buzz / bus bid / bib fad / fab

85 Lesson Nine (Cycle Two) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) Segmenting Cheer (segmenting skills – separating the sounds in four-sound words) The students have now progressed to where they can practice separating each sound in a four- sound word. The students will be giving you the separate sounds, not the letter-names. Directions: Tell the children they are going to do a cheer. Teacher: Ra ra sis boom bah! Say Tent Student: “Tent” Teacher: Give me the first sound Student: /t/ (student does not to give letter-name, only the letter-sound) Teacher: Give me the next sound Student: /e/ Teacher: Give me the next sound Student: /n/ Teacher: Give me the last sound Student: /t/ Teacher: What do you have? Student: Tent! Teacher: Go… (student’s name)! (Repeat the whole word “tent” as often as needed.) Use these words: k..i…tt…y s…i…ll…y P…a…tt…y v…e…r…y s…e…n…t c…r…a…sh a…n…t…s l…e…gg…s

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) It’s a bird… (phonemic manipulation – substituting first letter sound) Directions: The students will substitute the first sound in the word “Superman” with a sound given by the teacher. Teacher: Change the first sound in “Superman” with the sound /t/ All: It’s a bird … it’s a plane … it’s … Tuperman Do the same with various letters.

86 Lesson Ten (Cycle Two) Game 1: (Before WINNING lesson) What’s the Secret Sound? (Phonemic matching – listening for same sounds in different words) Directions: The student is given a series of words and the student must identify the secret sound the words have in common. These words will have either the same beginning or end or middle sounds in common. Teacher: What’s the secret sound? sing, salt, sock Student: The secret sound is /s/. (The student will say the sound he/she hears, not the letter- name) Teacher: Is that /s/ sound in the beginning the middle or the end of those words? Student: Beginning Tip, hop, sleep (the secret sound is ending /p/) Meal, meet, fear (the secret sound is middle /long e/) Use these words: Peace, read, cheese (middle long /e/) rub, crib, tab (ending /b/) Fall, friend, fun (beginning /f/) ant, animal, alligator (beginning short /a/) Itch, igloo, Indian (beginning short /i/) boom, soon, suit (middle long /oo/) cabbage, badge, ridge (ending soft /g/) city, sip, soup (beginning /s/)

Game 2: (After WINNING lesson) Twisted verse (phonemic manipulations – substituting beginning letters) Directions: The beginning sounds in some traditional rhymes can be substituted to make some silly verses. Teacher: Let’s make an /t/ version of “Frere Jacques”: Instead of: Are you sleeping Are you sleeping brother John, brother John Morning bells are ringing Morning bells are ringing Ding, ding, dong Ding, ding, dong Do: Are you sleeping Are you sleeping brother Tohn, brother Tohn Morning bells are tinging Morning bells are tinging Ting, ting, tong Ting, ting, tong

Here are some other rhymes that can be revised: Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday dear ______Happy birthday to you

87 Shoo fly don’t bother me Shoo fly don’t bother me Shoo fly don’t bother me I belong to somebody

88 Appendix B: Behavior Contract *Adapted from HLIC S.A.Y. Yes! Training Manual

MY PERSONAL CONTRACT

______(Student’s Name) WITH ______(Mentor’s Name)

I will follow the rule of

for ______. I understand the expectations are ______

(Length of Contract)

When I fulfill the contract I will

______(Child’s signature) (Mentor’s Signature)

89 Appendix C: Cultural Perspectives Reprinted with permission [Breaking Down The Walls by Raleigh Washington and Glen Kehrein].

Note: Please keep in mind that the following cultural perspectives are not the opinion of Adventures Ahead/Here’s Life Inner City-Youthdev they are meant to promote conversation.

A Hispanic Perspective By: Jesse Miranda - Jesse Miranda is associate dean of urban/multi-cultural affairs at Azusa Pacific University and serves on the board of directors for Promise Keepers.

Hispanic Diversity Being culturally relevant to historical distinctives and cultural traits of Hispanics will help you’ as you begin building relationships. First, you need to understand some terms used for this group. Some use the term Hispanic, while others use the term Latino. The majority of the Hispanic community is from Latin America—especially Mexico. Latino refers to immigrants from Latin America. This term tends to exclude those from the Caribbean and from Spain. The term Hispanic is more inclusive, since all these people trace their roots to Spain.

It’s also important to know Hispanics in terms of how long they’ve been in this country. There are the recent arrivals; some are resident and others are not. Then there are the assimilating Hispanics who have one or two generations of residency. And finally, many Hispanics have totally assimilated into mainstream America and have little in common with the recent arrivals. The important point here is to understand that there is great diversity even within the Hispanic population.

Another aspect of diversity among Hispanics is the national origin of their ancestors. Hispanics from Cuba are culturally different from Hispanics from Mexico or Puerto Rico. Hispanics from a South American country are different from those from Spain.

One way of better understanding Hispanics is to make some contrasts with those of the mainstream population. Although these are generalizations, they offer some insight into Hispanic life.

Task vs. Relationship Anglo Americans think and talk in terms of “doing.” Most Hispanics think in terms of “being.” Anglos focus more on tasks, while Hispanics focus more on relationships. Take, for example, a conversation between people who have never met. An Anglo might introduce himself by saying, “Hi, I’m John Doe. I’m a lawyer from Beverly Hills.” He sees his identity related to what he does [he’s a lawyer] and has achieved [he lives in Beverly Hills].

A Hispanic might introduce himself by saying, “Hola, I am Juan, the son of Don Jose from the town of Morelos.” He sees his identity related to who he is in relationship to others. He’s a son [of Don Jose], and he comes from a community of people [the town of Morelos]. His sense of identity comes from his roots.

90 Cultural Differences Hispanic culture normally values functions differently from the mainstream culture in America. This chart points to some of the differences.

Anglo Culture Hispanic Culture 1. Truth 1. Honor [acceptance] 2. Accuracy 2. Relationship 3. Individualism 3. Community [family] 4. Precision 4. Courtesy, gallantry 5. Blame 5. Compromise 6. Repayment 6. Resentment

The fact that something is of cultural value does not make it right, but it helps develop understanding and respect for one another. Any effort toward reconciliation must include some knowledge of the other person’s cultural values.

Methods of Communication Suppose Jim, Amed, and Jose get together in an accountability group. They enjoy open discussions about their goals in life and confess their shortcomings to one another. Jim and Amed wonder, however, why Jose is reluctant to participate openly in the discussions. Jim, who is white, and Amed, an African American, don’t understand that Jose’s family circle is where he discusses his personal matters, and he’s less experienced in open discussion with people outside his family.

Or suppose John [white] is planning a meeting, and he invites Juan [Hispanic] to attend. John: “We have a meeting coming up at the end of the month. Are you coming?” Juan: “Yes, I’ll be there.” At the end of the month, Juan does not show up and John is disappointed and does not understand. John places high value on accuracy and truth, and he took Juan’s words at face value.

Juan’s values are placed on the relationship. He may or may not have intended to attend the meeting, but he wants to maintain John as a friend. Because he values the friendship, Juan gave John the “Hispanic polite yes.” He didn’t want to embarrass John or hurt his feelings by saying he wouldn’t attend. The way to assure that Juan comes to the meeting would be to follow up and even perhaps pick him up for the meeting. These actions would emphasize the importance of the relationship.

These illustrations show the way different values and cultural emphases may affect relationships. If you don’t know the differences, you will experience confusion that can cause misunderstanding. Here’s a simple contrast between Hispanic and Anglo communication styles.

Anglo Communication Hispanic Communication 1. Direct [active voice] 1. Indirect [passive voice] 2. Confrontational 2. Accommodating 3. First person 3. Third person [indefinite] 4. Straightforward 4. Relational 5. Logical 5. Harmonious

91 Anglo Americans prefer direct forms of communication. But this method comes across as blunt, rude, and brash to those cultures who prefer the indirect method of communication. Anglos seek to correct a mistake or set the record straight, whereas Hispanics may use an indirect method such as silence to react to a situation or preserve honor. Their response, however, may be interpreted as deceitful or dishonest by others.

Hispanics see a continuity between the person and an idea communicated. While the freedom to criticize ideas and behavior is acceptable in directness, Hispanics believe that to criticize the idea and/or behavior is to criticize the person. No distinction exists between the person and the idea.

An African-American Perspective By: Rodney L. Cooper [Rodney Cooper is national director of education for Promise Keepers. He has served as associate professor at Denver Seminary and has written two books: We Stand Together and Double Bind. The following text is adapted from We Stand Together by Rodney L. Cooper. Copyright 1995, Rodney L. Cooper. Moody Press. Used by Permission. 47-59.]

A few years ago, a researcher performed an experiment using carp and a glass plate. Several carp swam in a tank of clear water, with a large plate of glass dividing the aquarium’s middle. The experiment consisted of some food being placed on the other side of the glass plate—food that was very desirable to the carp.

Every time the carp tried to reach the food, they didn’t see the glass and so swam full speed into it, only to be stopped by the solid but invisible object. This went on for several days, with the carp finally “wising up”; they saw the food but stopped trying to reach it. After about a week, the glass plate was removed from the tank so that the food would now be accessible to the fish. An interesting phenomenon happened. Every time the carp would head for the food, they would stop just short of it and not get it. Although they were hungry and the glass plate had been removed, they still operated as if the glass were there. Their past experiences kept them from attaining what was now readily available.

The Power of the Past If a child grows up in a closed family system—a system marked by a pervading sense of unacceptability he or she will be influenced in a notably negative way. Consider the likely outcomes in social relations, status, and security:

Social Relations 1. The world is seen as a hostile, unsociable, closed place. 2. Most people are considered unfriendly and uninterested in personal relationships. 3. The child begins to dislike and avoid close companionship with certain others.

Status 1. The world is seen as a competitive place full of prejudice and discrimination, with little opportunity.

92 2. Most people are perceived to be treated with unequal fairness and respect, and their strengths and personal worth go unnoticed by others. 3. The child feels little worth, and his strengths are unrecognized by others.

Security 1. The world is viewed as a harmful place that’s unpredictable and full of worry and incertitude. 2. Most people are thought to be untrustworthy. 3. The child mistrusts the motives of others.

In American society, dominated by the Euro-American, white majority, most members of minority races feel and often have been treated as though they have been raised in a closed family system. They believe the world is hostile and unsociable, a competitive place full of prejudice and discrimination. They believe that most people can’t be trusted. And they act according to this closed-system viewpoint. In addition, many minority men have grown up in families dominated by a closed system. Thus, both society and their families of origin have given them a restricted and negative view of their world.

A Sense of Shame As a counselor and psychologist, I have found that anybody, regardless of race, who comes from a closed system will have a profound sense of insecurity and inferiority—in essence, a sense of shame. If the family is in disarray, the schools are poor, and the neighborhood is unsafe, then everywhere the individual looks, he will see reasons to not trust or not feel trustworthy. In contrast, if his childhood environment is stable and positive, the family whole and loving, the schools good, and the community stable and safe, he will believe in himself and have confidence.

I’m not saying that one cannot overcome a difficult childhood, but a mindset is established in childhood about whether we can approach the world with confidence—a strong self-image—or with shame and doubt —a poor self-image.

Every man has an innate capacity for insecurity. But our experiences can expand and deepen that tendency to feel insecure. The experiences of black people as a whole—indeed, of most minorities—have ingrained a deepened sense of doubt, shame, and inferiority upon their minds. We feel shame for what we are. People feel guilt because they did something wrong, but people feel shame because they are something wrong.

Among black people, social shame has existed for a long time, tracing all the way back to the slave days in the early 1800s. Social shame is when one group is despised and rejected by another. Most minorities endure the stigma of skin color, an easy way for the majority culture to label the minority. And skin color is perhaps most obvious within the black race, since all minorities are being compared against the white-skin majority. The condition of being black in America means that one is likely to endure more wounds to one’s self-esteem than others, and that the capacity for shame and doubt born of these wounds will be compounded and expanded by the black race’s reputation for inferiority based upon past experiences.

Abandoning the Stereotypes If you are a non-black, your past family experiences have influenced your attitudes toward

93 blacks. In many cases, non-blacks have not had direct contact with African Americans. If that’s your case, you probably have picked up stereotypes from your family, friends, television, movies, and newspapers. The stereotypes help you classify a group of men you don’t know. They also let you lump together people who are unique.

The solution to this unfair generalizing is to get to know African Americans by spending time with them in different settings. Research has shown that attitudes about other races do not change by legislation but by relationships. Only through the context of relationships will we be able to overcome the stereotypes that have kept us apart.

Generally speaking, this is a process and will take time. We must recognize that our cultural experiences are a part of who we are—not all of who we are. Every man shares common human experiences and feelings. We must also realize we are relating to an individual—not the total race—whose personal experiences make him one of a kind. Thus, we should treat each person as unique.

For reconciliation to occur between black men and white men, I offer the following dos and don’ts for non-blacks, especially my white brothers as they cross over to the black man’s turf.

Dos 1. Do assume blacks are human, with individual feelings, aspirations, and attitudes. Sometimes there’s a tendency on the part of whites to make generalizations or to say, “Well, you’re an exception.” No, I am me. 2. Do assume blacks have a heritage of which they are proud. Even though the history books don’t record many of the accomplishments of blacks, there are actually many to celebrate. Recognize them and celebrate them. 3. Do assume blacks are angry. Everyday experiences remind the black man that he is not acceptable. Anger is an ever-present emotion in a black man. 4. Whiteness/blackness is a real difference, but not the basis on which to determine behavior. It’s true, people are different in skin color, but that’s where we must stop. All people have the same needs and desires to live a good life. We must not look at a person’s behavior as indicative of an entire race but of that person only. 5. Do assume most blacks can handle whites’ authentic behavior and feelings. Blacks value openness and authenticity. Do not try to “identify” by taking on mannerisms of the black person, but be yourself and be open to learn. Be authentic. 6. Do assume blacks want reconciliation. Blacks want harmony to exist in the body of Christ. Reconciliation means we value each other equally. Blacks desire this greatly. 7. Do assume that you may be part of the problem. Take time for self-reflection, and see if there are any negative attitudes or unhealthy stereotypes that could keep reconciliation from happening.

Don’ts 1. Don’t assume color is unimportant in interpersonal relationships. Color has distinguished the black man as the scapegoat in our society. Just because it has not been an impediment to you does not mean it’s not an issue. 2. Don’t assume blacks will always welcome and appreciate inclusion in white society. Expect to

94 be met with suspicion when you approach a black man. In years past, blacks have been included because of guilt and not on their terms. Sometimes blacks have felt included as an afterthought. So there may be resistance. 3. Don’t assume white society is superior to black society. Instead, the two are different. For instance, many blacks are event-oriented rather than time-oriented. Event-oriented individuals usually go somewhere with the attitude “When we get started we start—and we end when we end.” In contrast, a time-oriented individual begins and ends with time as the issue. Neither perspective is right or wrong; they’re just different. However, if a black man is “late,” he is seen as undependable by the majority culture. Instead of judgment, we need acceptance of differences as simply being that—difference in cultural behavior. 4. Don’t assume blacks are oversensitive. Instead, blacks strongly support what they believe. That’s how it should be—every man a strong advocate for his position. I have taught in a seminary where most of my students are white. I remember presenting a position on an issue with passion. I was not committed to the position, but I presented it with zeal to stimulate class discussion. No one asked a question for fear they would be shot down. I explained to the class that most blacks come across as advocates for their position. This gets things out on the table to discuss.

An Asian-American Perspective By: Bruce Fong -Bruce Fong is a professor at Multnomah Bible Seminary and is author of Racial Equality in the Church, Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1996

My first memory scar of racism happened while I was just a youngster in California. On a hot Sacramento summer day, my parents dropped off my brothers and me at a public pool. We stayed until closing time. In the shower rooms, most people had already left. As my brothers and I were putting our gear together, three much older white teens confronted us. The taunts, the mockery, the derision, and the name-calling had an awful effect on me. I was frozen in place. My knees turned to jelly. And I couldn’t understand the reason for such verbal abuse. I thought we were in for the beating of our lives. Then, there was a change. The boys abruptly stopped their vicious barrage and melted away out of the locker room. A presence behind me made me turn. There an adult white male had his eyes fixed on the exit where those boys had disappeared. Without addressing us, he sternly declared, “Trash! They are just trash.” As our champion picked up his bag and left, my two brothers and I followed close behind him.

I learned two things that day. The world is populated by two kinds of people: racists and champions. Racists take every opportunity to live a life of hatred and abuse. They attempt to dominate others through intimidation. Champions use the very same opportunities and issues to help others. They use their position and values in life to aid those who are victims of racial hatred.

The Value of Asian-American Friendships The Asian-American experience includes its share of mistreatment. History records those difficult episodes. But it is not as volatile or painful as the history of African and Native Americans. Yet, as with other ethnic minorities, seeing America through Asian eyes may be a

95 big step in the right direction for further reconciliation on a personal level.

Asian-American friendships can provide a helpful transition in the arena of racial reconciliation. If you are white or black, you may find that a friendship with an Asian American can be a valuable first step in cross-cultural relationships, a bridge to more difficult areas of reconciliation.

As you consider a friendship with an Asian American, keep in mind that programs and official functions or events will be limited in their effect. Something longer lasting requires not a single meeting or the creation of a new position, but a commitment to building a meaningful relationship. Friendships are a vital part of the Asian-American identity, though a depth of intimacy may be slow to develop in the early stages of these friendships.

Be sensitive to the cost to an Asian-American friend. Blacks who engage in reconciliation endeavors with whites are called “Oreos.” Asian Americans are called “bananas”—yellow on the outside and white on the inside. Asians who are closer to their cultural roots call fellow Asians involved with reconciliation “Jook-sing.” It is loosely translated as “bamboo.” The derision is in the fact that bamboo is hollow on the inside. It has end caps but nothing in between—no culture, no traditions, no history. Those willing to pay the cost of being your friend will be friends of great value.

Differences in Generations When I left the West Coast and moved to Texas to attend seminary, I was warned by several fellow Asian Americans about life in the South. I went to an early new-student reception and met many new people. One couple and I struck up a friendly conversation. After a number of pleasant topics, I was faced with an inquiry. With a distinctly southern drawl and innocent spirit, this fellow student’s wife asked me, “Now, Bruce, tell me, what part of China are you from?”

I took advantage of the situation to inject a little humor mixed with some new information. I responded, “I’m from one of the far eastern provinces called California. And I was born in a village called Sacramento.”

“Oh, Bruce, I am so embarrassed!” she said as we laughed together.

Asian Americans define their ethnic identity within the tension of two elements. One factor is their closeness to their cultural roots. The other is the inevitability of assimilation of the surrounding culture. The influence of these factors varies during life and according to individual experiences.

The closer an Asian American is to the generation of his forebears who immigrated to the United States, the more closely tied he is to his cultural roots. The further he is from those original immigrants, the more he will reflect American culture in speech, choices, and values. Thus, intentionally building a relationship with an Asian American should begin by understanding what generation he belongs to.

Most Asians find it awkward to be asked, “What are you?” or “Where do you come from?” It is

96 more beneficial to be asked, “What generation are you?” This kind of intentional inquiry shows an understanding of the great tension experienced by Asians in this country. Expectations, stereotypes, and limitations by the majority white society are still common. In starting a relationship with an Asian American, you might ask questions like: ◆ What country did your ancestors emigrate from? When did they immigrate? ◆ What generation are you from the first immigrants to this country?

The generational issues among Asians can perhaps be best understood by looking at their use of language. Those of the immigration generation are usually tied to their culture and Asian identity through their speech. Their mother tongue is their primary expression. Those of the second generation—that is, the first generation born in America—grow up bilingual. They speak their mother tongue at home, largely at the insistence of their parents. But they speak English at school, in the shops, with their friends, and at work. The third and subsequent generations use English as their primary language. Except for a few phrases, the mother tongue is not a daily practice. This is inevitable. It has little or nothing to do with one’s loyalty to one’s culture. Those outside the Asian realm who understand this phenomenon will be far more successful in building relationships with Asian Americans.

The Pain of Racism Every ethnic minority group in America has experienced the pain and scars of racism. Many continue to receive fresh wounds today. The hurt from racism is more than an inconvenience in the day’s schedule. It’s more than a thoughtless or even a naively spoken word. Rather, it is a deep hurt that humiliates and strips a person of his human dignity. Every Asian group that has come to America has experienced the pain of rejection and isolation. Those experiences taint the context of trust and intimate relationships. An ethnic minority is either prepared for racial tension or suspicious that it is lurking behind a new face. Most of us have been hit too hard too many times to be caught unawares.

Sensitivity to an Asian American will require that you understand he has real hurts due to racial injustices and prejudices that have occurred in his life. Ignoring those or joking about them will keep you from a meaningful relationship. Take time to build trust and accept feelings as real and important.

Valued for Their Contribution, Not Quotas I desire to be valued as a contributing team member. A relationship is not gratifying if I am perceived as a token minority; but I can thrive as a contributing member of an organization, company, or ministry team. In the heart of every Asian American is the same passion that drives any person. It’s a desire to be valued for his genuine contribution.

Tokenism compounds the problem of racial tension. If impersonal quotas become the basis of a relationship, reconciled relationships will seldom be achieved. Minorities are well versed in patronizing attitudes that feel safe once quotas are reached.

If you choose to build a friendship with an Asian American, do it because you anticipate he will make a valuable contribution to your life. Let him assume a position of influence in your life and there will be mutual benefit.

97 American-born Asians are often gifted individuals. But they can be overlooked in churches that haven’t taken the time to know, relate to, and value individual members of the body. Because of a humble spirit, many Asian Americans will not assert themselves. Without the rest of the body’s encouragement, they may remain quietly on the sidelines when they could make significant contributions.

In the local church and in Christian organizations, actively discover Asian Americans who have the gifts and capabilities to serve in meaningful ways. This is not an advocacy for affirmative action, where quotas are the driving force, but a recognition of how God has gifted individuals by His Spirit to benefit the body of Christ as a whole. Find value in their service, and cheer them on to continued ministry.

A Native-American Perspective By: Huron Claus - Huron Claus is North American Director for C.H.I.E.F. Ministries in Phoenix, Arizona

In the early 1970s, a book was published titled Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. The words of the writer ripped out the hearts of readers as he unfolded the picture of the history of the Native American people during the Indian Wars with the U. S. Government in the 1800s. Stories were told of many Indian tribes and the intentional efforts to diminish and even exterminate them and take their land. It was a book that stirred the soul of America.

A fire of anger toward the past was ignited in the hearts of our native youth in the early 1970s. Almost 100 years after these injustices and atrocities took place, a strong, militant voice known as A.I.M.—the American Indian Movement—trumpeted through our land. Today there is a burning that still resides in the innermost parts of our people. If you look deep in the eyes of our Native American people, you will see much pain, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and an unsettledness.

Looking Back at Our Legacy It has been estimated that before Columbus came to this land, there were approximately 9 to 12 million indigenous peoples who lived here. Today there are about 1.9 million Native Americans from 515 federally recognized tribes and about 200 not yet officially recognized. Native Americans inhabited the land from the east to the west and the north to the south. There were no land boundaries to the Native American people. They understood it wasn’t their possession to keep. In the minds of our people, we were given the stewardship by the Creator God to be the keepers of the earth. That was precisely what God called Adam to do in Genesis.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the native population plummeted below 250,000 due to diseases and the Indian Wars. What was once the home of the Native-American people was being possessed in the name of “Manifest Destiny,” until today only 4 percent of all our country belongs to the various tribes.

As I read and hear about the history of my people, my heart is broken, and tears well up inside

98 me. I remember traveling through the Denver International Airport on my way to speak at a native men’s meeting in Mission, South Dakota. I had just finished reading the chapter of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee telling of the “Long Walk” of the Navajo people, and I began to cry uncontrollably. It was a journey forced by the U. S. government that starved and killed thousands of Navajo people. I have a Navajo friend who tells a story, passed down through his family, about that unforgettable walk. When the Navajos began the walk in the bitterly cold winter, they were given government-issued blankets. It was later discovered that those blankets were infested with smallpox and cholera. Thousands of Navajos died as a result. My dear friend has a beautiful Indian blanket that has been passed down as a memorial of what his people went through.

My heart breaks because I know that many of our people carry the weight of the past on themselves, and it has almost crushed them beyond hope. Only at the foot of the cross of Calvary have I found peace and rest regarding the past deeds done to my people. There I have seen Christ as our supreme example of someone crushed and rejected, bruised and despised. He cried out to the Father to forgive His tormentors through the love and power of God. There I have learned to bury my heart at Calvary.

The Road of Reconciliation The theme of reconciliation has permeated the lifestyle and culture of the Native American people. The word that is often used in place of reconciliation is unity. There is a great desire to be in unity, or right relationship, with everything about them. Each of the 515 federally recognized Native American tribes in the U. S. is as different in its ways of life as the Germans are from the Chinese. Language is different. Styles of worship can have varying implications. Customs are different. We are not all the same, yet there’s a thread of similarity that runs throughout all tribes. One point of similarity is the importance of relationships.

Relationship with Mankind The horizontal relationship of mankind is valued by the Native American. He sees himself as part of the whole picture rather than focusing on the individual. With this type of mindset, our people can be easily misunderstood. I have heard it said at times that we lack initiative or are lazy. In reality, because of our communal social structure, it would be unheard of to promote oneself above others. Even in discussion, our people contemplate first before giving their opinion. Often they offer their thoughts only after being asked. When talking with a Native American brother, he may not look you directly in your eyes. This is a sign of respect, considering the relationship with others more important than oneself. Relationship to others is essential to our people.

Relationship of the Family/Tribe The family has a high priority among our people. Each family member plays a vital role in the function of our society. You most likely are familiar with the role of the chief or tribal chairman. In some tribes, the clan’s mother plays just as important a responsibility in tribal decisions as the chief. And elders are highly revered in honor of their wisdom and experience in life. To reach out to Native-American families and nations, the key is the elders. History has proved that when a Native-American elder chooses to enter relationships with outsiders, families often follow.

The tribe is also important. When you meet a Native-American brother, begin your conversation

99 by asking him, “What tribe do you come from?” You have just communicated to him not only your interest in him ethnically as a Native American, but you also are giving him opportunity to honor his heritage by telling about his tribe. Our people are proud of their tribal heritage. Each tribe has special leaders and chiefs. Each contributes in his unique way. It’s important to know your tribe within native society. It reminds me of a time when a well intentioned lady came to me and was excited to meet a Native American. She was telling me of her interest in our people since she was a youth. She went on to say that she had Native American ancestry in her family line that she believed was from the “Chihuahua” tribe. I thought that very interesting!

As you develop a friendship with a Native American, you might begin by sincerely asking questions about the importance of relationships among his people. Share with him similar insights about your own relationships. Ask about his tribe and the history of his people. Listen to his pain, and share with him a painful time in your life that God brought you through. Describe what you have learned by it, and ask to pray with him in his pain. Prayer is a vital part of the Native-American culture.

Building Trust Dr. Ralph Winter once said, “The Native American people are one of the hardest people groups in the world to reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ.” I believe he’s right and that it is largely due to broken relationships and promises in the past. When sharing Christ with my own people, I often hear them say, “Christianity, that’s the white man’s gospel, the white man’s religion. We have our own way of worship. We have the Native-American way.” When I hear that kind of response, I understand the hurt they feel. I can even accept the hostility they demonstrate to me regarding the past. As a Christian Native American, I find the greatest challenge in my life is to be intentional in demonstrating to our people that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came to reconcile with all the people of the world—the Native-American people included.

Historically, more than 300 treaties were made by the U. S. government with the Native- American tribes, and few were kept. When you begin to build a relationship with our people, build it on the “potential” or on the outcome of the relationship, not on the “plight” of the people. Stay away from the stereotypes of Native Americans. Acknowledge your ignorance about native peoples, but show a desire to understand them more. When you approach your friendship with that openness and sincerity, it encourages your Native-American brother to be open in return. Understand that relationships, actions, and time are much more important than words. Allow time for trust to be developed for greater levels of brotherhood. There’s an increasing willingness of white Christians to come to Native Americans and confess the sins of the past and ask for forgiveness. Confession and repentance from the white man and forgiveness from the Native American have great potential for healing. But remember that words have proved to be shallow. Don’t stop at words of confession just to ease a sense of guilt. Go on to relationships and actions. Show by your love and actions that the repentance is genuine. Value your Native-American brother and the contributions he may make to your life and faith. Move into a relationship where you both can live out reconciliation and unity in Christ.

100 A White Perspective By: Glen Kehrein

For people of color, race is a significant issue. But for the whites in the majority community, it’s not. We think about it only when there’s a problem. Even then, most whites don’t understand what the big deal is. Much of today’s racial insensitivity comes from ignorance rather than overt hostility. In brief, white folks just don’t know—we don’t understand.

As is the case in any country, most folks of the dominant culture interact little with the minority cultures. Even though legal segregation is past, racial and class separation is a reality. Many whites live in racial isolation and don’t have much experience or knowledge of people of color. When racial issues become public, we may be sincerely shocked. But when such things “blow over,” life returns to normal, and little thought is given to racial issues until the next incident.

God Is Moving Today, there’s a significant change in this pattern. Many white men are beginning to leave their comfort zone and reach out for reconciliation. Why? God is moving their hearts. God seeks to bring an end to racism between brothers in Christ. He has already made it possible through Christ’s death on the cross. Will men of color look beyond their pain, anger, and distrust and reach out too? If you will, we can all join God in this vital work.

White guys, for the most part, don’t see the depth of the issue. They don’t relate to the pain of a minority, but some are trying. The response from the minority community is cool and cautious. I understand the reaction: “Here we go again. The white guy wants to do it, and I’m supposed to jump.” But what if God is doing it? What if God is moving in men’s hearts to reach out? I ask you to meet us halfway and lead us toward understanding.

Perhaps you’ve been at a Promise Keepers conference and have seen white men respond by the thousands to the call for reconciliation. Most have little understanding of what that means and know less about what to do back home. They live in suburbs and small towns, which have become isolated, homogeneous communities. But God is opening up their hearts. How many are genuine? Only God knows, but I’m sure that many are genuinely seeking to obey God and seek reconciliation. One thing is for sure: God has brought reconciliation to the front burner.

Our Way with Questions When white people reach out to establish relationships, we do that by asking questions—Where do you work? Where do you live? What did your father do? How long have you been married? What are your hobbies? Often, people of color bristle, “Man, they are nosy!” or “What do they want to know all that for?” Or if distrust is running deep, “What are they going to do to me with this information?” As a person who crosses subcultures often, I’ve seen this common dynamic. White men ask questions to get to know others. Men of color shy away. But guess what? If I go to a party with a group of strangers who are white, I get the same questions. It’s our ordinary way of social interaction and how we get to know each other. White folks don’t have a clue that they are perceived as prying.

Superiority and Inferiority

101 A great issue that exists between the races in this country is superiority and inferiority. This has deep historic roots. Using the rationale of superiority, the white culture enslaved and dominated Africans and American Indians. We used it to take land from indigenous peoples, both Mexican and Indian. It is deep in the fabric of this thing called racism. But today we find only radical groups standing for and espousing this philosophy. Nevertheless, it exists just below the surface in many whites, including Christians. I believe that whites are insensitive and minorities are hypersensitive to the existence of the superiority/inferiority dynamic.

Many whites have a strong, self-confident, and take-charge manner. They have found it’s the fastest way to get a job done. When they bring that take-charge spirit to cross-cultural experiences, they usually do not stop to think about how domineering it appears to men of color. They also may have a sincere heart to help meet needs. With a spirit of generosity, they may give to meet a need without stopping to think about the feelings of the receivers. They may not be sensitive to respect, dignity, and interdependence issues. We can wind up hurting men of color through our ignorance and insensitivity.

These kinds of mistakes will happen. But reconciliation demands that we work through difficulties with commitment. When we open ourselves with sincerity, we can build sensitivity and break the back of racial alienation and division. When confronted with such experiences, people of color often do one of two things: 1. Confront the whites and condemn their racism, or 2. Bury their feelings and say nothing.

The first response leaves whites bewildered and frustrated. It can eventually lead to anger: “No matter what I do, it’s never enough!” The second response leaves a false sense of relationship and creates a distance that’s not understood.

For bridge-building to work, people of color must be willing to “speak the truth in love.” Truth without love can be brutal, but love without truth is hypocrisy. Because whites are often “clueless” about how their actions are perceived by others, reconciliation demands sincere and loving honesty. Truthful and loving interaction produces understanding, clarifies misperceptions on both parts, and builds trust.

Race Fatigue Failed attempts at cross-racial relationships produce a kind of race fatigue. Well-meaning white folks get quickly burned out because we’re not appreciated and affirmed. We don’t understand how deep the issues are. We know little about the history of minority groups and don’t understand how it affects them today. Our heritage often is not too significant. We conclude that our identity is “American.” With that, we don’t even think that our ancestors came by choice, seeking and getting a better way of life. When minority groups express that the “land of opportunity” and the “American dream” have not been their experiences, whites can’t conceive of why not. It’s not with hatred or racist—it’s just our perception of reality. Most of us determine “truth” through the grid of personal experience. Until our experiences teach us otherwise, we’ll hold on to our perceptions as facts.

Many minority people say to me, “I get tired of educating white folks, especially when they

102 don’t want to be educated.” I understand that. But I believe God is doing a new thing. Christian men’s hearts are opening. We have much to teach each other, but it will take commitment with perseverance from both sides. The majority and minority Christian communities all could be justified to just quit and leave things the way they are. But God is calling us all to the table of brotherhood in Christ in unity and reconciliation. Will we respond to His call? Will we be faithful and pay the price? Will you men of color stay with us until we can get our education and sensitivity about people of color and start responding in new and meaningful ways? We pray that you will. We need your help.