Kindergarten Reading Interactive Board EAST/EMPACTS PROJECT Introduction to Education Fall 2008 Deena Brown, Shelly Rainey, and Brandi Howard

Introduction Our service project was created for Miss Baker’s Kindergarten class at Prairie Grove Primary School. We created a board, and nursery rhyme characters that the children could interact with in their reading centers. In Ms. Baker’s classroom, we read nursery rhymes that included, “Humpty Dumpty”, “Hey Diddle Diddle”, “Jack and Jill”, and “Mrs. Wishy-Washy”. Our project has also brought interest to other faculty members, and they have also incorporated our project into their reading centers as well.

Project Overview ☼This project meets the needs of Kindergarten students by offering them a unique and enjoyable learning experience. ☼This project enforces student’s reading skills by recognizing the words and associating them through story interactions. ☼This project enforces student’s to use their listening skills, as well as their thinking skills.

Project Objectives or Goals * Community * This project provides service to the community by utilizing and expanding the skills that the students already posses. It also provides a fun and educational activity for the students and the faculty.

* Curriculum * Our goal for this project was to create a successful learning activity to encourage reading through hands-on interactions, and assist kindergarten students to a better understanding of what they read.

* Technology * ∆ Digital Camera ∆ Sewing Machine ∆ Computer ∆ Copier/Printer ∆ /Phone ∆ Microsoft PowerPoint ∆ Microsoft Word ∆ Clip Art

* Materials that were used * ∆ Scissors and glue ∆ Markers ∆ Fabric ∆ Sewing thread ∆ Fiberfil ∆ Laminating paper

* Team/Individual Skills * ∆ Teamwork ∆ Developed good communication skills ∆ Learned to be open minded and listen to each other ∆ Personal and Professional Growth ∆ Service to the community

Methodology ■Deena contacted Ms. Baker at Prairie Grove Primary School to get approval for our project. ■Brandi shopped around for materials that were needed for our project. ■Our group came together and began creating story figures that corresponded to each different story/nursery rhyme. ■Brandi made several copies of each story/nursery rhyme, so that each member could work efficiently.

■Shelly cut and colored all of the characters. ■We took the characters to Prairie Grove Primary School to get them all laminated in preparation for sewing. ■Deena cut material for each character, filled them with Fiberfil, and sewed them together. ■Shelly glued the laminated characters to the filled fabric, and then glued Velcro strips on the backs.

Project Experience Our project revealed that there is nothing more rewarding than making children excited about learning. We didn’t realize that something so small could make such a huge difference in a child’s learning experience, until we began giving service to the classroom. It was so awesome to see the children eager to participate in bringing the characters to the board. This interaction also encouraged the students to use their listening, and recognition skills. All the children thanked us for bringing something fun and exciting to their classroom.

We are all thankful for having the opportunity to see first hand how rewarding the teaching profession really is. This project has allowed us to gain a wonderful momentum towards teaching.

How Could This Project Be Expanded Further? ∆This project could be used for all subjects. ∆This project could be taken to the next level by having stories put on audio tapes that correspond with the different figures. ∆Stories could be made into multiple languages, which would challenge many students. ∆This could become a class group project. Each student could be in charge of creating a “piece of the puzzle.”

Acknowledgments We want to give a special thanks to: ■Ms. Suzanne Baker, Kindergarten teacher, Prairie Grove Primary School ■Brenda Clark, Principal ■Dr. Regina Ryel, Faculty Member, NWACC ■Ms. Dianne Phillips, EAST/EMPACTS Facilitator, NWACC