Thompson: "Being here instills that love of reading"

In Kristina Thompson's Pre-kindergarten class at Chester Park School of Inquiry, her students proudly displayed their knowledge of the letter “G.” On a recent fall day, not only did these students recognize the letter but knew the sounds the letter made and easily recalled words that began with that letter.
“What are some words that begin with the letter G?” Thompson asked.
Immediately the students raised their hands and offered answers that included “gift” and “golf.”
Then a student asked, “Ms. Thompson, can we sing the G song?”
Thompson cued the music and the students began to sing.
“It's big and round with a line inside and that's a great, big G,” they sang. “A circle, stick and a smile below and that's the little g.”
Thompson, in her fifth year as a Pre-K teacher, beamed as her students sang this letter song.
“I had students at the first of the year who knew nothing. Now, they know the capital and lower case letters,” she said. “Being here instills that love of reading. Learning their letters is the first step to reading.”
In Rebecca Odom's class, students were engaged in the book, “Kevin and His Dad” by Irene Smalls.
“Think about what happens in the story so you can retell the story to me,” Odom said before she read.
As she read, Odom asked the students to give her “fancy” words for similar words in the story.
“Tidy is a fancy word for what other word?” she asked.
“Clean!” the students responded.
When Odom finished reading the book she told her students, “Take your thinking cap and pull it on.”
“The first thing they were doing in the story was?” Odom asked,
“Cleaning!” the students yelled.
“After they do all the chores, what do they do?” she asked.
“Play!” the students responded in unison.
“The last thing they do is?”  Odom asked.
“Go home!” the students replied.
“Kiss your brains, smart kids!” Odom said to her students.
It's important to initiate an education that challenges children to learn for a lifetime, Odom stressed.
“I want to emphasize how vital it is for children to get an early education,” she said. “It builds a strong foundation in literacy for them in the years to come. This is an important program.”
Teacher Nequi Dunlap told her students she had talked to the “Gingerbread Man” and told him the  students had read his stories and were going to find out what was alike and different in each story.
“If we get it right, he's going to bring us some Gingerbread Men,” Dunlap told her class.
She then asked them to recall information from the “Gingerbread Girl” or the “Gingerbread Boy.”
“Boy begins with what letter?” Dunlap asked.
“B,” the students yelled.
Next, a young girl named Tuesday came forward and Dunlap asked, “The little old woman was in which story?”
“Both,” Tuesday answered correctly.
Dunlap explained how class activities she and the other Pre-K teachers use engage the students in not only class room fun but creative learning.
“With literacy we're modeling reading,” she said. “One standard they need is to recall what happened in the story. Comprehension is very important.”
Several of the Pre-K students were proud to share what they've learned in the past four months.
“I like to learn,” said four-year-old Ja'brell White. “I like to go to the centers and play and build stuff.”
Ja'brell knows that the words “goose” and “gate” begin with the letter G. Also, his favorite book is “Stone Soup” because “if you make soup you gotta have a stone in it,” he said.
Tyler Williams, 5, a student in Odom's class shared what he's learned since being in Pre-K.
“I learned how to read books,” Tyler said and recited from his favorite book, “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.” This rhyming lesson teaches the alphabet. It begins, “A told B and B told C, I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree.” Tyler then shared his favorite phrase.
“Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, will there be enough room?” he said. “The letters climb up the coconut tree and the letters fall out.”
Nequavis Jennings Peay, a four-year-old student in Karen Houston's class, said he's learned that “hat” and “house” both begin with the letter H.
“I like playing with my friends and doing my letters and learning my numbers,” Nequavis said.
He also shared a few more things he's learned since August.
“Cupcake is a compound word,” Nequavis said proudly. “A compound word is one when you push together two words.”
He carefully drew a quotation mark on his paper but after he'd drawn a question mark, he explained, “you use this if you're asking a question.”
Landon Young, 5, said he's learned the letter A is for Apple, T is for Tiger and I is for Igloo. When Houston asked questions about books they've read in class, Landon had more answers.
“Who writes the text in the stories we read?” Houston asked.
“The author,” Landon answered.
“Who draws the pictures?” she asked.
“The illustrator draws the picture,” Landon replied.
Landon then took his comprehension a step further as Houston reversed how she asked the questions.
“Who is an author?” she asked hoping Landon would say the one who writes the text but instead, he gave a completely unexpected answer.
“Joy Cowley,” Landon answered, giving the name of an author from a book Houston had read to the class.