A lot of your children have probably mentioned the word bulls-eye at home and you may be wondering, what in the world does that mean? In fact, many of you have already asked me about it.
In Kindergarten, we are helping students assess and take ownership of their own learning and behavior, as this can promote tremendous growth and responsibility, along with problem solving and critical thinking skills.
In the class, we have targets throughout the room that have a 1, 2, and 3. Each number correlates with progress.
1: I'm just beginning
2: I'm halfway there
3: I made it (bulls-eye!)
As of now, we are mainly using it for walking in the hall, morning meeting, and with our writing/journals. For instance, if a student uses 5 colors, plenty of details, and attempts to write a word or sentence in their daily journals, they get a 3 or bulls-eye. The essential part of this process is that students will assess their own work before showing it to me and then explain to me why they got a bulls-eye. If I notice something that is missing, I might say, "Oh, you're so close, but I notice one thing is missing. Do you see it too?" This process has really motivated all our students and has gotten them excited to work hard, do their best, and have fun with their writing.
We also use it for behavior in that I will ask students to model what a bulls-eye would look like when we are lining up or sitting at morning meeting. I will also ask students every time we line up to ask themselves whether they are a 1, 2, or 3. This reminds students of overall expectations and what they should expect from themselves. We are doing this in hopes that students continue to learn and practice self-control, self-respect, and continue to respect those around them. It's definitely working!
Finally, we have also begun to use "I can" statements, which is going beyond the idea of mundane drill and practice and delves into true learning objectives and critical thinking/problem solving skill development. For instance, in math we are learning about equal, more, and fewer this week. After the lessons, we discuss what we "can do," like "I can make equal groups" or "I can recognize what group has more." Not only do we determine which one has more, fewer, or equal amounts, we also discuss WHY this happens and HOW the specific process works the way it does. This empowers students and gives them a sense of real ownership for their work! It also makes their work more meaningful.
Anyway, I hope this helps answer a few questions about our "bulls-eyes" in Kindergarten. It's a simple idea that is making a huge difference and we are already off to an amazing year! These students work SO HARD and have such an unyielding passion for school. GO TEAM K!
Thanks,
Mr. T
