Transistion+Ideas

1) I witnessed a good transition technique when I was observing in Pre-K this past semester. When the teacher wanted to switch from one activity to another they would play the cleanup song. This could work and be beneficial for almost any grade. The teacher would obviously change the song to be more age appropriate. The children responded so well to this stimulus and knew exactly what was expected of them once the song played. 2) Another transition technique I noticed in my kindergarten placement was when the teacher wanted to move from one activity to another she would ask the students to get on the rug. It allowed the teacher time to get everything together and prepare for the next activity. It also arranged the students in one central location and made it easier for the teacher to explain the next activity. 3) Some other transition ideas I read about were to use games as a way of transition. This would be a good idea to use and the teacher could relate the game to the next topic. This would be a great hook for a lesson and get the students thinking about the specific topic. 4) Another idea I researched was the teacher uses a green poster and makes a football field out of it. The teacher has a side and the students have a side. She will time the students a certain amount of time for a transition from one activity to another. If the students make it in the time allotted and do all that is required of them then they score “10 yards”. They have five opportunities and at the end of the period if they win they get a prize and if the teacher wins they have a consequence. The teacher can tweak this to fit the individual needs of the classroom. 5) Another great idea I found was the teacher will create buckets for each table she has in the classroom. Each day the teacher sets out one bucket on the table and allows the students to work on the activities given while the teacher is using that time to prepare for the next lesson or might be a little late because of a meeting or problem that might have arisen. The teacher will fill the buckets with different kinds of activities depending on the level of the students. The bucket could contain items such as; play-doh, Legos, pattern blocks, i-spy books, etc. This is a great way to keep the students engaged in something that is educational but fun. 6) Another interesting technique is the teacher can divide the class in to groups based on the tables and the student can be in a competition to see who can do the tasks the quickest. The teacher will give a verbal reminder of the competition and then at the end of the allotted time for the transition the teacher will name the winner of that round. The teacher can create a visual goal and assign an object to each table and move the object of whoever wins closer to the goal. It would be necessary to provide a prize at the end of the game for the winning team. 7) A beneficial transition idea to use in the classroom would be to allow the students to present a show-and-tell or present work they have done that day. Allow them to tell the class about their object and this allows time for the teacher to make that transition from the previous activity. 8) One technique my cooperating teacher used in her kindergarten classroom was spraying yourself invisible. The teacher would tell the students to spray themselves and put the marshmallows on. To the students, this meant spray themselves invisible and if they talked they would reappear. They were to put marshmallows on the bottom of their shoes so no one would hear them walking. This technique was very effective for this class. 9) Centers are another technique used. This could be used at the end of the day or before/after lunch, before/after recess, etc. This is something the students will get involved in and not something that can take five or so minutes. This needs to be a transition strategy used when more time is allowed. 10) The next strategy that could be used is to make it a competition. See how fast the class as a whole can clean up and get ready for the next activity.
 * __ Transition Techniques __**

- It is important to pick strategies that will work well for the class as a whole. For example, the students may need more practice as working together so you could create competitions for the class as a whole.