Kindergarten students have so much to say! The goal of Toss, Talk & Learn! is to encourage every student to participate, share ideas, answer questions, and build confidence speaking in front of others.
A tossable microphone will turn classroom discussions into something students are excited to join. Instead of always calling on students one at a time, I can toss the microphone to a student to answer a question, share an idea, read a word, or explain their thinking. Students can then toss it to another classmate to continue the conversation.
My goal is to give every child more opportunities to use their voice while practicing the literacy, math, listening, and speaking skills we work on every day.
The Qball is a soft, tossable wireless microphone that students can catch, speak into, and pass to another student. It will be used throughout our kindergarten day to make learning more interactive and fun.
During reading, students might catch the microphone to answer a question about a story, make a prediction, practice a sight word, identify a letter sound, or retell part of a book. During math, students can use it to give an answer, count, explain how they solved a problem, or describe a pattern.
We can also use the microphone during morning meetings, sharing time, phonics lessons, science discussions, and classroom games.
For kindergarten students who are sometimes hesitant to raise their hands or speak in front of the class, catching the microphone makes participating feel more like a game. It gives students a fun reason to take a chance and share what they know.
Toss, Talk & Learn! will give students more opportunities to actively participate instead of simply listening to the teacher.
Students will practice speaking clearly, listening to classmates, taking turns, answering questions, and explaining their thinking. It will also allow me to quickly hear what students know and identify skills that may need additional practice.
I will see the impact of the project through student participation, classroom observations, student responses, and students' increasing willingness and ability to share their thinking.
Most importantly, I want every child in my classroom—even my quietest students—to learn that their ideas are important and their voice deserves to be heard.
Grant funds will be used to purchase one Qball PRO Throwable Wireless Microphone System for approximately $249.
The microphone will be used across our kindergarten curriculum throughout the school years during reading, phonics, math, science, morning meetings, classroom discussions, and other learning activities. Because it can be used again and again in so many areas of our day, all students will have frequent opportunities to benefit from the project.
