Week 17:
Day 3

Understanding Words

Language / Literacy

Large Group

Skill and Goal

Oral language, Letter knowledge
Children will strengthen their comprehension of information presented in a book read aloud and increase the number of novel words they understand. Children will also identify the name of the letter E.

Materials
Needed

  • *Letter E card
  • Book of your choice for this week’s repeated reading
  • Words We Understand chart from Day 1
    *Printables provided

Key
Concepts

New:

  • 4–6 words (see Be Prepared)

Review:

  • 1–2 words in book introduced on Day 1

Be Prepared: This is the second of three repeated readings of a book with children. Today’s session focuses on children’s comprehension of information presented in the book, especially connections to children’s experiences. The session also helps children understand more novel words. From the list of novel words you identified prior to your first reading of the book, select 4–6 words to define for children today. Remember, it is okay to select words that a few children may know if you anticipate most children do not understand the word’s meaning. See the Language/ Literacy section of the Language/Literacy section of the ELM User Guide: 3–5 Years for additional information on how to select and define novel words.

BEGIN:

[Display letter E card.]

What is the name of this letter?

[Point to the uppercase letter E on the letter card.]

Am I pointing to the uppercase or to the lowercase letter E?

EXPLAIN:

Large Letter E CardNow let’s spend some time with our book.

[See Week 3, Day 3 of Language/Literacy for a description and examples of how to approach today’s book reading. Key aspects are summarized below:

  • Display book cover and say book title. Engage children in describing what they remember about the book:
    • What is our book about?
    • Who were the main characters in our book?
    • What happened first? What happened next?
  • Remind children that reading a book is a good way to learn new words. Point to and say words introduced on Day 1 that are listed on the Words We Understand chart. Invite children to talk about what they recall about each of the words. Remind children of the meaning of each novel word.
  • Point to where to begin to read on the first text page of the book. Pause during reading to briefly define words identified for today’s session. Use the following approach:
    • Read the sentence with the novel word. Repeat the novel word.
    • Repeat the sentence in which the word is used.
    • Define the novel word and connect the definition to the book.
  • After the book reading, engage children in a discussion of each novel word targeted for today with one or more of the following strategies (plus writing the word on the chart):
    • Ask children to describe a picture related to the word.
    • Define a word without naming it and ask children to identify the word.
    • Encourage children to think about a novel word in another context.
  • Encourage children to connect the book information to their own experiences. Below are some examples:
    • “Our book today was about worms. Have you ever seen or touched a worm? What was it like?”
    • “Our book today talked about roots. Roots are part of a plant that grow into the dirt. Have you ever seen the root of a plant? What was it like?”
    • “Today we talked about the word squeeze. We squeeze something by pressing things very close together. What kinds of things have you squeezed? How about a tube of toothpaste? How about a package or bottle of ketchup? Show us how you squeeze something.”]
Week 17:
Day 3

Counting Things

Mathematics

Large Group

Skill and Goal

Number knowledge
Children will identify the “number after” in sequence up to 10.

Materials
Needed

  • *Large numeral cards 1–10
  • 2 stuffed animals
    *Printables provided

Key
Concepts

Review:

  • Divide

Optional
Reading

  • Have You Seen My Dragon? by Steve Light

BEGIN:

Today we are going to count to 10 with the help of our large number cards.

[Display large numeral cards in order from 1–10.]

Together let’s count as I point to each number beginning with number one.

[Lead children in saying each numeral. Point to each numeral as you count together.]

EXPLAIN:

I am going to count again. This time, I am going to stop counting before I get to 10. When I stop counting, please say the number that comes next. We can use the number cards to help us.

ACT:

Listen carefully as I start counting. 1, 2, 3, 4. . . . What comes next?

[If children are unsure of what comes next, encourage them to use the number cards to follow as you count.]

Listen carefully as I count a little higher. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. . . .

[Encourage children to say the number that comes next when you pause.]

Let’s try it again. This time I am not going to start counting at number one. I am going to start counting at a different number.

Listen carefully. 4, 5, 6, 7. . . . What comes next?

[Continue counting several times, starting and stopping in a different place. As children are able to identify what comes next, say fewer numbers in the counting sequence until you are saying just one number and children name the next number.]

EXPLAIN:

[If time permits:]

We are going to divide the class into two groups. Remember, when we divide something, we separate or break up something into smaller parts.

ACT:

[Divide the class into two groups, with one adult in each group. Position each group in a circle. Use a stuffed animal to pass around each circle as each child counts.]

Let’s count as we go around in a circle.

I will start by saying “one.” When I pass the stuffed animal to the person next to me, he/she will say the next number which is number two. Then that person will pass the stuffed animal to the person next to him/her and that person will say the next number.

[Count to 10 while passing the stuffed animal around the circle. When you reach 10, begin counting again.]

RECAP:

Today we practiced counting. We listened to numbers being counted and then decided what number came next. Then we counted to 10 as we passed a stuffed animal around our circle.

Scaffolding tips

Scaffolding Tips

Extra support

  • If children need extra assistance in determining the number that comes next, point to the large numeral cards as you say the sequence.

Enrichment

  • If children are able, try the activity with numbers higher than 10.
Mathematics

Center Activity

Provide numeral magnets and dice. Invite children to roll the dice and find the numeral magnet that corresponds to the number of dots on the dice.

Family Child Care

Family Child Care

Practice starting and stopping the counting sequence throughout the day. Example: As children play say “You have several blocks. Let’s count them together.” Invite children to count the blocks with you and then ask what number would come next. Invite school-age children to take turns grabbing a handful of manipulatives from a basket. Encourage children to group the items in groups of 5 or 10. Then invite them to count the items by 5’s or 10’s. What would come next?

Week 17:
Day 3

Understanding Feelings

Social-Emotional

Large Group

Skill and Goal

Emotion knowledge
Children will strengthen their understanding of what it means to feel loved.

Materials
Needed

  • Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

Key
Concepts

Review:

  • Loved

Also
Promotes

  • Language / Literacy

BEGIN:

Yesterday we talked about what it means to feel loved. We know that when we feel loved, we feel important and special.

EXPLAIN:

We read a book called Guess How Much I Love You.

ASK:

What do you remember about the book?

EXPLAIN:

Today we will read the book again. This time we will act out some of the ways Little Nutbrown Hare showed Big Nutbrown Hare how much he loved him.

ACT:

[As you read the book, pause to invite children to do the same things as Little Nutbrown Hare:

  • Invite children to spread their arms wide when Little Nutbrown Hare stretches his arms wide.
  • Invite children to reach up high when Little Nutbrown Hare stretches his arms up as high as he can reach.
  • Invite children to hop as high as they can when Little Nutbrown Hare hops as high as he can.]
RECAP:

Little Nutbrown Hare moved his arms and hopped with his legs to show how much he loved Big Nutbrown Hare. There are many ways to show our love of someone. Who would like to share their favorite way to show someone they are loved?

Scaffolding tips

Scaffolding Tips

Extra support

  • Remind children to stay in their personal space when they reenact Little Nutbrown Hare’s actions.

Enrichment

  • Invite children to show or describe other ways they can show someone how much they love them.
Social-Emotional

Center Activity

Provide paper and drawing materials. Encourage children to make a card for someone they love.

Family Child Care

Family Child Care

Provide children with books about feeling loved. Encourage school-age children to read the books to (or look at pictures in the books with) younger children. Examples: Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse, Papa, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse. Invite children to share the books with family members at pickup time.

Week 17:
Day 3

Making Music

Creative Expression

Large Group

Skill and Goal

Knowledge of creative processes
Children will understand that some musical instruments make a sound with a strike or shake.

Materials
Needed

  • *4 pictures as shown
  • My First Orchestra Book CD
  • Music Player
    *Printables provided

Key
Concepts

New:

  • Strike

BEGIN:

We are learning how some musical instruments make sounds. Who remembers a way an instrument can make sound? (blowing air into the instrument, moving a bow across a string, quickly pulling a string)

EXPLAIN:

Let’s talk today about how we can make sounds with a drum. Let’s look at three pictures of different kinds of drums.

[Display pictures of bass drum, snare drum, bongo drum. Name each instrument. Children are not expected to remember the name of each instrument.]

playing bass drumplaying the snare drumplaying bongos

ASK:

What are people in our pictures doing with a drum? (hitting it)

EXPLAIN:

We can strike a drum to make a sound. Strike means to hit something.

Look at how a stick is used to strike two of the drums. The boy is using his hands to strike a bongo drum.

ACT:

Pop up if you have ever played with a drum!

[Comment on the number of children who have played with a drum. Then ask children to sit down.

Display pictures of a bass drum and a snare drum next to each other.]

ASK:

What differences do you see between the drums shown in these pictures? (size, how they are hit)

ACT:

My First Orchestra Book CoverLet’s listen to the sound of the smaller drum. It is called a snare drum.

[Display picture of a snare drum as you play the snare drum portion of Track 32 on the CD included in My First Orchestra Book.]

Now let’s listen to the sound of the larger drum. It is called a bass drum.

[Display picture of a bass drum as you play the bass drum portion of Track 32 on the CD included in My First Orchestra Book.]

ASK:
  • How did the two drums sound different? (snare drum had a higher sound, bass drum had a lower sound)
  • How do you think we could make a louder volume of sound on a drum? (strike it harder)
EXPLAIN:

Playing the maracas[Display picture of child playing maracas.]

Some instruments make a sound when you shake them. Here is a picture of a girl playing instruments called the maracas.

ASK:
  • How do you think the girl is making a sound with the maracas? (shaking them)
  • What do you think we could do to play the maracas at a quiet volume? (shake them softly or slowly)
RECAP:

Today we learned that some musical instruments make sound when we strike or shake them. Musicians can change how loud or quiet the instrument is by how hard they strike or shake the instrument.

Scaffolding tips

Scaffolding Tips

Extra support

  • Invite children to play a drum or other percussion instrument if one is available.
  • If possible, display one or more of the actual instruments included in the plan. Consider inviting a musician who plays one of the instruments to visit your classroom with his/her instrument to demonstrate and describe how it works. Another option is to show a short video of a musician playing one of the instruments.

Enrichment

  • Point out differences between the sticks used to hit the snare drum and the bass drum. The bass drum sticks (also called mallets) have a soft part at the end.
  • Explain that the bass drum makes a lower sound than the snare drum because it is larger.
Creative Expression

Center Activity

Provide My First Orchestra Book and CD in the listening center. Encourage children to listen to the CD as they look through the pages of the book. Invite children to focus on Tracks 31–33 (percussion instruments).

Family Child Care

Family Child Care

If possible, provide one or more percussion instruments for children to explore and play along to music. Examples: drum, xylophone, tambourine, maracas, triangle.