We are learning more about letter sounds at the beginning of words. Today we are going to sing a song we’ve sung before to practice letter sounds. We are going to sing the song “Bingo.”

[Write the letters B-I-N-G-O on a whiteboard.]

Pop up if you remember how to sing “Bingo!” Let’s sing it together!

[As children stand, sing the first verse of the song “Bingo” together. After you’ve finished the first verse, ask children to please have a seat.]

What letter sound do we hear at the beginning of the word “Bingo”?

Bingo begins with the /b/-/b/-/b/ sound. We are going to pretend Bingo changed his name. We will change the first letter in the word “Bingo.”

[Place the letter S on top of the letter B on the whiteboard.]

• What letter is now at the beginning of the name? (S)
• Let’s pretend Bingo changed his name to begin with an S. What would his name be?

S says /s-s-s/. Now his name would be Singo! Let’s say his new name together: Singo. Now let’s sing the song using his new name, Singo!

[Together sing the first verse of the song replacing “Bingo” with “Singo.”]

What are some things in our classroom that begin with the letter S? (scissors, spoon, sticker, etc.)

Let’s write the things in our classroom that begin with the letter S on this chart.

[Write the letter S at the top of the chart, and list items children find that begin with the letter S.]

Does anyone have a name that begins with the letter S?

[List children’s names that begin with the letter S (if any) under items that begin with the letter S on the chart.]

Let’s together say the things we’ve found in our classroom, and names we know, that begin with the /s/ sound.

[Point to each word on the chart under the letter S as you say each word together while enunciating the beginning sound clearly.]

Let’s learn more about the letter R.

[Display letter R card.

If a child(ren) whose name begins with the letter R was identified on Day 2, invite the child(ren) to again pop up. Say the first name of the child(ren). Emphasize the sound of the letter R when you say the name.]

Maybe someone in our group has the letter r somewhere else in their name. The letter might be in the middle or at the end of their name. It will be a lowercase r and it will look like this.

[Point to the lowercase r on the letter card.]

Pop up if you have the letter r somewhere else in your name (not at beginning).

[If a child has the letter r somewhere else in his/her name, point to the name and to the letter r on the list of children’s first names so all children can see the name and the letter r.]

What is our word that begins with the letter R? (relaxed)

The letter R says /r/, just like at the beginning of the word “relaxed.” /r/, /r/, relaxed. Let’s say that together: /r/, /r/, relaxed.

I have two pictures of things that begin with the letter R. I wonder what they could be?

[Hold up one picture card and invite children to identify the animal/item in each picture. After children have an opportunity to guess or say the pictured animal/item, point to and say the word written at the bottom of the card. Example: “This word says rabbit. The letter r is at the beginning of the word.” Repeat this procedure with a second picture card.]

Let’s think of some other words that begin with the letter R and write them on our chart. Remember, the letter R says /r/, /r/.

[Help children by suggesting other words that begin with r. Examples: rattle, raccoon, run, remember.

Invite one or more volunteer children to find the letter r in words on the chart. Children may point to the letter at the top of the chart and then find it in one of the words below.

Demonstrate and describe how to mark the uppercase letter R on your chart paper.]

We use three lines to make an uppercase R. We begin by making a straight line up, then a curved line, and then a slanted line. A slanted line is a line that leans a bit to the side.

[Give each child his/her letter journal.]

Now we are going to write the letter R in our letter journal. Please write the uppercase (big) letter R in your journal. Write as much of the letter as you can.

Today we sang the song “Bingo” while thinking about the beginning sound in the word “Bingo.” We also found things in our room that begin with the letter S.

We also learned that the letter R says /r/, just like at the beginning of the word “relaxed.” We made the uppercase (big) letter R in our letter journal. Let’s say together the sound the letter R makes (/r/).

We are learning how to find the number that is one more than another number. Today we will play a game with numbers and a beanbag.

[Point to items as you describe each.]

All of the numbers we have talked about are on the floor in a line. We also have a basket of number cards.

We will take turns picking a number from the basket.

• When it is your turn to pick a number, put a beanbag on the number in our line of numbers that is one more than the number you pulled from the basket. Let me show you.

[Pick a numeral card from the basket. Say the number out loud and then say the number that is one more than the number you chose. Point to the two numbers in your line of numbers to illustrate that you are placing the beanbag on the number that is one more than the number picked from the basket.]

• After another child puts a beanbag on a number that is one more, we will decide which of the two numbers with the beanbags is more.

[Place second beanbag on a second number.]

The beanbags are on the numbers ___ and ___.

Which of these two numbers is more?

Let’s play our game!

[Identify two volunteer children to go first. Provide guidance for the following steps in the game as appropriate:

• Child #1 pulls card from the basket and puts a beanbag on the number in the number line that is one more than the number pulled from the basket.
• Child #2 takes a turn doing the above.
• You ask the two children which of the two numbers with beanbags is more.

Continue with pairs of children until all children have a turn. If there is an odd number of children in your small group, serve as the partner of a child.]

Today we played a game that helped us to find the number that was one more than the number we picked from the basket. We also figured out which of two numbers was more.

[There are two options for today’s activity involving geographic characteristics made by children in Week 20.

Option One: Make the geographic characteristics available for a brief play time. Offering small toy people figures might enrich the play. Children could play with geographic characteristics independently or together.

Option Two: Encourage volunteer children to take turns describing the geographic characteristic they created. Remind children to be good listeners when someone is talking. Invite children to ask questions about a characteristic described by another child. You may wish to support some children’s participation by describing the geographic characteristic a child made, encouraging the child to hold the characteristic as you describe the it, and including some closed-ended questions that promote the child’s verbal involvement.]

We are learning how to move our bodies in different ways.

[Jump in the air and land on both feet.]

What did I just do? (jump)

Remember, when we jump, we use both feet to go up and then down in the air.

Today we will practice jumping.

We move our bodies in a special way when we jump.

[Describe and demonstrate each step:]

• bend our knees
• swing our arms forward and up into the air
• push off with both our feet
• land with both our feet slightly apart

Let’s practice our jumping. We will try to jump in the air five times. Please stay in your personal space.

[Count five jumps. Offer verbal reminders as appropriate: bend our knees, swing arms forward and up, push off with both feet, land with both feet apart.]

We can jump forward and we can jump backward. Remember, when we move forward we move toward what is in front of us. When we move backward we move toward what is behind us.

[Demonstrate and describe jumping forward and backward. Then invite children to jump forward and backward. Provide guidance as appropriate. Remind children to stay in their personal space.]

Today we practiced jumping. How do we land when we jump in the air? (on both feet) We jumped forward and backward. We used our legs and arms when we jumped.