Letter knowledge
Children will understand the name and sound of the letter U.
Review:
Today we are going to learn more about the letter U.
[Display letter U card.
If a child(ren) whose name begins with the letter U 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 U when you say the name.]
Maybe someone in our group has the letter u somewhere else in their name. The letter might be in the middle or at the end of their name. It will be a lowercase u, and it will look like this.
[Point to the lowercase u on the letter card.]
Pop up if you have the letter u somewhere else in your name (not at beginning).
[If a child has the letter u somewhere else in his/her name, point to the name and the letter u on the list of children’s first names, so all children can see the name and the letter u.]
What is our word that begins with the letter U? (umbrella) We know that an umbrella is something you hold over your head to keep it dry.
The letter U says /u/, just like at the beginning of the word “umbrella.” /u/, /u/, umbrella. Let’s say that together: /u/, /u/, umbrella.
I have two pictures of things that begin with the letter U. 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 underwear. The letter u 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 U and write them on our chart. Remember, the letter U says /u/, /u/.
[Help children by suggesting other words that begin with u. Examples: up, us, uppercase, unzip.
Invite one or more volunteer children to find the letter u 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 U on your chart paper.]
We use two lines to make an uppercase U. We begin by making a curved line and then a straight line down.
[Give each child his/her letter journal.]
Now we are going to write the letter U in our letter journal. Please write the uppercase (big) letter U in your journal. Write as much of the letter as you can.
Today we learned that the letter U says /u/, just like at the beginning of the word “umbrella.” We made the uppercase (big) letter U in our letter journal. Let’s say together the sound the letter U makes (/u/).
Extra support
Enrichment
Provide silly books about underpants. Examples: Pirates Love Underpants by Claire Freedman, Dinosaurs Love Underpants by Claire Freedman, Monsters Love Underpants by Claire Freedman. Remind children that underpants starts with the letter U.
Celebrate the letter U by teaching children the “Upside Down Song.” Each time you sing the song, think of something you can do upside down. Examples: clap upside down, shake your head upside down, smile upside down. Encourage school-age children to think of other things to do upside down.
Number knowledge
Children will strengthen their understanding of subtract.
Review:
Offer the Week 33, Day 2 activity to review subtract.
Engage a small group of children in determining how many beanbags remain after taking away a number of beanbags, (based on results of a spinner). Children will walk in a circle around the remaining beanbags as many times as there are beanbags.
Place beanbags in an approximate circle and invite children to form a circle around (outside of) the beanbags. Display the spinner and, if appropriate, demonstrate how it works. Explain that we will walk in a circle around the beanbags while music is playing. When the music stops, we will spin the spinner and take away the number of beanbags our spinner says. If our spinner lands on number two, we will take away two beanbags. We subtract when we take away. Then we will determine how many beanbags remain. We will walk once around our remaining beanbags for each beanbag we take away. If we take away two beanbags, we will walk around the remaining beanbags two times, while music plays.
Implement the activity with children taking turns to remove their beanbag, spin the spinner, tell how many beanbags remain, and say how many times we walk around the remaining beanbags. Periodically remind children that when we subtract (take away) items from a group, the group gets smaller. Count aloud each walk around the beanbags. Explain: “We just walked around our beanbags one time. We will walk around our beanbags one more time. We took away two beanbags.”
Motor development
Children will strengthen their understanding of how to do an underarm throw.
Review:
Offer the Week 18, Day 4 activity to review underarm throwing.
Engage children in throwing underarm toward a target.
Be Prepared: Consider offering this activity outdoors, weather permitting, if indoor space is limited. Prepare targets for children’s underarm throwing attempts. One target option is to draw a large circle (or two concentric circles) with a red marker on chart paper and affix it to an open wall. A more challenging option is to place small traffic cones on a flat surface for children to try to hit. Provide enough targets so children are throwing straight forward at a target and are not throwing at an angle. Use a rope, string, or some other means to designate a line for children to stand behind to practice throwing. Provide 5–7 feet between the line and target. The distance between the line and targets can be increased to provide more challenge. This is a noncompetitive activity. There is no need to keep track of whether the target is hit. Determine a plan for providing each child with underarm throwing experience, including where children who are not throwing should stand or sit. Secure the assistance of another adult.
Explain that we will practice underarm throwing. We will throw toward a target. Point to and describe the targets. It is okay if we do not hit our target. We are practicing. We are not competing. We will take turns doing an underarm throw.
Remind children that an underarm throw involves moving one of our arms backward and forward. Offer a review of an underarm throw (Week 18, Day 4) by describing and demonstrating the following steps:
Show and describe the line children are to stand behind for the activity. Emphasize that we stay behind this line even after we do our underarm throw.
Invite a small group of children to stand behind the designated line for throwing. Invite children to throw their ball. Encourage children to retrieve their ball after all balls have been thrown. Repeat as time and child interest permit.
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Exploring Where We Live
Social Studies
Skill and Goal
Knowledge of social and physical environments
Children will understand basic characteristics of trucks.
Materials
Needed
*6 pictures as shown
*Printables provided
Key
Concepts
New:
Optional
Reading
Today we will talk about trucks. A truck is used for carrying things. Trucks move on land—like a road.
What kinds of toy trucks do we have in our classroom?
[Some children may wish to show a classroom truck of special interest.]
There are different kinds of trucks. Let’s look at some pictures of trucks.
[Display picture of pickup truck.]
Let’s look at pictures of some other kinds of trucks.
[Display picture of dump truck.]
This is a dump trunk. A dump truck can carry dirt and rocks.
Taking things off the back of a truck is called dumping. A dump truck can dump things it carries.
This picture shows a dump truck dumping gravel. A garbage truck also dumps the garbage it is carrying. The back part of the truck lifts up and the garbage slides out.
The truck shown in this picture is called a semi-truck. Many people call it a “semi.” You probably have seen this kind of truck many times. A semi-truck can carry large items that would not fit into a smaller truck like a pickup truck. A “semi” has a top to protect the items it carries in the back.
This is a picture of a military truck.
Each of the trucks we talked about today is made to do a special job. That’s why trucks look different from one another.
Scaffolding Tips
Extra support
Enrichment
Center Activity
Provide paint, paper, toy cars, and trucks for children to create tire track paintings. Encourage children to roll the wheels of the toy cars or trucks in the paint and “drive” on the paper. You may also wish to provide different car and truck brochures in the library center. These can be obtained from car dealerships that might have a supply from previous model years. Encourage children to look at different characteristics of cars and trucks.
Family Child Care
On a walk or other outing, help children keep track of different kinds of trucks they see.