We are going to again practice finding a letter we know by looking for it in a sentence. When we find the letter, we will also say the sound the letter makes.

[Write the following sentence on a chart or whiteboard. Read each word as you write the sentence:

Our body needs food in order to live.]

We want to find lowercase letter u in our sentence.

[Display letter card U. Point to the lowercase u on the card.

Encourage a volunteer child to look for and point to the lowercase letter u in the sentence as you display the U letter card.]

What sound does the letter U make?

Yes! Letter U says /u/. Let’s together say the sound of the letter U: /u/.

Now let’s spend some time with our book.

[See Week 3, Day 5 of Language/Literacy for a description and examples of how to approach today’s book reading. Key aspects are summarized below:

• Display book cover. Explain that we have read our book two times this week. Each time we read the book we learn something new. Point to and say title of book. 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?
• Point to and say the names of author and illustrator. Point to where to begin reading.
• During the reading, pause on pages that include a word defined in the prior two readings of the book. Ask or remind children what the word means. Also pause during the reading to define the 2–3 words identified for today’s session, using the following approach:
  • Read the sentence with the novel word. Identify 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, write the 2–3 words targeted for today on the chart and engage children in a discussion of each word, using one or more of the following strategies:
  • 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 or phrase in another context.
• Explain that different types of things happened in our book. Facilitate a discussion of children’s interpretations of events and/or characters in the book, especially events or characters related to one or more words defined this week. See Week 3, Day 5 for examples.]

Offer the Week 6, Day 5 activity to review counting and comparing quantities of two groups.

Engage children in making a group that has more or fewer counters (circles) than the number on the top of a rolled die.

Give each child seven counters. Roll the die and invite a volunteer child to count aloud the dots on top of the die. Invite children to each make a group of counters equal to the amount of dots on top of the die. Remind children that equal groups have the same amount.

Explain that now we will make a group that has more or fewer counters than the number on the top of a die that you will roll. Demonstrate by rolling the die and leading children in counting the number of dots on the top of the die. Then make a group that has more counters than the number at the top of the die. The task is to make a group that has more; the actual number of counters in the group could be one or two more than the number on the rolled die. Example: Form a group of four counters for a rolled die that shows two dots.

Provide several rounds of practice in forming a group that has more counters than the number on the top of the rolled die. With each die roll, lead children in counting the number of dots on the top. Restate the number.

Then provide several rounds of practice in forming a group that has fewer counters than the number on the rolled die.

If children’s interest and time permit, continue rolling the die and inviting children to alternate between making a group that has more and making a group that has fewer than the number of dots rolled.

We are learning about transportation that moves in the sky and in water. This week we talked about airplanes, helicopters, boats, and ships. Each kind of transportation does a special job.

[Display side-by-side pictures of a cargo ship, cargo plane interior, and cargo helicopter.]

We know that some kinds of transportation carry items from place to place.

• What kinds of transportation are shown in our pictures? (cargo ship, cargo plane, cargo helicopter)

• How does a ship move from place to place? (on the water)

• How do a cargo plane and a cargo helicopter move from place to place? (in the air)

[Display side by side the pictures of a cruise ship and rowboat.]

Many kinds of transportation carry people and their things from one place to another place. Some transportation is used for having fun. Here are pictures of a cruise ship and a rowboat.

• What are some fun things we could do on a cruise ship? (swim in a pool, play games, eat)
• How could a rowboat be used for doing something fun? (moving around a lake or river, going fishing)

[Display side by side the pictures of a passenger plane and medical helicopter.]

We are learning that different kinds of transportation go to different places. Here is a picture of a passenger plane and a medical helicopter. Remember, a medical helicopter takes people who are sick or hurt to a hospital.

We heard a story about Alexander going on a hike with his family and hurting his leg when he slipped and fell.

• Could the airplane shown in our picture go to the forest to get Alexander after he fell? (no)
• Why not? (airplanes need runways; no runway in the forest)
• How does a helicopter land in and, take off from, a place like a forest? (moves straight up and down)

Different forms of transportation are made to do special jobs. Some transportation carries people and their things. Some transportation carries items. Some kinds of transportation can go places that other kinds of transportation cannot go.

Offer the Week 13, Day 4 activity to review the characteristics and importance of rest.

Read and discuss with children a book on routines used by a fictitious group of animals for getting ready to sleep.

Open the session by reminding children that each day we take time to rest. Invite a volunteer child to remind us what it means to rest. (taking a break from what we are doing and relaxing our bodies) Remind children that sleeping is one way to rest our bodies. When we sleep, our eyes are closed and our mind and muscles are relaxed. Encourage children to describe what it means for our mind and muscles to be relaxed. (our noisy thoughts get quiet, our body feels calm)

Explain that having a routine can help us prepare for rest or sleep. Briefly describe routines in your room that can help children get ready for rest time.

Today we will read a funny story about how some animals get ready for bed at home. Introduce and read The Going to Bed Book, pausing to describe illustrations. After reading the book, invite children to talk about whether they use any of the routines used by the animals in the book to get ready for bed. Ask children whether they were surprised to learn the animals exercised as part of getting ready for bed. Is doing exercises before going to bed a good idea? Why or why not? (Exercise was introduced in Week 12.)