[Display letter L card.]

What is the name of this letter? What sound does the letter L make?

Letter L says /l/, just like in “letters.” /l/, /l/, letters. Let’s together say /l/, /l/, letters.

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.]

This week we are learning more about how to split a whole group of items into two smaller parts.

[Display eight craft sticks (without counting them aloud) and place them in the whole-section of a part-part-whole mat.]

There are craft sticks in the whole-section of our special mat. Let’s count them to find out how many craft sticks we have.

[Lead children in counting the number of craft sticks as you point to each one. Say again the number eight when you finish counting.]

Let’s find the number magnet that tells the number of sticks we have in the whole-section of our mat.

[Invite a volunteer child to find the numeral eight magnet in the basket of numeral magnets. Display the magnet and say again that it shows numeral eight.]

I am going to place some of the craft sticks in a part-section of our mat. I will hide the other craft sticks.

[Place five craft sticks in a part-section of the mat. Hide from view the other three craft sticks.]

• How many craft sticks do we have in one of the part-sections of our mat? (five)
• How many craft sticks are in the other part-section of our mat? (zero)

We had eight craft sticks in our whole group. Now we have five craft sticks in a part-section of our mat.

How many craft sticks are hidden?

[Show the three craft sticks hidden from view. Place the three craft sticks in the second part-section of the mat.]

We started with eight craft sticks in the whole-section of our mat. Then I hid three of the sticks and moved five sticks to a part-section of our mat.

Let’s count all of our craft sticks to make sure we still have eight.

[Count on as you lead children in counting sticks in the two parts together.]

We still have eight craft sticks. Five of our sticks are in one part-section of our mat. Three craft sticks are in another part-section of our mat.

Let’s find the number magnets that tell the number of sticks we have in each of the part-sections of our mat.

[Invite two different volunteer children, one at a time, to find numeral five and numeral three in the basket of numeral magnets. Display each magnet and say again the numeral it shows. Invite the volunteer children to place the magnet numerals next to their respective craft sticks in the part-sections. Remove the eight craft sticks from the mat and return the numeral magnets to the basket.]

Let’s split our eight craft sticks again. First we will put our craft sticks in the whole-section of our mat.

[Invite a different volunteer child to put the eight sticks in the whole-section of the mat. Then lead children in counting the sticks while you or the volunteer child points to each.]

Next let’s put some of the sticks in one of the part-sections of our mat and hide the other sticks. This time, I would like someone else to decide how many sticks to put in a part-section of our mat.

[Invite a different volunteer child to put some craft sticks in one of the part-sections of the mat and put the remaining sticks behind his/her back. Encourage the child to decide the number of craft sticks to put in a part-section.]

How many craft sticks did (volunteer child) put in a part-section of our mat?

Let’s count the sticks on our mat.

[Lead children in counting the craft sticks in a part-section of the mat as you or the volunteer child point to each. Say again the number of sticks when you finish counting.]

We started with eight craft sticks. There are now ___ craft sticks in a part-section of our mat.

How many craft sticks is (volunteer child) hiding?

[After children offer a number(s), invite the volunteer child hiding the craft sticks to place them in the other part-section of the mat. Then lead children in counting the previously-hidden sticks as you or the volunteer child point to each one. Say again the number of sticks in this part-section of the mat when you are finished counting.]

We can find the two number magnets that show how many craft sticks we have in the two part-sections of our mat.

[Invite two different volunteer children, one at a time, to find the appropriate numeral magnets in the basket. Display each magnet and say again the numeral it shows. Place the magnets by their respective craft sticks.]

(Child’s name) split our craft sticks and then hid some of the craft sticks. Let’s make sure we still have eight craft sticks.

[Lead children in counting on as you point to each stick in the two part-sections of the mat. Say again the number eight when you finish counting.]

A whole group of things can be split into two parts in different ways. We practiced splitting a group of craft sticks and figuring out how many sticks were missing. We also found the number magnet that shows how many sticks we have on our mat.

[Draw children’s attention to the classroom display of children’s pictures of the American flag.]

Look at all of the pictures we drew yesterday. What did we draw?

How can people show respect for our country’s flag? (salute the flag, fly the flag)

Remember, when we show respect for something, we think highly of it.

Today we will talk about some other ways people can show respect for our country.

[Demonstrate standing with your hand over your heart, looking at the American flag, when you ask the following question:]

Have you ever seen people look at the American flag and say something together with their hand over their heart? How did it work?

What people say together is called the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

The “Pledge of Allegiance” is a poem written more than 100 years ago. The poem tells what is special about the United States. People can show their respect for our country by saying the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

A pledge is a promise. People promise to be loyal to the United States of America when they say the “Pledge of Allegiance.” We are loyal when we support our country or a friend or a family. The word “allegiance” means we are loyal. Allegiance is a big word. Let’s together say the word allegiance: al-le-gi-ance. We promise to always support our country when we say the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

The “Pledge of Allegiance” has many big words in it. The words tell us our country believes we are strongest when we stay together and help each other out. The words tell us that every person who lives in this country can be free and make his or her own choices. The words also tell us that everyone in our country should be treated fairly by our laws. Last week we talked about how laws help people be treated fairly.

I am going to say the “Pledge of Allegiance.” You can say the pledge with me if you wish. I am going to put my right hand over my heart and look at our flag. People stand if they can when they say the “Pledge of Allegiance.” If people are wearing a hat, they take off their hat and hold it over their heart with their hand.

People may also sing a song called the national anthem when they look at the American flag and put their hand over their heart. A national anthem is a special song that people sing to show respect for their country. Let’s listen to the national anthem of the United States. The song has important words that describe how people feel about our country.

[Play a recording of the first part of the national anthem.]

• Have you heard the national anthem before?
• The national anthem talks about “broad stripes and bright stars.” What do you think the stripes and stars are about? (the American flag)

Our country’s national anthem also has words about “the home of the brave.” People who are brave have a lot of courage and keep going even when things are scary or hard. The song says our country is a home for brave people.

Who are some brave people you know?

Today we learned more ways people show respect for our country. We learned about a poem called the “Pledge of Allegiance.” We also listened to our national anthem. It is a song about things that are important to our country.

Yesterday we moved our bodies from one place to another place without using our legs or our feet. How did we move? (rolled)

Today we will pretend we are lumberjacks and logs. A lumberjack is a person who cuts down trees. After a tree is cut down, the wood is called a log. Sometimes a lumberjack rolls the logs to where the logs are stored until a truck picks them up.

One of us will pretend to be a log and the other person will pretend to be a lumberjack. Everyone will have a turn to be a log and a lumberjack.

What does a lumberjack roll? (a log)

[Point to lines on floor as you describe them.]

There are lines on our floor. The lines tell us where the lumberjack will roll the log. Our lumberjacks have to roll the logs gently so our logs don’t get hurt. Listen carefully to what we do.

• Each of us will work with a partner. We will begin at one of the taped lines. One partner is a lumberjack; the other partner is a log.
• The pretend log lays on the tape. The pretend log keeps his/her legs together and arms at the sides of his/her body or tightly against the chest.
• The lumberjack gently taps the side of the log.
• Our pretend log rolls to the other line on the floor. Then the lumberjack and log change places. The lumberjack becomes the log, and the log becomes the lumberjack, and the game starts over.

[Form pairs of children and assign log and lumberjack roles for the first try. Remind children how to roll, if necessary. Continue the rolling practice as interest and time permit.]

Today we practiced rolling our body by pretending we were a log.