Block 22

Paying Attention:
Option 1

Self-Regulation

One-to-One

Skill and Goal

Concentration
A toddler watches a caregiver find identical pairs of toy farm animals.

Materials
Needed

  • Matching pairs of animal figure (see Be Prepared)

Key
Concepts

  • Same
  • Different
  • Look

Also
Promotes

  • Communication / Language
  • Cognitive

Be Prepared: Secure 7–9 pairs of identical farm animal figures. One possibility is two sets of Fisher Price Little People Farm Animal Friends®.

Begin:

[Invite one toddler to join you at a low table to watch you play a game. Display on the table all animal figures you plan to use in the activity. Put the toy animals in random order, standing up.]

Explain:

I am going to play a game with these toy farm animals. We have a lot of toy animals. Please help me look carefully at the animals.

[Encourage the toddler to pick up or touch some animal figures. Say the name of the animal and describe a main characteristic. Example: “You are holding a cow, Xavier. The cow has white spots.” Continue this approach for 2–3 toy animals. The intent is to demonstrate how to look carefully at an animal figure.]

I want to put together the animals that are the same. I need to pay attention to what the animals look like. Here is a cow. Now I want to find another cow.

Act:

[Put one of the toy cows in front of the toddler. Pick up and then return to the table several other toy animals, but not another cow.

Pick up a sheep and hold it next to the cow positioned in front of the toddler.]

These animals are different. They do not look the same.

I want to keep looking for another cow. Do you see another cow?

[Pause for the toddler to respond. If he/she does not identify the second cow, point to the other cow saying “Here is the other cow!” and invite the toddler to pick it up and put it next to the other cow sitting in front of him/her.

Emphasize the two toys are the same by pointing to and describing basic characteristics of the toy cow.

Next, pick up a toy pig and put it on the table in front of the toddler. Invite the toddler to touch or hold the toy pig as you describe it.]

Here is a toy pig. Our pig has a curly tail. I am going to look carefully at our other toy animals and try to find a pig that looks like this pig.

[Pick up several animals but not the pig, one at a time, and hold each next to the pig that is in front of the toddler. Talk about your comparisons. Example: “This animal looks different than our pig. This animal is a horse. A horse and a pig are different animals. They are not the same.

Invite the toddler to find the other pig. If he/she does not identify the second pig, point to the other pig saying “Here is the other pig!” and invite the toddler to pick it up and put it next to the pig sitting in front of him/her.]

The two pigs look the same. Both pigs have a curly tail. They look the same.

Let’s try one more.

[Pick up a duck and put it on the table in front of the toddler. Invite the toddler to touch or hold the toy duck as you describe it.]

This is a duck. Our duck has orange feet. Please help me try to find another duck that looks like this duck. We want to look carefully at our other animals.

[Repeat the steps of looking through the animals and comparing several to the duck. Encourage the toddler to help you look. If the toddler does not identify the second duck, point to the duck for the toddler to pick up and put next to the duck toy sitting in front of him/her. Talk about how the two toys are the same.]

Recap:

We looked carefully at all of the toy farm animals to find animals that are the same. We worked hard!

Block 22

Paying Attention:
Option 2

Self-Regulation

One-to-One

Skill and Goal

Concentration
A toddler practices finding identical pairs of toy farm animals with caregiver guidance.

Materials
Needed

  • Matching pairs of animal figures (see Be Prepared)

Key
Concepts

  • Same
  • Different
  • Look

Also
Promotes

  • Communication / Language
  • Cognitive

Be Prepared: Secure 4–5 pairs of identical farm animal figures. One possibility is two sets of Fisher Price Little People Farm Animal Friends®.

Invite a toddler to join you at a low table to find toy farm animal that are the same. Introduce the toy animals and encourage the toddler to pick up and look at some of the toys. Describe main characteristics of the toys the toddler picks up. It is not necessary to describe all toys. Invite the toddler to help you put all of the toy animals on the table, each standing on its legs.

Put in front of the toddler two toy animals that are different. Ask the toddler if the toys are the same or different. Talk about how the two toys are different. Return one of the two toys to the collection of farm animals and keep the remaining toy on the table in front of the toddler. Invite the toddler to look carefully at all of the toy animals to find a toy animal that is the same as the toy animal in front of him/her. Provide verbal support as needed.

When the toddler puts together an identical pair, talk about how the two toys are the same. Then put the two toys aside. Present another toy animal to the toddler and invite him/her to look carefully at all of the toy animals to find a toy that is the same as the toy animal you gave to him/her. Provide verbal support as needed. Continue this process if more pairs can be formed and the toddler remains interested.

Conclude the session by recognizing the toddler’s efforts and describing what he/she did to find toy animals that are the same.

Block 22

Paying Attention:
Option 3

Self-Regulation

One-to-One

Skill and Goal

Executive function
A toddler practices finding identical pairs of toy farm animals with minimal caregiver guidance.

Materials
Needed

  • Matching pairs of animal (see Be Prepared)

Key
Concepts

  • Same
  • Different
  • Look

Also
Promotes

  • Communication / Language
  • Cognitive

Be Prepared: Secure 6–7 pairs of identical farm animal figures. One possibility is two sets of Fisher Price Little People Farm Animal Friends®.

Invite a toddler to join you at a low table to play with some toy farm animals. Put in front of the toddler two pairs of toy farm animals: One pair of toy animals that are the same and one pair of toy animals that are different. Example: a pig and a horse, and two cows. Leave some space between the two pairs. Invite the toddler to look carefully at the toy animals and tell which animals are the same. Talk with the toddler about how the two toy animals in the other pair are different. Point to characteristics you describe.

Arrange the toy animals in random order on the table and invite the toddler to put together toys that are the same. If the toddler seems uncertain about what to do, give the toddler a toy animal and ask him/her to look at the other toy animals and try to find a toy that is the same. Offer verbal support as needed. Describe the toy farm animals the toddler puts together and acknowledge the toddler’s efforts.

What to Look For—Options 1–3

Look for opportunities to emphasize the concepts of same and different, and avoid saying two items are a “match” without describing why they are a match. Consistently monitor a toddler’s actions to determine whether more or less challenge would be appropriate to offer during the activity. The three activity options are sequenced to make it easy to move from one option to another while the activity is underway. Example: If Option 3 seems too challenging for a toddler, promptly incorporate the supports suggested in Option 2. Making an adaptation during an activity can occur seamlessly.

Focus on major characteristics of toy animals, such as shape, to describe how they are the same or different, and avoid using color names as the only distinguishing characteristic of a toy.

The activity options use similar types of toys (farm animals) and therefore are slightly more challenging than prior activities that used different types of objects to promote concentration skills (Blocks 4, 10, and 16).

Scaffolding tips

More Scaffolding Tips—Options 1–3

Extra support

  • In the opening segment of Option 1, promptly show two identical toy animals when you describe your interest in putting together toy animals that are the same.
  • Use 3–4 pairs of toy animals in Option 1 if you anticipate the suggested 7–9 pairs (a total of 14–18 figures) may be too challenging.
  • To provide verbal support in Option 2 for finding the same toy, point to a toy in the collection and ask whether the animal is the same or different than the animal the toddler is holding. Also, encourage a toddler to hold two animals next to each other in order to look carefully at whether they are the same or different.

Enrichment

  • Remind the toddler that things that look the same are a match.
Self-Regulation

Interest Area

Materials Needed: see activity description

Identify five different toys that are the same as one or more toys available in your room. Example: an animal figure, a block, a doll, a cup, a spoon. Put the toys on a low table and invite several toddlers to look for another toy in the room that is the same type of toy. Emphasize that the color may be different. Encourage toddlers to bring the toys they find to the table and place them next to the same type of toy. Talk with toddlers about how they looked at many different things during their search and stayed focused on finding one type of toy.

Family Child Care

Family Child Care

Materials Needed: toy animals used in Options 1–3

Be Prepared: Place one set of toy animals in different places in your setting.

Offer an adaptation of the Interest Area activity by inviting toddlers and preschool-age children to participate in a scavenger hunt for farm animal figures. Give each child (or pair of children) a toy animal and encourage him/her to find the same type of toy animal somewhere in your setting. Encourage the child to bring the two toy animals to a space you designate. Talk with children about how they looked and found the same type of toy. Emphasize the process of looking and staying focused on finding one type of toy animal.