Oral language, Letter knowledge
Children will interpret information presented in a book read aloud and increase the number of novel words they understand. Children will also identify and say the sound of the letter Z.
New:
Review:
Be Prepared: This is the third of three repeated readings of a book with children. Today’s session focuses on children’s interpretation (explanations, reasoning) of information presented in the book. The session also will help children understand more novel words. From the list of novel words you identified prior to your first reading of the book, select 2–3 words to define for children today. See the Language/Literacy section of the ELM User Guide: 3–5 Years for additional information on how to select and define novel words.
[Display letter Z card.]
What is the name of this letter? What sound does the letter Z make?
Letter Z says /z/, just like in “zigzag.” /z/, /z/, zigzag. Let’s together say /z/, /z/, zigzag.
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:
Number knowledge
Children will strengthen their ability to make a group of counters that is one more than a specific number.
Review:
Offer the Week 22, Day 4 activity to review the concept of one more.
Engage children in making a group of counters that is equal to one more than the number of counters pulled out of a basket.
Be Prepared: Use your knowledge of children’s counting skills to determine what number of counters to place in a basket. Example: Place nine counters in the basket if children can readily identify one more than a given number up to the number 10.
Invite a volunteer child to remind us what it means for a number to be one more than another number. (the number that comes after another number is one more)
Invite each child, one at a time, to reach into the basket with one hand and pull out a handful of counters. Urge the child to leave some counters in the basket. Invite the child to count aloud the counters, pointing to each one as he/she counts. Encourage the child to say how many counters he/she would have if there was one more counter in the group he/she pulled. Then invite the child to make a group of counters that is one more than the number of counters pulled from the basket. The additional counter should be pulled from the basket. Encourage all children to count the number of counters as the selected child points to each.
You may wish to demonstrate the above procedure (perhaps with a volunteer child) prior to beginning the activity.
Continue until all children have had a turn to pull a group of counters from the basket and add one more.
Motor development
Children will strengthen their locomotor skills for hopping.
2 small traffic cones (see Be Prepared)
Review:
Offer the Week 7, Day 4 activity to review hopping.
Engage children in hopping from a tape line to a cone and back to the tape line. This option involves hopping on the non-preferred foot.
Be Prepared: Place two pieces of tape on the ground near each other to mark two starting points. Place a cone about five feet away from each of the pieces of tape. An alternative to a traffic cone is a two-liter bottle filled with sand.
Invite a volunteer child to remind us how we hop. (we move our body with one foot and one leg) Invite another volunteer child to demonstrate. We use the same foot and leg to go up and down. We lift our other foot and leg off the ground while we hop.
Invite children to play a noncompetitive game of hopping to and from a cone. Point to the tape on the floor and explain that the tape is our starting point. Point to the cone and explain that we will hop to the cone and put both feet on the ground. Then we will return to the tape line by hopping on our other foot. Hopping on the non-preferred foot will be more difficult. Putting both feet on the ground at the point of reaching the cone will help children regain their balance. It is fine if some children want to return to the tape line using their preferred hopping foot.
Form two groups of children and invite each group to stand behind different areas of the tape line. Invite a child from each group to hop to the cone, put both feet down, and then hop back on the other foot. Continue inviting children to hop, one at a time, until all children have had a turn to hop to and from a cone. Increase or decrease challenge by moving a cone further from or closer to the tape line.
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Exploring Where We Live
Social Studies
Skill and Goal
Knowledge of social and physical environments
Children will strengthen their understanding of the concept of moving.
Materials
Needed
Printables provided
Key
Concepts
Review:
Optional
Reading
We are learning about moving. We go from one place to another place when we move.
Every day we move from one place to another place in our classroom. We move around a lot in our classroom.
How have you moved around in our classroom today?
[Follow-up prompt, if needed: “Did anyone move from the block area to another center in our classroom today? Where did you move to?”]
Children can move from our classroom to another classroom in our center or to a classroom in a different center or school.
Do you know anyone who moved from our classroom to a different classroom?
[Encourage children to describe classroom moves they may know about.]
Sometimes children move with their families to a different home. The new home may be in the same community or in a different community.
What are some reasons why families move to a different home? (live closer to parent’s job, parent gets a job or military assignment in a different place, family gets bigger, family members live in different places, etc.)
Some things are different and some things are the same or similar when we move from one home to another home.
[Display picture of Jason.]
We learned about Jason this week. He moved with his mom from one apartment to another apartment. They moved because his mom wanted to live closer to her job. Jason stayed at the same preschool program. He went to the same Saturday morning book time at his library. He met twin girls who liked to play with dinosaurs. Remember, Jason really likes dinosaurs.
[Display picture of Nakita.]
We also learned about Nakita this week. Nakita moved with her family to a place far away. The new place is in a desert. The family moved because her dad got a new military assignment. Nakita went to a different child care center. The teacher and children at the new center helped Nakita learn about the classroom. Nakita got to feed fish in the classroom.
More things were different for Nakita than for Jason because Nakita moved to a community far away from where she used to live. But not everything at Nakita’s new place was different. Nakita still lived with all of her family.
[Display chart from Day 4.]
Yesterday we made a list of things children might want to take with them if they move to a new home. I am going to read what is on our list.
[Point to items on list as you read each.]
What things on our list are fragile? Remember, fragile means that something can easily break or get damaged.
We are learning a lot about moving. We know there are different kinds of moves. We move around every day in our classroom. Sometimes children move to a different classroom or to a new home. Some things can be different when we move to a new place. Some things can be the same or similar to the place we moved from.
Scaffolding Tips
Extra support
Enrichment
Invite children to think of additional ways a new community could be the same as or different than a child’s previous community.
Center Activity
Provide magazines or catalogs that illustrate interiors and exteriors of homes, including yards and garages. Invite children to describe pictures of interest and whether the home or its setting has things that are similar to or different from their home.
Family Child Care
Invite school-age children who have recently moved to describe what it was like to move. They may have helped pack their things or moved to a different school.