Oral language, Letter knowledge
Children will understand basic information, including the meaning of several novel words, presented in a book read aloud. Children will also identify the name and sound of the letter A.
New:
Be Prepared: This is the first of three repeated readings of a book with children. Today’s reading focuses on children’s understanding of basic information presented in the book. In advance of the session, identify all novel words in the book you intend to define for children across three days of reading the book. Select one or two important words to define for children today, especially words that are essential to understanding the book. See the Language/Literacy section of the ELM User Guide: 3–5 Years for additional information. Write the following at the top of the chart paper: Words We Understand.
[Display letter A card.]
The word “alphabet” begins with this letter. What is the name of this letter?
Letter A says /a/, just like in the word “alphabet.” /a/, /a/, alphabet. Let’s together say /a/, /a/, alphabet.
Who would like to tell us another word that begins with the letter A?
Now let’s read a book!
[See Week 3, Day 1 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 individually demonstrate their understanding of one-to-one counting and the last number counted (cardinality).
Review:
Be Prepared: This is an individual progress assessment of children’s understanding of one-to-one counting and cardinality. One-to-one counting refers to saying one number name per item when counting. Cardinality is the technical term for last number counted; the final number that is counted indicates how many total items are in a set. See the Mathematics section of the ELM User Guide: 3–5 Years for descriptions of each skill. Cardinality is assessed by asking children to create groups of given numbers of counters. Performance is determined separately for one-to-one counting and cardinality. Details are provided at the end of the activity plan.
Begin the one-to-one assessment with 4–5 children today (Week 13, Day 1) and continue assessments with 4–5 children each day this week. Invite each child to join you at a table in an area of the room with few or no distractions. The brief assessment session should occur when children are not engaged in a small or large group activity.
Today we are going to practice our counting. I have some circles for us to count.
[Place 10 counters in a row in front of the child.]
First let’s count out a group of circles together. We’ll make a group of three circles. Let’s count them out loud together.
[Count out a group of three counters. As you place each counter in a separate group of three, say the corresponding number out loud. Encourage the child to count with you.]
1, 2, 3. We made a group of three circles.
Now it’s your turn to make some groups on your own. I will tell you a number and I would like for you to make a group of that many circles.
[Place 10 counters in front of the child.]
Please count out two circles. Remember to count each circle out loud as you make your group.
[Encourage the child to count out loud. Do not comment on the accuracy of the answer. Record child’s response on the provided form. Return counters used by the child to the group of 10.]
Please count out four circles. Remember to count each circle out loud as you make your group.
[Encourage the child to count out loud. Do not comment on the accuracy of the answer. Record child’s response on the provided form. Return counters used by the child to the group of 10.]
You are working very hard.
Now please count out five circles. Don’t forget to point to each one as you count!
[Do not comment on the accuracy of the answer. Record child’s response on the provided form.]
We counted out a group of circles together, and then you counted out some groups on your own. Counting is fun!
Determine each child’s performance twice, once for one-to-one counting and once for producing the correct number of counters (cardinality). Record your designation for each child on the provided form. Options are as follows:
One-to-one counting: Child says one number per item for each of the three groups counted.
Cardinality: Child creates a group of the correct amount of counters for each of the three requested groups.
One-to-one counting: Child says one number per item for one or two of the three groups counted.
Cardinality: Child creates a group of the correct amount of counters for one or two of the three requested groups.
One-to-one counting: Child does not say one number per item for any of the groups counted or child skips items or says more than one number for an item for each of the counted groups.
Cardinality: Child does not create a group of the correct amount of counters for any of the three requested groups.
Reinforce
The following activities are designed to support children who display evidence of understanding one-to-one counting and cardinality (Assessment = Got It) and children who are developing understanding of these skills (Assessment = Getting It).
Reintroduce
The following activities are designed for children who do not yet demonstrate an understanding of one-to-one counting or cardinality (Assessment = Not Yet).
Children are learning that when we count, each item represents one number and the last number counted tells us how many there are. These are important skills for later math development. Today I assessed Micah’s understanding of these concepts. Micah independently counted out groups of 2, 4, and 5 counters. We are offering activities to reinforce Micah’s understanding of counting. We are also encouraging Micah to count groups of 6–10 items.
Children in our classroom are learning that when we count, each item represents one number and the last number counted tells us “how many.” These are important skills for later math development. I recently assessed Katie’s progress in understanding counting by asking her to count out groups of 2, 4, and 5 counters. Katie demonstrated that she understands that we assign numbers when we count. She skipped over a few items when counting. When asked how many counters were in her group, Katie recounted the set. I am offering some follow-up learning opportunities to support Katie’s emerging understanding of counting concepts.
Children are learning that when we count, each item represents one number and the last number counted tells us “how many.” These are important skills for later math development. We recently assessed children’s ability to count out small groups of items. I put a group of counters on the table and asked Lupita to count out groups of 2, 4, and 5 counters. She counted out groups of two and four but had difficulty making a group of five. We are providing additional assistance to help Lupita understand that the last number counted tells us how many there are in the group. We are also offering activities to reinforce her understanding of assigning one number to each item.
Children in our classroom are learning that when we count, each item represents one number and the last number counted tells us “how many.” These are important skills for later math development. I recently assessed Noah’s progress in understanding these counting concepts. Noah was very attentive to the activity. He recited numbers up to five, but did not seem ready to match the numbers to the items or independently create small groups of items. I am offering follow-up opportunities to reintroduce Noah to these concepts and will assess his progress after he has had more time to learn about counting.
Number knowledge
Children will compare groups of different amounts of items. Children will also recognize the numerals 0 and 1.
New:
Review:
Today we are going to do some sorting. Remember, when we sort, we put things into different groups. Let’s look at a group of crayons.
[Display a group of crayons that includes three black, four blue, and five orange.]
How can we sort our crayons? (by color, size, etc.)
Let’s sort our crayons by color.
[Hold up each crayon, one at a time, as you encourage children to help you sort the crayons by color. Example: “What color is this crayon? What group should we put it in?”]
Each group has a different color of crayons.
How many groups of crayons are there? (three)
Now let’s count how many crayons are in each group.
[Assemble the crayons in a row in each group so children can easily see each group and the number of crayons in each group. Touch each crayon as you encourage children to help you count the crayons in each group. Repeat the last number counted in each group.]
Our groups have different amounts of crayons. One of the groups has more crayons than the other groups. Remember, if a group has more, it has a larger or bigger amount of something.
Each of our other groups has fewer crayons than this group. Remember, when something has fewer, it has a smaller amount of something.
When we count the number of things in a group, we can see that sometimes our groups have different amounts.
Now let’s talk about what some numbers look like. We see many numbers every day in our classroom.
[Hold up one finger.]
How many fingers am I holding up?
I am holding up one finger.
[Display large numeral one card. Point to the numeral and the dot when you describe each.]
This is what number one looks like.
The number one means there is one thing. There is one dot at the bottom of our card. This dot helps us remember that the number one means there is one thing.
There is a number that comes before number one. It is called zero. A zero means none. If I said, “Hold up zero fingers,” we would not hold up any fingers.
[Display a large numeral zero card.]
This is the number zero. The number zero looks a lot like the letter “O.” Zero is a number. “O” is a letter. Zero and the letter “O” are both made with one curved line.
How does the number zero look different than the number one? (zero is curved, one is straight)
Let’s hold up zero fingers!
Today we sorted groups of crayons by color. The orange group had more crayons than the other groups.
[Display large numeral cards zero and one. Point to each numeral as you invite children to name each.]
Let’s hold up one finger. Now let’s hold up zero fingers!
Extra support
Enrichment
Provide children with a basket of items to sort into two groups of their choosing. After children have sorted the items, ask which group has more items or which has fewer items.
Encourage children to practice finding more and fewer items at snack time. Make a trail mix snack that contains three different types of snack items. Example: raisins, nuts, crackers. Give each child a handful of the snack and invite children to sort the items. After children have sorted the items, invite them to count the number of items in each group and determine which group has more and which group has fewer. Invite school-age children to arrange snack items by size: big, bigger, biggest.
Executive function
Children will regulate their behaviors in response to different oral and visual prompts.
New:
Be Prepared: If time permits, offer Sleeping, Sleeping, All the Children Are Sleeping from Week 12, Day 1 as a second game. If the game described below is too challenging for a majority of children, stop at an appropriate place and offer Sleeping, Sleeping, All the Children Are Sleeping from Week 12, Day 1. The game for today may be less challenging when offered again at a later point.
Today we will play a new game called Conducting an Orchestra. An orchestra is a group of people who play certain kinds of musical instruments together. When we conduct an orchestra, we lead it. So, the conductor of an orchestra leads a group of people playing certain kinds of musical instruments. The conductor usually uses a baton to lead the orchestra. A baton is like a stick.
[Display a baton or stick.]
[Give each child a musical instrument. Instruments may include drums, bells, triangles, rhythm sticks, etc. Provide children with a few moments to play their instruments.
After children have had a few moments to play their instruments, tell children to please make their instrument quiet until the game begins.]
For this game, I will be the conductor and you will be the orchestra! When I wave the baton like this, we will play our instruments.
[Wave baton.]
What do you think we will need to do when I stop waving the baton? (stop playing the instruments) Watch as I show you how to play.
[Ask another adult to play an instrument for this demonstration. Wave the baton as the helper plays his/her instrument. Then stop waving the baton. The helper should stop playing the instrument.]
What should we do when the baton stops moving? (stop playing instrument)
Now let’s try it together! Remember, it is very important to look at me and watch the baton carefully so we know when to play and when to stop.
[Wave the baton as children play the instruments. After a few seconds, stop the baton movements. Wait for children to stop playing before you begin waving again. Continue for several minutes as children practice stopping and starting while watching the baton.]
Now we are going to change the game a little. This time I will wave the baton slowly. We should play our instruments slowly when the baton is moving slowly. We should play our instruments quickly when the baton is moving quickly. What do you think we should do when I stop waving the baton? (stop) Remember to watch the baton carefully so you know whether to play quickly or slowly or to stop. Let’s try it!
[Wave the baton slowly as children begin to play the instruments slowly. After a few seconds, wave the baton quickly. Wait for children to begin playing quickly before you begin waving the baton slowly again. Continue as children practice playing quickly, slowly, and stopping while watching the baton actions.]
Today we played a new game. During the game it was very important to pay close attention.
Extra support
Enrichment
Invite children to continue playing Conducting an Orchestra. Encourage children to take turns waving the baton fast or slow. Ensure the baton does not have a pointed or sharp tip. A soft stick-like item may be used as a baton.
As an extension of today’s activity, invite children to make their own simple musical instrument in your setting or with their families. Examples: bowl with a wooden spoon, plastic container filled with paper clips, bells on a string. Encourage school-age children to take turns holding up two different toys for varying amounts of time as children use the toys as visual prompts to play and stop their instruments. Example: Hold up a doll for five seconds as children begin playing their instruments, and then hold up a car for five seconds as children stop playing their instruments. Younger children in your setting will enjoy making noise with rattles and other toys.
Knowledge of living things
Children will understand similarities and differences in animal coverings.
New:
Review:
We are learning about living things. We know that living things eat, breathe, grow, and make others like themselves. This week we will talk about some animals.
Who has a pet at home?
[Encourage children to describe their pets. Offer follow-up prompts, if necessary: “Who has a dog?” “Does anyone have a pet snake?” “Does anyone have a pet bird?” “Tell us about it!”]
Animals can have many different characteristics. Remember, a characteristic is something special about a living thing or a thing that is not living.
Today we will talk about what covers the bodies of some different animals.
Our bodies are covered with skin. Our skin protects our body in many ways. It keeps us warm and helps protect the inside of our body from germs and dirt. Skin also helps us to feel things. That’s why we take good care of our skin by making sure it is clean and is protected from the sun.
[Display picture of a bear.]
Some animals have fur covering their bodies. This bear has fur all over its body. Fur helps an animal keep warm and protects an animal from the rain.
What do we use to help keep us warm and protect us from the rain? (coats, clothing)
Most animals do not wear clothing. Fur keeps them warm and dry. Fur is a characteristic of some animals.
[Display picture of two parrots.]
What is covering the bodies of these birds? (feathers)
Some animals have feathers covering their bodies. A bird’s feathers help keep it warm and protect it from the rain. Feathers also help birds to fly.
Can we fly like birds? (No. We don’t have feathers covering our body!)
Some animals have scales covering their bodies. Scales are thin, flat, hard pieces of skin. Let’s look at a picture of a fish and a picture of a snake. Both of these animals have scales covering their bodies.
[Display pictures of a fish and a snake.]
Scales protect some animals by keeping their bodies safe from danger. Scales on a snake help it to move over rough or hot rocks and sand. Scales on a fish help it to swim smoothly through the water. Many different kinds of animals have scales. Let’s take a closer look at scales.
[Display a close-up picture of the scales of a fish.]
What do the scales in our picture look like? (hard, smooth, curved, etc.)
Scales are a characteristic of some animals.
Let’s compare the three types of animal coverings we’ve discussed. We can compare by describing how the animals are similar and different. Remember, when things are similar, they may be like each other, but not the same. When things are different, they are not the same.
[Display pictures of a bear, parrots, and fish.]
Today we learned that fur, feathers, and scales are characteristics of some animals that help protect their bodies. These different coverings also help animals do different things like fly and swim.
Extra support
Enrichment
Fill a tub or sensory table with water. Provide a variety of toy animals and place them in the water. Encourage children to play with and sort the animals based on their characteristics.
Take children outside to look for animals. Talk about the animals’ coverings. Invite children to draw a picture of an animal and then tell the other children what covers the body of the animal.
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