Oral language
Children will understand basic information, including the meaning of several novel words, presented in a book read aloud.
New:
Be Prepared: This is the first of two 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 you intend to define for children during the two readings of the book. Select 3–4 important words to define for children today, especially words that are essential to understanding the book. See the Language/Literacy section of the ELM Curriculum User Guide: 3–5 Years for additional information. Write the following at the top of the chart paper: Words We Understand. See Language/Literacy Week 2, Day 1 for guidance on the first-time reading of a book with children.
Open the session by reminding children that books help us learn new words. Point to the chart, read its title, and write several words from your list of novel words for children to learn (see Be Prepared). Say each new word and talk with children about what the word means.
Display the front cover of the book and read the book title and names of the author(s) and illustrator. Invite children into the book by asking questions, such as “What do we see on the cover of the book?” “What might this book be about?”
Read the book without inviting talk until you have finished reading. Point to and describe illustrations directly related to the text. During and/or after the book reading, explain characters, words, or events that might be challenging for children to understand. See Week 46, Day 1 for examples.
Support children’s understanding of novel words used in the book. For each word on your Words We Understand chart, ask children what the word means and help children recall how the word was used in the book. See Week 46, Day 1 for examples.
Close the book reading session by asking questions that will help children remember the main characters and the major events of the book. Examples:
Incorporate children’s responses into a short summary of the book. See Week 46, Day 1 for an example.
Extra support
Enrichment
Number knowledge
Children will strengthen their understanding that the last number counted tells how many (cardinality).
Review:
Offer the Week 11, Day 1 activity to reinforce children’s understanding that the last number counted tells how many.
Support individual children in counting squares on the floor.
Be Prepared: Use masking tape to make a row of 10 squares of the same size on the floor.
Open the session by standing just outside of an end of the row of squares. Use an underarm throw to gently toss the beanbag so it lands on (or near) one of the squares. Then step on each square as you lead children in counting each step with you. Stop counting and stepping when you reach the square with the beanbag; the square with the beanbag is the last square you count and step on. Ask children how many squares you stepped on. Then remind children that the last number we counted tells us how many steps you took.
Explain that we will take turns gently tossing the beanbag and then stepping on and counting each square until we reach the square with our beanbag. We will count together. The person who takes the steps will tell us how many squares he/she stepped on. We will alternate beginning at opposite ends of the row of squares. Example: Child A throws and begins stepping from one end of the row of squares. After Child A completes his/her time on the row of squares, Child B throws and begins stepping from the opposite end of the row of squares. Only one child is on the row squares at a time.
Initiate the activity with a volunteer child and continue until all children have an opportunity to toss, step, and tell how many steps they took. Encourage all children to count aloud as a child takes steps. Periodically remind children that the last number we count is how many we have of something.
Concentrate
Children will strengthen their understanding of how to concentrate on their bodies and breathing.
Review:
Today we will do an activity we’ve done before where we concentrate on our breathing. We know that when we concentrate, we pay close attention to something. This will help our mind to calm down and our body to be more relaxed.
We will concentrate on our breathing by pretending we are a starfish.
What is a starfish?
We know that a starfish is an animal with five legs that lives in the ocean.
[Display picture of a starfish.]
The legs of a starfish come together in the center of its body.
[Point to the center of the starfish body.]
Let’s point to the center of our own body.
Let’s find a place on the floor to spread out like a starfish. When we find a place to lie down on our backs, we will spread out our arms, legs, and neck like a starfish. We need to make sure our body is not touching someone else.
[Dim the lights or turn them off, if possible, as children concentrate on their breathing.]
Let’s close our eyes and concentrate on our breathing. Let’s take a deep breath while stretching out our arms, legs, and neck on the floor like a starfish. Let’s relax our arms, legs, and necks while we breathe out.
[Invite children to take a deep breath while stretching out their arms, legs, and neck like a starfish. Encourage children to relax their arms, legs, and neck as they exhale. Continue this exercise five more times as children practice stretching and relaxing and concentrating on their breathing.]
Now let’s bring our arms in to our sides and our legs together while we lie still on the floor. Let’s keep our eyes closed and concentrate on our breathing; in and out, in and out.
I am going to gently place a stuffed animal on the center of your body. Keep concentrating on breathing in and out. The animal on your stomach will slowly move up and down.
[Gently place a stuffed animal or other small toy on each child’s stomach. Walk slowly and talk quietly and calmly as you explain how the animal or toy on our stomach helps us concentrate on our breathing.]
Notice how the animal (toy) goes up on your stomach when you breathe in, and down on your stomach when you breathe out. Let’s pretend our stomach is rocking the stuffed animal or toy to sleep by breathing in and out. Let’s concentrate on our breathing as we quietly rock our animal (toy) to sleep.
We may breathe slower when we concentrate on our breathing. Let’s relax as we think about our animal rocking to sleep on our stomach.
[Continue this activity as long as children are appropriately engaged. Encourage them to think about rocking the animal to sleep as they breathe in and out.]
Today we pretended to be a starfish while we concentrated on our breathing. We also pretended to rock our animals (toys) to sleep while we breathed slowly in and out, in and out. Concentrating on our breathing and body can help our mind to calm down and our body to relax.
Extra support
Enrichment
In a quiet area of the room, hang a sheet to be used as a sort of tent. Play quiet, peaceful music and invite children to place a stuffed animal on their stomach and practice concentrating on their breathing.
Practice this activity whenever children need a chance to calm down. This may help children to allow their bodies to relax more easily.
Knowledge of creative processes, Skills that support creative expression
Children will select one of their own works of art to include in a classroom exhibition of art.
New:
Be Prepared: Assemble for each child a small collection of his/her art created in your classroom (see Science Week 47, Day 3). Choose an area in the room to be used for an art exhibition later this week. Send a note to families inviting them to explore the exhibition before or after pickup time later this week (Days 3–5).
We are learning so much about art! We know about different kinds of art like painting, drawing, sculpting, and collage. We also know how artists create art.
We have created art in our classroom. We have created so much art that we can put together an exhibition. An exhibition is a show of art or other items that people can attend.
Let’s look at some pictures of art exhibitions.
[Display three pictures of art exhibitions.]
What do we see? (lots of art work, different types of art)
An exhibition can show one artist’s work or the work of many different artists.
Artists carefully choose the art they want to show to others in an exhibition.
Today each of us will pick one work of art we have created. The artwork each of us picks will be shown in our classroom’s art exhibition later this week.
Each of us will decide what piece of art we want to show. You may want to select the work that was the most fun to make or the artwork you like the most. Each of us will decide.
[Distribute to each child his/her collection of artwork. Encourage children to look closely at each piece and decide which one to show in the exhibition. Invite children to describe why they selected the piece they did.]
Today we learned about art exhibitions and made decisions about pieces of art to show in our classroom’s exhibition later this week. Was it easy or hard for you to pick one piece only to include in our exhibition?
[Put children’s selected art pieces in a separate folder for their use tomorrow.]
Extra support:
Enrichment:
Provide *pictures of different kinds of art (drawings, paintings, collages, murals). Invite children to sort the pictures by kind of art.
*Printables Provided
Include in the exhibition the creations of all children in your setting.
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