Today we are going to work again with syllables in words. We will divide words into syllables. We will also put syllables together to make a word.

[Display box with items.]

I am going to choose an item from this box and we are going to clap once for each of its syllables. Let’s first practice together.

[Choose an item from the box.]

I’ve chosen a _____.

Let’s together clap the syllables in the word _____.

[Say the word in unison as you clap its syllables together. Do this two times.]

Now it’s your turn to try!

[Assess children individually with the following procedure:

• Invite a child to choose an item from the box.
• Ask the child to say the item’s name and to clap each of the syllables. Name the item if the child is uncertain. If the child gives an incorrect name but says and claps the syllables correctly, this is okay. Example: Child calls a “backhoe” a “digger” and claps two syllables.
• If the child seems confused, provide assistance by naming the item, emphasizing the syllables. Then ask the child to repeat the name and to clap each of its syllables. Example: “Clap and say the syllables in this word: prin-cess.”
• Set aside the item so it is not used by another child.
• Repeat the above procedure until all children have been assessed on their understanding of how to segment words into syllables.]

Now we will play a robot game. I am going to pretend to be a robot! We have played this game before. Listen carefully as I speak like a robot.

[Say the following in “robot talk.”]

I am a robot. Can you help me? Can you tell me what I see?

I see a but-ter-fly.

[Enunciate each syllable slowly. Pause briefly after each syllable.]

What do I see? (butterfly)

Now each of you will have a turn. I will pretend to be a robot and ask each of you to help me. I will say parts of a word in “robot talk” and then you can help by telling me what I see! All of us need to be quiet so the person helping the robot can concentrate. Remember, when we concentrate on something we pay close attention to it.

[Assess children individually with the following procedure:

• For each child, say a 2–3 syllable word in “robot talk” and ask the child to tell you what you see by putting the syllables together to make a word.
• If the child seems confused, provide assistance by repeating the syllables in the word or say the first part of the word and encourage the child to complete the word. Example: “I will say the first part of the word with my robot voice. Then you say the rest of the word. Spa-ghe- _____.”
• Repeat the above procedure until all children have been assessed on their understanding of blending syllables into a word.]

Today we learned more about syllables. We first clapped the syllables in an item we chose from the box. Then we listened to “robot talk” and put syllables together to figure out what the robot saw.

Child claps and says syllables independently (no assistance or with your assistance in naming a picture only)

Child claps and says syllables in words as follows:

• The child said the segmented word correctly but clapped an incorrect number of syllables or clapped correctly but did not say the syllables in a word
• You offered assistance by saying the item’s name, emphasizing the syllables, and the child clapped correctly

Child does not segment syllables in words at this time

Child blends syllables independently by saying the word correctly without pauses for each syllable (no assistance)

Child blends syllables with the following assistance:

• You repeated the syllables in the word, and/or
• You provided other cues, such as starting to say the word (example: spa‑ghe), and the child completed the word

Child does not blend syllables into words at this time

Children in our classroom are learning that words can be divided (segmented) into parts (syllables), and that the parts can be put together (blended) into words. Children’s understanding of syllables is an important foundation skill for later reading success. Recently I assessed Penelope’s progress in understanding syllables. Penelope independently divided (segmented) “pencil” into two syllables and put together (blended) the three syllables in the word “rectangle.” I am offering some follow-up learning opportunities to reinforce Penelope’s understanding of syllables.

Children in our classroom are learning that words can be divided (segmented) into parts (syllables), and that the parts can be put together (blended) into words. Children’s understanding of syllables is an important foundation skill for later reading success. Recently I assessed Zachary’s progress in understanding syllables. Zachary successfully clapped (segmented) the two syllables in the word “marker” when I offered some assistance by saying the syllables of “marker.” Zachary also correctly put together (blended) the three syllables in the word “dinosaur” when I offered some assistance by repeating the syllables in “dinosaur.” I am offering some follow-up learning activities to support Zachary’s emerging understanding of syllables.

Children in our classroom are learning that words can be divided (segmented) into parts (syllables), and that the parts can be put together (blended) into words. Children’s understanding of syllables is an important foundation skill for later reading success. I recently assessed Violet’s progress in understanding syllables. Violet successfully put together (blended) the three syllables in the word “elephant” without assistance from me. She divided (segmented) the two syllables in the word “chicken” by correctly clapping the two syllables but she did not say the syllables while she clapped, as requested. I am offering some follow-up learning opportunities to reinforce Violet’s understanding of how to blend syllables into a word, and to review how to divide (segment) a word into syllables.

Children in our classroom are learning that words can be divided (segmented) into parts (syllables), and that the parts can be put together (blended) into words. Children’s understanding of syllables is an important foundation skill for later reading success. Rian’s progress in understanding syllables was assessed. Rian was interested in choosing an item from the box used for the assessment. He was also engaged in naming the item with assistance from me. It seems that Rian was not yet ready to divide (segment) or put together (blend) words with two or three syllables. I am offering follow-up learning opportunities to reintroduce Rian to syllables and will assess his progress after he has had more time to learn about syllables.

We know what numbers one, two, three, four, and five look like.

[Display one at a time and in random order the cards for numerals three, four, and five. For each card, invite children to pop up if the number shows how old they are.]

Let’s say the numbers as I hold them up one at a time.

[Display large numeral cards 1–5 in random order. Invite children to name each number.]

Today we will play a game with dice and blocks. We will work in pairs for this game. When we work in a pair, we work with a partner.

We will make towers with our blocks and find out whether our tower or our partner’s tower has more blocks.

Each person in the pair will get a turn to roll the die and build a tower. After we roll the die, we will count the dots on the die and then build a tower with the same number of blocks.

After each person builds a tower, you can determine which tower has more blocks. Your towers might even have equal groups of blocks!

Let me show you how to play.

[Demonstrate with another adult how to each roll the die, count the number of dots on the die, and form a tower with the same number of blocks. Discuss which tower has more blocks.]

Now we can all play!

[Arrange children in pairs. If you have an odd number of children, form one group of three who each build a tower.

Give each child six small blocks or Unifix^® cubes. Count out each block or cube as you place it in front of each child to emphasize that there are six. Also, give each pair of children a die.

Observe and help as needed.

Hold up six fingers.]

How many fingers am I holding up?

I am holding up six fingers. Let’s count them together.

[Point to each finger as you encourage children to count with you.]

Number six looks like this.

[Hold up a large numeral six card.]

The number six means there are six of something. Let’s count the dots on the number card.

[Point to each dot on the numeral card as you count. Encourage children to count with you.]

The number six means there are six things! Please hold up six fingers. Let’s count them together.

[Display a large numeral three card next to the numeral six card.]

Let’s compare the number three to the number six.

• How is the number six similar to the number three? (both have curved lines)
• How is the number six different from the number three? (number three has two open circles, number six has one circle)

Today we played a game with a die and blocks. We compared different towers of blocks to see which tower had more blocks. We also learned what the number six looks like.

Today we will play a new game that will help us to be good listeners and remember what to do. We will need to listen carefully. What part of our body do we use to listen? (ears) The game will help us practice how to remember things. We know that when we practice something, we do it many times so we can get better at it!

The game is called Drum Beats. Beats on the drum will tell us how to move our body.

I am going to beat this drum with my hand. We will tap our knees lightly while I beat the drum. When I stop beating the drum, we should stop tapping our knees.

Let me show you.

[Ask another adult to help. Beat the drum, then pause as the other adult taps his/her knees lightly. Then say “stop” and have the other adult stop tapping. The drum beats and taps do not need to be in unison. Continuous tapping is fine.]

Now let’s try it together.

[Beat on the drum as children tap their knees lightly. Then stop and wait for children to stop tapping. Continue with several rounds of beating the drum and stopping, while waiting for children to tap and stop tapping on cue. Shorten or lengthen the amount of time you beat the drum, based on how quickly children respond to the start and stop prompts.]

Now we will change our game a little bit. This time when I beat the drum two times, we will tap our knees lightly. Keep tapping until you hear me beat the drum three times. When we hear three drum beats, we will begin to stomp. When I beat the drum one time, we stop. Watch as I show you.

[Ask another adult to help. Beat the drum two times, then pause as the adult taps. Then beat the drum three times, and pause, and wait for the adult to stomp. Then beat the drum one time and wait for the adult to stop. Alternate between two beats, three beats, and one beat as the other adult taps and then stomps.]

Now let’s try it together!

[Beat the drum two times, then pause and wait for children to tap their knees lightly. Then beat the drum three times, and pause, and wait for children to stomp. Then beat the drum one time and pause for children to stop. Continue alternating between two beats and three beats as the children tap and stomp. Say “stop” to indicate that children should stop tapping or stomping.]

Today we practiced listening carefully so we would know what to do. We also practiced remembering what to do. In our game, we listened for drum beats. What did we need to pay attention to with the drum beats? (whether the beat continued or stopped, whether there were 1, 2, or 3 beats) What did the drum beats tell us to do? (tap our knees lightly, stomp, remain still)

Yesterday we used our voices as musical instruments when we sang a song.

We also learned about the volume of a sound. What does volume mean? (how loud or how quiet a sound is)

Today we are going to learn more about songs. We know that a song puts words and music together.

We are going to use our voices as instruments when we sing the song “Wheels on the Bus.”

[Encourage children to join you in singing “Wheels on the Bus.”]

We used our voices as musical instruments to say the words and to sing the song.

Now we will sing the song again with other musical instruments. We can sing our song with musical instruments that are on a CD.

[Play Track 13 on the CD, Music for Babies: Greatest Baby Lullabies, and encourage children to sing the song with you.]

Music came from two places when we sang the song. There was music from our voices. There was also music from the instruments on our CD

We need both words and music for something to be a song.

What are the two things that come from our voices when we sing a song? (words and music)

A song puts words and music together. We listened to music. Then we added words to the music by singing. The music became a song!