We are learning about the beginning sounds in words. We are going to play a sound game today. We will play the game we played last week but with different sounds.

[Spread out the 15 picture cards on the floor or a table (see Be Prepared).]

I am going to say a letter sound to each of you, one at a time. When I say a letter sound, please try to find a picture that begins with the same letter sound. Let me remind you how to play.

I am going to look for a picture that begins with the /r/ sound. Let me say the sound again: /r-r-r/. Now let’s say the sound together: /r-r-r/.

• [Pick up a picture that does not begin with the /r/ sound and say the name of the picture as you clearly enunciate the beginning sound. Example: “This is a picture of a bat. I hear a /b/, /b/, /b/ sound at the beginning of bat. Bat does not begin with an /r/ sound.”
• Repeat the explanation with one more picture that does not begin with the /r/ sound.
• Then choose a picture that does begin with the /r/ sound. Example: “This is a rug. I hear an /r-r-r/ sound at the beginning of rug!”]

Now we will each have a turn to look for a picture.

[Ask each child, one at a time, to find a picture card that begins with a sound you say aloud. Be sure to clearly enunciate one of the five letter sounds (/b/, /e/, /s/, /o/, /r/). Continue until all children have had a turn.

If time permits, engage children in the game described below. Otherwise skip to the activity segment on the letter F.]

Now we will play another game. Each of us will get a picture that we will place face down on the table. We will work in pairs and take turns turning over the pictures and figuring out if both pictures begin with the same letter sound. Let’s try one together.

[Place two picture cards with different beginning letter sounds face down in front of you.]

When I turn these pictures over, we will figure out if they both begin with the same letter sound.

[Turn both picture cards face up and say the name of each picture as you clearly enunciate the beginning sound of each word.]

• Do these pictures begin with the same sound? How do we know?
• What sound does each picture begin with?

Now let’s take turns turning over our own pictures.

[Give each child a picture card, making sure that some picture cards have letter sounds that are the same. Invite pairs of children to turn over their picture cards. Encourage each child in the pair to say the name of his/her picture card, and then together determine if the picture cards begin with the same sound or different letter sounds. Then ask children to name the letter sound(s) the picture cards begin with. Continue as time allows.]

Now we are going to learn a different letter of the alphabet.

[Display letter F card.]

Does anyone know the name of this letter?

This is the letter F. We can write the letter F in two ways. We can write the letter F like this.

[Demonstrate writing an uppercase F at the top of a chart paper.]

This is an uppercase F.

We can also write the letter F like this.

[Demonstrate writing a lowercase f at the top of a chart paper.]

This is a lowercase f.

The word “frog” begins with the letter f. Last week we learned about the life cycle of a frog. We know that a frog begins its life in an egg and grows and changes into an adult frog.

I will write this word on our chart. I am going to write the word “frog” with a lowercase (small letter) f.

[Say each letter as you write the word. Emphasize f.]

Let’s all say the word “frog.”

[Invite a volunteer child to point to the letter f in the word “frog.”]

Let’s look at the very first letter of our name. Pop up if you have the letter F at the beginning of your name. Remember, names begin with an uppercase (big) letter.

[Encourage children to look at their name cards. Say the first names of children who have an F at the beginning of their name. If there are children whose name begins with the letter F who do not stand, point to the letter F on their name card. Compare the letter F in their name as you hold the letter F card next to their name card.

If no one in the group has a first name beginning with the letter F, say “No one popped up because no one has a name that starts with the letter F.” Encourage children to look at the list of children’s first names. Point to some first letters of names. Explain that no one’s name begins with the letter F.

If a child indicates there is a letter F in his/her name, but not at the beginning of the name, fully recognize the name and invite the child to pop up. Day 4 gives attention to the letter f that appears somewhere else in a child’s name.]

Today we played a game with pictures. We found a picture that began with the same beginning letter sound as a sound I said.

We also learned about the letter F. What is a word that begins with the letter f? (frog)

Today we will draw and count animals that can fly. What animals are shown in these pictures?

[Display the three pictures, one at a time. Repeat children’s correct responses: bird, bee, butterfly.]

[Display a prepared piece of paper, with the large numeral three in the upper right corner, as you describe the paper and actions below.]

Each of us will get a piece of paper to draw on. We can draw two different types of flying animals. You choose the animals you want to draw. The choices are birds, bees, or butterflies.

There is a number at the top of our paper. The number tells how many of our first animal we are to draw.

• What is the number on the paper I am holding? (three)
• One of the animals I want to draw is butterflies. How many butterflies will I draw? (three)

Remember, we draw two different animals that fly. For our second animal, we draw one more than our first animal.

I will draw three butterflies for my first animal. I want to draw a bee for my second animal.

How many bees will I draw? (four)

Four is one more than three. I will draw three butterflies and four bees. My paper will have one more bee than butterflies.

[Give each child a piece of paper with a numeral you anticipate will be appropriately challenging. Encourage children to draw what they think the animal looks like. The activity is not intended to promote copying the displayed pictures.

Encourage children to count the number of drawings of their first animal before beginning to draw the second animal.

Children may wish to draw their first animal on the top half of their page and the second animal on the bottom half of their page.]

Each of us drew two different animals that fly. We looked at the number on our paper to know how many of our first animal to draw. How did we know how many of our second animal to draw? (one more than the first animal)

Today we will play a game with music. This game is called Musical Simon Says. We will use three musical instruments to play this game. We know that a musical instrument makes music when it is played. We will use a shaker, bell, and drum. Let’s listen to the sound of each instrument first.

[Play each instrument, one at a time, and describe its sound. Example: “A drum makes a ‘boom, boom’ sound.”]

Each time I play one of the instruments, we are going to move our bodies in a certain way. When I stop playing an instrument, we will freeze and stop moving our bodies. Let’s practice with the shaker first. Let’s wiggle our hips when we hear the shaker.

[Play the shaker for several seconds as children practice wiggling their hips.]

Now let’s shake our hands in the air when we hear the bell.

[Play the bell for several seconds as children practice shaking their hands in the air.]

Our last instrument is the drum. Let’s stomp our feet when we hear the drum.

[Play the drum for several seconds as children practice stomping their feet.]

Great job moving parts of your body in different ways! Now when I play each instrument, we’ll move our bodies the way we practiced.

What will we do when we hear the shaker? (wiggle our hips) What will we do when we hear the bell? (shake our hands in the air) What will we do when we hear the drum? (stomp our feet) Let’s try it!

[Play each instrument for several seconds as children move their bodies in the intended ways. As children become more accustomed to the movement associated with the sound of each instrument, play each instrument for a shorter period of time.]

Today we played a game with music. What did we do when we heard the musical instruments during the Musical Simon Says game?

Yesterday each of us drew a picture of what might hatch from a butterfly egg. What do you think hatches from a butterfly egg?

Today we are going to learn what hatches from a butterfly egg! We will learn about the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle by reading a book.

[Display book cover.]

Our book is called Are You a Butterfly? It was written by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries.

[Pause as you read the book to describe illustrations (example: point to butterflies shown on an early page) and respond to children’s comments or questions. Emphasize that the butterfly goes through many changes while it is growing.]

Let’s look at some pictures of a butterfly’s life cycle. We know that the life cycle begins with butterfly eggs.

[Display picture of butterfly eggs.]

• What do we see in this picture? (many eggs on a leaf )
• What hatches from the eggs? (caterpillars)
• Did you guess that a caterpillar would hatch from a butterfly egg?

[Display picture of a caterpillar.]

A caterpillar is like a worm with many legs. A caterpillar is tiny when it hatches. It is so small, we can barely see it. Our book told us that a caterpillar is very hungry after it hatches. It eats a lot and gets bigger and bigger.

What do caterpillars eat? (leaves from the plant that they hatched on)

The leaves also give the caterpillar the water it needs. Remember, all living things need water. The caterpillar goes through some amazing changes after it has grown to its full size. The caterpillar makes a chrysalis when it has grown to its full size. Let’s together say the word chrysalis: chry-sal-is.

[Display picture of a chrysalis.]

The chrysalis is the hard outer part around the changing caterpillar. Our book described the many changes the caterpillar goes through inside the chrysalis.

[Display picture of a butterfly.]

When the butterfly hatches from the chrysalis, its wings need to dry before it is ready to fly. Now the butterfly is an adult.

What will the butterfly do to start the life cycle again? (lay eggs)

Butterflies do not look like their parents when they are born. We know that living things that do not look like their parents when they are born go through a metamorphosis.

Today we learned about the life cycle of a butterfly. Some living things, like frogs and butterflies, look completely different from their parents when they are born!