We are learning how to concentrate on the sounds we hear at the end of a word. We know that we pay close attention to something when we concentrate. Today we will play our What is the Word? game with picture cards.

[Place the following picture cards on the floor where they can be easily seen by children: block, bell, cat. Encourage children to name the item/ animal on each card.]

I am going to say the ending sound of a word. Please try to find the picture card of the word I am saying.

Let’s try the first word. Listen carefully. This word ends with the /k/ sound. What is the word?

[Pause as children look for the word that ends with the /k/ sound. If children name the item, repeat the name and ending sound.]

The word is “block.” It ends with the /k/ sound.

[Continue with another set of three cards. Provide each child with a turn to identify a word. Follow the procedure below for each set of three picture cards:]

• Place a set of three picture cards on the floor. Encourage a child to say the name of each item/animal pictured.
• Say the ending sound of an item/animal on one of the cards and ask the child to please say the word. Example: “This word ends with the /g/ sound. What is the word?”
• If a child names the item/animal, repeat the name and ending sound.
• If a child is unable to name the item/animal, review each of the three cards. Example: “We know this is a picture of a sock. Does the word ‘sock’ end with a /g/ sound?”

Repeat for each set of three cards listed in Be Prepared. Involve a different child with each set.]

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

[Display letter J card.]

Does anyone know the name of this letter?

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

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

This is an uppercase J.

We can also write the letter J like this.

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

This is a lowercase j.

Last week we learned about a rainforest. We know that another name for a rainforest is “jungle.”

The word “jungle” begins with the letter j. I will write the word “jungle” on our chart. I am going to write “jungle”with a lowercase (small letter) j.

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

Let’s all say the word “jungle.”

[Invite a volunteer child to point to the letter j in the word “jungle.”]

Let’s look at the very first letter of our name. Pop up if you have the letter J 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 a J at the beginning of their name. If there are children whose name begins with the letter J who do not stand, point to the letter J on their name card. Compare the letter J in their name as you hold the letter J card next to their name card.

If no one in the group has a first name beginning with the letter J, say “No one popped up because no one has a name that starts with the letter J.” 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 J.

If a child indicates there is a letter J 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 j that appears somewhere else in a child’s name.]

Today we played another game about sounds at the end of words. We used picture cards. We found a picture card that had the same ending sound as the sound I said.

We also learned about the letter J. What word begins with the letter j? (jungle)

Today we will play a game called Animal Spots. We will add spots as we play our game. What happens to our group when we add more items? (it gets larger)

Each of us will get an animal cutout to use during our game.

[Give each child one animal cutout.]

• We will use two dice for our game today. Each of us will get a turn to roll the dice.
• After we roll both dice, we will add the number of dots on one die to the number of dots on the other die.
• Then we will count out the same number of spots from the basket to put on our animal.
• When we are done, we can see which animal has the most spots and which animal has the fewest.

Let me show you how to play.

[Roll the dice and add the number of dots by first counting the dots on the die with the larger amount, and then count on to add the number of dots on the second die. Example: “There are four dots on the first die. There are two dots on the second die. I will start with the group of four dots because it is larger than the group of two dots. I will count on as I add both groups of dots: 4, 5, 6. There are six dots all together.”]

Now I will count the same number of spots from the basket and put them on my animal.

[Place the corresponding number of spots on your animal cutout.]

Now we can all play!

[Encourage children to take turns as they follow the above procedure. After each child has placed spots on their animal, discuss which animal has the most spots and which has the fewest. Invite children to remove the spots from their animal cutout and place them in the basket. Continue as time permits.]

Today we played a game called Animal Spots. We rolled two dice and added the number of dots together to find out how many spots to put on our animal. We then figured out which animal had the most spots and which animal had the fewest spots.

We are learning games that help us focus on what we are expected to do. We know that when we focus on something, we concentrate on it.

Today we will play a game we’ve played before. We will play Sleeping, Sleeping, All the Children Are Sleeping.

Remember, in the Sleeping, Sleeping game we pretend we are sleeping on the floor. I will sing a song while we pretend to sleep. The song goes like this:

[Sing the song to your own tune.]

“Sleeping, sleeping, all the children are sleeping.” Then I will say, “And when they woke up . . . they were . . . !” Each time I say, “And when they woke up . . . they were . . . ” I will say a different vehicle. A vehicle is something that takes us from one place to another.

We will play the game again with colored circles. Our colored circles will have vehicle pictures on them.

[Display each circle as you describe it.]

I have a black circle with a car on it, a blue circle with a train on it, and an orange circle with a boat on it. When I hold up the black circle, we will make a noise like a car. When I hold up the blue circle, we will make a noise like a train. When I hold up the orange circle, we will make a noise like a boat.

• What noise does a car make? (beep, beep)
• What noise does a train make? (choo, choo)
• What noise does a boat make? (hooooonk)

Let’s try it!

[Encourage children to lie in a sleeping position. Begin singing the song as children pretend to sleep. Each time the children pretend to wake up, hold up one of the circles and encourage children to make a noise like the pictured vehicle. Try not to say what the vehicle is, however. Encourage children to look at the visual cue. Try this 2–3 times.]

This time I am going to remove the pictures from the circles (or use the side without the vehicle picture). Each time I hold up a circle, we need to make a noise like the vehicle that was on the circle before I removed the vehicle picture.

• We need to remember the vehicle that was on each circle.
• What vehicle was on the black circle? (car)
• What vehicle was on the blue circle? (train)
• What vehicle was on the orange circle? (boat)
• I will choose a different vehicle each time.

Let’s try it!

[Encourage children to lie in a sleeping position again. Begin singing the song as children pretend to sleep. Each time the children pretend to wake up, hold up one of the circles and encourage children to make a noise like the vehicle that was previously on the circle. Try this 2–3 times. Play as long as time permits.]

Today we again played Sleeping, Sleeping, All the Children Are Sleeping. We changed the rules of the game.

• What parts of our body did we use to pay close attention during this game? (eyes, ears)
• During the game we made noises like different vehicles. What things changed during the game? (made noise like a different vehicle each time, used colored circles)
• What would happen if we didn’t watch or listen carefully during the game? (we wouldn’t know which vehicle noise to make)

We are learning about a mountain habitat. We know that a mountain is a very high piece of land. What do we call the pointed top of a mountain? (peak) Sometimes there is snow on the peak of a mountain.

Today we will learn about a kind of mountain called a volcano. A volcano is a mountain with a hole in the middle. Not all mountains are volcanoes. A volcano is different from other mountains because it has a hole in the middle of it.

[Display two pictures of a volcano.]

What difference do we see in these two pictures of a volcano?

[In one of the pictures something is coming out of the volcano.]

One of our pictures shows hot liquid coming out of the hole at the top of the volcano. The volcano is erupting in this picture. When something erupts, it explodes loudly. The hot liquid coming out of the volcano is dangerous. It is called lava.

• Have you ever seen a volcano erupt in a movie or on television?
• What was it like?
• Do you think animals and plants could live on a volcano that was erupting?
• Why?

A volcano does not erupt very often. Many volcanoes have not erupted for a very, very long time. The ground near a volcano often moves or shakes before an eruption happens. A mountain that is a volcano can be a very dangerous habitat for animals and plants to live in. Scientists who study volcanoes usually can warn people before a volcano erupts.

Why do you think it is a good idea to warn people before a volcano erupts? (people need to get away from a volcano before it erupts, the hot lava can hurt people and other living things)

We are going to pretend we are an erupting volcano. Let’s wrap our arms around our legs as we sit on the floor like a volcano.

[Encourage children to sit with their knees pulled to their chest and their arms wrapped around their legs.]

Before a volcano erupts, the ground around the volcano often moves or shakes. Let’s pretend the ground around us is beginning to move and shake.

[Encourage children to move their bodies as if the ground around them is shaking.]

We are getting ready to erupt. When we erupt, we will explode loudly. When I say “Erupt!” let’s jump to our feet and say “boom!”

Encourage children to pretend to erupt like a volcano when you say “Erupt!”]

Today we learned that a volcano is a mountain with a hole in the middle. Most mountains are not volcanoes. When a volcano erupts, a hot liquid, called lava, may come out of the volcano. A mountain that is a volcano can be a very dangerous place for animals and plants to live.