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

[Display letter I card.]

Does anyone know the name of this letter?

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

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

This is an uppercase I.

We can also write the letter I like this.

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

This is a lowercase i.

We know that when we measure how big something is, we can measure it in inches on a ruler. The length of the space from one number to the next number on a ruler is called an inch.

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

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

Let’s all say the word “inch.”

[Invite a volunteer child to point to letter i in the word “inch.”]

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

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

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

Today we learned about the letter I. What word begins with the letter i? (inch)

Offer the Week 32, Day 1 activity to review adding and counting on.

Engage children in using dice to form two groups of counters that they then add together by counting on.

Open the session by reminding children how to add two groups of items together by counting on. (We start with the number of items in the larger group and then count on to the group with fewer items.)

Invite a volunteer child to demonstrate with counters.

Describe today’s activity by inviting two other volunteer children to demonstrate rolling a die and forming a group of counters that matches the number of items on the top of the die. First, encourage a child to roll a die, count the number of dots facing up on the die, say again the number rolled, and form a group of counters that matches the number of dots on the side of the die facing up. Second, encourage another child to repeat this process, forming a separate but nearby group of counters based on the number rolled. Third, invite all children to point to the group that has the most counters. Encourage all children to count aloud with you as you point to each counter in the larger group. Emphasize how you use the number of counters in the larger group to count on to counters in the second group. (If the two groups have the same number of counters, remind children what it means when things are equal. Begin counting with the group that was formed first.)

Form pairs of children and give 12 counters to each pair. Invite children to engage in the process demonstrated and described at the beginning of the activity. Encourage both children in a pair to count aloud together during the counting on segment of their task. Continue until all children have had an opportunity to roll a die, form a group, and count. Pairs of children may work concurrently if you have an adequate supply of dice and anticipate the need for your verbal guidance will be minimal.

We are learning about moving from one home to another home. Things that are transported to a different home need to be unpacked when a family arrives. We know that transport means that people or things go from one place to another place.

[Display picture of boxes on a moving van.]

Here is a picture of a family’s things packed in boxes. All of these boxes need to be moved into the new home and then unpacked.

Families need to find places to put their things when they move to a different home. Things we own or use are kept in specific places.

[Display boxes packed with classroom items.]

Here are some boxes that are packed with things from our classroom. Let’s practice unpacking by taking things out of the boxes and then putting things where they belong.

[Invite children, two at a time, to remove an item from a box (one each), unwrap it, tell the name of the item and where it belongs, and then put the item in its proper place.]

• We have put everything we unpacked where it belongs in our classroom. What is left? (packing materials, boxes)
• What could we do with the things that are left? (use them again)

I have some pictures of things a family might move to another house. Let’s talk about where each item might be put in a home.

• What is the name of this item?
• Where do you think this item would be put in a home?

  

  

  

  

Things that are transported to a different home need to be unpacked and put where they belong. This is a big part of moving. Boxes used to pack things can be recycled.

Yesterday we learned about rain. Today we will talk about another kind of weather. This kind of weather can happen in some places when it is very cold outside.

• Can you guess what kind of weather we will talk about today? (snow)
• What is snow like? (white, cold, melts when it gets warm, can be slippery to walk on)

Snow happens when water falls from the sky and it is very cold outside. The cold air makes the falling water freeze into small things we call snowflakes. Each snowflake that falls from the sky is different.

[Display pictures of three different snowflakes.]

• How are these three snowflakes different?
• Snowflakes are so small that we cannot see differences very well. What tool could we use to make the snowflakes look bigger? (magnifying glass)

A magnifying glass helps us look at things we cannot see with our eyes alone. A magnifying glass could help us look closely at shapes in a snowflake by making the snowflake look bigger.

Sometimes it is windy when it snows. We call this a blizzard. The wind and snow make it hard to drive or walk. Sometimes schools and other places close when there is a blizzard.

[Display picture of a blizzard.]

What can you tell us about this picture of a blizzard?

We know that ice melts when it gets warm. Remember, our ice cubes turned into water when we put them in the sun.

Melted snow becomes water. Water from snow is good for plants and trees, just like rain. The water from melted snow also helps to fill rivers, lakes, and streams, like rain water does.

Snow can also be a lot of fun. We can go sledding or make things out of snow.

• Have you ever played in the snow?
• What did you do?

Today we learned about snow. We learned that snow starts as water in the air. The water freezes into snowflakes when it falls through very cold air. Do all snowflakes look the same? (no, all different) Snow can also be fun to play in!