Week 44:
Day 2

Understanding Words

Language / Literacy

Large Group

Skill and Goal

Oral language, Print knowledge

Children will understand how Eric Carle used creative illustrations to help readers understand number concepts.

Materials
Needed

  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Key
Concepts

Review:

  • Creative
  • Fact
  • Fiction

Also
Promotes

  • Mathematics
  • Creative Expression

BEGIN:

We are learning about Eric Carle and the books he writes. Yesterday we read The Very Busy Spider. It was about animals.

EXPLAIN:

[Display book cover.]

Today we will read a book called The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This book helps us understand numbers.

ASK:

Who remembers reading this book a while ago?

EXPLAIN:

Let’s read the book again and then talk about how Mr. Carle was creative in making illustrations for his book. We know that when we are creative, we use an idea to make or do something.

ACT:

[Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar.]

ASK:
  • What types of things did the caterpillar eat in this story? (apples, strawberries, pickles, ice cream)
  • Did the caterpillar eat the same amount of each kind of food? (different amounts of different foods)
EXPLAIN:

Let’s look closely at the page where the caterpillar starts to eat different foods.

ASK:
  • What do you see on this page with the apple? (has one apple, has a hole in it)
  • Why do you think Mr. Carle illustrated one apple? (that is what the caterpillar ate)
  • What are your ideas about why Mr. Carle put one hole on the page? (to let us know the caterpillar ate through one apple)
EXPLAIN:

Mr. Carle was creative in putting a hole in the page to make it seem like the caterpillar ate through the page in the book. He used one hole for the one apple.

We learned yesterday that Mr. Carle liked to use paint, paper, and other art materials when he was a child. The books he wrote when he became an adult include his creative ideas.

We also learned yesterday that some information in Mr. Carle’s books is made up and some of the information is real.

[Turn to pages with fruit.]

On these pages, the caterpillar eats through different kinds of fruit.

ASK:

Do we think that real caterpillars eat fruit? (yes)

EXPLAIN:

Caterpillars can eat through different kinds of fruit. This is true. It is a fact.

[Turn to next page with different kinds of food.]

On these pages, the caterpillar eats through many different kinds of food.

ASK:
  • Do you think that real caterpillars would eat a pickle? (no)
  • What other foods on this page do we think a real caterpillar would not eat? (ice cream cone, lollipop)
EXPLAIN:

Real caterpillars probably would not eat these things. This is something that Mr. Carle made up for the book. Remember, things that are made up are called fiction.

RECAP:

Mr. Carle used creative illustrations in his book called The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The illustrations help us learn about numbers. Mr. Carle also included some information in his book that is made up. We call this fiction. There also is information in his book that is real. We call real information a fact.

Scaffolding tips

Scaffolding Tips

Extra support

  • Children may benefit from a brief review or reminder of how Steve Jenkins and Robin Page were creative in designing their books. Display several of their books read and discussed in Week 37 (Creative Expression).

Enrichment

  • Point to several of the foods and discuss food characteristics that might make it difficult for a real caterpillar to eat. Example: Point to the lollipop and say “Lollipops are hard. Could a real caterpillar eat through something that is very hard?”
  • Encourage children to think of foods they could add to the story that a real caterpillar could eat (fact) and foods that a real caterpillar could not eat (fiction).

Center Activity

Provide play food items for children to sort into one of two different groups: foods a caterpillar probably would eat and foods a caterpillar probably would not eat. Encourage children to talk about why each item might or might not be eaten.

Family Child Care

Family Child Care

Encourage children to look at the Eric Carle books in your setting to see if there are other Eric Carle books which help children understand number concepts. Examples: 1, 2, 3 To the Zoo, 10 Little Rubber Ducks, Rooster’s Off To See The World, My Very First Book of Numbers.

Week 44:
Day 2

Working With Shapes

Mathematics

Small Group

Skill and Goal

Geometric and spatial knowledge

Children will strengthen their understanding that a new shape can be made by putting together two different shapes.

Materials
Needed

For Option 2:

  • *3 square cutouts of the same size
  • Scissors for adult use
  • Triangle shapes (pattern blocks)—2 per child
  • Diamond shapes (pattern blocks)—1 per child
    *Printables provided

Key
Concepts

For Option 2:

Review:

  • Diamond
  • Diagonal
  • Equal

OPTION 1:

Offer the first segment of the Week 9, Day 2 activity plan to review how shapes can be combined to make a new shape.

OPTION 2:

Engage children in a review of how shapes can be used to form a different shape. Demonstrate how triangles can be used to make a diamond shape.

Remind children that we can make a new shape by cutting a square on its diagonal. Display a square. Describe and point to the diagonal (a straight line inside a shape that goes from one corner to another corner, but not an edge). Ask children what shapes are made when a square is cut on the diagonal. (two triangles) Fold the square on the diagonal and cut. Show children the two new shapes. Invite children to describe a triangle. (three straight sides)

Remind children that we also can make a new shape by putting together two different shapes. Demonstrate by displaying two square cutouts of the same size and putting the two squares next to each other to form a rectangle. Describe characteristics of each shape. Put the rectangle in horizontal and vertical positions to emphasize that a rectangle is still a rectangle when we move it to a different position.

Display and invite children to name a diamond shape (pattern block). Describe the shape of a diamond (four equal straight sides and four corners that do not look like the corners on a door). Remind children that when things are equal, they are the same. Display two triangle pattern block shapes. Ask children how we could use two triangle shapes to make a diamond. Put the triangle shapes together as children suggest or invite a volunteer child to demonstrate.

Give each child two triangles and one diamond. Encourage children to arrange their triangles to make a diamond. Children may wish to stack their triangles on top of the diamond or to place the triangles next to the diamond. Invite children to describe how they made their diamond.

Week 44:
Day 2

Paying Attention

Self-Regulation

Small Group

Skill and Goal

Concentrate

Children will use their sense of touch to describe an item held behind their back.

Materials
Needed

  • Small item—1 per child (toy banana, toy car, crayon, ball, block, etc.)

Key
Concepts

Review:

  • Concentrate

Also
Promotes

Science

BEGIN:

[Arrange children sitting in a circle.]

Let’s play a game called What’s Behind My Back? We will use our sense of touch to play the game.

ASK:

What do we use to find out what something feels like? (hands, skin)

EXPLAIN:

child sitting hands behind backEach of you will have a small item to hold. You will hold your item behind your back. Putting your item behind your back means you cannot see it. You can only feel your item. When I place the item in your hands, do not look at it. Please do not look at your neighbor’s item.

We will concentrate on what the item in our hands feels like. We know that when we concentrate, we pay close attention to something. We will each have a turn to describe our item. We can say whether our item is smooth, rough, hard, soft, small, large, round, short, or long. We can use whatever words will help us figure out what is in our hands. If we know what is in our hands, we need to work hard to not tell others. We want to describe what the item feels like and let others guess what it is!

After each of us describes our item, we will find out if anyone can guess what it is. I will go first.

ACT:

[Secretly put an item behind your back and describe how it feels. Use simple descriptors. After you have described your item, encourage children to guess what it is. After children have guessed, display the item. If children were correct, ask how they knew. What words were helpful in figuring out what was behind your back? If children did not accurately guess the item, ask what was hard about figuring out what was behind your back.

After brief discussion of experiences in identifying the item in your hand, ask all children to close their eyes and put their hands behind their backs. Walk around the outer circle of children (who are facing inward) and carefully place an item behind the back of each child. Place the item in a child’s hands, if possible (some children may use their hands to cover their eyes).

Give each child a turn, going in the order of circle placement. Remind children to not look at their item. Remind children to describe their item and try hard to not say what it is—if they know!]

RECAP:

Today we played a game called What’s Behind My Back? We used our sense of touch to concentrate on an item behind our back. What was the hardest part of our game? (telling about our item without saying what it was, finding words to describe our item, waiting for our turn, not peeking)

Scaffolding tips

Scaffolding Tips

Extra support

  • Remind children to not say the name of their item if they know what it is. It is their job to describe their item. It is the job of other children to guess the item. But if a child blurts out the name, positively acknowledge that it is hard to concentrate on two things at the same time: what our item feels like and what we say about our item.
  • If you anticipate it will be too challenging for children to wait for their turn without looking at or telling about their item, distribute the items one at a time (when it is a child’s turn to feel and describe).
  • If children need help with describing their item, ask questions to help them focus on certain characteristics. Example: “Is your item hard or soft?”
  • Children may wish to peek at their “hidden” item. Remind children to not say the name of their item. The goal is for children to describe how the item feels.

Enrichment

  • If children readily guess an item after characteristics are described, encourage them to try to figure out an item after only two characteristics are described.
Self-Regulation

Center Activity

Provide a brown paper bag and various items to put in the bag to extend today’s activity. Invite children to describe an item in the bag as others try to guess what it is.

Family Child Care

Family Child Care

Try this game outside with items found in the play area. Invite children to describe items, such as a stick or leaf.

Week 44:
Day 2

Exploring Earth and Space

Science

Large Group

Skill and Goal

Knowledge of earth and space

Children will understand the importance of soil to growing plants.

Materials
Needed

  • And the Good Brown Earth by Kathy Henderson

Key
Concepts

Review:

  • Soil
  • Vegetable

Also
Promotes

Language / Literacy

BEGIN:

We are learning how soil helps plants to grow. We know that soil is also called dirt.

EXPLAIN:

Today we will read a book about how soil helps vegetables grow in a garden. Remember, a vegetable is the part of a plant that we can eat.

[Display book cover.]

Our book is called And the Good Brown Earth. It was written and illustrated by Kathy Henderson. Our book is about growing things in the soil. The book calls soil the “good brown earth.”

ACT:

[Read the book without interruption unless children ask questions or seem confused about some aspect of the book. At the end of the book, use questions, such as the following, to help children focus on the importance of soil to growing things in the garden:

  • What did Gram and Joe do when it was “planting time”? (raked the soil and planted the seeds)
  • What happened in the garden when it was “watching time”? (the rain was falling and the sun was shining, small plants began to grow)
  • What happened in the garden when it was “weeding time”? (Gram used her hoe to “grub up” weeds between the rows)
  • How did Gram know it was “watering time”? (the plants were drooping and the soil was dry)
  • What did Gram and Joe do when it was “gathering time”? (they filled their baskets, Joe ate blackberries)]
RECAP:

Today we learned more about how soil helps plants grow. Our book talked about “doing what the good brown earth does best.”

  • What is the “good brown earth”? (soil)
  • What did Joe and Gram do with the “good brown earth”? (dug, raked the loose soil and planted seeds in the soil, pulled weeds from the soil, gathered vegetables from the soil)
Scaffolding tips

Scaffolding Tips

Extra support

  • To help children connect the book to their experiences, ask if they’ve ever worked in or visited a garden.
  • Help children connect the book to the Week 40 information on seasons by pointing out snow on ground, trees flowering, etc.

Enrichment

  • Encourage children to name some of the plants that grew under the soil. (potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beets) Refer to the book if necessary.
Science

Center Activity

Add several artificial plants, seeds, and small gardening items to the sensory table or tub filled with sand or soil. Encourage children to pretend they are planting items in the soil to eat.

Family Child Care

Family Child Care

Take children to visit a garden plot or field of growing plants. Encourage children to compare the garden or field to the garden described in the book read in today’s activity.