[Display letter E card.]

What is the name of this letter?

[Point to the uppercase letter E on the letter card.]

Am I pointing to the uppercase or to the lowercase letter E?

Now let’s spend some time with our book.

[See Week 3, Day 3 of Language/Literacy for a description and examples of how to approach today’s book reading. Key aspects are summarized below:

• Display book cover and say book title. Engage children in describing what they remember about the book:
  • What is our book about?
  • Who were the main characters in our book?
  • What happened first? What happened next?
• Remind children that reading a book is a good way to learn new words. Point to and say words introduced on Day 1 that are listed on the Words We Understand chart. Invite children to talk about what they recall about each of the words. Remind children of the meaning of each novel word.
• Point to where to begin to read on the first text page of the book. Pause during reading to briefly define words identified for today’s session. Use the following approach:
  • Read the sentence with the novel word. Repeat the novel word.
  • Repeat the sentence in which the word is used.
  • Define the novel word and connect the definition to the book.
• After the book reading, engage children in a discussion of each novel word targeted for today with one or more of the following strategies (plus writing the word on the chart):
  • Ask children to describe a picture related to the word.
  • Define a word without naming it and ask children to identify the word.
  • Encourage children to think about a novel word in another context.
• Encourage children to connect the book information to their own experiences. Below are some examples:
  • “Our book today was about worms. Have you ever seen or touched a worm? What was it like?”
  • “Our book today talked about roots. Roots are part of a plant that grow into the dirt. Have you ever seen the root of a plant? What was it like?”
  • “Today we talked about the word squeeze. We squeeze something by pressing things very close together. What kinds of things have you squeezed? How about a tube of toothpaste? How about a package or bottle of ketchup? Show us how you squeeze something.”]

Today we are going to count to 10 with the help of our large number cards.

[Display large numeral cards in order from 1–10.]

Together let’s count as I point to each number beginning with number one.

[Lead children in saying each numeral. Point to each numeral as you count together.]

I am going to count again. This time, I am going to stop counting before I get to 10. When I stop counting, please say the number that comes next. We can use the number cards to help us.

Listen carefully as I start counting. 1, 2, 3, 4. . . . What comes next?

[If children are unsure of what comes next, encourage them to use the number cards to follow as you count.]

Listen carefully as I count a little higher. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. . . .

[Encourage children to say the number that comes next when you pause.]

Let’s try it again. This time I am not going to start counting at number one. I am going to start counting at a different number.

Listen carefully. 4, 5, 6, 7. . . . What comes next?

[Continue counting several times, starting and stopping in a different place. As children are able to identify what comes next, say fewer numbers in the counting sequence until you are saying just one number and children name the next number.]

[If time permits:]

We are going to divide the class into two groups. Remember, when we divide something, we separate or break up something into smaller parts.

[Divide the class into two groups, with one adult in each group. Position each group in a circle. Use a stuffed animal to pass around each circle as each child counts.]

Let’s count as we go around in a circle.

I will start by saying “one.” When I pass the stuffed animal to the person next to me, he/she will say the next number which is number two. Then that person will pass the stuffed animal to the person next to him/her and that person will say the next number.

[Count to 10 while passing the stuffed animal around the circle. When you reach 10, begin counting again.]

Today we practiced counting. We listened to numbers being counted and then decided what number came next. Then we counted to 10 as we passed a stuffed animal around our circle.

Yesterday we talked about what it means to feel loved. We know that when we feel loved, we feel important and special.

We read a book called Guess How Much I Love You.

What do you remember about the book?

Today we will read the book again. This time we will act out some of the ways Little Nutbrown Hare showed Big Nutbrown Hare how much he loved him.

[As you read the book, pause to invite children to do the same things as Little Nutbrown Hare:

• Invite children to spread their arms wide when Little Nutbrown Hare stretches his arms wide.
• Invite children to reach up high when Little Nutbrown Hare stretches his arms up as high as he can reach.
• Invite children to hop as high as they can when Little Nutbrown Hare hops as high as he can.]

Little Nutbrown Hare moved his arms and hopped with his legs to show how much he loved Big Nutbrown Hare. There are many ways to show our love of someone. Who would like to share their favorite way to show someone they are loved?

We are learning how some musical instruments make sounds. Who remembers a way an instrument can make sound? (blowing air into the instrument, moving a bow across a string, quickly pulling a string)

Let’s talk today about how we can make sounds with a drum. Let’s look at three pictures of different kinds of drums.

[Display pictures of bass drum, snare drum, bongo drum. Name each instrument. Children are not expected to remember the name of each instrument.]

What are people in our pictures doing with a drum? (hitting it)

We can strike a drum to make a sound. Strike means to hit something.

Look at how a stick is used to strike two of the drums. The boy is using his hands to strike a bongo drum.

Pop up if you have ever played with a drum!

[Comment on the number of children who have played with a drum. Then ask children to sit down.

Display pictures of a bass drum and a snare drum next to each other.]

What differences do you see between the drums shown in these pictures? (size, how they are hit)

Let’s listen to the sound of the smaller drum. It is called a snare drum.

[Display picture of a snare drum as you play the snare drum portion of Track 32 on the CD included in My First Orchestra Book.]

Now let’s listen to the sound of the larger drum. It is called a bass drum.

[Display picture of a bass drum as you play the bass drum portion of Track 32 on the CD included in My First Orchestra Book.]

• How did the two drums sound different? (snare drum had a higher sound, bass drum had a lower sound)
• How do you think we could make a louder volume of sound on a drum? (strike it harder)

[Display picture of child playing maracas.]

Some instruments make a sound when you shake them. Here is a picture of a girl playing instruments called the maracas.

• How do you think the girl is making a sound with the maracas? (shaking them)
• What do you think we could do to play the maracas at a quiet volume? (shake them softly or slowly)

Today we learned that some musical instruments make sound when we strike or shake them. Musicians can change how loud or quiet the instrument is by how hard they strike or shake the instrument.