On Day 2 we played a game with words. We took away the beginning sound of a word to make a completely different word. We know that we call the first sound we hear the beginning sound of a word. Let’s play the game today with different words.

[Be sure to pause briefly between the two parts of each word offered below.]

Listen carefully as I say a word: /g/-oat. I’ll say it again: /g/-oat.

What word am I saying? (goat)

Now I will take away the beginning sound of the word “goat” to make a new word. The beginning sound in the word “goat” is /g/. I will take away the /g/ sound from the word “/g/-oat.” Listen to the new word: “oat.” I took away the /g/ sound from the word “goat” to make the new word “oat.”

Let’s try another word. Listen carefully as I say “/b/-ill.”

What is the word? (bill)

Now let’s take away the beginning sound of the word “bill” to make a new word. The beginning sound is /b/.

What new word do we make when we take away the /b/ sound from the word “/b/-ill”? (ill)

Our new word is “ill.” We took away the /b/ sound from the word “bill” to make the word “ill.” Let’s try some more.

[Continue the above procedure for children to make a new word by taking away the beginning sound of a word. Offer as many of the following words as possible, depending on time and child interest. Use a mixture of ending sounds (oat, eat, ill, and, ink) based on children’s responses.]

Rimes	oat	eat	ill	and	ink
	g-oat	b-eat	f-ill	b-and	p-ink
	b-oat	s-eat	p-ill	h-and	r-ink
	c-oat	h-eat	d-ill	l-and	s-ink
		m-eat	b-ill	s-and	w-ink
		n-eat	h-ill		l-ink

Let’s learn more about the letter G.

[Display letter G card.

If a child(ren) whose name begins with the letter G was identified on Day 2, invite the child(ren) to again pop up. Say the first name of the child(ren). Emphasize the sound of the letter G when you say the name.]

Maybe someone in our group has the letter g somewhere else in their name. The letter might be in the middle, or at the end, of their name. It will be a lowercase g and it will look like this.

[Point to the lowercase g on the letter card.]

Pop up if you have the letter g somewhere else in your name (not at beginning).

[If a child has the letter g somewhere else in his/her name, point to the name and to the letter g on the list of children’s first names so all children can see the name and the letter g.]

What is our word that begins with the letter G? (graph)

The letter G says /g/, just like at the beginning of the word “graph.” /g/, /g/, graph. Let’s say that together: /g/, /g/, graph.

I have two pictures of things that begin with the letter G. I wonder what they could be?

[Hold up one picture card and invite children to identify the animal/item in each picture. After children have an opportunity to guess or say the pictured animal/item, point to and say the word written at the bottom of the card. Example: “This word says goat. The letter g is at the beginning of the word.” Repeat this procedure with a second picture card.]

Let’s think of some other words that begin with the letter G and write them on our chart. Remember, the letter G says /g/, /g/.

[Help children by suggesting other words that begin with g. Examples: gallop, game, give, garden.

Invite one or more volunteer children to find the letter g in words on the chart. Children may point to the letter at the top of the chart and then find it in one of the words below.

Demonstrate and describe how to mark the uppercase letter G on your chart paper.]

We use two lines to make an uppercase G. We begin by making a curved line that almost closes and then a short line across.

[Give each child his/her letter journal.]

Now we are going to write the letter G in our letter journal. Please write the uppercase (big) letter G in your journal. Write as much of the letter as you can.

Today we took a sound away from a word to make a completely different word.

We also learned that the letter G says /g/, just like at the beginning of the word “graph.” We made the uppercase (big) letter G in our letter journal. Let’s say together the sound the letter G makes, (/g/).

Let’s say a rhyme called “Ten Yummy Apples.” When we say the rhyme, let’s hold up one of our fingers for each of the apples.

[Say the rhyme first, and then lead children in saying the rhyme together. Prominently display your finger actions.]

Today we will add and take away items from a group. Let’s begin with a group of three items.

[Place three items in front of you. Encourage children to count the items as you point to each.]

Now we will add one more item. When we add one more item, we will count on to find how many items we have all together. Remember, when we count on, we start with the largest group of items and then count the number of items in the other group.

[Invite a volunteer child to form a second group by placing one more item near, but not part of, the group of three items. Begin with the group of three items and then count on to the second group to determine how many items there are all together. Example: “Let’s begin with the group of three items. 3, 4.”]

How many items do we have now? (four) We have four items.

[Combine the two groups so the four items are in one group together.]

We started with three items. Then we added a group of one more item. We have four items all together.

Now we will make a group of two items.

[Invite a volunteer child to form a second group by placing two more items near, but not part of, the group of four items. Begin with the group of four items and then count on to the second group to determine how many items there are all together. Example: “Let’s begin with the group of four items. 4, 5, 6.”]

How many items do we have now? (six)

[Combine the two groups so the six items are in one group together.]

We had four items. We added a group of two more items. We have six items all together. Our group of items gets larger each time we add more items.

Now we will make a group of four items.

[Invite a volunteer child to form a second group by placing four more items near, but not part of, the group of six items. Begin with the group of six items and then count on to the second group to determine how many items there are all together. Example: “Let’s begin with the group of six items. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.]

How many items do we have now? (10)

[Combine the two groups so the 10 items are in one group together.]

We have 10 items! Our group of items got larger each time we added more items.

Now let’s take away two of our items.

[Invite a volunteer child to take away two items and place the two items in a cup. Encourage children to count the remaining items together.]

How many items do we have now? (eight) We have eight items!

Did our group of items get smaller or larger when we took away some items? (smaller)

Remember, a group of items gets smaller when we take away items from the group. A group of eight items is smaller than a group of 10 items.

Now let’s take away four more items.

[Invite a volunteer child to take away four items and place the four items in a cup. Encourage children to count the remaining items together.]

How many items do we have now? (four) We have four items left!

Our group of items got smaller when we took away four items from our group. A group of four items is smaller than a group of eight items.

• What will happen when we take away the four items we have left? (group will have no items)
• How many items will we have then? (zero)

[Invite a volunteer child to take away four items and place the items in a cup.]

Remember, zero means none. We have zero items left!

Today we used (item name) to practice counting. What happened to our group of (item name) when we added more items? (it got larger) What happened to our group when we took away items? (it got smaller) Our group of items got so small that we had zero items left!

[Display three-section chart.]

I have a chart with pictures (drawings). There are pictures of some things we did yesterday. Yesterday was the day before today.

What do you remember about the activities shown in our pictures?

[Help children recall and discuss the pictured activities.]

[Point to the word “yesterday” on the chart.]

This word on our chart says “yesterday.” The pictures of some things we did yesterday are under the word “yesterday.” This part of our chart shows activities we did the day before today.

What else did we do yesterday?

[Point to the words “today” and “tomorrow” on the chart as you describe each.]

This word says “today.” Today is this very day. This part of our chart has a place for pictures (drawings) of some activities we did today.

I am going to place in this section of our chart some pictures of activities we did today.

[Place 2–3 pictures or draw pictures of 2–3 activities done today.]

What do you remember about the activities shown in pictures of things we did today?

Our chart also has a place for pictures (drawings) of things we might do tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day after today.

What are some things we might do tomorrow?

[Encourage children to discuss things they may do tomorrow. Draw on 2–3 index cards simple drawings of things children think they may do tomorrow. Place the index cards in the “tomorrow” section of the chart.]

Let’s look again at our chart and talk about things we did yesterday and today, and may do tomorrow.

[Discuss each picture (or drawing) in each section of the chart. Remind children that yesterday was the day before today, today is this very day, and tomorrow is the day after today.]

Today we talked about yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We looked at pictures (drawings) of things we did yesterday. We placed pictures (drawings) of things we have done today. We drew pictures of things we may do tomorrow.

[Throw one of the balls gently in the air and catch it.]

• Who remembers when we practiced throwing?
• What parts of our body did we use to throw a ball away from us? (hands, arms)

Today we will use our feet to move a ball away from us. We call this kicking a ball.

We kick a ball by using our foot to touch the ball so the ball moves away from us.

[Place ball on ground/floor in front of you. Demonstrate actions as you describe each.]

We do four things to kick a ball.

First we look at the ball. We want to make sure we do not miss the ball when we try to kick it.

Next we decide which foot we want to use to kick the ball. We call this our kicking foot. Let’s all point to the foot we would want to use for kicking a ball.

[Pause for children to point to their kicking foot. Follow-up prompt, if needed: “What foot do you want to kick with?”]

Now let’s all point to the foot we are not going to kick with. This foot will stay on the ground/floor when we kick the ball with our other foot.

The third thing we do is put the foot we are not going to kick with next to the ball. Remember, one way to be next to something is to be by its side. We want this foot to be on the ground/floor to support our body when we kick with our other foot.

What do you think is the last thing we do? (kick the ball)

We kick the ball with the inside of our foot. Please watch me point to the inside of my foot.

[Point to the middle part of the inside of your kicking foot.]

Let’s all touch the inside of our foot we will use to kick the ball.

[Encourage children to bend at the waist or partially squat to touch the inside of their kicking foot.]

Please watch me do the four things for kicking a ball.

[Demonstrate and describe the four steps. Kick the ball gently from a stationary position.]

We are going to practice kicking a ball while standing. We will not walk or run to kick the ball. We want to practice having the inside of our kicking foot touch and move the ball away from us. We are not trying to kick the ball as far as we can.

Now it is your turn to kick a ball. Are we trying to kick a ball as far as we can? (no) We want to practice moving the ball with the inside of our kicking foot.

[Before distributing balls to children, explain your plan for children to collect balls after they are kicked so no one is hit by a ball. Consider having children take turns in an indoor setting to prevent confusion. Provide verbal guidance to individual children as appropriate. Provide repeated practice experiences as time permits.]

Today we learned how to kick a ball while standing. The first thing we do is look at the ball. What might happen if we do not look at our ball before trying to kick it? (might miss it when we move our foot) What part of our kicking foot do we use to move the ball? (inside part of our foot)