Oral language, Letter knowledge
Children will interpret information presented in a book read aloud and increase the number of novel words they understand. Children will also identify and say the sound of the letter M.
New:
Review:
Be Prepared: This is the third of three repeated readings of a book with children. Today’s session focuses on children’s interpretation (explanations, reasoning) of information presented in the book. The session also will help children understand more novel words. From the list of novel words you identified prior to your first reading of the book, select 2–3 words to define for children today. See the Language/Literacy section of the ELM User Guide: 3–5 Years for additional information on how to select and define novel words.
[Display letter M card.]
What is the name of this letter? What sound does the letter M make?
Letter M says /m/, just like in the word “music.” /m/, /m/, music. Let’s together say /m/, /m/, music.
Now let’s spend some time with our book.
[See Week 3, Day 5 of Language/Literacy for a description and examples of how to approach today’s book reading. Key aspects are summarized below:
Pattern knowledge
Children will strengthen their understanding of how to form simple patterns.
Review:
This week we made patterns. We know that a pattern is something that repeats itself. What is one thing we did this week with patterns?
[Encourage children’s recall and brief discussion of experiences with forming patterns.]
Let’s practice making a pattern with some colored cubes in two different colors.
What pattern can we make with the different-colored cubes?
[Encourage several volunteer children, one at a time, to try different patterns with the cubes. Provide two colors only to facilitate ABAB patterns.]
We also know how to make patterns with shapes.
Let’s try a shape pattern.
[On a chart or paper, draw a simple ABAB shape pattern. Ask children what comes next. Try several different ABAB shape patterns.]
We also know how to make movement patterns. Let’s try some of our movement patterns with a ball!
[Arrange children in a circle and try several different movement patterns with the ball. Examples: up, down, up, down or over, under, over, under. If time permits, invite children to think of a simple pattern the group has not tried.]
This week we made lots of patterns. We also practiced saying what comes next in a pattern. Patterns are fun!
Extra support
Enrichment
Provide shapes (pattern blocks) and different-colored Unifix® cubes. Invite children to create patterns. Example: triangle, cube, triangle, cube.
Invite children to share patterns they know with their families at pickup time. Encourage children to do movement patterns and show family members their pictures of play dough patterns made earlier in the week.
Good health practices
Children will strengthen their understanding of types of food that are healthy for us to eat.
Review:
Be Prepared: A full-size plate used by children for meals at your center is preferable for this activity. The picture card showing jam is used at the beginning of the activity only, as described below. Among the 25 food picture cards, there are five color-coded food items for each of the five types of food introduced in yesterday’s activity. In advance of today’s activity, organize the 25 cards into five groups of food for your ease in introducing the 25 picture cards in an early segment of the activity (see activity plan). Begin the activity with only two picture cards placed on the plate: bread and jam.
[Invite children to sit in a circle around the plate with pictures of bread and jam placed on the plate.]
Yesterday we learned about five different types of food that are good for us to eat. We heard a story about Frances. Pictures of her favorite things to eat are on our plate.
Frances worried that she might get sick if she did not eat other things that are good for us to eat. Frances wanted to eat more than bread and jam.
Let’s look at pictures of some of the things that help our bodies stay healthy and strong. We talked about some of the pictures yesterday.
[Display and say the name of each of the five items shown on picture cards, one at a time, for each of the five types of foods. Include a brief description (from Day 4) as a reminder of the food type. Example: “We have five pictures of vegetables. We know that vegetables are part of a plant that we can eat. Here is a picture of broccoli.”
Place the picture cards in food groups organized around the plate (see picture). Place the bread picture card in the grain group when you discuss it. Explain that bread is made with grain. Set aside the jam picture card, and do not include it in the discussion of what goes on the plate (because jam is high in added sugars).]
Our plate is empty. Let’s decide what we should eat for a pretend lunch. We want to pick at least one thing from each of our five different types of food. We can put our picture of the food on our plate.
Let’s start with something to eat that has protein. We know that protein helps our muscles, bones, and other parts of our body grow and stay strong.
[Display the five pictures of foods with protein.]
What would be a good thing to eat for lunch that has protein?
[There are no right or wrong selections. Invite volunteer child to place item on plate.]
Now let’s pick a vegetable to eat as part of our lunch. What vegetable should we include in our pretend lunch?
[Continue with this approach for the remaining groups of food.]
[Invite volunteer children to return each pictured item on the plate to its respective food group, one item at a time. Identify the type of food. Example: “We picked carrots for our pretend lunch. What type of food is a carrot?”
If time and child interest permit, engage children in selecting items for another meal using a similar procedure.]
Today we picked different kinds of food for a pretend lunch. We selected things to eat from each of five different kinds of food. We know that our bodies stay healthy and strong when we eat different kinds of food that are good for us.
Extra support
If you anticipate five cards in each of five groups may be too challenging for children to consider, select three or four cards per type of food. Include some or all the food items introduced yesterday so each set of food picture cards helps children connect to yesterday’s information.
Enrichment
Provide *picture cards used in today’s activity and some full-sized plates. Encourage children to choose one food item from each type of food and place each on a plate. Invite children to work in pairs if appropriate.
*Printables provided
Encourage school-age children to describe a lunch eaten at school and discuss with younger children each type of food included in the lunch. Example: “Anthony told us he had chicken, green beans, milk, a biscuit, and an apple for lunch. Green beans are vegetables, an apple is a fruit, milk is a dairy food, a biscuit is made from grains, and chicken has lots of protein.”
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Exploring Where We Live
Social Studies
Skill and Goal
Knowledge of physical environments
Children will broaden their understanding of characteristics of their community’s geography by creating a representation of a characteristic.
Materials
Needed
*Printables provided
Key
Concepts
Review:
Also
Promotes
Last week we learned about characteristics that can be found in the geography of a community. Remember, the geography of a community includes things like hills, ponds, bridges, streets, and railroad tracks.
Let’s look at our chart from last week to help us remember some geographic characteristics of our community. Our chart will help us remember what we talked about.
[Review chart from Week 19 as you discuss each characteristic found in your community. Display the corresponding pictures from Week 19.]
Today we are going to make some things we can find in our community’s geography.
You can choose to make any characteristic you’d like.
[Provide art materials such as paper, markers, glue, tape, child-size scissors, crayons, craft sticks, craft tubes, straws, cardboard, felt, play dough, and any other supplies that children might be able to use.
Provide pictures from Week 19 as reminders of characteristics.
Help children decorate their characteristics as appropriate. Children will also have an opportunity to work on their geographic characteristics during center time.]
Today we made characteristics found in our community. Some of us were able to finish, and some of us are still working. We will share our characteristics next week.
Scaffolding Tips
Extra support
Enrichment
Center Activity
Provide materials for children to continue working on their geographic characteristics.
Family Child Care
Encourage older children in your setting to make a community book. Ask children to name their favorite geographic characteristic and then draw a picture of it. Encourage children to write on the bottom of their page what they like most about their favorite characteristic. Combine the pages into a book. Encourage children to share the book with family members at pickup time.