[Display letter D card.]

What is the name of this letter? What sound does the letter D make?

Letter D says /d/, just like in “dance.” /d/, /d/, dance. Let’s together say /d/, /d/, dance.

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:

• Display book cover. Explain that we have read our book two times this week. Each time we read the book we learn something new. Point to and say title of book. 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?
• Point to and say the names of author and illustrator. Point to where to begin reading.
• During the reading, pause on pages that include a word defined in the prior two readings of the book. Ask or remind children what the word means. Also pause during the reading to define the 2–3 words identified for today’s session, using the following approach:
  • Read the sentence with the novel word. Identify 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, write the 2–3 words targeted for today on the chart and engage children in a discussion of each word, using one or more of the following strategies:
  • 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 or phrase in another context.
• Explain that different types of things happened in our book. Facilitate a discussion of children’s interpretations of events and/or characters in the book, especially events or characters related to one or more words defined this week. See Week 3, Day 5 for examples.]

We are learning how to split a group of items into two smaller parts.

[Display a group of 10 blocks.]

Here is a group of blocks. Let’s split the group of blocks into two parts. Remember, a part is a piece of something, but not all of it.

[Encourage children to think of ways to split the group of blocks into two parts. Invite a volunteer child to try several options. For each option, ask whether the two parts all together contain the number of blocks in the original whole group.]

Let’s use our fingers on both hands to split the number five.

• How can we use our fingers on both hands to make two parts that all together make five?
• What is another way we can use our fingers on both hands to make two parts that contain a total of five?

[In both of the splitting examples, describe how the two parts contain a total of five. Emphasize the counting of each finger.]

[Display a group of eight craft sticks.]

Now let’s practice splitting a group of craft sticks.

Let’s first find out how many craft sticks are in our whole group.

[Point to each craft stick as children count in unison.]

We have eight craft sticks.

How can we split the group of eight craft sticks into two parts?

[Try suggestions given by children. The parts do not need to be equal. Point to each craft stick as you count the two parts together to reinforce that they contain eight sticks all together. Try this again with nine craft sticks in the whole group.]

We know how to use our number cards to represent the number of items in each part and the number of items in the whole group.

Let’s use our number cards as we split a group of craft sticks again.

[Display a group of seven craft sticks.]

Let’s first find out how many craft sticks are in our whole group.

[Point to each craft stick as children count in unison.]

We have seven craft sticks.

How can we split the group of seven craft sticks into two parts?

[Try suggestion given by children. After the group of seven craft sticks is split into two parts, ask children to count in unison the number of craft sticks in each part. Invite a volunteer child to find the numeral card that matches the number of craft sticks in each part.]

We have ___ craft sticks in the first part and ___ craft sticks in the second part.

How many craft sticks do we have all together?

[Encourage children to count on as they count both groups of craft sticks all together.]

We still have seven craft sticks! Who would like to find the number card that matches the number of craft sticks all together?

[Invite a volunteer child to find the matching numeral card and hold it up.]

We know how to split a whole group into two parts. Do the two parts always have an equal number of items (same number of items in each part)? (no) There are many ways to split groups of items.

We are learning how people can get the news. Remember, news is information about things that have happened and will happen in our community, our country, or other places in the world. Yesterday we looked at a newspaper.

Today we are going to write an article about something that has happened in our classroom. Yesterday we looked at an article in the newspaper. We know that an article gives us information about one thing that has happened or will happen.

[Display the newspaper article used on Day 4 and briefly remind children of the topic of the article.]

Let’s make a list of some things that have happened in our classroom. Then we can decide which thing we want to write about.

What are some things that have happened in our classroom that we would like others to know?

[List children’s ideas on a chart paper. Examples: new child, new staff member, recent field trip, a new game learned, a visitor to the classroom, a recent activity or new center activity.]

Now we need to decide which idea we want to write about. Which idea do you think would be most interesting to other people?

[Encourage children to discuss the different ideas and, as a group, select one.]

Now we need to think of some things we want to tell about our idea.

[Questions for generating ideas for things to tell include:

• What happened?
• Where did it happen?
• Who or what was involved?

Write children’s ideas for things to tell on a second sheet of chart paper. Complete sentences are not necessary. Review each item after possibilities have been discussed.]

We have many ideas about things we can include in our article.

We need to decide how we are going to include our information in the article.

What is the first thing we should write about?

[Encourage children to discuss the item that will come first in the article.]

What should we tell next?

[Continue to discuss the order of the information that will be included.]

Now let’s write the article on our third sheet of chart paper.

[Take the lead in writing 3–5 simple, complete sentences. Leave room at the top for a headline. Model your writing of the article by reading the words and sentences as you write. Read the entire article when it is complete, pointing to words as you go along.

Display and point to the headline of the article you read yesterday.]

An article has a headline. The headline tells people what the article is about.

What do you think our headline should say?

[After discussion, write a headline at the top of the third sheet of chart paper.]

Today we thought about something that happened in our classroom and wrote an article about it. We talked about what to tell in our article. We put our information into sentences. We also talked about a headline for our article.

[If possible, give each child a copy of the article to share with family members.]

Yesterday we talked about ways to stay safe while riding in a car or truck. Today we will talk about how to stay safe when we ride a tricycle or bike.

[Display pictures of a tricycle and a bike.]

• Do you ever ride one of these?
• What might happen if we are not safe when we ride a bike? (can fall, get hurt)

[Display picture of a helmet.]

Wearing a helmet is one of the best ways we can protect ourselves when we ride a tricycle or bike. We know that protect means we keep something safe from harm.

What part of our body does a helmet protect? (head)

We want to make sure that a bike helmet fits right. Be sure a grown-up helps you put on a helmet or checks to make sure the helmet is a good fit.

[Invite a volunteer child to put on the bike helmet and help you demonstrate how to wear a helmet. Emphasize the points described below as the volunteer child demonstrates good and bad ways to wear the helmet. Example of bad practice: helmet covers eyes so child needs to lift head to see straight ahead.]

The helmet should fit on our head so our eyes can look straight ahead without tipping up our head. The helmet should not cover part of our eyes.

Straps should always be fastened. Ask an adult to help you. Please look at how the helmet strap forms the letter Y over each ear.

[Point to the strap around a child’s ear in the picture and around the ear of the volunteer child helping you demonstrate.]

There are other things we should do to stay safe when we ride a tricycle or bike.

We should wear clothes that will not get caught in the wheels of our tricycle or bike. We should wear shoes that cover our toes.

What might happen to our toes if we do not wear shoes that cover our toes? (get rubbed or hit as wheel moves around)

We should always ride our tricycle or bike where an adult tells us we can ride. We should always look where we are going and listen to what is happening near us. We should always slow down when we get near someone else or a building or post.

What might happen if we do not look at where we are going? (run the tricycle or bike into someone or something)

Today we talked about ways to stay safe when we ride a tricycle or bike. What is the first thing we should do? (put on a helmet and make sure it fits)