dear families, - southern oregon head start lesson plans/theme 4 - fa… · dear families, we are...

Dear Families, We are beginning our next curriculum unit, “Farm, Markets & Food”! During this unit, your preschoolers will explore an important topic: where our food comes from. This is a topic that all children can relate to, and many are fascinated by. Children will learn that we get food from farms; buy it at a supermarket or farmer’s market; and prepare and eat it in different ways with our families. Through discussions, read-alouds and small-group activities, children will build vocabulary, rhyming, math skills (such as classifying different animals and food products), and more. There are many ways for you to be involved during this curriculum study! To support your children’s learning at home, you can:

· Sing familiar farm songs with your children (“Old MacDonald”, “The Farmer in the Dell”, etc.). Talk about different animals on the farm and what they do, what they feel like or look like, and what they “say.”

· Talk to your children about where things came from. Point out signs at the supermarket that tell you where the fruits and vegetables were grown; look on the back of a milk carton to see if there is any information about which farm it came from. By simply saying, “I wonder where this came from,” you are helping to develop your child’s thinking and language.

· Take your child grocery shopping and talk about what you see. Point out the sections of the market you shop in (meat, dairy, produce, etc), the types of foods you are buying, and why.

· Involve your child in preparing meals. At dinnertime, talk about what you are eating and how you made it.

During the next few weeks, we will be asking for information to make this curriculum meaningful to all children. For example, does your child go with you to do food shopping? What kind of store do you go to (large or small)? Stay tuned for more questions to come home! This curriculum unit overlaps with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. While we do not celebrate holidays in the Acelero program, we will use this opportunity to talk about special-occasion meals and foods. We want our classroom discussions to reflect the experiences and traditions of all children. So please let us know about what foods your family eats on special occasions, and whom you might eat with. We would love to have family members come in to talk about your dinner routines or special meals/foods! As always, there are materials we need to make this unit a success. Please donate or lend us any of the following that you can spare:

- Small boxes (clean milk containers, shoeboxes, etc.) or strips of cardboard - Clothespins - Grocery store circulars, magazines with pictures of food, or old coupons - Empty, clean food containers (e.g., soup cans, cereal boxes) – especially representing any foods

that are special to your family. - Shopping bags from your local supermarket or grocery store - Photos of your local supermarket or grocery store

Thank you in advance for your support in making this unit a rich and meaningful experience for your preschoolers! Sincerely,

© 2012 Acelero, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Uses are subject to the limitations set forth in your user agreement. Your right to use these materials is contingent upon remaining a current SARGE subscriber with Acelero, Inc.

Estimadas Familias, ¡Estamos comenzando el nuevo tema curricular de “Granjas, Marquetas y Comida”! En este tema, su hijo explorará ideas importantes como: de donde viene nuestra comida. Esto es un tema en que todos los niños se pueden relacionar, y muchos son fascinados por. Los niños aprenderán que nuestra comida viene de las granjas; se compra en el supermercado o marqueta; y en la casa cada familia lo cocina a su manera. Por medio de conversaciones, actividades en pequeños grupo y lecturas, los niños aumentaran su vocabulario, rimas y destrezas de matemática (por ejemplo clasificar diferentes animales y comidas), y mas. ¡Hay varias maneras en que usted puede estar envuelto en esta lección! Para apoyar el aprendizaje de su hijo en su casa usted puede:

• Cantar canciones conocidas con su hijo (“Old MacDonald”, “The Farmer in the Dell”, canciones rancheras, etc.). Hable sobre diferentes animales de las granjas y lo que hacen, con sienten o describir como lucen, y los sonidos que hacen.

• Hablar con sus hijos sobre de donde vienen las cosas. Cuando estén en el supermercado enséñala a los letreros que indican el lugar en que crecieron los vegetales y las frutas; miren el cartón de la leche para ver si indica de que granja vino la leche. Simplemente diciendo “¿De donde habrá venido esto?” le estas ayudando a su hijo desarrollar destrezas de pensar y lenguaje.

• Llevar a su hijo cuando haces la compra y hablar sobre lo que usted ve. Indique los departamentos en el supermercado (la carnicería, la panadería), los tipos de comida que estas comprando, y porque.

• Envuelve a su hijo en la preparación de las comidas. A la hora de cenar, hablen sobre lo que están comiendo y como lo preparaste.

Durante las próximas semanas estaremos pidiendo información para relacionar esta lección a las vidas de los niños. Por ejemplo, ¿si su hijo va de compra con usted? ¿En qué tipo de tienda compras (bodega o grande)? ¡Estén preparados para más preguntas! Al mismo tiempo que exploramos este tema, se ocurre Thanksgiving (Día de Acción de Gracias). En Acelero no se celebra los días de fiesta, pero vamos a tomar esta oportunidad para hablar sobre las comidas de celebraciones especiales. Queremos las discusiones dentro del salón que reflejen a las experiencias y tradiciones de todos los niños. Así pues, favor de informarnos sobre las comidas que su familia comen en días especiales, y con quien las compartes. ¡Sus familiares están invitados a visitar a la escuela y hablar sobre las rutinas de su cena o comidas especiales! Como siempre, necesitamos materiales para que esta lección sea un éxito. Favor de donar o dejarnos usar los siguientes artículos cuando sea posible:

- Cajas pequeñas(cartones de leche limpias, cajas de zapatos, etc.) o trozos de cartón - Sostenedor de ropa /pinche de ropa (clothespins) - Noticieros del supermercado, revistas con fotos de comidas o cupones viejos - Contenes de comidas limpias (lata de sopa, caja del cereal, etc.) – especialmente aquellos

culturales. - Las bolsas de las tiendas en que usted compra sus comidas - Retratos del supermercado en que usted compra

Gracias,


Acelero Learning Curriculum Plan Planned Read-Aloud

Book: The Cow That Went Oink by Bernard Most NOTES: In this book, a cow that oinks and a pig that moos learn from each other – and triumph over the other

animals’ teasing. Building on children’s knowledge of basic animal names and sounds, this text will both amuse children and expose them to a different point of view.

Questions/Comments (to engage children during reading, re-reading or picture walk):

- “How do you think the cow [pig] feels when the other animals laugh at her?”

- Call children’s attention to the “bubbles” that show what animals are saying. On first reading, focus just on the cow and pig. During re-readings, pause to read the many different sounds/laughs from various animals.

- “The pig and the cow are working hard to learn to make the other sound. Sometimes it’s hard to learn new things! But they’re trying, trying again – they’re not giving up.”

Activate Prior Knowledge (when introducing book): - Before showing the cover: “We have been

talking about animals on the farm and the sounds they make. This book is about an animal that says oink. What kind of animal do you think it will be?” Take children’s ideas, then show them the cover and read the title. Model surprise and curiosity.

- Ask children to predict what will happen to this cow that says oink.

Discussion (after reading or during child retelling or extension activities):

“How do you think the pig and the cow felt at the end? How do you think the other animals felt?” Introduce vocabulary such as proud and jealous.

Tell children that this book, in addition to telling a funny story, teaches us some things about farms! Walk through the book, using the illustrations to point out features of the farm, such as: - Fields, divided by fences, where animals graze - Muddy areas where the pigs live (wallow) - Barn in background - Crops such as hay, corn and potatoes - Tractor plowing a field (to get it ready to plant)

Extensions (building on concepts from this book through other classroom experiences): Retell story by dividing children into three groups – the cow, the pig, and the other animals who laugh at them. As you read, cue each group to oink, moo or laugh at the appropriate time.

Use magnetic letters to demonstrate how the pig learned to oink. Start with the letters MOO on one side (what the pig is currently saying) and the letters OINK on the other (what she wants to say). Move letters around to show how she mixed up these words as she learned – OIMOO, OIMOOK, etc. Note: most appropriate for older children who have some understanding of letter-sounds.

Props (to illustrate concepts or word meanings, during or after reading): Create word cards or a chart with the words OINK, MOO and HA. Before a re-reading, review these words and have children practice saying them. Then, during the story, children can chime in when you hold up/point to the appropriate word. Also see retelling extension, below.

Vocabulary (to highlight during reading or in follow-up discussions): Farm, animals, cow, pig, oink, moo


Acelero Learning Curriculum Plan Planned Read-Aloud

Book: Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm by Joy Cowley NOTES: The character Mrs. Wishy-Washy appears in a number of other books, many of them simpler board

book. If possible, read the “original” Mrs. Wishy-Washy first, since if children are familiar with this character (and her love of keeping animals clean), they will appreciate this story even more.

Questions/Comments (to engage children during reading, re-reading or picture walk):

- “Why do you think the animals don’t like being scrubbed in the tub?”

- After pig says We’ll go to the city where the barns are big: “The pig thinks that all these buildings are barns. But I don’t think so, because barns are on farms, not in the city. What type of buildings could these be?”

- “What do you think the animals will see in the city?”

- At the end: “Before, the animals didn’t want to get in the tub; now they seem excited about it! They really changed their minds.”

Activate Prior Knowledge (when introducing book): - Ask children if any of them take baths. Do they

like taking a bath? Do they ever cry, or try to get out of the tub? (Validate a range of responses.) “This book is about three animals who become very dirty and Mrs. Wishy Washy needs to give them a bath.” Have you ever given an animal a bath (cat, dog, etc...)?

- Briefly discuss what is found on a farm (barn, field, tractor…). Draw on what children know from other books or discussions, or use the illustration on pp 1-2. Explain that in this book, animals are going to travel to a city, which is very different from a farm—and they might get confused!

Discussion (after reading or during child retelling or extension activities):

“Why do you think the animals are happy to go in the wash tub at the end of the book?” [E.g.: they got dirty in the city and wanted to be clean; they missed the farm so much, they even missed the tub.] Children may need support to understand the significance of this event, i.e. that the animals’ attitudes changed from the beginning of the book to the end.

“Do you think this story is true, or imaginary? Why?”

“Was that a good idea, for the animals to run away to the city? Why not? What could they have done instead?”

Extensions (building on concepts from this book through other classroom experiences): Blocks: Display copies of illustrations showing the farm and the city (from this book, or other photographs). Encourage children to observe differences and choose whether to create farm buildings or city buildings. Have animal figures available to support re-enactment of story.

Sand/Water: Provide farm animals (either plastic figures or laminated on posterboard) and sudsy water. Describe what children are doing, using vocabulary such as “scrub” and “suds.” Variation: Put soapy water in a tub inside water table; in the extra space, provide washable markers/paint, or a bin of dirt, so children can get animals dirty and then clean.

Vocabulary (to highlight during reading or in follow-up discussions): Farm, scrub (scrubbed, scrubbing), suds, highway, city, anxious, bliss

Reminders: Prepare for read-aloud by previewing book and thinking about which questions/comments to add when. You should not need to refer to this Read-Aloud Guide during the read-aloud.


Acelero Learning Curriculum Plan Small-Group Activity

ACTIVITY: Farm Animals

OVERVIEW: During this activity, children will be encouraged to help a distraught farmer solve his problem – how to keep his farm animals under control and out of trouble! As children come up with different ideas to solve the farmer’s problem (such as creating fences or barns), they will also be encouraged to use classification and to count.

OBJECTIVES: • School Readiness Goal (3) Engagement • School Readiness Goal (7) English • School Readiness Goal (15) Classification

• GOLD 11b (persists) • GOLD 13 (classification) • GOLD 37, 38 (understands, speaks English)

• WSS I.C.2 (attends/seeks help) • WSS III.C.1. (sorts objects)

• ELS 2 (classification) • ELS 6 (engagement & exploration)

MATERIALS: - Farm animal figures and human figure (farmer if available) - Small boxes, strips of cardboard and/or box lids - Clothespins - Images of barns or fences (examples included in Activities packet, or find your own online) – optional,

but recommended for Dual Language Learners

PROCEDURE: Beginning: 1. Show children the farmer and tell them that this farmer has a serious problem. His/her farm

animals are running all over the place on the farm. The cows are crushing the chicken’s eggs, the sheep are eating all of the horses’ hay, etc. The farmer doesn’t know what to do and was wondering if anyone had any ideas of how he/she could solve his/her problem.

2. Ask children if they have any ideas about how the farmer can control the animals. Comment on their suggestions and help them think of creating fences or barns (if necessary).

3. Show children the materials that you have and tell them that the farmer will be so happy to have their help … they should get started right away! • Individualization (to support Dual Language Learners): After this initial discussion, restate

the goal of the activity in simple, clear language: “We are going to make fences or barns for the farm animals.” Show a few pictures to illustrate what you mean.

Middle: 4. As children work, ask open-ended and thought-provoking questions about what they are

doing. “Tell me about your idea to help the farmer.” “I see you made your fences very high. Why did you do that?” “Can you tell me about how you made your fences/how you arranged the farm animals?” “Horses are able to jump pretty high. What do you think we need to do to keep the horses in their fenced in area? How can you do that?” “How can we keep the cows away from the chickens’ eggs?” (etc.) Individualization (to support Dual Language Learners, or younger/less verbal children): • When children speak in one- or two-word phrases, repeat what they say, then extend it,

modeling additional vocabulary. “Cow? Yes, there are cows on this side of the fence, and chickens on that side.”

• Support children who express themselves in their home language. Even if you do not


Small Group Activity (cont’d)

understand what they are saying, you can demonstrate interest by nodding, smiling, or a generic phrase (“Really?!”).

• Repeat and reinforce vocabulary, such as animal names, fence, barn, apart vs. together, etc. Remember, even these simpler words may be new vocabulary for DLLs, and they will benefit from repeated exposure and scaffolding.

5. Encourage children to count—the number of farm animals in fenced areas, number of clothespins to create the fence, number of different pens for different animals, etc. Make comments on any sorting that you observe. “I noticed you put all of your cows in this area. Now they won’t be able to crush the chickens’ eggs. I wonder where the chickens will go.”

End: 6. Give children a 5-minute warning for clean up time. 7. Tell children that they had many ideas to help the farmer get control of the animals on his

farm. Give some examples and tell children that they helped the farmer solve his problem! Have children put animals away by type.

YOU MIGHT DOCUMENT:

Are children thinking of different ideas to use the materials? Document any problem solving that you observe. Take note of any classification that children do: Are they putting animals in different areas based on common characteristics? Are they able to explain/describe how or why they sorted the animals the way they did? For Dual Language Learners, note how they respond to your interactions, and whether they use English or home language to communicate.


Embedded Assessment Small-Group Activity

ACTIVITY: Find the Rhyme

OBJECTIVES ASSESSED: • GOLD 15a (rhyme) • WSS II.A.3. (phonological awareness) • ELS 8 (language manipulation)

MATERIALS: - “The Chickens” poem – written on large chart paper, with individual copy for each child. Leave the final word in each stanza blank, for children to fill in the rhyme. See words on next page.

- Word/picture cards for each rhyme choice. See attached or create your own. - Tape to stick rhyming words onto chart paper - Feathers or cotton balls, glue, markers/pencils (optional) - “Rhyming helper” – e.g. stuffed animal or other prop – Ryan Lion, Matt the Cat, thick stick, etc.

PROCEDURE: Beginning: 1. Do some warm-up rhymes: “I’m thinking of something black and white that rhymes with

lebra” [zebra] or “I’m thinking of a friend’s name that rhymes with Kahn” [Juan]. Encourage children to say each rhyming pair with you (Kahn-Juan) and notice how fun it is to say!

2. Show children the poem and explain that it is about some chickens that are hungry, and talking about what they want to eat. But it isn’t finished: the rhyming words are missing!

3. Give each child a copy of the poem. Explain that they can read along on the big chart or on their own paper. They will be able to illustrate the poem (add pictures), too!

Middle: 4. Read the first stanza and model how you might find the rhyming word: “Squirm.... what

rhymes with squirm?” Show the choices (on word/picture cards): worm, turtle, cat. Now repeat the first part of the poem, inserting each word in turn; which sounds better?

5. Repeat this process with each stanza until children have filled in all the rhyming words. It is important that you call on individual children—especially children for whom you have no evidence of rhyming ability or who did not produce rhymes during the warm-up—to see how each child rhymes. Suggestion: pass the “rhyming helper” (Ryan Lion, etc.) to the child whose turn it is, or have the stuffed animal tap them on their shoulder.

6. After children have their turn, or earlier if needed to keep children engaged, distribute the feathers/cotton, glue and markers and encourage them to illustrate the poem. How could they use these materials to create chickens?

End: 7. Read the poem together with all of the words in place, encouraging children to chime in

and emphasize the rhyming words. Also talk about what the poem means. What did the mother chicken tell the babies to do if they were hungry?

8. Close with a rhyme “go-round.” You will say a word, then children will think of as many rhyming words as possible. E.g., you say “ball.” Pass the rhyming helper to a child – she might say “fall.” Next child says “mall.” (Nonsense words are okay!)

9. Dismiss children by saying “if your name rhymes with ______...”

WHAT TO DOCUMENT:

- For each child, document whether he can fill in the missing rhyming word, discriminate which of the word choices rhyme, and/or create his own rhymes. Does he need assistance to rhyme or can he do so independently?


Embedded Assessment Small-Group Activity (Continued)

The Chickens Said the first little chicken, With a strange little squirm, "I wish I could find A fat little _ _____ ." (worm, bug, cat) Said the next little chicken, With an odd little shrug: "I wish I could find A fat little _____ _ ." (bug, cat, sock) Said a third little chicken, With a small sigh of grief, "I wish I could find A green little ____ __ !" (leaf, stick, stone) Said the fourth little chicken, With a faint little moan, "I wish I could find A wee gravel ____ __ ." (stone, stick, ball) "Now, see here!" said the mother, “Don’t be a pig; If you want any breakfast, Just come here and _ _____ !" (dig, sing, jump)



Worm

Leaf

Bug

Dig

Stone

Stick



Turtle

Cat

Ball

Sock

Sing

Jump


Acelero Learning Curriculum Plan Small-Group Activity

ACTIVITY: Rough vs. Smooth

OVERVIEW: Children will write on paper placed on top of sandpaper, feeling their pencil movements magnified by the unusual texture underneath as they make shapes, write letters, or create pictures. They will also use aluminum foil and markers to compare the rough feeling of the sandpaper versus the smoothness of the markers on the foil.

OBJECTIVES: • School Readiness Goal (10) Letters • School Readiness Goal (11) Print/writing • School Readiness Goal (20) Physical

• GOLD 7b (writing/drawing tools) • GOLD 16a (identifies letters) • GOLD 16b (letter-sound knowledge)

• WSS II.C.3 (knowledge about letters) • WSS II.D.2 (uses shapes/symbols to write) • WSS VII.B.3 (writing, drawing, and art tools)

• ELS 9 (alphabetic awareness) • ELS 10 (production)

MATERIALS: - Sandpaper - Plain paper - Aluminum foil - Pencils, markers - Name cards/ word cards/ letter cards/ alphabet strip for reference

PROCEDURE: Beginning: 1. Show children a piece of sandpaper. Allow them to touch it and talk about how it feels.

Now show a piece of aluminum foil and ask children to tell you about it. What is it? What does it feel like? How is it different from or similar to the sandpaper?

2. Tell children they will get to use these two special kinds of paper for writing. Show them how they can lay plain paper on top of the sandpaper and feel the bumpiness as they write, and how they can write directly on the foil.

3. Ask children which type of material they will use first (sandpaper or aluminum foil). Lay out writing utensils and name/ word/ letter cards and tell them, “I wonder what kinds of things you will write!” • Individualization (to support Dual Language Learners): Move around the table and speak

briefly with individual children to ensure they understand the activity. Give simple, clear instructions, gesturing to the materials to clarify your meaning: “You can write on the sandpaper, or you can write on the foil.”

Middle: 4. Allow children to explore the materials (in any combination they choose). Make comments

about what you see them writing; talk about how they are using the different textures and how it feels to write on each of them. “I see you are using the sandpaper and markers. Tell me about it. How does it feel? How do you think it would feel if you used the pencil?” “What does the foil feel like? What happens when you write with the marker on it? The pencil? Tell me about it.” • Individualization (to support Dual Language Learners or less verbal children): Encourage

peer interaction and communication, referring children to each other. “Look how Jacinth is using her pencil … the sandpaper underneath makes her lines bumpy!” “You want to use


Small Group Activity (cont’d)

the foil? It looks like Kwan has extra – can you ask him?”

5. Encourage children to write letters or words and to recognize letters they may have written. Point out when you see letter-like forms. Encourage children to make the sounds of the letters or to stretch the sounds out in words where appropriate. Help children to think more about letter sounds by making comments such as, “I see you made a circle. It looks like an “o”, as in /o/, /o/, octopus. I wonder what other words we can think of that start with “o”.”

End: 6. Give children a 5-minute warning for clean up time. 7. Transition children by using letter sounds. “If your name starts with the same first sound in

strawberries….”

YOU MIGHT DOCUMENT:

Do children attempt to write letters or words? Document what they are writing – e.g., letter-like forms, scribble-writing, identifiable letters, etc. Are children able to identify some letters and/or use letter-sound correspondence? Note how children use the writing tools (typically only of interest if there is a concern about fine-motor development).


Embedded Assessment Small-Group Activity

ACTIVITY: Silly Words & Animals

OBJECTIVES ASSESSED:

• GOLD 15b (alliteration) • GOLD 15c (smaller units of sound)

• WSS II.A.3. (phonological awareness)

• ELS 8 (language manipulation)

MATERIALS: - Various animal puppets or small plastic animals – enough for one per child. Try to choose only animals that start with a clear consonant sound: e.g., cat, dog, goose, mouse – not elephant or owl!

- Clipboard/post-its/etc. to jot down notes on what children can do - For classrooms using GOLD: Picture cards of items with varied initial sounds. (There should be pictures

with the same initial sound as each animal; e.g., if there’s a stuffed cow, have a picture of a car.)**

PROCEDURE: * You may want to hold this small-group sitting in a circle on the rug, rather than at a table.

** Several of the steps below are relevant to classrooms using GOLD only (because of the specific components of these phonological awareness skills that GOLD teachers need to assess). Teachers who use ELS or Work Sampling can skip steps 4 and 5 below.

Beginning: 1. Allow each child to take an animal puppet/figure. Explain that we are going to be saying

some silly words today and these animals are going to help us. 2. If needed, to help children warm up / settle down, sing a brief song or rhyme that children

are already familiar with. Invite children to clap along, or bounce/move their animals in rhythm.

Middle – Segmentation: 3. GOLD only: Model the next part of the activity—clapping the words in a sentence. Hold up

one of the animals and say a simple sentence, e.g., “I have a horse.” Then say it again, clapping each word in that sentence: “I – have – a – horse.” Invite each child to tell you what animal s/he has, and to clap the sentence. Variation: Have children clap a sentence about the child next to them (“Ronnell – has – a – chicken.”).

4. Explain, “Now we’re going to play a movement game. I’m going to say a way our animals can move. Then we’ll clap out the syllables or parts of that word. Then our animals will get to act it out!” Give an example: “My horse is jumping. Let’s say jumping and clap it out. Jump-ing — two claps. Now let’s all make our animals jump!”

5. Give each child a turn to suggest a movement. If needed, suggest one: hop, run, fly, etc. Or give clues – how does a bird move? Invite that child to individually clap out the syllables, then all children to do the movement. Variation: Let children do the movements with their own bodies, not just their animals’.

Middle – Alliteration: 6. Teach children the basic chant:

Bim bam boo, here’s a game for you; Bim bam bee, here’s a game for me.

Try to notice which children join in saying the alliterative phrase. 7. Once children know the rhyme, invite each child to create a new alliterative phrase by

changing the initial sound. You might say, “Now let’s change those silly words a little. What if it wasn’t Bim bam boo – what if it was Jim jam …” [pause and see if the child can fill in the corresponding word – e.g. joo]. Give each child a turn. - Suggestion: give younger children easier consonant sounds, such as /m/, /s/ or /p/.



You can also adapt the rhyme to incorporate children’s names and initial letter sounds: “Bim bam bisten… Kim kam Kristen!”

8. GOLD only: For children who successfully do the prior step, add an extension that relates to the next level on this GOLD item. Show a few picture cards and ask child to find one that starts with the same letter as their animal. E.g., “You have a horse. Horse starts with /h/. Can you find something here that also starts with /h/?? … That’s right, the hat!”

End: 9. Once you have been able to observe each child – or sooner, if children are losing attention –

let the group know that it is almost time to clean up. Allow them to do one more movement with their animals.

10. Return to the original chant for your transition out of this activity: “Bim bam bog, you can put away your _____[dog].” Have children fill in the missing rhymes and leave as their animals’ names are called.

11. You can continue to use the Bim bam boo chant (e.g. during transitions or to get children’s attention at the start of Circle Time) to build children’s awareness of alliteration.

WHAT TO DOCUMENT:

- For each child, document whether she joins in the alliterative phrase and word/syllable clapping, or whether she can do these activities independently (e.g., make up her own alliteration, clap syllables without support).

- Note if children are truly “playing with language” and seem to enjoy the silly aspect of this activity.

- Also note if children show awareness of beginning sounds or word parts. For example, do they notice that two words “start the same”?

- Secondary observations: You can also use this activity to observe: o Self-regulation – GOLD 1b, WSS V.C.1, ELS 5 o Following directions – GOLD 8b, WSS II.A.2 o Gross motor skills – GOLD 4, WSS VII.A.1, VII.A.2


KWL

Char

t: G

uide

lines

A

KW

L ch

art e

ngag

es c

hild

ren

in th

inki

ng a

nd ta

lkin

g ab

out a

topi

c of

stud

y by

ask

ing

them

thre

e ca

tego

ries o

f que

stio

ns: w

hat t

hey

(alre

ady)

KN

OW

; wha

t the

y W

AN

T to

kno

w; a

nd e

vent

ually

, wha

t the

y LE

AR

NED

.

The

KW

L ch

art c

an b

e co

mpl

eted

in a

var

iety

of w

ays,

but t

ypic

ally

teac

hers

do

one

colu

mn

at a

tim

e. T

he K

col

umn

is o

ften

com

plet

ed o

n th

e fir

st d

ay o

r at t

he b

egin

ning

of a

new

them

e. T

he W

col

umn

may

be

star

ted

at th

at sa

me

time,

but

chi

ldre

n ca

n al

so

add

to th

e W

ove

r tim

e, a

s the

y ge

nera

te m

ore

ques

tions

abo

ut th

e to

pic

of st

udy.

The

L c

olum

n is

ofte

n co

mpl

eted

on

the

last

day

of

the

wee

k or

the

stud

y.

Not

e: if

you

r chi

ldre

n do

not

resp

ond

to th

e K

WL

prom

pts,

or d

o no

t hav

e th

e at

tent

ion

span

to c

ompl

ete

the

entir

e ch

art,

you

can

mod

ify

this

act

ivity

in a

num

ber o

f way

s. F

or e

xam

ple,

you

can

mod

el th

e pr

oces

s by

talk

ing

abou

t wha

t you

kno

w o

r wan

t to

know

, usi

ng

pict

ures

or o

ther

vis

uals

to il

lust

rate

. O

r you

can

hav

e th

e co

nver

satio

n in

a m

ore

gene

ral w

ay, b

ut n

ot c

reat

e a

char

t.

The

follo

win

g ar

e ex

ampl

es/s

ugge

stio

ns o

f que

stio

ns to

gui

de th

e K

WL

char

t for

“Fa

rms,

Mar

kets

& F

ood,

” W

eek

1:

K (Wha

t We

Know

)

W

(Wha

t We

Wan

t to

Know

)

L (Wha

t We

Have

Lea

rned

) W

hat o

r who

mig

ht y

ou se

e on

a fa

rm?

W

hat m

ight

you

hea

r or s

mel

l on

a fa

rm?

W

hat d

o yo

u th

ink

the

anim

als e

at?

W

here

do

the

anim

als s

leep

?

Wha

t do

we

wan

t to

know

abo

ut th

e an

imal

s on

the

farm

? W

hat d

o w

e w

ant t

o kn

ow a

bout

wha

t the

fa

rmer

doe

s?

Wha

t hav

e w

e le

arne

d ab

out t

he a

nim

als

on th

e fa

rm?

Wha

t hav

e w

e le

arne

d ab

out w

hat f

arm

ers

do?

Wha

t hav

e w

e le

arne

d ab

out w

hat c

omes

fr

om a

farm

? [E

.g. w

hat d

o co

ws g

ive

us?

wha

t do

chic

kens

giv

e us

? et

c.]


dear families, - southern oregon head start lesson plans/theme 4 - fa… · dear families, we are...

Documents