Developing and Implementing a Unit of

Study (Fall Birds)

Cindy Gennarelli, M.Ed. Liz Cottino, M.Ed.

Hope D’Avino Jennings, ECE Emeritus

Hope• I am a retired early childhood

educator. I live in a log cabin with my husband,4 bunnies,a guinea pig and a cat.

• I garden,hike,watch wildlife,raise and butterflies,take care of my furry family and enjoy photography.

• I am a member of the Monarch Teacher Network.We are a group of teachers dedicated to helping educators bring nature into the lives

• You can find me @ http://www.misshope.org/

or on Pinterest

Liz

• I enjoy shopping and trying out new recipes

• I like to travel and have been to many islands and countries

• I am tri- lingual • You can find me on

Pinterest

Cindy• I love family & family

traditions, cooking, baking, crossword puzzles and hiking

• I also love to have my home filled with family and friends

• I am an aspiring photographer, gardener, hiker, and wish I could sing, play a musical instrument, dance and swim

• Find me on Pinterest

Share – Reflect - Collaborate

• The purpose of this presentation

Why have a P D workshop

• We need to have background concrete information about a topic before teaching it

• We need to know the difference between real experiences and meaningless experiences

We need to be invested in the topic

Question to ponder…

• Why is this curriculum topic worthwhile and is it worthy of the children’s time and energy?

Thoughts to remember

• we can not expect the other adults in the classroom to be able to introduce and use the materials with children if they have not had an opportunity to explore with and understand the learning outcomes that can result from these materials

• (i.e. If the adult does not feel comfortable using vocabulary, how can we expect the children to gain mastery of the words?)

Developing curriculum • Information Gathering • Turn and talk with a partner

• (K and and W)

• Use the green for the K chart• Use the white for the W chart

Setting the stage…

• Does the curriculum focus on a deeper knowledge and understanding of the children’s natural environment?

Guided Imagery (eyes closed)• Imagine your ride to work• The cell phone rings• You spilled some coffee• You are stuck in traffic and are

caught behind a school bus….• You park and have to get into the

building• What do you see? What do you hear?

Now let’s try this again

Close your eyes and imagine you are walking from your car to the building

You look on the groundyou look in the sky you listen to the sounds of nature

What do you see? What do you hear?

Plan in advance…

Pick a location fairly close to your window or your outdoor space…

Involve the children – don’t be a party planner!

If you feed them they will come…

Teachers need to be intentional and purposeful without compromising the authenticity of the study or

becoming didactic (for example)

Two preschool teachers interpretation

of an investigative study of fall and winter birds

Hope – former preschool teacher (3 year olds)

Liz- preschool teacher(4 year olds)

Sample Curriculum Grid Sand Table Water Table Blocks Art/Collage/Clay Science Math Computer

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Books Listening Center Writing Center Dramatic Play Music and Movement Wood Working World Language

Cottino, Gennarelli, D’Avino J ennings

Sample Curriculum Grid Sand Table Something is hiding in the sand…Count your findings Writing words in the sand Exploring with bird seed Exploring with a variety of bird beaks

Water Table Scoop and count… Washing bird baths

Blocks Building safe places f or our birds Building a bird watching hut/ blind

Art/Collage/Clay Creating with Papier-mâché Creating a bird mural/ banner Collage with f all/ winter colors Creating birds using recycled materials Making play dough for our classroom Bird puppets Feather Painting Seed collages Sketching birds Bird sculptures in clay Bird collages ( f rom magazines) Bird f oot print stamps ( teacher made wood scraps and f un f oam) Science Learn body parts of bird (f eather, beak, crest ) How can you tell if it is a male or f emale bird? Take a closer look: Can you guess what it is? Feely boxes: Can you guess what is inside? Documenting observations in our science journals Exploring with overhead projectors and bird silhouettes Beak Experiment Feathers and water experiment Observing and documenting the birds at our f eeders Observing and identif ying bird calls bird magnetic game Photographing the birds we see Creating dried apple rings to f eed birds Observing and documenting bird prints in the snow/ mud Creating bird baffles for the window Bird observations… Who eats what? Which feeder for which bird? ( ground feeder,platform feeder,suet,hanging feeder etc. Observing feathers under the microscope Owl pellet dissection ( I have 5 we can use...maybe on an Elmo?) Math Sorting birds Seriating birds f rom smallest to largest Compare and contrast birds Measuring using standard and non standard (f eathers) f orms of

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Books Stranger in the Woods by Carl Sams & J ean Stoick Sadie and the Snowman by Allen Morgan The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer Feather f or Lunch by Lois Ehlert Birds by Kevin Henkes Pumpkin J ack by Will Hubbell The Birdwatchers by Simon J ames Look Who’s Counting by Suse MacDonald Good Night Owl by Pat Hutchins Counting is f or the Birds by Frank Mazzola Riki’s Birdhouse by Monica Wellington No Two Alike by J udith Harris Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington Owl Babies by Martin Waddell Owls by Gail Gibbons One Odd Old Owl by Paul Adshead WOW! Said the Owl byTom Hopgood Maebelle’s Suitcase by Tricia Tusa Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire by J ane O’Connor Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems The Pigeon Finds a Hotdog by Mo Willems Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems The Owl and the Woodpecker by Brian Wildsmith The Listening Walk by Paul Showers The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall Peck, Peck Peck by Lucy Cousins Chickadee Chick by Nerina DiBenedetto Six Crows by Leo Lionni Pigeon Feathers by Sherry Bowen The Beak Book by Pamel Chanko Snowballs by Lois Ehlert All About Birds: A Children’s Guide to Birds by Cathryn Sill Listening Center Listening to books on tape: Listening to and identif ying bird calls Writing Center Word cards: cardinal, blue jay, mockingbird, crow, woodpecker, owl, f eather, beak, chickadee, Writing in our journals Create poetry about birds bird bottle cap word scramble Creating signs f or our garden Dramatic Play Bird Lab Bird Observatory

The Birdwatchers

Birds

How many birds on a

wire?

The Beak Book

Feathers f or lunch

Observing and

identif ying f eathers

Counting is f or the Birds

Fancy Nancy Explorer

Extraordinaire

Peck, Peck, Peck

Chickadee Chick

Six Crows

The Apple Pie Tree

Apple Farmer Annie

The Little Old Lady Who

Was Not Af raid of Anything

Pumpkin J ack

The Owl and the

Woodpecker

Goodnight Owl

Owl Babies

WOW! Said the Owl

Look Who’s Counting

No Two Alike

Stranger in the

Woods

Sadie and the Snowman

Snowballs

The Snowy Day

Ask yourself

• What new vocabulary might the children learn throughout this unit?

• Turn and talk Together with your partner list at least 5

high frequency words (teach for comprehension)Use the pink cards

Children need to make connections between the text

and their environment

Teachers start collecting books. They always read the stories and

make notations. This is how they start to develop the

center activities.

Language Arts

Math

Children lead the way, they are the researchers, the investigators, and the

protagonists of their own learning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJe0WupukAw

Vocabulary word cards

Word scramble

Craft stick poems

Follow up story activity using Bloom’s taxonomy

Surprise! we’ve selected

the following people as

volunteers to play our game

Chris CocolaKristina DeakRaquel LimaTerri ShatmeyerMelinda Mendez

Who Am I?

I am a maleI have a crest

I say, “purdy, purdy”I am red

Who am I?

I am black and whiteI am very social

I will eat a seed out of your hand if you stay perfectly stillI say, “dee, dee,

dee”

Who am I?

I have bluish grey wings

I have a white breastI walk upside down

I eat insects and seeds

I like the winter

I am blackI am bigI am loud

I eat everythingI say, “caw, caw”

Music and MovementWhat would you do when the music stopped?

How do they move? Find your way to the feeder

Find shelter in the storm

Mathematics

AMemory match

Seriating

Paper bag puzzles

Bingo

Craft stick puzzles

Patterning

Lacing cards

Science

Take a closer look

Bird facts

Male or Female?

Feathers

Revisiting children’s anecdotes

• We need to hear the children’s voices before we attempt to interpret the meaning behind their work

One last game before we break for lunch

Interpreting our new understanding

• Are the activities an extension of an in depth investigation and to they

lead to engagement, curiosity, exploration, and discovery.