Ideas for pre-K through grade 4.9

Teaching Pre K-8, Aug 1994

Pre-K through 1.6

SCHOOL VISIT

1 SOCIAL STUDIES Explain to the children that they're going to take a tour of their school. Probe for what and whom they might see. Note their responses to take with you. As the children tour the school, call attention to items included in your notes as those items are seen. Invite the children to imagine what they might say about their school. Guide them in identifying and describing their observations of things they did not expect to see. Note: Refer to this activity in activity 5.

SEED SENSE

2 SCIENCE Bring in several kinds of fruits. Pass an apple around for the children to examine. They describe and identify the apple. Invite them to imagine it cut in half and tell what's inside. Then, cut it in half, identify the seeds and have the children describe them. Present facts about the purpose of the seeds. In like manner, present each of the other fruits. Guide the children in comparing the seeds and patterns of the seeds in the fruits. Extra: Have a tasting session.

BIRTHDAY CAKE COLORS

3 PERCEPTION Make a birthday cake shape; use the shape as a pattern to make three cakes in each of eight different colors. Place them in a cake-mix box. On eight paper plates, the children group the cakes by colors. Help the children identify the color of the cakes on each plate. Place the cakes in the box. Put it and the paper plates in the housekeeping center. The children may serve cakes of the same color to a classmate and sing "Happy Birthday."

COLOR CALL

4 PERCEPTION Cover the sides of six baskets with different colors of construct on paper. From paper of the same colors, cut various leaf shapes Place the baskets around the room. Help the children name the color of the paper that covers each side. Give each child a leaf shape. The children take turns matching the color of their leaf with the color of the basket. When a child makes a match, guide the class in calling out the color of the leaf. Then the child drops the leaf in the basket. Note: Save the baskets for use in activity 12.

WHY WE LEARN

5 LANGUAGE ARTS Help the children recall their tour of the school (activity 1). Invite them each to describe their school. Write each child's response on a paper strip. Help the child read it. On mural paper, help the class draw a picture of their school. Guide them in taping their written responses around the drawing. Label and display the mural. Extra: Read "My School," Poetry 1, to the children. Ask which words in the poem tell about their school. Guide them in giving other words that describe a school.

PAIR ACTS

6 MOTOR COORDINATION Read "Two in Use," Poetry 8, to the children. Repeat the first line. The children act out the line for a few seconds. Repeat the line again as individuals take turns performing their actions. The other children imitate the actions. In like manner, do the other lines of the poem. Extra: Invite the children to do other hand motions, and establish a rhythm or the actions as they perform. Have other actions performed for the arms, legs. feet and knees.

BOOK PICTURES

7 LANGUAGE ARTS Select a picture book. Read the title to the children. Without showing the pictures, read the first page aloud. Invite the children to describe how the picture might look or that page. Encourage them to give details about what they imagine. Show the picture on the page. Help the class describe it and tell how it differs from the pictures they imagined. Continue the activity throughout the story.

LYRICAL ALPHABET

8 Read A You're Adorable by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney Lippman (Candlewick, 1994). With words, music and illustrations, the book introduces the letters of the alphabet. Sing the song as you show the child the book's pages. Then show the cover of the book. Ask the child to tell what's on it. Point to and read the title aloud. Have the child trace the letter "A" with a finger and name the letter. Point to and discuss the word adorable. With the child, discuss each page of the book. Sing the song again. Invite the child to join in.

LEAF FIGURE

9 ART In step C, the child adds a body to the leaf. Extra: The child shows the leaf figure and imagines something that it might say.

A CONSTRUCTION PAPER (Picture omitted)

B DRAWING PAPER >PASTE-DRAW (Picture omitted

C OAKTAG >PASTE (Picture omitted)

LETTER/PICTURE CARDS

10 LANGUAGE ARTS Make a tri-folded card for each letter. The child names the picture, opens the card, traces the letter and says it.

A TAGBOARD >FOLD (Picture omitted)

B DRAW (Picture omitted)

C CLEAR ADHESIVE PAPER >ADHERE (Picture omitted)

IN BETWEEN

11 MATH Display two concept cards. For example, two apples and four apples. The child displays the number concept card to complete the sequence (three apples).

THE IN NUMBER

12 MATH Display the baskets of leaves from activity 4. On a table, empty the leaves from one basket. Ask the children to guess how many leaves there are. Include the name of the color of the leaves as you repeat their responses. Then help a child put the leaves back in the basket, one at a time, as the class counts them. Ask how many leaves are in the basket. Repeat the activity for each basket of leaves.