Ideas for pre-K through grade 8 your green pages: 69 specific skill-building activities you can use right now!

Teaching Pre K-8, Sep 2000

PreK Through 1.6

MY FAVORITE TREAT

1 LANGUAGE ARTS: Assemble the children in a semicircle on the floor. Read the following poem to them:

Read Me A Story

Read me a story about a friendly giant

Who sits on the roof of a house.

Read me a story about a smiling elf

Who rides on the back of a mouse.

Read me a story about a kangaroo

Who leaps over trees and streets.

Read me a story and I'll sit very still

For one of my favorite treats.

Show the cover of a storybook. Say, "Read me a story about __." Volunteers take turns repeating the phrase and telling what they imagine the story is about. men, read the story to the children. Probe for what they liked best about it.

FAMILY HELPERS

2 SOCIAL STUDIES: In preparation for National Grandparents Day, September 10, the children describe their grandparents and tell what grandparents do. Describe and emphasize how grandparents help other family members. Discuss how families feel about their grandparents. Invite the children to bring in photos of themselves with their grandparents. Make a display of the photos. Invite grandparents to visit for a special program or treat.

JUST JUMPING

3 MOTOR COORDINATION: The children form a circle. Chant, "Jump 1. Jump 2." The children join in repeating the chant as they jump forward the given number of times. Continue with this chant, "Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump on a bump!" The children join you in repeating the chant as they jump in place to the rhythm.

MISSING WORD

4 LANGUAGE ARTS: Say a sentence omitting one of the words, e.g., "I like to " The children repeat the sentence with one child supplying a word of choice. Help the children repeat the sentence and the given word. Continue the activity. As other sentences are presented, the word may be missing from any place in the sentence.

WHO'S ON 4?

5 MATH: Make cardboard stepping stones presenting illustrated number concepts. On the floor, place the stones in numerical sequence. Volunteers stand on the stones (one child on each). Call out, "Who's on 4?" The children count the pictured items on their stones. The child standing on the designated number-concept stone, calls out "I'm on 4" and counts 1, 2, 3, 4.

WE ALL HELP

6 SOCIAL STUDIES: With the child, identify each member of his or her family and describe how that person helps in the home. Write the information on a paper poster. The child may write some of the letters in the words and draw pictures to accompany the descriptions. Display the poster. Guide the child in reading and discussing the poster with the family. When roles change, make and display a new "We All Help" poster.

TOUCH TELLS

7 PERCEPTION: Make a cloth pocket. In it, place a button. Show the pocket to the children as you read this poem to them:

Found in a Pocket

A knotted string,

A paper ring,

Some pennies bright and new.

A crusty rock,

A tiny lock,

Some buttons faded blue.

A broken bead,

A pumpkin seed,

Some bubble gum to chew.

A rubber band,

A pinch of sand,

All in my packet, too.

by Virginia S. Brown

Volunteers tell what they might find in a pocket. Ask how they can tell what is in the pocket without looking at the items. Individuals take turns feeling the item in the cloth pocket. They identify it and tell how they know by just feeling the item. Replace the item in the pocket, and continue the activity.

DAILY NUMBERS

8 MATH: Display a large September calendar. Identify it. Help volunteers point to the numerals on the calendar as you identify each. Explain the use of the numerals on the calendar. Point to them in sequence, naming them with the children. On paper squares, write the numerals. Randomly give them to the children. Point to the numeral 1 on the calendar; the child who has the matching numeral shows it. With the children, identify it. Continue with the other numerals.

AUTUMN'S HERE

9 SCIENCE: Display pictures of autumn scenes that include trees and other plants. Guide the class in describing and comparing the scenes. Introduce the facts about the season. Help the children identify the autumn colors. Ask them what their favorite autumn color is. Probe for the reasons behind their choices. (Note: Save the pictures for use in Activity 10.)

MAKE A TREE

10 ART: Display the autumn foliage visuals from Activity 9. Challenge the children to make their own colorful autumn trees.

SENTENCE STARTS

11 LANGUAGE ARTS: On an easel, post a card labeled with the letter I. Point to the letter and read it. The children repeat it. Then say a sentence beginning with I. The children repeat the sentence. Point to the letter I again. A child makes a sentence beginning with the letter I while pointing to the letter on the easel. Help the class repeat the sentence. In like manner, continue the activity with other letters. EXTRA: Read this poem to the children:

It's Fun

Learning is fun

And I know why

I know more

And I like to try.

Learning is fun.

Every day I know

There's more to learn

About anything though.

by Virginia S. Brown

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

12 Read Bear About Town by Debbie Harter and Stella Blackstone (Barefoot Books, 1999). With your child, discuss what the cover shows and tells about the story. Then read it to your child as he or she helps you turn the pages. Discuss the different things that Bear did. Ask the child to tell different things that he or she would like to do each day. Probe for reasons why.