Week of January 14th!!

Reminders / Notices: Mark your Calendars

• School will be CLOSED on January 16th for a teacher workshop.
• School will be CLOSED on Monday January 21st  for Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday.
• There will be 12:00 p.m. dismissal on Friday, February 1st. 
• Parent Teacher Conferences will be on Friday, February 1st from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 

Unit Topic: Light

 Essential Question for the Unit:

 How and why do we use different kinds of light?

 Focus Question for this Week:

 What is darkness?/How does light help us?

Focused Learning activity for the week:

Mrs. Gonzalez and Mrs. Tavares will be working with the children in the science center to plant seeds. Half of the seeds will be planted in an area that gets sunlight and the other half in an area that is dark. Children will be invited to predict which seeds are most likely to grow and why. The planted seeds will be monitor periodically. To conclude the experiment Mrs. Gonzalez and Mrs. Tavares will refer back to the children’s predictions; discuss and graph the results.

Pre-K Common Core Learning Standard addressed:

PK.CKW.4 (Science): Observes and describes characteristics of earth and space.

Foundational text for the week: 

All About Light by Lisa Trumbauer

Pre-K Common Core Learning Standard addressed:

PK.CLL.1 (Reading Standards for Literature): With Prompting and support, ask and answer about details in a text.

QUESTIONS THAT WILL BE ASKED THROUGHOUT THE WEEK:

Level 1: Recall

• What are some things that give off light? 
• What happens when the sun goes down? 
• Why does the moon look bright?

Level 2: Skill / Concept

• Shadows form when light is blocked. Do you see any shadows around you now?
• What kinds of light do you see in our classroom?

Level 3: Strategic Thinking

• When the sun is up it is light outside. What are some things people do in the light
• When the sun goes down it is dark outside. What are some things people do in the dark?
• Why do we need lights in pre-K?
• Why do we need lights at home?

Level 4: Extended Thinking

• Do you prefer light or darkness? Why?
• Why do you think cars, buses and trains have lights?

Lessons and activities for the week:

Blocks:Students are invited to explore how they might use blocks and a flashlight to create shadow letters.  

Dramatic Play: A campsite will be created in the dramatic center for students to pretend they are going camping. 

Art:After reading the book Round Trip by Ann Jonas, students will be provided with black and white paper to create a picture.

Discovery Area/Science: The students will be supplied with an assortment of small items such as stringing rings, optical illusion sheets, paint pipettes, squiggle pipettes, clear vials, paint scrappers, animal X-Rays to explore on the light table.

Math: Students will be provided with flashlights as they build with Magna-Tiles. Students encouraged to place the flashlights inside their structures and note what they see.

Library: The teacher will post and read the poem My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson in the library center.

Writing: The teacher will write the question “What is under the table?” and place it on top on top of the table. The teacher will tape a picture, letter, number, type of line or shape under the table. The teacher will supply students with flashlights to shine them under the table to find the hidden item and answer the question. 

Sensory- Sand and water, or play-doh.

For more information on the Lesson Plan, click HERE!

If there are any questions regarding the Pre-K for All program that can not be answered by the office or classroom teacher, please feel free to contact the 

Help Line at 888-227-8175