Reminders / Notices:
- School resumes on Monday, April 29th.
- Picture Day is Tuesday, May 7th.
- School is Closed on Wednesday, May 8th.
- Muffins with Mom will be on Thursday, May 9th, at 10:00am in the auditorium.
- School is Closed on Friday, May 24th and Monday, May 27th, for Memorial Day.
Unit Topic:
• Plants
Essential Question for the Unit:
• How do plants grow and why are plants important?
Focus Question for the Week:
• What are some different kinds of plants?
Focused Learning Activity for the Week:
- Mrs. Gonzalez and Mrs. Tavares will work with students in the writing center. Teachers will explain to the students what a list poem is and show them examples. Teacher and students will work together to create a class list poem about plants. Students will be asked to write the name of their favorite plant on an index card in order to add to the class poem.
Pre-K Common Core Learning Standard Addressed:
- PK.CLL.11 (Respond to Literature): Create and present a poem, dramatization, art work, or personal response to a particular author or theme studied in class, with prompting and support as needed.
Foundational Text for the Week:
• An Orange in January by Diana Hutts Aston
Pre-K Common Core Learning Standard Addressed:
PK.CLL.6 (Reading Standards for Literature):
- With prompting and support, can describe the role of the author and illustrator.
Questions That Will Be Asked Throughout The Week:
Level 1: Recall
- Where was the orange at the beginning of the book? Where was the orange at the end of the book?
- How did the orange get from the tree to the grocery store?
Level 2: Skill/Concept
- The book says, “The petals fell away and the orange began to grow into what it was meant to be.” What was the orange meant to be?
- How did the boy get the orange?
Level 3: Strategic Thinking
- The boy shared the orange. Why do you think he did that?
- How do you think the other children felt when he shared the orange with them?
Level 4: Extended Thinking
- The illustrator of this book, Julie Maren, used curly lines to show the wind. Why do you think she did that? How would you show wind in a picture?
- How did Julie Maren illustrate the sun? Why do you think she did that? How would you show the sun in a picture?
- How did Julie Maren illustrate the rain? Why do you think she did that? How would you show the rain in a picture?
- This book talks about how an orange grows and travels. How do you think other fruits grow and travel?
Lessons and Activities for the Week:
Blocks- Students will be invited to build a garden using blocks and materials added to the block center.
Pretend Play- The teacher will turn Dramatic Play into a flower shop by adding pretend flowers, containers, pictures of flower arrangements, cash register, notepad, writing utensils etc. Children can pretend to make, buy, and sell floral arrangements. Vocabulary words such as bouquet, floral arrangement, florist, and flower will be highlighted.
Art- The teacher will supply pipe cleaners as well as tissue paper circles. Children can pierce the middle of the tissue paper circles with the pipe cleaner, adding as many as they would like, then fold the circles up to create a flower. After creating these flowers children can use them in the dramatic play flower shop or in the block center garden.
Science- The teacher will provide individual pictures of the plant life cycle. Students will be asked to sequence the pictures. The teacher will provide pictures / diagrams for children to refer to as they discuss each stage in the life cycle.
Math- The teacher will cut out several paper watermelons, add a number to each one, and ask children to put the appropriate number of seeds on each watermelon. Students are encouraged to write the corresponding number.
Library- Students are invited to read books about our theme, plants.
Writing- Students will write letters on a sheet of construction paper. They can glue or place seeds onto the letter. The teacher will talk with students about words that start with the letter.
Sensory- Sand and water, or play-doh.
For more information on the Lesson Plan, click HERE !
