Pre-K teaching times, Vol. 6, Issue 3 (Nov. 2009)

Pre-K Teaching Times

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3

NOVEMBER 2009

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:
Mentor Teachers - Learn from the Best
Making Large Group Time Work
Changes to the Learning Environment
Small Group Activities and Scaffolding Suggestions
Assessment Ideas and Updates

City Mouse, Country Mouse

Many of us remember the classic children's story about the city mouse and the country mouse. Based on one of Aesop's fables, the story has been retold and rewritten by countless authors. Classic versions of the tale teach a lesson about appreciating the ease of a quiet country life. More recent versions of the story, like the one written by Jan Brett, instead encourage

us to think about the benefits and risks of city and country living. This month's issue includes strategies, sugges-

tions and activities you can use to begin talking with your children about the places they live: the differences, the similarities, and the variety of places in their communities. Whether you live in the city, the country, or somewhere in between, we encourage you to take time this month to have fun exploring!

Phonological Awareness in Pre-K

Phonological awareness develops within your classroom each day. Be sure you have an idea of where children are along the phonological awareness continuum and how you need to plan in order to meet their needs and move them forward. Keep in mind that children will develop phonological awareness skills at different levels.
Here are some ideas for collecting documentation about phonological awareness. Create a matrix using predictable skills such as:

Identifies at least five musical instruments based on the sound they make.
Knows that their name begins with a certain sound. If your name begins with b, stand up.
Can repeat a series of taps, claps or other sound sequences.
Can identify if two sounds or words are the same or not the same.
Can repeat simple rhymes with the class. (Be specific about the

rhymes.) Can repeat simple rhymes when playing independently. (Identify the rhyme heard during play time.) Shows interest in listening to rhymes, reciting rhymes, and finger plays. Begins to laugh and play when funny rhymes are made. Identifies words with one and two syllables by tapping, clapping or placing blocks on the table.
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"...children will develop phonological
awareness skills at
different levels."

Phonological Awareness (Cont.)

(Continued from page 1)
Listening Activities Help children tune into sounds and how they are made. Make the following sounds and have children describe how they were made. It is equally important to give children an opportunity to make the sounds and talk about how they made them. Sample sounds: Clap your hands Click tongue Stamp feet Pop lips Tap finger on table Whistle Snap fingers Sing Cough Hum Whisper
Review concepts of loud and soft: Have children discriminate between sounds that are soft and loud. Give them ample opportunity to play with their own voices and make sounds softly and loudly. Review concepts of high and

low with regard to pitch. Give children an opportunity to play with their own voices and make sounds in a high pitch like a little mouse and a low pitch like a bull frog.
Collect pictures that are theme related or random photos of familiar objects. Place two pictures in front of children, and ask them to touch the one that is first and then the one that is second. Add a third picture and repeat the activity asking students to touch the picture that is first, in the middle, and last. Then ask them to place the pictures in the order you name them (car, truck, house). This listening activity helps to develop sequencing of sounds later. Use pictures of city building and country buildings to relate to the current theme.
Rhyming Activities
Read books that have rhyming words.
Introduce and repeat rhymes that are simple and have catchy phrases. Use these as transition activities to and from breakfast, lunch, outdoor play, hand washing, etc.
Identifying Words in Sentences
Place pictures or words on index cards. Attach them in order on a -inch piece of elastic with a paper clip. Read the short sentence then pull the elastic to see the sentence separate into

words. Explain how each of the cards is a word and when we put certain words together, it forms a sentence.
Use sentences of only three to four words. Give children colored blocks and have them show many words they hear in silly sentences you create. Ask children to create silly sentences and show how many words they say, e.g., I like pickle ice cream. (There would be five blocks to represent five words.)
Segmenting sentences into words is a task that should be introduced before breaking words into syllables. If you have started breaking words into syllables and skipped the step of segmenting sentences into words, it is not too late.
Identifying Syllables in Words
Clapping, tapping, stomping, and showing syllables with blocks and other manipulatives is a great way to motivate children. Begin with the names of the children in the class and then move to other familiar words (lunch, recess, snack, circle, square, triangle, yellow, blue, orange, purple, elbow, chin, finger, toe, stomach, back) Don't forget topic related words (city, country, tall, short, lights, stars, road, traffic, shopping).

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VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3

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Assessment Corner

November is already here, and we have about six weeks before our first assessment period ends. You should be planning activities to fill in the gaps on the developmental checklist or spreadsheet. Hopefully you are planning small and large group activities to help you gather documentation for all 55 indicators. When developing your lessons, make sure you plan activities/ lessons around assessment. Here

are examples of activities you can use to fill in the gaps.
Using a doll house and furniture, have children place common household items in their proper rooms. This activity will fall under Social Studies, People, and where they live.
Using environmental print of stores (Target, McDonalds, Kroger, etc.), talk about stores the children visit and what they

can buy at those stores.
Make a simple treasure map for the playground and have children follow the map.
A few reminders: when filling out the developmental checklist, you cannot place a check for an indicator unless you have ONGOING documentation in the child's portfolio. Also remember that all photos need a descriptor or caption.

Outdoor Activities - City and Country

Roaring Lion
Four or more children can play. Select one child to be the lion, and have the lion sit with his back to the other players (about 10-15 feet away). Place a stuffed animal behind the lion and tell the lion it is his cub. The other players take turns sneaking up behind the lion trying to steal the cub. If the lion hears the person sneaking up, it roars and then turns around. If the lion catches a player, the player takes the lion's place, and the lion joins the other players. If no player is sneaking up when the lion roars, the lion remains where he is, and the game starts again.
City Streets
You need bikes, wagons, pedestrians, scooters, cars made of boxes, or steering wheels made of paper plates or anything round. As children drive around the play-

ground, one or more students pretends to be a traffic cop and directs traffic to make sure children don't run into each other.
Four Square
If you don't have a four square court, draw a large square on concrete or asphalt using sidewalk chalk, and divide it into four equal squares numbered one through four. One player stands in each of the squares. One player begins by bouncing the ball to a player in one of the other squares; that player catches the ball before bouncing it to another player. Players must stay within their space while the ball is bounced, then caught.
Mother, May I?
This game is played the same as Red Light, Green Light. One person stands in front of the group, which stands 10 -15 feet away. A player in the group asks the person in the front, Mother,

may I take [insert number] steps forward? The person at the front answers, Yes, you may. or No, you may not. Players can vary their requests to include taking baby steps, spinning steps, leaps or whatever. The first person to tag the person in the front wins and becomes the next person in the front.

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Small Group Activities - Architecture All Around

Discussing the differences and similarities between buildings in the country and in the city can be a fun way to help children connect their surroundings to your classroom. Here are suggestions for small group activities about buildings and architecture. Activity: Children will use photographs to create three-dimensional structures. The photographs can be from a previous field trip or they can be photographs of buildings seen in cityscapes and country areas. You could ask families to review magazines with their children and cut out photographs of buildings to contribute to the class activity. Also ask them to donate materials such as fabric scraps, beads, paper, pipe cleaners, buttons, tiles, pebbles, shells, and small items from nature (moss, sticks, mini-pinecones, and wood chips) to enhance construction and creativity of the threedimensional structures created. Ideas to Include: City -- skyscrapers, office complexes, Capitol build-
ings, apartments, stores/shopping malls, movie theatres, restaurants, libraries, bridges, railings, windows, awnings. Country -- farm houses, barns, silos, fenced pastures, troughs/feed bins, restaurants, com-

munity centers, etc.
Additional Materials:
Unit and hollow blocks, Lego's, play dough, modeling clay, donated materials, architecture magazines, real estate brochures, books, catalogs, photos of actual local buildings, including children's homes.
If possible, take a class field trip to observe buildings in your community. Take pictures of structures the children see. Take an indoor field trip to observe architectural elements of the building that houses the class. Ask children to look for doors, windows, hallways, arches, sidewalks, fences, and other features of the school property. Ask children to list how many of these items they see.
Beginning/Early Learners:
Group of five students
Spread out photographs of the pictures you have taken or provided, and talk with the children about the field trip or magazines from which you cut the photographs. Ask them to describe the architectural features they see. Encourage children to hold, point to, pass around, and interact with the photographs.
Choose one of the pictures showing a three-dimensional building. Discuss the materials used to create the structure; count the floors, windows, walls, etc. Ask a child to volunteer to make the building. If no one volunteers, demonstrate how to begin building using the donated materials. Ask children to imagine what sorts of structures they can make.
Content Standards: LD 3-b & c: Vocabu-

PRE-K TEACHING TIMES

lary Development: Uses new vocabulary words & connects to prior experiences; CD1-b: Artistic Expression: Uses
materials/creates original work.. Middle/Mid-Range Learners: Group of five students
Encourage children to look carefully at the photographs as they explore the threedimensional donated materials. Discuss features of the buildings they might want to include in their structures. (Size, design features). Record children's responses and specify architectural components they may want to include in a structure (e.g., apartment building with many windows, or a silo with surrounding fence). Encourage the children to work together to create structures. Take photos of their collaborative designs. Content Standard: CD1-b: Artistic Expression: Uses materials/creates original work.; SE 4-d: Social Skills: Participates as group member.
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VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3
Ask Pat

Dear Pat, I have been told that, due to recent budget cuts, I will be unable to take my class on field trips this year. Even though I understand why, I am still disappointed. I look forward to these trips all year long, and the kids love to go. Since we are unable to take field trips, what kind of special experiences can you suggest? In love with the Pumpkin Patch
Dear Pumpkin Patch, I understand your disappointment. Field trips provide excellent opportunities to extend learning outside the classroom. Fear not though; having special experiences can be just as meaningful. One suggestion is to create a parent/family survey to learn about parents' and other family members' hobbies

and interests. Teachers have shared that they have led fantastic activities and topics of study related to parents' or family members' hobbies. For example, one mom who raised exotic birds brought some of them into the classroom to share with the children. This experience sparked a huge interest in birds - what they eat, where they come from, the different types of birds, how birds fly, etc. Another example is a mom and dad who shared food and sang songs in their native language. Think about what a wonderful experience this was for the child whose parents came to share and for the other children who got to experience another culture.
Other suggestions:
Depending on where your class is located, visit places within walking distance. Perhaps the post office or a

local store.
Consider having a fall festival where you bring in items from the pumpkin patch and maybe have a hay ride.
On Mother Goose day, allow children to dress as Mother Goose characters and act out rhymes. You could also develop center activities around the rhymes letting children rotate through the centers to participate in the activities.
Host Transportation Day and invite various kinds of vehicles: a police car, ambulance, tractor, tractor trailer, bus, RV, motorcycle, etc. Do you know anyone who flies a small plane, helicopter, hot air balloon?

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Small Group Activities - Architecture All Around (cont.)

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End/Developed Learners: Group of three to eight students
Discuss architectural elements observed on the previous field trip and/or in photographs. Ask children to name features of a building in the city or the country. List children's responses on chart paper. Have children create a structure

of a building/community in the city or country. Students can work as a whole small group or in pairs. Have them name their building. Write the name for children to copy and attach to their structure.
Allow children to decorate the structure using donated materials and then show the whole class their named building/

community. Content Standards: SS 3-d: Geographical Thinking: Awareness of Community; SD 4-d: Social Skills: Participates as a group member.

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Pre-K Mentor Teacher Tips - B11

This month Mentor Teachers share practices from their classrooms on PQA Item B11. Read the PQA Scoring, Definitions, and Clarifications Document found on the Bright from the Start website for in-depth detail on changes.
B11: The classroom environment is free from health and safety hazards.
Each child keeps his/her own sheet and blanket in a separate pull-string bag which is stored in the cubbies. The children are taught how to fold sheet and covering and place into the bag after rest time. Once a week we wash the sheets and blankets to keep them fresh and clean. Lourdes Lucarelli/Klub Kids Hand sanitizer is never used. We teach children to wash their hands upon entering the classroom on the first day of school. After washing hands children go to a quiet table activity until circle time. This gives all children time to come in and wash. Inside the bathroom pictures

remind children to flush toilets and wash hands. Pictures In front of the sinks reflect proper hand washing. We always sanitize tables before and after eating lunch and snack. Teachers also wash hands each time children are expected to wash; this allows children to observe teachers following the rules also. Jennifer Gorny/Kids R Kids #8
We use baby wipes for washing after playground; we pass them out as we line up. Children wipe their hands as we walk back to the classroom. The children then wash their hands with soap and water once in the classroom. Becky Thomas/Harris County BOE
B11: Health-related activities are incorporated into the instructional program.
Pour confetti into two balloons. Explain that the two balloons represent two sneezes, and the confetti represents germs. Blow up one balloon and tie the end. Blow air into the second balloon, then hold a tissue over the opening. Let the air out. Show the children the tissue. (Confetti should be on the tissue.) Ask: Where did the germs go? Stick a pin into the inflated balloon. When the balloon pops, the confetti should fly around the room. Ask: Where did the germs go when I did not cover my sneeze? Andrea Haskett-Glynn/Fulton Schools
Children bring stuffed animals to

PRE-K TEACHING TIMES

school, and we turn our classroom into a hospital. We set up different stations so children can take care of their animals. (This idea may also be used to create a hospital setting in dramatic play-B5-Exceeds Jessica Landing/Bulloch Academy Large group activity: I pretend
to sneeze. When I sneeze, I squirt water from a spray bottle on the children. This opens a discussion on why and how we should cover our mouths when we sneeze or cough. Small group activity: Each child is given a slice of white bread, on which they cough and then place into a ziplock bag. Label the bags and place them in the science center and watch what grows. Gross, but a great visual for the children. Snack time: I play songs about health during
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Pre-K Mentor Teacher Tips - B11 (cont.)

snack time. As we listen, the songs help guide our snack discussion. I found the CD at Wal-Mart for little expense. Heidi Hines/Houston County BOE
Websites:
www.first-school.ws/THEME/ safety.htm
www.preschooleducation.co m/health.shtml
www.perpetualpreschool.co m
Donna Moseley/Clark County BOE
B11: Presentations from community resources about health and safety are incorporated into the instructional program. (Ideas on organizing documentation of presentations)
Documentation for all Exceeds items are put into a notebook I created for my

classroom. Each page has the area and criteria being assessed as written in the PQA. I document the plan of action, date completed, and pictures or other documentation supporting the completed activity. A suggestion might be to keep this information in the lesson plan book. Karen Carpenter/ Children's Friend #17
I have created several unit tubs on health and safety topics (basic water safety, emergencies, healthy foods, dental health, going to the doctor). I invite different community speakers to come in representing each tub topic after which I place the tubs out for exploration. We create language experience charts, class books, and take tons of pictures for documentation. We reflect changes to our dramatic play area when the set-

ting becomes a doctor's office or fire station on the Changes to the Learning Area form, kept in the lesson plan book. We have also held programs at night on nutrition and healthy snacks for parents and children. Becky Thomas/Harris County BOE
I document all presentations on my lesson plans under the section labeled Special Events. I also highlight activities documented in my lesson plans as they occur. Remember to highlight all prepost activities or change the color or font to a larger size so they will stand out. Children can also create books/ photo albums reflecting health and safety presentations kept in a special class created books basket located in the language area. Ellen McNeil/Kings Bay CDC

Family Connections

Sharing Vacations
Invite families to send in pictures of different places they have lived and/ or vacationed. Use the pictures to decorate the classroom and discuss differences in the types of places the children have lived or visited. Ask children to predict what season or time of day the pictures were taken.

Additional ideas
Make a class book of favorite vacation locations.
Use push pins to identify and mark locations on a map.
Chart the weather (rain amounts, temperature, wind, sunny/cloudy, etc.) in which children live in the city or country.

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Changes to the Learning Environment - City and Country

Reading Area Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson Bear About Town by Stella Blackstone Building a House by Byron Barton Cooperation by Lucia Raatma Country Kid, City Kid by Julie Cummins Farm Alphabet Book by Jane Miller Listen to the City by Rachel Isadora Living on Farms by Allan Fowler Roberto, The Insect Architect by Nina Laden The City Kid & The Suburb Kid by Deb Pilutti The Rusty, Trusty Tractor by Joy Cowley Town Mouse, Country Mouse by Jan Brett Wow! City! by Robert Neubecker Bear About Town by Stella Blackstone The Stray Dog by Marc Simont City Dog by Karla Kuskin My Town by Rebecca Treays Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie This Big Sky by Pat Mora This Land is Our Land by Kathy Jakobsen Farm Life by Elizabeth Spurr On a Building Site by Teri Gower Diversity Books A Day in Japan by Daniel Moreton Apt. 3 by Ezra Jack Keats Dad and Me in the Morning by Patricia Lakin Down the Winding Road by Angela Johnson Writing Area Add vocabulary words such as: apartment, architect, barn, blueprint, building, bus, city, construction, crops, farm, farmer, neighborhood, road, skyscraper, street, subway, and town.

Math/Manipulatives Shape City Provide books/magazines with pictures of various buildings and a container of construction paper shapes in various sizes and colors. Encourage the children to look at the different types of architecture and identify shapes they recognize in the buildings, e.g., a roof is a triangle; a window is a square; columns are rows of rectangles. Help the children use the geometric shapes to make their own buildings. Dramatic Play Area Explain to the children that an architect is a person who designs new buildings and sometimes supervises the construction of a building. Provide props such as clip boards, various writing implements (colored pencils, chalk, markers, and crayons), blue print paper, sketch pads, walkie-talkies, construction hats, and safety goggles that the children can use to play architect. Art Area No-Bake Clay
1 cup corn starch
2 cups baking soda
1 1/4 cups cold water
Food coloring
Add a few drops of food coloring to the water and stir. Mix the water, baking soda, and cornstarch in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the mixture feels like cooked mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and place in a container; cover with a damp towel until cool. When the mixture is cool, knead until the clay feels smooth and pliable. Encourage the children to make building and skyscrapers. Allow the creations to dry overnight before display-

ing them in the block area. Block Area Add pictures of buildings and skyscrapers. Add boxes in different sizes for buildings Add blueprint paper Add city and country vehicles (bus, taxi, cars, agriculture tractors, farm trucks, lawn tractors, tractor trailers) Newspaper Logs
Newspaper Masking tape
Make 50-100 newspaper logs by rolling two pieces of newspaper into tight rolls and securing the logs with tape. Roll the logs in different diameters. Show the children how to make buildings with the logs. Ask the children questions to extend learning (e.g., Why are the buildings falling down? What can we do to support them in standing up?) Science Making Butter
Small jars
Whipping cream Help the children fill their jars about 1/4 full with whipping cream. Shake the jar until the cream turns to butter. Spread the butter on crackers or bread for a delicious snack. Country/Zoo Animal Sorting Provide pictures of farm and zoo animals and ask the children to sort them according to where they are found - on a farm or in a zoo. Sensory Table (Farm) Hay Mud Shelled Corn

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VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3

Extension Activities - City and Country

Exploring Differences - City and Country Everyone lives in the city or in the country (suburbs, county, etc.) Spend time talking with your class about where they live. Suggested questions:
Where do you live? Show
pictures of city scenes and country scenes. Have students tell if the pictures were taken in the city or the country. How is life different when you live in the city? In the country? Are the buildings different? Most people think where they live is the best, but others would like to live someplace else If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? Which place looks like it is quiet? (country) Which place looks like it is noisy? (city) Why? Have children give reasons why the country looks quiet and the city looks noisy to be sure they understand the concepts of noisy and quiet. Complete a Venn diagram comparing city and country life.

Draw a Map - City Mouse and Country Mouse The City Mouse traveled quite a distance to see her cousin. Have the students draw and color a map that includes: City Mouse's house, Country Mouse's house, and the roads that connect everything together. It could also include bridges, mountains, lakes or rivers, Encourage the children to think about and add locations or buildings they pass on their way to school every day. Science in the Country and City Different things make different sounds. City and country sounds are different. Tape record or download various sounds. Have children close their eyes and listen to the sounds one at a time. Ask them to identify where they might hear that sound city or country. Examples of sounds:
Sirens
Animal noises
Traffic
Tractor
Airplanes
Car horns
Our Town Class Book
Make a list of places in your community. Each child chooses one place to draw and tell about. (Examples: zoo, art museum, fire station, gas station, mall, grocery store.) Include photos whenever

possible.
To make class books, use individual sheet covers from an office supply store. Slip in a page for the front cover, and slip the children's pages inside. The sheet covers can be reused.
Build Box Town and Farm
Using old boxes, cartons, colored paper, scissors, tape, paper tubes, and crayons, make a toy town.
To make buildings:
Wrap boxes and other empty containers with colored paper.
Have an adult cut out doors if wanted.
Use paper tubes for chimneys.
Decorate by painting or gluing objects onto the box buildings.
To make a toy farm. use one large box as the barn. Flip the box upside down and cut the flaps off and cut doors into the short sides. An empty, round oatmeal container can be made into a silo. Be creative and have fun!

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City and Country Songs and Fingerplays

This Is The Way We Cross The Road This is the way we cross the road, we cross the road, we cross the road. This is the way we cross the road, We stop, we look, and we listen.
We stand at the curb, and we look both ways, look both ways, look both ways. We stand at the curb, and we look both ways, before we cross the road.
If the road is clear, we cross the road, cross the road, cross the road. If the road is clear, we cross the road, We follow the green cross code.
Bunny and The Cabbage Once there was a bunny (right fist forms bunny and two fingers his ears) And a great big cabbage head (fist of left hand) I think I'll have some cabbage, the little bunny said. So he nibbled, and he nibbled, (nibble cabbage head w/fingers of right hand) And pricked his ears to say, (ears straighten up) Now I think it's time to be hopping on my way.
Lonely Bus Driver One lonely bus driver all alone and blue, He picked up a passenger, and then there were two. Two people riding, they stopped by a tree, They picked up a passenger, and then there were three. Three people riding, they stopped by a store, They picked up a passenger, and then there were four.

Four people riding, happy and alive, They picked up a passenger, and then there were five. Five people riding, open swung the door, Four passengers got off the bus, The driver's alone once more.
Get A Ticket Get a ticket, ticket, ticket for the train. Get a ticket, ticket, ticket for the train. Don't stand out in the wind and rain. Get a ticket, ticket, ticket for the train.
For additional verses, make the following substitutions: Bus; Climb aboard, you can ride with us. Plane; Don't stand out in the wind and rain. Boat; The water's too cold to swim or float. Bike; It's way too far to walk or hike.
Insects All Around Improvise a tune or sing to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" Lady bugs and butterflies, Buzzing bees up in the sky. Teeny, tiny little ants, Crawling up and down the plants. Many insects can be found In the sky and on the ground.
The People in Your Neighborhood Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood? In your neighborhood In your neighborhood. Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood? The people that you meet each day. Oh, the fireman is a person in your neighborhood,

In your neighborhood, in your neighborhood. The fireman is a person in your neighborhood, A person that you meet each day.
Add verses with other people in the neighborhood: grocer, mail carrier, shoemaker, doctor, etc.
Here is the Barn Here is the barn (Make a barn by interlacing fingers of two hands inside palm of hands) Open it wide. Let's go inside where the animals hide. Here are the horses, here are the cows. They're eating their dinner and drinking right now. They'll stay here till night turns into day. When we open the doors, they'll all mosey away. Out in the pasture, they'll eat grass and hay. The cows will moo softly, the horses will neigh.
Home Sweet Home A nest is a home for a robin, (cup hands to form a nest) A hive is a home for a bee, (turn cupped hands over) A hole is a home for a rabbit, (make a hole with hands) And a house is a home for me, (make roof with peaked hands)