Week of February 24, 2020
WEEKLY REMINDERS
· If you would like your child to attend mass on Wednesday, February 26, for Ash Wednesday, please fill out the consent form
· Thursday February 27 school will be closed for a teacher conference.
· Monday, March 2nd is Dr. Seuss' Birthday. Students may dress up as their favorite Dr. Seuss character.
Unit Topic:
Water
Essential Question for the Unit:
What does water do?
Focus Question for this Week:
How does water help us?
Focused Learning Activity for this Week:
The Water Cycle
The teacher will work with students in the science center. She will discuss the water cycle, using the terms, precipitation, condensation, and evaporation. Teacher will then show students how the water cycle works using hot water, shaving cream and blue food coloring in a jar. Throughout the lesson, the teacher will ask students to predict what will happen next.
Pre-K Common Core Learning Standard addressed:
PK.SCI.8 Indicators: b. Uses vocabulary to describe weather conditions (e.g., cloud cover (sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy, foggy), precipitation (no precipitation, snow, hail, rain), wind (no wind, some wind, strong wind), and temperature (cold, cool, warm, hot)
Foundational text for the week:
Water Can Be... By Laura Pudie Salas
Pre-K Common Core Learning Standard addressed:
PK.ELAL.7: Develops and answers questions about characters, major events, and pieces of information in a text.
Questions that will be asked throughout the week:
Level 1: Recall
What are three things water can do?
What did the boy put on his bruised knees?
What did the boy put on his bruised knees?
Level 2: Skill/Concept
People drink water. Who else does?
How does water help gardens?
How does water help animals?
How does water help gardens?
How does water help animals?
Level 3: Strategic Thinking
The book says water can be a “drink cooler.” How can water cool drinks? The book says water can be a “home maker.” How can water be a home? How can water be a “snowman former?”
Level 4: Extended Thinking
What are some things people do with water other than drink it? How does water help you?
Learning Centers Available for the Unit:
Blocks-Add pictures of ice castles. The teacher will Invite children to refer to these pictures and build their own ice castles. Consider covering the blocks with white paper and adding clear plastic cups for children to use in their structures.
Pretend Play-Large cardboard boxes will be added to pretend play for students to pretend they are in a boat.
Art-The teacher will invite children to use markers to create a picture. After they have finished with the markers, the teacher will provide spray bottles of water and invite children to lightly spray their papers. After they have sprayed their papers, the teacher will encourage them to watch and describe how the water has changed their work.
Science-Students are invited to sort animals into two categories: those that live in water and those that live on land.
Math- Seashells will be added to math center. Students will be able to match the correct number of shells to a number card.
Library-The teachers will read by Patricia Polacco with children in the library, then talk with them about what they do with their families when the weather is bad.
Writing-Where Do We Find Water? Invite children to think about this question, then draw or write their answers on an index card or small piece of paper.
Technology-The teacher will assist the children to enter the question where do we find water? into a search engine and join the children in observing the images that are displayed. Ask them which ones they have seen before and which ones they have never seen.
Sensory-Add child-safe soap to the water table as well as doll clothes and invite children to wash the clothes. The teacher will engage the children in discussions about how people use water to keep things clean.
If there are any questions regarding the Pre-K for All program that cannot be answered by the office or classroom teacher, please feel free to contact the
