Unit 5, Growing Our Garden 24-25

The following Table Time Centers align to the learning objectives for Unit 5 and are intended to focus on fine motor development, social foundations, and oral language and communication skills. Select a few options from the choices provided, setting them out for arrival and students choice.

Instructional staff who are not supporting arrival should be conducting data collection and facilitating the major focus areas of this time: fine motor, social-emotional, and oral language development. Once students can engage with the materials independently, these centers can become an independent activity during small group rotations.

• Art Center: leaf/flower rubbings; potato stamps; plant/gardening/farm coloring pages with crayons, markers, watercolors, etc.
• Construction Center: Tangrams; Paths to Farm and Market (p.10) create paths for cars, toy figures, or animals to follow OR make "paved roads" by laying the blocks flat
• Games and Puzzles: garden theme puzzles; sort shapes, bug counters, silk flowers, etc. by one attribute; use tongs/tweezers to move "seeds" (e.g. cotton balls or pom-poms) into "pots" (available containers)
• Writing Center: use playdough to make flowers - provide laminated pictures as a template for students to build their flowers on; glue beans/seeds/plant materials to printed letters in student names (tracing the letters with materials); provide visuals of various gardening items for students to draw (e.g., crayons, magnetic drawing board)

There are two Read Alouds each week for 3-year-old classrooms. Each Read Aloud title is completed in two parts over the course of two days. The first title is completed on Monday and Tuesday, and the second Read Aloud is completed on Thursday and Friday. 

The following adaptations are intended for use with the Connect4Learning lesson plans and are used when planning for 3-year-olds. Lesson plan pages are noted next to the titles.

"The Shape of Things" (p. 186-187)

• Day 1: Read the book using the lesson as described on page 186 up through the "Read the Text" section. Encourage students to make predictions during the read aloud.
• Day 2: Reread the book using the lesson from yesterday, adding in finding as many shapes as possible on each page (e.g., the house is a square, but so are the windows, and the windows each have 4 squares. Count how many different squares you see on that page).

"The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza)" (p. 194-195)

• Day 1: Prior to the lesson, review the "At A Glance" box to support direct teaching of standards. Read the book using the "Introduce the Text" section from page 194. Save the main lesson for tomorrow's reread. Paraphrase the more lengthy pages of text, as necessary. 
• Day 2: Reread the book, completing the lesson as described up through the "Read the Text" section. Paraphrase the more lengthy pages of text, as necessary.

Targeted Vocabulary

• Predict
• Rhombus
• Problem
• Solution
• Cooperation
• Garden

The following Connect lessons are completed during Week 5 for 3-year-old classrooms:

• Shape-Mat Hop (p. 181): complete this activity as a transition or in smaller groups; use simple shapes (e.g., circle, triangle, square, rectangle, rhombus) adding scaffolding as needed; use a visual for the whole group so you can point to the shape you are describing
• Plant Experiment (p. 182)
• Can You Guess this Shape? (p. 188): review shapes circle, square, and triangle only; model with students or staff and a mystery bag of shapes - choose one shape (keep it in the bag), feel the shape and then given a choice of two different shapes, choose which one was felt
• Conrad the Confused Crow Mixes Up Dinner (p. 189): focus on one dinner item (salad, tortillas or salsa) and use 3-step visuals to put sequence in order
• Children's Choice (p. 196): allow students to vote on activities from a small field
• I Spy Shapes (p. 202): Prior to the lesson, review the "Processes" box to support direct teaching of standards. Give each student a set of simple shapes to hold up based on your description OR put up shape pictures around the classroom and describe an attribute (e.g., "I spy a shape with 3 sides")
• Shapes and Forms (p. 203): model using pattern blocks to create a picture out of shapes; if time allows, students can also explore with pattern blocks
• Make Shapes Into Something New (p. 209): model with simple shapes or provide a picture for students to match
• Where Did This Come From? (p. 210): provide a variety of real life examples to match or explore (e.g. potato and potato chip bag)

The following Small Group lessons are taught in Week 5 for 3-year-old classrooms. The suggested adaptations are intended for use with the Connect4Learning lesson plans and are used when planning for 3-year-olds.

• Day 1, Science Journals: Growth (p. 183): review the process of growth; preprint labels of the word "growth" or model writing the word "growth" in each student's journal
• Day 2, Making Shapes (p. 191): review vocabulary such as vertical, horizontal, length and triangle with visuals; allow students to trace the shape collection triangles onto paper and then lay the coffee stirrers on top of the drawn triangles
• Day 3, Can You Guess the Shape? (p. 190): review shapes circle, square, and triangle only; model with students or staff and a mystery bag of shapes - choose one shape (keep it in the bag), feel the shape and then given a choice of two different shapes, choose which one was felt
• Day 4, Pizza Problem Solving (p. 197-198): Prior to the lesson, review the "At A Glance" box to support direct teaching of standards. Prior to the activity, make a list of ingredients of the pizza with blank spots for the amount; allow students to tell you the amount as a group; help students create pizzas as a team using a variety of paper shapes; review the various shapes they can use for each ingredient

The following Fast Focus lessons are completed during Week 5 for 3-year-old classrooms:

• Make Body Triangles (p. 184): show students a larger visual
• The Letter Yy (p. 185): start with student's names that have the letter Yy and physical objects students can label (can use letter tub); use Lila to find the friend who's name starts with that letter
• What's My Number? (p. 192): focus on the concept of "one more" or "one less" up to 5
• Picture Sort: Qq, Ww, and Yy (p. 193): use letters tubs to focus on one letter at a time, drawing attention to the beginning sound
• The Garden (p. 199)
• The Letter Zz (p. 200): start with student's names that have the letter Zz and physical objects students can label (can use letter tub); use Lila to find the friend who's name starts with that letter
• I Spy (p. 205): give each student an alphabet chart and Sing Alpha Pig's Alphabet song; encourage students to point to each letter as they sing; after singing, encourage students to identify the first letter of their name
• Subitize (p. 206): use quantities of less than 5

Children benefit from opportunities to interact on their own and with peers in self-guided play and from chances to interact with adults who scaffold learning experiences during play. The learning center suggestions provided for Unit 5 connect directly to the learning objectives for each C4L domain and allow children to deepen their understanding of target concepts and to practice target skills.

The following Unit 5 Learning Centers are provided for 3-year-olds during Weeks 5-6. Please see your Unit guide (p. 9-18) for more information about specific centers.

• Art Center: "An Alphabet Salad" Book (p. 9) have pictures of fruits and vegetables available, including some from the book; students can create individual or group collages and/or books by gluing the pictures on paper or drawing their own produce
• Book Nook: add additional nature-related books (e.g., gardening and insect topics)
• Computer Center: work on prerequisite skills by playing with cause and effect toys; iPad/Chromebook games; isolation of pointer finger; I Spy games, etc.
• Construction Zone: Pattern-Block Picture Puzzles (p. 10)
• Dramatic Play: Farmers' Market and Flower Stall (p.11)
• Exploration Center: garden sensory bin - fill a bin with dry beans, lentils, pumpkins seeds, etc.; in the Art Center, students can color pictures of flowers and paint toilet paper rolls green - attach the flower pictures to the tops of the rolls, planting the new flowers in the sensory bin; add safe gardening tools and pots
• Games and Puzzles: provide precut cardboard circles (pizza base), rectangles (cheese), squares (toppings) and other pretend pizza items to create pretend pizza; use the Pizza Problem Solving idea (p. 15) as a guide for extending this lesson
• Listening Center: play with sounds (e.g., toys with sounds, iPads, environmental sounds, musical instruments, rhythm sticks)
• Show What You Know Center: Garden Mural (p.16)
• Writing Center: Informational Books (p. 17)