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Building Muscles in Young Brains

Literacy development through music and movement in early childhood

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Five Little Ducks

By Dr. Mike

Literacy

* Group students in pairs (by passing out tongue depressor and having them locate their partner) and read story and have students share their thoughts on questions asked (click here) before, during and after reading, plus narrative questions (click for pdf)

* Things to share after reading book, singing and chanting song.

        a) Listen to the words I say and tell me if they rhyme: duck – hill / duck – truck.  Select words from the song (five, duck, out, day,  hill far, away) and a rhyming and non-rhyming word

       b) Tell me a word that rhymes with _____________(repeat this exercise with different words from the song)

        c) I am going to say a word from the song and you tell me what letter it begins with (select word from song)

        d) Listen to the word I say and lets count the syllables (clap, snap, pat or stomp syllables with the class)

        e) I am going to say a sentence from the story / song and you fill in the word that is missing

Example: Five little ducks went out one  __________ over the hill and far ______________.  (Continue)

        f) I am going to say part of a sentence and you finish the sentence.

Example:     (teacher) Five little ducks went out one day

                     (students) Over the hill and far away

                     (teacher) mother duck said, quack, quack, quack

                     (students) but only four little ducks came swimming back

                    (you can make the phrases longer or shorter)

      g) Once they are able to accomplish the task by phrases you can now do it by word. (T = Teacher  and S = Students)

Example: (T) Five  (S) little  (T) ducks (S) went  (T) out  (S) one  (T) day  (continue with song)

* Complete Venn diagram and compare a duck to another living animal with similar characteristics in the middle (click for pdf)

* Complete a story map: title, setting, characters, problem, and solution.

* Print out ducks and glue on tongue depressors and act out song. First have teacher narrate story, next have students act it out with song, followed by having them act it out by singing it without the music. (click for pdf)

* Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities (click for example)

* Synonyms.  Chant song and substitute words to expand vocabulary. Example: (synonyms)  little = small, tiny, petite, etc.  big, large, huge, etc.    

* Create different ending to the story or talk about what the little ducks might be doing that caused them to forget the time.

* As a class, create silly alliterative sentences. Example:  Do ducks dive down for doughnuts?

* Write poem on chart tablet and identify (look) for letters, upper case, comma, and exclamation mark.   Chant poem with class.  First echo, then choral, and finish by taking turns with each sentence.

Duck in the water, quack, quack, quack!
Soft, white feathers on your back, back, back!
Duck in the water, splash and splish!
Dip in your bill and catch those fish!

Science

* Study the difference between ducks and other birds.

* Discuss the habits and habitats of ducks.

         —Topic questions: Where do they live?  Do they sleep in the water?  What do they eat? Do they lay eggs in nests? What are baby ducks called? 

* Discuss weather and migration.

         —Topic questions: Why ducks fly south for the winter?  Practice “V” formations and go outside and walk, jog, and run in “V” formation. (Click here) to download and print picture of ducks flying in “V”)

* Have students color, cut and glue ducks in “V” formation. (click for pdf)

* Do ducks get wet?  Do a science experiment where you test how water reacts to duck feathers.

* Place feathers inside a bowl and have students try to blow the feathers out using a straw.  Great way to develop oral muscles!

Math

* Print-out ducks and sequence by size on water (blue paper). (click  for pdf)

* Print-out boy and girl duck and pattern on sentence strip. (click for pdf)

* Pass out feathers and have students place feathers around the room to promote positional words : over, under, far, near, above, below.

* For a whole group activity, stamp the kids’ fingers to draw ducks on them. Have them fold a finger down every time one doesn’t come back to practice subtraction.

* Student rolls dye and counts number of dots and then student quacks the amount represented by the dots on the dye or the number on the dye.

* Hide a duck in the room. Count to ten while a child searches for it and comes back to the circle by the  time you say 10.

Social / Emotional

* Discuss family:  What are siblings?  Help the children count the siblings in their own families.  Create a graph to see if the students have more boy or girl siblings.

* Discuss safety: Have you ever been lost?  What did it feel like?  How do you think the mother duck felt?  Would your mom and dad be upset if you were lost?  What should you do if you get lost?  Whose responsibility is it to make sure you don’t get lost?

* Have children sing along to song with waddling and holding and flapping feathers.

* Act out the song using stick puppets, masks or by assigning roles. (click for pdf)

Physical / Outdoor

* Sing or chant “Five Little Ducks” while incorporating movement to the song. (visit movement link)

* Have feather races. Place two feather on carpet and have two students race by blowing the feather across the finish line without touching the feather.

* Teach students how to “waddle” – Hold a duck waddle relay races and individual races.

* Waddle in a circle with kids holding and flapping duck feathers in their hand and echo your chant:

– I saw a little duck waddle, waddle waddle

(students waddle while walking in circle)

– I told the duck to stop, stop, stop

(stop waddling)

– And it wagged its tail, tail, tail

(place hands with feathers in back to model tail)

– And it flapped its wings, wings, wings

(hold arms out like wings and flap them while holding feathers in hand)

You can repeat and change the first line to swimming, sleeping, eating, etc.

Allow students to act out the action they select.

* Play an adapted version of Marco-Polo by having the mother duck with her eyes closed (or can be blind-folded) try to find her little duck by following their quacks.

* Play “Duck, Duck, Goose”

* Migration: Practice “V” formation as a class walking, jogging, and running.

Filed Under: Ideas for Teachers, Sing to Read Resources Published January 12, 2017

Five Green and Speckled Frogs

By Dr. Mike

Literacy

* Group students in pairs (by passing out tongue depressor and having them locate their partner) and read story and have students share their thoughts on questions asked (click here) before, during and after reading, plus narrative questions (click for pdf)

* Things to share after reading book, singing and chanting song.

a)Listen to the words I say and tell me if they rhyme: frog – stick / frog – dog.  Select words from song (five, green, frog, sat, bugs )and rhyming and non-rhyming words 

b) Tell me a word that rhymes with _____________(repeat this exercise with different words from the song)

c) I am going to say a word from the song and you tell me what letter it begins with (select words)

d) Listen to the word I say and lets count the syllables (clap, snap, pat or stomp syllables with the class)

e) I am going to say a sentence from the story / song and you fill in the word that is missing

Example: Five green and speckled __________ sat on a speckled __________eating the most delicious ________

f) I am going to say part of a sentence and you finish the sentence.

Example:

                    (teacher) Five green and speckled frogs

                    (students) sat on a speckled log

                    (teacher) eating the most delicious bugs

                    (students) one jumped into the pool.  etc.

                    (you can make the phrases longer or shorter

g) Once they are able to accomplish the task by phrases you can now do it by word. (T = Teacher  and S = Students)

Example: (T) Five  (S) green (T) and  (S) speckled  (T) frogs  (S) sat  (T) on  (continue with song)

* Complete Venn diagram and compare a frog to another living animal with similar characteristics in the middle (click for pdf)

* Complete a story map: title, setting, characters, problem, and solution.

* Sing, chant, and recite song through echo, choral, and buddy reading. (click for example)

* Work on phonological awareness activities using pocket chart phrases and words. (click for example)

* Synonyms.  Chant song and substitute words to expand vocabulary.   Example: speckled = freckled, spotted, polka dotted  / eating = devouring, ingesting, chomping.

* Replace the word green with different color word cards.  Ask kids to recite song based on color and number of the card you are holding up using dots to correlate number.  Repeat with different color words and numbers.

* As a class, create silly alliterative sentences.  Example: Five frogs feasted on five French fries.

* Have children color frog with speckles and trace the word “frog” (click for pdf)

Science

* Have kids color, cut and order the life cycle of a frog. (click for pdf)

* Discuss the habitat of frogs.  Where do they live?  What do they eat?

* Discussion question:  What’s the difference between a pool or pond, creek, river and the ocean? Download may take 45 seconds due to quality of pictures  (click for pdf)

* What floats?  Discuss the way lily pads float and rocks sink.  Use a water experiment to test different items.  Ask the children to predict if it will sink or float.  Chart your answers.

Math

* Use printout to sequence size of frogs on log (brown legal size construction paper). (click for pdf)

* Use printout to pattern happy and sad frog on sentence strip.  (click for illustration)

* Use printout, dice and play-dough to create a game counting out the speckles on the frog.  Roll dice, count dots and create matching number pieces of play-dough speckles on the frog. (click for pdf)

* Download and print 2 copies of frog pictures and play concentration. (click for pdf)

* For a whole group activity, stamp the kids finger to draw frogs on them.  Have the children hold a finger down everytime a frog jumps into the pool.

Social / Emotional

* Act out the song using stick puppets, masks or by assigning roles and having them sit on an imaginary log. (click for pdf)

* Print out happy, sad, mad, and surprised frogs.  Have kids select one and share what makes them feel this way (click for pdf)

* Discussion questions can be talked about in a group or with partners as conversation practice.  Have kids pick a colored Popsicle stick or card and match the color to find their partner. After talking, ask kids to answer questions about their partner.

      —Topic A:  Where do you like to swim with your friends and family?

     —Topic B:  Why would a frog make a good pet?  What would you name it? What would you feed it?  Where would you keep it?  How would you play with it?  Would you kiss your pet frog?

     —Topic C: Who likes to eat frog legs?  What do you think they would taste like?  Would they be squishy or crunchy

* Discuss children from different parts of  the world who eat bugs or frogs as part of their diet.

Physical / Outdoor

* Declare it “Frog Day”!  Let the children pick funny frog names and compete in the Frog Olympics.

(a) play Leap Frog; (b) hold a leaping contest and measure the longest and shortest leaps; (c) hop and count to ten by 1’s, 2’s and 5’s; (d) leap per letter and spell   F-R-O-G.

* Sing or chant “Five Green and Speckled Frogs” while incorporating movement to the song. (click to view)

Filed Under: Ideas for Teachers, Sing to Read Resources Published January 12, 2017

Humpty Dumpty

By Dr. Mike

Literacy:

* Group students in pairs (pass out tongue depressors so students can find their matching partner).  Read story and have students share their thoughts on questions asked (click here) before, during and after reading, plus narrative questions (click for pdf)

* Things to share after reading book, singing and chanting song

a) Listen to the words I say and tell me if they rhyme: wall – stick / wall – ball.  Select words from song (egg, sat, wall, sat, king, men)and rhyming and non-rhyming words 

b) Tell me a word that rhymes with _____________(repeat this exercise with different words from the song)

c) I am going to say a word from the song and you tell me what letter it begins with (select word from song)

d) Listen to the word I say and lets count the syllables (clap, snap, pat or stomp syllables with the class)

e) I am going to say a sentence from the story / song and you fill in the word that is missing

Example: Humpty Dumpty sat on a __________.

Humpty Dumpty had a great  _____________.

All the kings horses and all the kings ___________

could put Humpty together ___________.

f) I am going to say part of a sentence and you finish the sentence.

Example:  (teacher) Humpty Dumpty

                    (students) sat ona wall

                    (teacher) Humpty Dumpty

                    (students) had a great fall

                    (you can make the phrases longer or shorter

g) Once they are able to accomplish the task by phrases you can now do it by word. (T = Teacher  and S = Students)

Example: (T) Humpty (S) Dumpty  (T) sat  (S) on  (T) a  (S) wall  (continue with song)

* Complete Venn diagram and compare king’s horse and king’s men with similar characteristics in the middle (click for pdf)

* Complete a story map: title, setting, characters, problem, and solution.

* Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities.  (click for example)

* Use this printout to sequence the story. (click for pdf) +

* Change Humpty’s name.  Have kids give you the first letter of their name to change Humpty’s name.  Bob and Larry would turn Humpty Dumpty into “Bumpty Lumpty”.

* Create a silly class rhyming book by extension.

Example: Humpty Dumpty sat on a book.  Humpty Dumpty thought he was a cook.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a log.  Humpty Dumpty thought he was a frog; etc.

* Write these rhymes on a chart tablet and have children locate upper case, lower case, punctuations, rhyming words and letters in their names.

Science

* Why did he crack?  What’s the difference between a boiled and a soft egg?  Study how they both react to the fall.  Place eggs in a ziplock bag to avoid a mess!  An extension idea is to drop egg on foam or any cushion-like surface to demonstrate different outcome.

* Have kids practice cracking and peeling boiled eggs as a healthy snack, or have kids practice cracking fresh eggs and scramble them all together.

* Where do eggs come from?  Discuss chickens and eggs.  What other animals lay eggs?

* Learn the meaning of the phrase, “Last one in is a rotten egg!”.  What do eggs smell like?  Prepare an experiment where you have a fresh boiled egg and a rotten egg in closed containers.  Encourage students to smell the difference.

* Fill a pair of plastic eggs with different items like rice, beans, pasta, cotton, etc.  Glue or tape them shut.  Encourage students to use sound, weight and feel to find the match.

* Have students observe the difference in the rolling patterns of a hard-boiled egg as opposed to a raw egg.

* Place an raw egg (with shell) into a jar of vinegar.  Let it stand for several days then let the students serve the difference in the egg.  The shell will disintegrate and the egg will turn rubbery over time.

Math

* What’s your favorite way to eat “The Incredible Edible Egg”?  Share and discuss photographs of various ways to prepare an egg (scrambled, sunny-side up, hard-boiled, and deviled eggs). What’s your favorite way to eat an egg? Place pictures and have students create a graph (click for pdf)

* Use this printout to study the oval shape.  Have students piece the “egg” back together with band aides. (click for pdf)

* Study the difference between a dozen and half dozen eggs.  Write the numerals on the inside of the egg cartons.  Draw dots on plastic or boiled eggs to correlate.  Have kids match the numeral on the carton to the egg with the same number of dots.  Extension question:  How much money do you think it costs to buy a dozen eggs at the grocery store?

* Use this printout to pattern the bricks on the wall by coloring one red and one black then create a face for Humpty. (click for pdf)

* Introduce words “more” and “less”. Which egg weighs more, the boiled or raw one?  You can also use two plastic eggs and fill one with more items to make it weigh more than the other. Allow them to hold one in each hand to feel the difference. Have children predict their answers. Chart your answers.

Social / Emotional

* Act out the song using stick puppets, masks or by assigning rolls. (click for pdf)

* Discuss the difference between reactions to accidents and actions that happen on purpose.  How did Humpty Dumpty feel about falling and cracking?  How did all the king’s men feel about the accident?  Have you ever had an accident?  Relate the topic to bullying.  If Humpty was pushed off the wall it was dione by a bully…and that’s not nice.

* Glue ‘egg’spressions on your eggs and have kids share and discuss the emotion.  How is Humpty feeling? Why is he feeling like this? What makes you feel like this? (click for pdf)

Physical / Outdoor

* Have an egg hunt.

* Play individual and relay races with an egg on a spoon or carried between their knees. Use plastic eggs or hard boiled eggs.

* Play the egg toss game.

Filed Under: Ideas for Teachers, Sing to Read Resources Published January 11, 2017

Old MacDonald

By Dr. Mike

Literacy

* Group students in pairs (by passing out tongue depressor or color bracelets and have students locate their partner) and read story and have students share their thoughts on questions asked (click here) before, during and after reading, plus narrative questions (click for pdf)

* Things to share after reading book, singing and chanting song

a) Listen to the words I say and tell me if they rhyme: farm – rat / farm – arm.  Select words from song (cow – blue / cow – now), (pig – hay / pig -wig), (duck – run / duck – luck), (sheep – deep / sheep – grass) and rhyming and non-rhyming words.

b) Tell me a word that rhymes with _____________(repeat this exercise with different words from the song)

c) I am going to say a word from the song and you tell me what letter it begins with (select word from song)

d) Listen to the word I say and lets count the syllables (clap, snap, pat or stomp syllables with the class)

e) I am going to say a sentence from the story / song and you fill in the word that is missing

Example: Pigs give us ___________.  Cows give us ___________. Chickens give us ____________.  Sheep give us ___________.

* Complete Venn diagram and compare characteristics of two farm animals with similar characteristics in the middle (click for pdf)

* Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities

* Create a zoo book and sing different verses to the song using zoo animals (click for pdf)

*  As a class, create silly alliterative sentences. Example:  The scary spider sang a silly song.

* Create your own verses.  What if Old MacDonald had a robot or a drum?

Math

* Review shapes and introduce tractor and its job on the farm.  Have students create their own tractor using shapes. (click for pdf)

* Show and compare animals by asking questions of size and weight.   Which is heavier? Lighter? Taller? Shorter?  Have students cut and glue animals from smallest to biggest. (click for pdf)

* Who’s missing?  Print out the pdf and place the six farm animals in front of the class and have kids close their eyes and you remove one character.  When they open their eyes, have them guess who’s missing.  Extension question:  You can print another copy and create a set for concentration game (click for pdf)

Science

* Discuss items that are used in the farm.  Print two copies and play concentration or matching games.  Extend by having them match to the character that follows in the song.  Example:  match the pigs to ham, chicken to eggs, sheep to wool and cow to milk

* Cheese comes from milk and milk comes from cows: Have a cheese tasting.  Encourage parents to send different kinds of cheese for snack.  Have kids compare the similarities and differences.

* What do the animals give us?  Use grocery store flyers and have kids cut out and match foods to the animal they come from.  Example:  cow=milk, cheese, steak, burgers; pig=bacon, pork chops, ham

* Science poem:  The Farmer:

The sun is coming up (make sun with arms)

The farmer is out the door (walk in place)

The farmer milks the cows (pretend to milk cows)

The farmer feeds the horses (pretend to use pitch fork)

The farmer plows the field (pretend to ride a tractor)

Social / Emotional

* Print out pdf,  glue on construction paper and create stick-puppets.  Introduce each animal and discuss their traits and sounds.  After discussing animals sing Old McDonald and add the the name of additional animals and their sound. (click for pdf)

* Act out the song using stick-puppets, masks, or by assigning roles.  Teacher can story tell / narrate the story while students hold-up their stick-puppet when their part comes up in the story.  You can also sing the song and have students hold-up their puppet when their part is sung.

* Discuss the cheese.  Is it a healthy snack?  Encourage kids to sing the song with new lyrics inserting healthy snack.

Old MacDonald had some cheese E-I-E-I-O

With some cheese here, cheese there, everywhere some cheese.

Old MacDonald had some cheese E-I-E-I-O

(Had some ice cream, butter)

Physical / Outdoor

* Square dance.  Have the kids sing the song moving in a circle by locking elbows. After each chorus, switch directions.

* Print copies (2-3 sets for entire class) of characters and glue them to construction paper and laminate them. Place them in a circle facing down (so they can’t see the character from the story) and have children dance in a circle to the song and when the music stops the students land on a picture and need to name the character and tell the class what that character gives us…milk, wool, eggs, etc.

* Assign each child a character and have a race to see which one on the farm is the fastest.

Filed Under: Ideas for Teachers, Sing to Read Resources Published January 11, 2017

Down by the Bay

By Dr. Mike

Literacy

* Group students in pairs (by passing out tongue depressor and having them locate their partner) and read story and have students share their thoughts on questions asked (click here) before, during and after reading the story, plus narrative questions (click for pdf)

* Things to share after reading book, singing and chanting song.

a) Listen to the words I say and tell me if they rhyme…bear – dog / bear – care.  Select words (bay, grow, home, mother, down) from the song and a rhyming and non-rhyming word) 

b) Tell me a word that rhymes with _____________(repeat this exercise with different words from the song) 

c) I am going to say a word from the song and you tell me what letter it begins with (select word from song)

d) Listen to the word I say and lets count the syllables (clap, snap, pat or stomp syllables with the class)

e) I am going to say a sentence from the story / song and you fill in the word that is missing

Example: Did you ever see a bear combing his ________.  Did you ever see a pig wearing a  ________.  Did you ever see a goose kissing a  ________ .  Did you ever see a fly wearing a ________.

 f) I am going to say part of a sentence and you finish the sentence.

Example: (teacher) Did you ever see a bear

                     (students) combing his hair.

                     (teacher) Did you ever see a pig

                     (students) wearing a wig.

                     (continue with the other phrases)

g) Once they are able to accomplish the task by phrases you can now do it by word. (T = Teacher  and S = Students)

Example: (T) Down  (S) by  (T) the  (S) bay  (T) where  (S) the  (T) watermelons (S) grow  (continue with song)

* Complete Venn diagram: Compare a watermelon to another fruit (have students select the fruit) with similar characteristics in the middle (click for pdf)

* Complete a story map: title, setting, characters, problem, and solution.

* Sing, chant, and recite song through echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities (click for example)

* Create different verses to the song.  Have student find rhyming words from the pictures in the pdf and have them make up the action associated with the pictures, ex. dancing with a ….; singing with a…; (click for pdf)

* Discuss synonyms:  bay: cove, harbor, gulf / grow = sprout, germinate, bud

* Word play: Change the word mother to father, brother, uncle, aunt, cousin, etc.

* As a class, create silly alliterative sentences. Example:  Willy Wonka winks at watermelons.

 Science

* Introduce parts of the plant (roots, stem, leaves, and flower) and parts of the plant that we eat (root-carrot; stem-celery; leaves-lettuce; and flower-watermelon.  The watermelon was a flower before it turned into a watermelon. (click for pdf)

* Bring carrots, celery, lettuce, and broccolli and have students compare the vegetables by color, size, texture, weight and taste.

* Make a watermelon water- place a piece of watermelon inside a zip-lock and allow them to squash the watermelon until its all water…then drink the water.

* Discuss the concept of a bay and all the animals that live in the bay area—fish, birds, crabs, whales, seals, dolphins, etc. (click for pdf)

* Pass around a baby watermelon and discuss the 5 senses (color, shape, and texture.  Does it make a sound? How does it taste?)

* Discuss what plants need to grow: air, water, sun, soil.  Plant / watermelon grows in sequential order from seed to fruit and have children cut and sequence plant cycle growth.(click for pdf)

* Chant the following poems to reinforce the importance of the sun and water for plant growth.

    – A seed is planted, First a sprout, then stem, and leaves, and buds come out.  

    – Dig a little hole. Plant a little seed. Pour a little water. Pull a little weed.

    – A little seed for me to sow, a little wish that it will grow.  A little sun, a little shower, a little while, then a flower.

Math

* Introduce subtraction with watermelon slices.  Have students color and cut the pdf wateremelons and during whole group go over word problems as students hold their 5 slices of melons.  Ask a student how many watermelon slices he can eat.  Once he provides a number you provide the word problem for the class as each student holds their 5 slices. David has 5 watermelon slices and he eats two slices, how many does he have left?  Students hold the 5 slices in one hand and pretend to eat 2 and place them next to them and then they count how many they have left in their hands. (click for pdf)

* Have student work on number knowledge and recognition by cutting, coloring melons and the correct number of seeds noted in the melon slice.  Once they are complete they then glue them on a paper plate in order (click for pdf)

* Serve each child a slice of watermelon. Have them count the seeds that come out of their slice.  Have them group them in 2’s and 5’s and begin to skip count with class.

* Bring a watermelon to class and study shapes as you cut a watermelon with cookie cutters (sphere, circle, semi-circle, triangle).

 Social / Emotional

* Act out the song using stick puppets, masks or by assigning roles. (click for pdf)

* Create watermelons out of paper plates.  Cut the plate in half.  Glue one rhyming image to the top and the rhyming image in the bottom. (click for example)

* Discuss where watermelons come from.  Explain farm-market-table concept.

*  Cut and eat a watermelon and have students share stories of eating watermelons at family gatherings.  The fact that they are big makes them easy to share.  Ask kids to tell personal stories about eating watermelons.

Physical / Outdoor

* Go outside and look for weeds and pull out various weeds to look at the roots, stem, and leaves,

* Sing or chant “Down by the Bay” while incorporating movement / signing to the song (click for video)

* Spit seeds for distance (non-standard units of measurement – use rulers, pencils, pop-sickle sticks, etc.

* Play some music and move your body parts / plant parts.  You can make reference to your body parts as parts of the plants.  Move you roots, etc.

Legs: are roots,

Body: is stem,

Arms: are leaves,

Head: is flower.

* Watermelon roll.   Have a relay race to see which team can roll the watermelon the fastest.

* Grease a watermelon with baby oil and see who can carry it the farthest.  It may require teamwork!  It also works with water play to get it out of a baby pool.

Filed Under: Ideas for Teachers, Sing to Read Resources Published January 11, 2017

Wheels on the Bus

By Dr. Mike

Literacy

* Group students in pairs (by passing out tongue depressor and having them locate their partner) and read story and have students share their thoughts on questions asked (click here) before, during and after reading the story, plus narrative questions (click for pdf)

Topic A:  Have you ever been on a bus?  Where were you going?  What did you see?  If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Who would you want to go with?

* Things to share after reading book, singing and chanting song

 a) Listen to the words I say and tell me if they rhyme…bus – cat / bus – gus (select words from song and a rhyming and non-rhyming word – bus, driver, baby, wipers, horn

b) Tell me a word that rhymes with _____________(repeat this exercise with different words from the song)

c) I am going to say a word from the song and you tell me what letter it begins with (select word from song)

d) Listen to the word I say and lets count the syllables (clap, snap, pat or stomp syllables with the class) 

e) I am going to say a sentence from the story / song and you fill in the word that is missing

Example: The wheels on the   _____________ go ____________, all through the _______________. 

f) I am going to say part of a sentence and you finish the sentence.

Example: (teacher) The wheels on the bus go

                   (students) round and round

                   (teacher) The wipers on the bus go

                   (students) swish, swish, swish.

                   (continue with the rest of the song)

g) Once they are able to accomplish the task by phrases you can now do it by word. (T = Teacher  and S = Students)

Example: (T) The  (S) wheels  (T) on  (S) the  (T) bus  (S) go  (T) round (S) and (T) round  (continue with song)

* Complete Venn diagram and compare characteristics of a bus and a car or truck with similar characteristics in the middle (click for pdf)

* Complete a story map: title, setting, characters, problem, and solution.

* Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities (click for example)

* Create different verses to the songs (the doors on the bus…go ……. the seatbelts on the bus… go ……You can also talk about where the bus is going.

* As a class, create silly alliterative sentences.

Example:  The big blue bear rides the bus.

* Instruct one of your students to say, “I went for a ride on a bus and I saw …”; the next students adds a word “and says I went to ride the bus and I saw a dog (sample)”; the next person adds and says, “I went for a ride on a bus and I saw a dog eating a pizza  (sample).  Start again from the beginning.  Great activity for language and creativity.

* What if everyone on the bus played an instrument?  Have kids select a picture card and do the motion and sound.  Have the children complete a sentence.

Example: The____________ on the bus goes _________

Example:  The guitar on the bus goes wang, wang, wang (kids can also create their own sound)  (click for pdf)

Science

* Introduce Newtons Law of Motion and roll various round items or tires down a ramp and measure using non-standards units of measurements.  have students predict which one is going to go the farthest.

* Reinforce things with wheels: Introduce and discuss things with wheels.  Provide picture cards of a car, truck, motorcycle, bike, skateboard, and skates.  Place picture card face down and have students select a picture car and recite the following sentence while plugging in the picture word.  The students plug a word into each sentence frame then match the correct picture to it.  The wheels on the _______ go round and round. (click for pdf)

* What if there were only animals on the bus?  Have kids pick an animal and make their sound.  Example:  “The dog on the bus goes woof, woof, woof.  (click for pdf)

Social / Emotional

* Act out the song using stick puppets and assigning roles. (click for pdf)

* Discuss the school bus as a “Community Helper” and the role of the school bus driver (land transportation).  Introduce other community helpers and how they get around on cars, trucks, and bikes.  They all have wheels.  Which one would they want to be and why? Create book “Wheels go round and round”(click for pdf) 

* Introduce the three forms of transportation, land. air, and water.  What type is the school bus?  What are other forms of transportation and are they water, land, or air?  Print out pdf and place picture face down and have kids (one at a time) select a picture and name the form of transportation and state if it land, water or sky and place it in the proper category.  (click for pdf of three forms) (click on the following two pdfs for picture card for student to place under the correct form of transportation) (click for pdf 1) (click for pdf 2) 

* Discuss bus safety rules.  How should we behave on the bus?   Use this rhyme.   (tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

          When you’re riding on the bus 
don’t stand up and make a fuss.

            
Follow every safety rule, 
the driver will get you safely to school.

           
Talk quietly and be polite. 
Listen well, and do what’ s right. 
 

*  Discuss Jamaica.  Dr. Mike says “Let’s go to Jamaica!”  Where is Jamaica?  What do you think it’s like there?  Do you think it would it be fun to go to Jamaica? Why?  Discuss Jamaican culture and use these links for reference.

Math

* A school bus gets children to school.  Ask kids how they get to school (car, foot, bus, subway).  Chart your answers and make a graph. (click for pdf)

* Introduce the bus stop sign. Discuss shapes and discuss number of sides and number of corners.  Share various bus signs that are shaped different (click for pdf).  Compare and find difference between the two bus next to each other and then compare to the other.  You can use a venn diagram available in the literacy section. Make an extra copy and allow children to play concentration / matching game.

* Have students create their own bus stop sign by selecting their own color of construction paper and cutting their own shape and glueing one of the two pictures from the following pdf. (click for pdf)

* Discuss and demonstrate how two shapes combined can make another shape.  Two half circles make a circle.  Two or more squares make a rectangle.  Cut the following pdf and create a bus by putting shapes together and spelling BUS. (click for pdf)

* How many wheels are on a uni-cylce? On a bi-cycle?  On a tri-cycle?  on a quad? (click for pdf)  Intoduce the words uni = 1; bi = 2; tri = 3; quad = 4.  Which one has more wheels and which one has less wheels? Which one weighs more and which one weighs less? Which one is more expensive and which one is less?  From the PDF cut, glue and sequence wheels from 1-4 with numbers below or above the item.

Physical / Outdoor

* Sing or chant “Wheels on the Bus” while incorporating movement to the song

* Take a walk to the parking lot to look at the wheels on the cars and compare them.

* Practice summersaults and roll around like the wheels on the bus.

* Play “Red Light, Green Light”. One student is the traffic signal and stands well in front of the class who’s lined up shoulder to shoulder.  The student in front turns their back to the class and says, “Green Light!”  The class starts to move towards the student in front as quickly as possible.  Quickly, the student in front turns back around and yells, “Red Light!”  The class must freeze.  Anyone caught moving is out of the game.  The person to reach the student in front first, is then allowed to be the traffic signal.

Filed Under: Ideas for Teachers, Sing to Read Resources Published January 11, 2017

Miss Mary Mack

By Dr. Mike

Literacy

* Group students in pairs (by passing out tongue depressor and having them locate their partner) and read story and have students share their thoughts on questions asked (click here) before, during and after reading the story, plus narrative questions (click for pdf)

* Things to share after reading book, singing and chanting song

a) Listen to the words I say and tell me if they rhyme Mary – John / Mary – Larry (select other words from the song and rhyming and non-rhyming words and ask them if they rhyme)

b) Tell me a word that rhymes with _____________(repeat this exercise with different words from the song)

c) I am going to say a word from the song and you tell me what letter it begins with (select word from song)

d) Listen to the word I say and lets count the syllables (clap, snap, pat or stomp syllables with the class)

e) I am going to say a sentence from the story / song and you fill in the word that is missing

Example:

Miss Mary   ______________ all dressed in  ____________.

With silver _______________ all down her _____________.

(continue with song)

f) I am going to say part of a sentence and you finish the sentence.

Example: (teacher) Miss Mary Mack

                    (students) all dressed in black.

                    (teacher) With silver buttons

                    (students) All down her back.

                    (continue with song)

g) Once they are able to accomplish the task by phrases you can now do it by word. (T = Teacher  and S = Students)

Example: (T) Miss  (S) Mary (T) Mack (S) all  (T) dressed  (S) in  (T) black  (continue with song)

* Discussion questions can be talked about in a group or with partners as conversation practice.  Have kids pick a colored Popsicle stick or card and match the color to find their partner.  Have kids answer questions about their partner.                                                                                                                                                                             – Topic A: Discuss the purposes of money (food, clothing, toys, houses, charity).  We all use money, but sometimes it looks different.  Introduce coins from other countries.

Topic B:  Look at Miss Mary’s clothes.  Do they look nice?  Do you pick out your own clothes to wear?  What’s your favorite thing to wear? 

* Complete Venn diagram and compare characteristics of mom and dad with similar characteristics in the middle (click for pdf)

* Complete a story map: title, setting, characters, problem, and solution.

* Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities (click for example)

* Create different ending…they jumped so high…You can also create your own last verse.  What happened to the elephants once they returned on the fourth of July

* As a class, create silly alliterative sentences. Example:  Miss Mary Mack marches on Monday mornings.  

* Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities. (click for example)

* Have students recreate parts of the song

All dressed in _____________

With silver _____________

All down her ___________

She asked her ____________

For _______________

To see a ____________

jump over the ____________

Science

* Give kids a magnifying glass to study the coins up close.

* Coin cleaning.  Children bring in “dirty” pennies from home and experiment with various ingredients: vinegar, salt, and ketchup, along with some ingredients that will not clean pennies well (such as water, flour, etc.)    Children experiment with the different materials to find what cleans pennies the best. (Vinegar and salt together will clean pennies, and ketchup by itself will clean them.)

* Coin Rubbings.   Children lay thin paper on top of coins hot-glued to poster board cards and clip it with clothespins to hold the paper it place. They use the flat side of a crayon to rub over the paper and make an impression of the coins.

* Button practice.  Bring in old shirts to have kids practice buttoning.

Math

* Sort and count buttons by color.

* Identify, sort and count coins.  Teach these rhymes and chants to remember coins and their value

Penny, penny, easily spent.

Copper, brown and worth 1 cent.

*******

Nickle, Nickle, thick and fat.

You’re worth 5 cents. I know that.

*******

Dime, dime, little and thin.

I remember you’re worth 10.

*******

Quarter, quarter, big and bold.

You’re worth 25 cents, I’m told.

* Use quarters to talk about quarters, halve, and whole dollars.  Four quarters equals a dollar.

* Toss pennies onto a mat.  They must then count how many landed on heads and tails.

* Make patterns with coins.  (Example:  penny, nickel, penny, nickel or heads, tails, heads, tails)

* Roll the die and stack that amount of quarters.  Continue until the stack falls.

* Place 25 or 50 pennies in the middle and have students roll die and students pulls the number of pennies (based on number on die) from the stack of pennies.

* Graph who is wearing more black…boys or girl

* Make dominoes by cutting white poster board into rectangles, drawing a dividing line down the middle, and hot glue one coin (dime, nickel, penny, quarter, and silver dollar) on each side of a dividing line.  Play dominoes the traditional way by matching coins

Social / Emotional 

* Act out the song using stick puppets, masks or by assigning roles (click for pdf)

* Group children in pairs and have them chant the song while incorporating hand jives – hand clapping motions as you sing “Miss Mary Mack.” Once they are able to chant along the entire song with you then have them chant the repetition words as you chant the initial phrases to each line.

Ex. (you chant)   Miss Mary

(kids chant) Mack, Mack, Mack,

(you chant)   all dressed in

(kids chant) black, black, black.

etc.

* Hand jive the following rhyme:

Lemonade, crunchy ice.

Beat it once, beat it twice.

Lemonade, crunchy ice.

Beat it once, beat it twice.

Physical / Outdoor

* Chant the song as you move around the playground.  Every time you get to a repeating word, hop on one foot.

* Line kids up an d have them take a step for each word and leak for the word repeated.

– Miss (step) Mary (step) Mack (hop) Mack (hop) Mack (hop)

– all (step) dressed (step) in (step) black (leap) black (leap) black (leap)   etc.

* Penny pitching.  Place a coffee can away from the group.  Draw a line for them to stand behind and take turns pitching pennies into the can.

* Buried Treasure.  Bury coins in a sand box or section of the playground.  Have kids dig for treasure.  When done have students take their coins to class and count the value for each student.

* Teach the kids that are ready for something more advanced how to clap the game out with a partner using more advanced techniques.  Encourage them to practice and see how fast they can go

* Go outside and create a fence using a rope and have the kids jump over the fence.

Filed Under: Ideas for Teachers, Sing to Read Resources Published January 11, 2017

Did you Feed My Cow

By Dr. Mike

Literacy

* Group students in pairs (by passing out tongue depressor and having them locate their partner) and read story and have students share their thoughts on questions asked (click here) before, during and after reading the story, plus narrative questions (click for pdf)

* Things to share after reading book, singing and chanting song.

a) Listen to the words I say and tell me if they rhyme… feed / house –  feed / weed  (select words from the song; feed; corn; hay; squish; flap, etc.)

b) Tell me a word that rhymes with _____________(repeat exercise with different words from the song)

c) I am going to say a word from the song and you tell me what letter it begins with (select word from song)

d) Listen to the word I say and lets count the syllables (clap, snap, pat or stomp syllables with the class)

e) I am going to say a sentence from the story / song and you continue where I left off.

Example: Did you feed my cow?  _____________.  What did you feed it?  ______________. Did you milk her good?  How did you milk her?   ____________ (continue with song)

f) Once they are able to accomplish the task by phrases you can now do it by word. (T = Teacher  and S = Students)

Example: (T) Did  (S) you  (T) feed  (S) my  (T) cow  (continue with song)

* Complete Venn diagram and compare characteristics of the cow and the girl with similar characteristics in the middle (click for pdf)

* Complete a story map: title, setting, characters, problem, and solution.

* Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities (click for example)

* As a class, create silly alliterative sentences. Example:  The cow carried candy canes carrots

* Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities. (click for example) create video

* Introduce the children to assorted vocabulary words like “milk”, “bull”, “dairy”, “scavengers”, “decomposition” and “udder”

Science

*  Explain to the children that butter is made from the milk that the cows give. We pour whipping cream into baby food jars. Children shake the jars (super fast and hard 10 times each) until a ball of butter is formed in the jar. (Liquid and solid will separate.  If jar seems full, open and pour our excess liquid.  Cover and continue shaking).  It will make butter!  Add a pinch of salt and mix.  Spread on crackers or bread. YUM! Chant this rhyme:  Making Butter Boogie: Shake it up Shake it down Shake it, shake it all around. Shake it high Shake it low Shake it, shake it to and fro. Shake it over Shake it under Pretty soon, you’ll have butter! ~Author Unknown

* What is a Farm Theme without milking a cow?  Materials Needed: 2 non-latex glove, a cow shape drawn out of sturdy cardboard, milk, bowl. Attach a glove to the bottom of the cow and discuss udders with the children. Take the second glove and pour a little milk into one of the fingers. Poke a hole in the finger with a common pin. Have the children squeeze the finger of the glove to milk the cow into the bowl

* What comes from a cow? Use grocery store flyers for kids to cut out foods that come from a cow and glue inside large cow display in the classroom.

Math

* Use printout to sequence what a cow eats, corn and hay. (click for pdf)

* Have students create black spots on cow using thumb and black ink pad.  Once done, count spots with student and write number in the middle. (click for pdf)

* How much corn can your cow eat?  Have kids glue pieces of corn to a paper plate and count the number they plan to feed their cow.

* Download and print 2 copies of cow and dairy product and play memory game (click for pdf)

* Children first mix and then taste-test three kinds of milk: vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. Children decide on their favorite kind of milk, and put their name on the graph. We count to see which had the most/least/same

Social / Emotional

* Act out the song using stick puppets, masks or by assigning roles.(click for pdf)

* The children bring empty food packages or pictures of food from home. The children take turns showing the class what they brought. We discuss where the food comes from, and how a farm was involved in producing the food.

* Check out this great website for discussion topics and farm, cow, and dairy facts.  Try the recipe for Rock and Roll Ice Cream! *The amazing dairy cow! (click for link)

* Discuss how milk gets from the farm to the table with this story.   *Milk from cow to container, to store, to house then we drink it  (click for pdf)

* Create cow mask and have teacher and students ask question (interview) to the cow (alternated students with mask). (click for pdf)

Sample questions

– How do you spell COW

– Do you give me coke or milk?

– Do you eat corn or meat?

– What else do you provide us?

– Have students come up with their questions….

* Fun Art Projects: 

 – Corn on the Cob Painting:  Roll corn on the cob onto paint in shallow trays and then roll onto paper.  

 – Buttermilk Painting:  Have the children dip chalk into buttermilk and then draw on paper. This makes a great effect!

– Straw Art: Provide lots of pieces of straw (hay) to paint with instead of brushes! When done, the children can glue the straw onto the paintings!

* Discussion questions can be talked about in a group or with partners as conversation practice.  Have kids pick a colored Popsicle stick or card and match the color to find their partner. After talking, ask kids to answer questions about their partner

Topic A:  How did the cow get sick?  What’s a tick?  What happened to the cow?  Why did the buzzards come?  Talk about life cycles and how buzzards make their living.

Topic B:  Does this cow seem like a pet?  Have you ever had a pet die?  How did it make you feel?

Topic C:  What are some of your favorite foods?  Do they come from a cow?

Physical / Outdoor

* Sing or chant “Did you Feed my Cow” while incorporating signing to the song (click for video)

* Hop your way to the playground. Hop to the letters C-O-W, C-O-R-N, and H-A-Y

* Draw a cow on butcher paper and tape to wall and create a small tail to play pin the tail on the cow!

Filed Under: Ideas for Teachers, Sing to Read Resources Published January 11, 2017

Michael Boy

By Dr. Mike

Literacy

* Group students in pairs (by passing out tongue depressor or color bracelets and have them locate their partner) and read story and have students share their thoughts on questions asked (click here)  before, during and after reading the story, plus narrative questions (click for pdf)

* Things to share after reading book, singing and chanting song.

a) Listen to the words I say and tell me if they rhyme. boy – candy; boy – toy.(select a word from the song and a rhyming word and non-rhyming word)

b) Tell me a word that rhymes with boy.   (repeat this exercise with different words from the song – eyes, nose, hair, meat, etc.)

c) I am going to say a word from the song and you tell me what letter it begins with (select word from song)

d) Listen to the word I say and lets count the syllables (clap, snap, pat or stomp syllables with the class)

e) I am going to say part of a sentence and you finish the sentence.

                       Example:

                    (teacher) His hair was made of

                    (students) spaghetti

                    (teacher) His eyes were made of

                    (students) meatballs

                    (continue with song)

 f) Once they are able to accomplish the task by phrases you can now do it by word. (T = Teacher  and S = Students)

Example: (T) His   (S) hair  (T) was  (S) made  (T) of  (S) spaghetti (continue with song)

* Complete Venn diagram and compare characteristics of a boy and dad or girl and mom or bedroom and kitchen or living room (click for pdf)

* Complete a story map: title, setting, characters, problem, and solution.

* Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities (click for example)

* Use pictures of from the song to create a rebus chart reading (click for pdf)

* Create different ending to the story…his neck was made of ________, legs were made of ______, his arms were made of ________, etc.

* As a class, create silly alliterative sentences. Example: 

Michael makes messy milkshakes

Mickey Mouse minds Minnie Mouse

* Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities. (click for example) create video

* Using flash cards, grocery fliers, or the game cards from the math activities to change the lyrics to the song and practice more vocabulary.  Have each child choose a food, chant the song, and call on a child to reveal their food and change the lyrics.

* Create silly alliterative sentences using the students name and food.

Example:  Annie ate all her apples.

(b- bananas; c-carrots; etc.)

Science

* Introduce fruits and vegetables:  Print out pages and allow students to color and create their own fruit and vegetable book. (click for pdf)

* Guess the Food.  Have a mystery bag with a fruit or vegetable inside. Describe the food and have children try to guess what is in the bag.  Extension:  Have a child choose a food to put in the bag and let him describe it, or have the others ask descriptive questions (Example:  Is the food green?  Do you eat the peel?)  Give beginning sounds as a hint.

* Introduce real fruits and vegetables and allow student to touch, smell, shake and later taste.  Allow students to hold two fruits or vegetables and ask them which one is bigger; heavier; smoother; rougher; smaller; brighter; etc.  Chant this song and modify it to the fruits and vegetables students are touching and eating.

“Carrot, carrot, carrot, you’re so good to eat.  Carrot, carrot, carrot, you really are a treat!

* Cut open fruits and vegetables and count seed found inside.  You can also bring seed from the store to sort by size or color.

* You can also use the vegetable to play “What’s missing?”  Lay 3 or 4 fruits or vegetables in a row and repeat the names 3 times.  Have kids close their eyes while you remove one item and hide it behind your back.  Ask kids to open their eyes and guess what’s missing.  Extension:  cut up all the veggies and serve for snack! (click for pdf)

*  Use cut-outs of fruit and vegetables and have students create their own face, just like Michael-Boy. Use the sample art illustration of the fruit and vegetables faces. art (click for pdf)  face (click for pdf)

Two things make a pair (hold up two fingers.)
And on me, I’ll show you where 
(point to self)
I have two ears, and I have two eyes.
 (point to ears and eyes)
Both are important to make me wise!
I have two holes in my nose. 
(point to nose)
That lets me smell a beautiful rose 
(Pretend to smell a rose)
I have two hands that clap a beat.
 (Clap hands)
I have two feet that are really neat! 
(Jump up and down)

Math

* Using a balance scale (you can create one using a hanger, four pipe cleaners or pieces of yarn, and two Dixie cups or zip-lock baggies) and have students predict which fruit is heavier or lighter; weighs more than or less than. (click for pdf)

* Make fruit prints by putting paint on a paper plate.  Cut fruit and veggies in halves (discuss whole / half).  Dip fruit / vegetable (apples and potatoes) in to paint and have kids make pattern prints on sentence strips.

* Sort and count the different types/shapes of pasta (you can also use multi-colored pasta and sort by color).  Glue pasta in patterns and rows.

* Seed estimating. Have kids guess how many seeds are in an apple, orange, and in other fruits.  Cut it open and count to find out.

Social / Emotional

* Act out the song using stick puppets, masks or by assigning roles. (click for pdf)

* Discussion questions can be talked about in a group or with partners as conversation practice.  Have kids pick a colored Popsicle stick or card and match the color to find their partner. After talking, ask kids to answer questions about their partner.

–Topic A: Talk about food and feelings.  How does it feel to have a cold drink on a hot day?  Or a hot drink on a cold day?  How does it feel when mom makes your favorite food?

–Topic B:  Discuss healthy habits like nutrition, cleanliness, and exercise to keep our bodies fit and help us stay strong.

–Topic C:  Talk about healthy vs. unhealthy snacks.  carrots vs. chips; cucumbers vs. candies;  water vs. soda; celery vs. cookies. Have students cut, and glue healthy and junk food and place them in the appropriate category. happy= healthy and sad=junk. (click on pdf) smaller pics (click for pdf)

* Introduce some fruits and vegetables and allow children to try a variety of different fruits. Graph their favorites.  Pass out pictures from pdf to each student and have them describe their fruit or vegetable and sing song with class.

Fruits and Vegetables  (Old McDonald)

Vegetables are good for me,
E I E I O
And so I eat them happily,
E I E I O
With a carrot here,
and a carrot there
Here a carrot, there a carrot
Everywhere a carrot, carrot.
Vegetables are good for me,
E I E I O

(change to… All the fruits are good for me – when using fruits)

* Have students create a fruit and vegetable collage from grocery flyers and magazines.  Extension activity when completed is to sing:

Are You Eating (Tune: Are You Sleeping)

Are you eating, are you eating
Healthy foods, healthy foods?
For your body needs them, for your body needs them
Everyday, everyday.

* Fruit painting: Cut apples horizontal and dip in blue paint create blue sky and stars and cut celery stalk 2-3 inches above create red roses.

Physical / Outdoor

* Food Charades. Take turns acting out different cooking and eating actions. Some examples include: eating soup, washing dishes, or peeling a banana.

* Sing and move to “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”.  Start slow and increase tempo as the song is repeated. You can also incorporate “The Hokey Pokey” to expand body part awareness. Have students create a book by cutting and gluing the parts of the song in the correct order. (click for pdf)

* Have kids run relay races by placing orange under their chin or hard boiled  on spoon. (outside activity)

* Practice cross lateral movement by chanting the following phrases and alternating from cross lateral to same side movement.

I have two ears (cross arms: right hand touching left ear and left hand touching right ear)

And also two eyes, (right pointer finger touching right eye, and left pointer finger touching left eye)

I touch my elbows (cross arms again touching elbows)

and also my head, (bother hands on head)

my knees, (cross arms again touching knees)

and my nose (both pointer fingers on nose)

* Go outside and walk, march, and jog while chanting or singing this song:

I can walk with two feet, two feet, two feet.
I can walk with two feet, two feet, all day long.

I can skip with two feet, two feet, two feet.
I can skip with two feet, two feet, all day long.

I can jump with two feet, two feet, two feet.
I can jump with two feet, two feet, all day long.

I can hop with two feet, two feet, two feet.
I can hop with two feet, two feet, all day long.

I can march with two feet, two feet, two feet.
I can march with two feet, two feet, all day long.

I can run with two feet, two feet, two feet.
I can run with two feet, two feet, all day long.
I can slide with two feet, two feet, two feet.
I can slide with two feet, two feet, all day long.

Filed Under: Ideas for Teachers, Sing to Read Resources Published January 11, 2017

Five Little Monkeys

By Dr. Mike

Literacy

* Group students in pairs (by passing out tongue depressor and having them locate their partner) and read story and have students share their thoughts on questions asked (click here) before, during and after reading the story, plus narrative questions (click for pdf)

* Things to share after reading book, singing and chanting song. 

a) Listen to the words I say and tell me if they rhyme.  (little – house; little – middle; continue with monkey, bed, jumping, mama, etc.)

b) Tell me a word that rhymes with (bed) (repeat this exercise with different words from the song)

c) I am going to say a word from the song and you tell me what letter it begins with (select word from song)

d) Listen to the word I say and lets count the syllables (clap, snap, pat or stomp syllables with the class)

e) I am going to say a sentence from the story / song and you fill in the word that is missing

Example: Five little monkeys jumping on the  _____________

f) I am going to say part of a sentence and you finish the sentence.

Example: (teacher) Five little monkeys jumping on the bed

                    (students) one fell off and bumped his head.

                    (teacher) mama called the doctor and the doctor said,

                    (students) no more monkeys jumping on the bed.

                    (you can make the phrases longer or shorter)

g) Once they are able to accomplish the task by phrases you can now do it by  (T = Teacher  and S = Students)

Example: (T) Five  (S) little  (T) monkeys  (S) jumping  (T) on  (S) the  (T) bed  (continue with song)

* Complete Venn diagram and compare characteristics of mama and the doctor with similar characteristics in the middle (click for pdf)

* Complete a story map: title, setting, characters, problem, and solution.

* Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities (click for example)

* As a class, create silly alliterative sentences.

Monkeys munched on many mangos

Monkeys eat melons in the mountains

*  Use this song to practice echo reading, choral reading, buddy reading, and work on phonological awareness activities. (click for example) create video

*  Try a new rhyme.  Example:  Five little monkeys jumping on the couch.  One fell off and he said “Ouch”.  Mama called the doctor the doctor said, “_______”. (have the monkeys brushed their teeth…take a bath…comb their hair, etc.

*  Use synonyms.  Chant song and change the word little – small, tiny, petite, and miniscule / bumped – hit, smacked, knocked, and banged.

* Chant the song using little  and the other synonyms while squatting and chant the song while standing while adding the antonyms: five big monkeys, huge, giant, enormous, gigantic

* Clap the rhythm to the song or chant.

Monkey see, 
monkey do,
do you want to be a monkey too?

* Change the song to include different actions and body parts.

Example:

Five little monkeys climbing on the bed, one fell off and bumped his neck

* Act out climbing (stretching, yawning, eating, dancing, etc.) and repeat verse to reinforce new word and action /movement –

Science

* Use this song to address monkeys real habitat…trees not beds.

Five little monkeys swinging from a tree,

(Wave all five fingers)

teasing Mr. Crocodile,

(make a teasing face…tongue out, thumbs in ears, & wiggling fingers)

“You can’t catch me! You can’t catch me!

(Move pointer finger at alligator).

Along comes Mr. Alligator, quiet as can be,

(Make alligator with stretched out arms and both hands together)

and SNAP (Clap hands together)

that monkey right out of that tree!

* Introduce body parts by chanting song and substituting head for other body parts. Have each student select a body part of use these cue cards to help your students with body parts. (click for pdf)

Five little monkey jumping on the bed, one fell off and bumped his elbow (shoulder, ankle, chest, neck, etc.)

* Discover what band-aides and bandages really do.  Show examples of different types.  Explain that they keep a wound clean and protect it from germs so it can heal.  Have the kids practice putting a band-aide on a partner. Have students color their monkey and place a band-aide on any body part of the monkey (head, arm, leg, stomach, shoulder, etc.) (click for pdf)

* Study parts of the body.  Instead of saying “one fell off and bumped his head” you can begin to substitute head with other parts of the body to reinforce body parts. (click for pdf)

* Print out these fun facts about monkeys and monkey pictures and cut into cards to create a matching game. (click for pdf)

Math

* Printout monkey stick puppets and take turn giving 5 children a stick puppet and have them jump and then request certain students to fall.  Then ask the class how many monkeys are still on the bed.

* Print, cut, and laminate and use as visual. You can also glue laminated monkeys to small clothes pins or vel-cro to connect with bed.  As you take monkeys away, ask how many are left.  Write the problem out. (click for pdf)

* For a whole group activity, stamp the kids’ fingers to draw monkeys on them.   Have the children fold a finger down every time a monkey jumps off the bed.

* Have students use five fingers from one hand to chant song and move hand up and down.  Introduce 5 using two hands (one hand has four fingers and the other has 1 finger) chant song and move both hands up and down; repeat using 3 fingers in one hand and 2 in the other.

* Print out these five bananas and have students color them and cut. Place them on a paper plate to introduce (+) and (-) and have students chant: (click for pdf)

“Five bananas on my plate, I ate one (1) and now there’s ______.

Once done practicing and chanting, students can glue bananas to plate.

Extension: Pass out real bananas and plastic knives and have students cut the banana into five pieces and place on paper plate and chant:

“Five slices of bananas on my plate, I ate one (1) and now there’s ______.

Social / Emotional

* Act, recite, and chant out the song using stick puppets, masks or by assigning roles. (click for pdf)

* Have students color their mask and play monkey see monkey do.  Have students in a circle and have one student go to middle and create a move and the rest of the class imitate the same move. Allow every student to have a chance to be in the middle to create their own move.  mask 1 (click for pdf) mask 2 (click for pdf)

* Discussion questions can be talked about in a group or with partners as conversation practice.

Topic A:  Have you ever been to the doctor?  Were you scared?  What did the doctor do?  Did it hurt?  Did the doctor make it better?  How did the doctor make you feel?  Safe, scared, nervous…etc?

Topic B:  What can happen if we don’t do what adults tell us?  Tell a story about a time when you got hurt.  What were you doing?  Did an adult ask you to stop?  Then what happened?  What make you feel better?  Will you do that again?

Topic C:  What kind of a doctor takes care of monkeys?  Have you ever taken your pet to the vet?  How do you think your pet felt?  Did the veterinarian help your pet?

Topic D:  Have you ever seen a monkey?  Where?  What was it doing?  Has anyone ever called you a monkey?  Why did they think you were acting like a monkey?

Topic E: What amazing things can monkeys do?  What amazing things can kids do?  How are monkeys and kids alike and different.

Topic F:  Have you ever been playing and accidentally broken something?  What broke?  How did you fix it?  Was anyone mad about it?  What made them feel better?

Physical / Outdoor

* Sing and chant “Five Little Monkeys” while incorporating movement to the song to the “macarena” (click for video)

* Chant the song and substitute jumping to other actions and have students act-out the action (ex. swimming, running, stretching, yawning, bending, dancing, etc.)

* Practice counting down from 5-1 using a whispering tone.  Start standing and have kids squat down a little each time a say a number. When you hit zero you jump up like monkeys while making monkeys sounds.

* Take a bed sheet and a ball outside.  Tell the kids the ball is like the monkey jumping on the bed.  See how many times you can make it bounce.  Have each child hold the edge of the sheet.  When the sheet is pulled tight, roll on a lightweight ball and encourage the kids to move the sheet in a way that keeps the ball from falling off.  Count the number of bounces.

* Play a Monkey See, Monkey Do version of Simon Says.

* Monkeys Moving with Manners (using monkey masks): Form two lines facing each other.  The challenge is to move forward past the other line without any monkeys touching each other. As they try to avoid from touching each other they must also say, “excuse me”

* What do monkeys eat? Bananas!

Form, form, form the banana (Move right arm up over head,

moving your hands in a circular motion as you go up)

Form, form, form the banana (move left arm up over head to

“form” banana, moving your hand in a circular motion)

Peel, peel, peel the banana (move right arm down to side, moving

hand in circular motion)

Peel, peel, peel the banana (do the same for left arm as above)

GO bananas, go!, go!, go bananas! (kids jump around and go

“bananas” like monkeys)

Filed Under: Ideas for Teachers, Sing to Read Resources Published January 11, 2017

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