All About Me
Beginning with the current classroom curriculum "All About Me," I will complete a mini-unit on growth, development and gender differences as they can be relayed to five- and six-year olds. This mini-unit includes physical and emotional differences between boys and girls. The songs "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and "Did you Ever See a Lassie?" begin the discussion of physical differences, while the song "Mary Wore her Red Dress" opens the discussion of likes and dislikes. The physical differences to be covered are obvious, yet the likes and dislikes, or psychological differences are not as apparent. For Kindergartners, the psychological differences are manifested through the stereotypical differences taught to them by their family members, peers, etc.: Girls play with dolls, boys play basketball, girls don't climb the jungle gym, boys climb anything and everything! These differences, to be recorded on a chart entitled, "People say girls should.../People say boys should..." are displayed in the classroom for future use.
Once the physical and psychological differences are clarified, we will discuss our personal likes and dislikes and list them on chart paper. The students are encouraged to talk about their favorite activity, and the lyrics to "Mary Wore Her Red Dress" are altered to accommodate the activities most enjoyed by each student (See Box 1). These likes and dislikes are compared to the information collected on the chart "People say girls/boys should..." A new chart, "We say girls and boys can...." will be drafted to display our overall findings from the comparison. The actions listed on the new chart will be illustrated and bound in a booklet of the same title and placed in the Reading Center. The Reading Center is an area in the classroom used to reinforce Language Arts lessons, themes and units. The Reading Center contains fiction and nonfiction trade books, class-made books, flash cards, audio cassettes, an audio cassette player, headphones, paper, markers and bean bag chairs. An audio recording of the class-authored "Mary Wore her Red Dress" is made in the Reading Center and included in the series of songs sung during Morning Meeting each day. The Morning Meeting is the time of day when events of the day, week and month are discussed, songs are sung to reinforce the current classroom curriculum and events from the students' home-lives are shared. Other songs and Reading Center-created items are also shared during Morning Meeting.
Box 1: All About Me
Mary wore her red dress,
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Red dress, red dress.
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Mary wore her red dress
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All day long.
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Roberto wore his orange hat,
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Orange hat, orange hat.
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Roberto wore his orange hat
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All day long.
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Mary Wore her Red Dress (revised)
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Tanijah likes to swing on a swing,
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Swing on a swing, swing on a swing.
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Tanijah likes to swing on a swing
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All day long.
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Davonte likes to jump rope,
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Jump rope, jump rope.
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Davonte likes to jump rope
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All day long.
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Family Time
The mini-unit that follows "All About Me" is "Family Time." "Family Time" is a unit that extends the me of "All About Me" to the immediate relatives who affect the lives of the children in the class. The children learn the song, "My Family's Just Right for Me" and compare the different families mentioned in the lyrics. The children are then asked to list the members of their family that live with them. A sheet of drawing paper is distributed to each child for each member of their family. A booklet is then 'published' in the classroom for each child illustrating the members of their family: Me, Mommy, Daddy, Auntie, Uncle, Grandma, Grandpa, Cousin, Brother, Sister, etc. (See Lesson Plans)
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A math lesson follows with the song "The People in a Family" which sings about family size. A graphing project records the various family sizes. Each family size is represented by a number and a color. The family books, above, are covered in construction paper to match the number of people in the booklet (ie.: Family size of 2=red, 3=blue, 4=green, 5=yellow). Holes are punched in the booklet's cover and pages to coincide with the number of family members in the booklet and yarn is used to bind the family book. (See Lesson Plans binding instructions)
"The Three Bears" is read and gender differences are discussed as they relate to the various Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear possessions that are encountered in the story: porridge, chairs, beds. The math integration of measurement is illustrated through the creation of stick puppets for each character in "The Three Bears." The height of each bear is compared to his/her gender/age. The children use the puppets to re-tell the story in their own words. The puppet show is videotaped and re-viewed at a later date for concept reinforcement.
"Just Grandma and Me" is read as an introduction to our discussion of grandparents. The children draw pictures of their grandparent(s) and describe the activities they enjoy experiencing with them. To review the story of "Just Grandma and Me" a Living Book is made available in the Computer Center. A Living Book is an interactive CD-Rom that is viewed using a computer having a CD-Rom drive. Living Books allow a non-reader to hear the story and see the words without the need for computer experience. Those children who do have experience with computers may read and 'play' in the story by clicking on the various characters, objects, and words on the screen. In my classroom story paper is then placed at the Computer Center and the children are encouraged to illustrate and speak/write about the activity they most enjoy sharing with their grandparent(s) or other older relative. Students who have difficulty writing independently are assisted by the teacher, assistant or a classroom volunteer who writes what the child expresses orally.
"Who's That Tapping on my Window?" continues our discussion of grandparents. The children list the similarities and differences between their parents and their grandparents. Grandparents are invited to the school for a social with snacks and beverages prepared by the students. A photograph will be taken of each child with their grandparent(s). These photographs are made into slides for use in the culminating performance in which the YNHTI Team members participate. Grandparents are surveyed for information regarding their occupations and favorite activities/hobbies. The children each their grandparent(s) the revised version of "Mary Wore her Red Dress," encouraging their grandparent(s) to sing about what they enjoy doing.
"Who's That Tapping on my Window?" also leads to the discussion of siblings. Pictures of siblings are solicited from parents and scanned into HyperStudio¨ cards. HyperStudio¨ cards are windows created via the HyperStudio¨ program that contain graphics, text, audio and or animation. The cards are programmed by a student, teacher or any person familiar with the HyperStudio¨ software. In this case each child tells a story about their sibling(s) and an audio recording of the story is included in the card. The HyperStudio¨ card stack will be printed to paper and to video for parents to view. A comment and signature page is included with the video and booklet copy and each child will take turns bringing the two items home. The comment and signature page will provide a place for parents to respond to the project in writing. The song "The Sister Song" will be learned and the use of the words sister or brother in the lyrics will be dependent upon the student's sibling(s). A child having no siblings may participate in the project by telling about a cousin.