Pre-K Teaching Center | Weekly Reader: Curriculum-Rich Resources for Teachers

Pre-K Teaching Center

Theme-based learning for preschoolers

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November
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
All Issues

Here is everything you need to teach each week's issue.

Click on the All Issues tab above to find prior issues.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Teach children how some animals survive the cold winter months.

National Standard
Science (NSES)
Characteristics of organisms

Goal
Children will learn about several animals that hibernate.

Objective
Students will be able to match each picture of a hibernating animal with the animal’s name.

Link
Find more ideas for teaching a hibernation unit.

Literature Connection
• Curious George: A Winter’s Nap, by Marcy Goldberg Sacks
• Hedgehog Howdedo, by Lynley Dodd
• Hibernation Station, by Michelle Meadows
• When Will It Snow? by Kathryn White

A Poem to Share
Brown Bear
The brown bear’s eating berries,
All the berries she can pick.
Her tummy’s growing rounder.
Her coat is getting thick.
The bear knows winter’s coming,
And she can hardly wait.
“I think I’ve eaten plenty.
It’s time to hibernate.”
—Sharon Siegelman

Before Reading
Make Predictions: Display the cover of the issue, and then read the title. Ask: What will we be learning about in this issue? Will we be learning about people sleeping or animals sleeping? How do you know?

Background Information
• During the winter, when the weather is cold and food is scarce, some animals hibernate as a way of surviving in those harsher conditions.
• Those animals go into a dormant, or inactive, state. Their body temperature decreases, their breathing becomes irregular, and their hearts beat more slowly.
• Hibernating animals live off the body fat built up in the summer and fall.
• Not all animals hibernate during the winter. Some animals, such as geese, migrate to warmer places. Other animals adapt to the colder weather; for example, the arctic fox grows a coat of thick, warm fur.
• The animals featured in this issue are the hazel dormouse (cover); the dormouse, the ladybug, the chipmunk, the black-spotted frog, the Uinta ground squirrel, and the grizzly bear (pages 2–3); and the ladybug, the brown bear, and the green frog (page 4).

During Reading
Think Critically: Pause as you look at the photos of the animals hibernating. Ask: Have you ever seen a hibernating animal? Why might it be hard to see one?

After Reading
Making Connections: Review the names of the animals in the issue. Then discuss other animals, and ask students whether those animals hibernate. Ask: Why might it be helpful for some animals to sleep all winter? Why would it be difficult for people to do the same?

Science Extension: Obtain several small stuffed animals or pictures of animals. Create small dens and burrows out of shoeboxes. Have a small feast where the children and the “animals” can eat in preparation for winter. Then invite children to place the animals in the dens so that they can hibernate. Explain that the animals will stay there all winter and that they will wake up in the spring. If space allows, keep the animals there until spring. Then have a spring awakening celebration. Note: If using real food for the feast, be aware of allergies.

Art Extension: Display the issue on a bulletin board. Invite children to draw pictures of other animals that hibernate. Hang the pictures on the bulletin board. You may choose to arrange the drawings so that like animals are placed together on the board.

Adaptation: Instead of a hibernation feast, give each child a handful of gummy bears at snack time. Invite children to sort the gummy bears by their colors. After the children have sorted their gummy bears, they can eat them. Note: Be aware of allergies.

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Teach students what their senses are and how they use them to learn about the world around them.

National Standard
Science (NSES)
Characteristics of organisms

Goal
Children will learn how their five senses help them learn about the world around them.

Objective
Children will be able to identify the five senses and the parts of the body responsible for each.

Link
Get more lesson ideas about the five senses.

Literature Connection
• The Five Senses, by Hervé Tullet
• Forest Friends’ Five Senses, by Cristina Garelli
• Me and My Senses, by Joan Sweeney
• My Five Senses, by Aliki
• A Perfect Day: All About the Five Senses, by Kirsten Hall

A Poem to Share
My Senses
These are my eyes that let me see;
This is my tongue that tastes for me.
These are my ears that help me hear;
My hands and skin feel things that are near.
This is my nose that helps me smell.
My senses teach me very well!
—Cynthia Cappetta

Before Reading
Think Critically: Invite children to think of how life would differ if they could not taste or smell. Encourage them to explain how they would feel.

Background Information
• Our five senses enable us to see, smell, taste, touch, and hear things in the world around us.
• We use our skin to determine the temperature or texture of an object. For example, an object can feel rough, smooth, hard, soft, hot, cold, wet, or dry.
• We use our eyes to see images. With our eyes, we can see and read words in books.
• We use our ears to hear sounds. Sounds can be soft or loud. The sound of an alarm is loud. The sound of a fly buzzing is soft.
• We use our noses to smell. Smell travels through our nostrils. Inside our nostrils are olfactory nerves, which send signals to our brains about the things we smell.
• There are many different types of smells. People are able to identify certain foods, perfumes, or flowers by their smells.
• Taste helps us determine the flavor of food. Our tongues have five major tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami.
• Taste is important because it can prevent us from eating foods that have gone bad and might make us sick.

During Reading
Make Connections: Point to the cover photo of the child eating popcorn. Invite students to think of other things that taste good. Then encourage them to think of things that taste bad.

After Reading
Mini Activity: Serve the children popcorn, and invite them to talk about which senses they can use to learn about the popcorn. They should be able to use all five senses. Note: Be aware of allergies.

Kinesthetic Extension: Make a five senses collage. Cut out the large photos of the children exploring with their senses in the Big Issue. Display them on a bulletin board. Invite children to cut out pictures from magazines and newspapers of other things they can explore using their senses. Add those pictures to the board.

Science Extension: Compare the sense of sight with the other senses. Ask: What do we know about a puppy by seeing it? What might we learn about a puppy through our other senses? (It feels soft, we hear it bark, and so on.) Invite each student to choose one animal and draw a picture of it. Then encourage children to talk about the different characteristics of their animals using words that describe the senses.

Adaptation: Make a chart of taste words. Give each child a chance to taste a strawberry (sweet), very dark chocolate (bitter), grapefruit (sour), and a pretzel (salty). Describe each taste, and tell children the name of the taste. Encourage children to say which tastes they like and which they do not like. Note: Be aware of food allergies.

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Discuss the holiday of Thanksgiving, and talk about things children are thankful for.

National Standard
Social Studies (NCSS)
Individuals, groups, and institutions

Goal
Children will learn about the things for which people are thankful and will learn different ways to show thanks.

Objective
Children will be able to name things for which they are thankful. Children will be able to show thanks by saying thank you to another person.

Link
Let children play Thanksgiving-themed online games.

Literature Connection
• The Littlest Pilgrim, by Brandi Dougherty
• 10 Fat Turkeys, by Tony Johnston
• Thanks for Thanksgiving, by Julie Markes
• This Is the Feast, by Diane Z. Shore
• What Is Thanksgiving? by Michelle Medlock Adams

A Poem to Share
The Turkey Dance
I give a little hop,
To the left and to the right,
Then flap my wings,
With all my might.
I lift my chin,
And gobble really loud,
Then fluff my feathers,
To show I’m really proud.
I wiggle my bottom,
And prance, prance, prance,
’Cause that’s how I do
My turkey dance.
—Marie E. Cecchini

Before Reading
Make Predictions: Display the cover of the issue. Ask: What is this child doing? Why, do you think, is he holding a turkey craft? Could it be a special occasion? What special occasion might it be?

Background Information
• In 1620, the Pilgrims came to this land on a ship called the Mayflower.
• They arrived when the weather was cold. They had little food to eat. Native Americans living here gave them shelter and food. They taught the Pilgrims how to grow corn.
• The Pilgrims had a feast in 1621. The feast was a way for the Pilgrims to celebrate the success of the crops and to thank their Native American friends.
• Today, people celebrate Thanksgiving by giving thanks for the people and things that are important to them.
• In the United States, Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. This year we celebrate Thanksgiving on November 24.

During Reading
Think Critically: Draw children’s attention to the sidebar about showing thanks. Invite them to think of other ways they might show thanks to someone who has done something for or given something to them.

After Reading
Make Connections: Explain that many people celebrate Thanksgiving. Ask: What kinds of things do you do to celebrate that holiday?

Mathematics Extension: Give each child a sticky note. Invite him or her to place the sticky note on one of the pictures in the Big Issue that shows something that he or she is thankful for. Once all the children have placed their notes on a photo, count the notes. On an easel pad, draw a simple graph showing the results.

Art Extension: Make Thanksgiving place mats. Cut leaf shapes out of construction paper. Place a large piece of clear contact paper sticky side up in front of each child. Invite children to place the leaves on the paper. When each child is done, stick another piece of contact paper on top of the leaves. Use the place mats during your school Thanksgiving feast.

Adaptation: Invite each child to place a large tissue paper leaf shape on a piece of clear contact paper (about 5 inches by 8 inches). Place a second piece of clear contact paper on top, and then help the child cut around the leaf. Attach a string for hanging. Send the project home with a note explaining that it should be hung in a window where it will catch sunlight.

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Engage students in a lesson about transportation.

National Standard
Social Studies (NCSS)
People, places, and environments

Goal
Children will learn about some of the different ways people get around.

Objective
Children will be able to identify several different types of vehicles, such as cars, buses, boats, planes, and trains.

Link
Find songs, lessons, and other resources for teaching about transportation.

Literature Connection
• If I Built a Car, by Chris Van Dusen
• Maisy’s Book of Things That Go, by Lucy Cousins
• Moon Plane, by Peter McCarty
• My Truck Is Stuck! by Kevin Lewis
• Red Light, Green Light, by Anastasia Suen

A Poem to Share
Wheels, Wheels
Wheels, wheels,
They’re always round.
They run so smoothly
On the ground.
Wheels, wheels,
Help move the trains,
The wheelbarrows,
And jet airplanes,
And bikes, and cars,
And trailers too …
Wheels, wheels,
Have much to do!
—Vivian Gouled

Before Reading
Make Predictions: Display the cover of the issue. Ask: What pictures do you see on the cover? What do you think this issue is going to be about? What do you expect to see inside?

Background Information
• People travel in many different ways.
• Some people walk. Others travel by car, bike, train, boat, or plane, as well as other ways.
• Different vehicles can help people travel on land, over water, and in the air.
• Some ways that we travel are faster than others. A car is faster than a bike. A train is faster than a car. Ask: What might be faster than a train?
• Some ways of travel are better for the environment. Cars, trucks, and boats create air and water pollution by burning fuel. Walking or riding a bicycle does not cause pollution.
• Some people use animals to travel. Invite children to think of animals that help people get around (horses, camels, sled dogs, and so on).

During Reading
Make Connections: Ask children to identify any of the vehicles shown that they have traveled in. Encourage them to think of ways they have traveled that are not shown in the issue.

After Reading
Think Critically: Explain that vehicles such as cars are good ways to travel if you have to go far, but they can make the air dirty. Ask: What might be a better way to travel if you need to go only a short distance?

Social Studies Extension: Cut out the pictures of the vehicles from page 8. Laminate the pieces for durability. Make three small posters showing a road, a train track, and water. Encourage children to match each vehicle piece with the correct setting. You may choose to find photos of other vehicles, such as trucks, helicopters (in this case, create a fourth poster or the sky), or motorcycles, to add to the activity.

Science Extension: Provide toy models or photos of several different types of cars, trucks, boats, and aircraft. Invite children to sort the vehicles by type, color, size, or other criteria.

Creative Play/Fine Motor Skills Extension: Add a thin coat of petroleum jelly to several toy cars, and place them in a sand table. The petroleum jelly will make the sand stick to the cars. Encourage children to make the cars as dirty as possible. Then invite students to wash the cars at the water table.

Adaptation: Use the toy vehicles or photos from the science activity above. Write the name of each kind of vehicle on an index card. For those children who can identify sight words, invite them to match each vehicle with the correct card.

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