Transportation-Land

ABC Center: Sentence Trains--Print the train tracks page and cut into strips. Each child will need 2 strips. To complete the activity, students glue two tracks together on a sentence strip. They cut out train cars to build a sentence and glue on the tracks.

Train Tracks Page

Train Cars (hard, easy, blank)

Math: Shape Vehicles--Students cut out shapes from the shape pages and use the shapes to create vehicles. Optional: provide art supplies for decorating vehicles.

Writing: Kindergarten Driver's License--you will need to have student photos available for this. Students complete information on the driver's license. I usually provide charts with their addresses, phone numbers, height, and weight for them to use as a reference.

Art: Transportation Collage using Transportation Stamps from OTC: Provide students with a large sheet of paper. Students draw/paint air/land/water on the paper and then stamp the vehicles in the correct place. If desired, have students label the vehicles.

To Town

(Centers provided by Baltimore County Public Schools)

Day 1: Build background--brainstorm methods of transportation. Place on web. Read story. Add to web after reading.

 Transportation pictures

Day 2: Classification--Review web. Reread story using cloze technique. Using toy vehicles or pictures (above), classify vehicles as air, land, water. Have students sort vehicles on the sorting sheet.

 Classification Mat    Pictures for sorting

Day 3: Make a Class book based on the story (prewriting). Prepare a 3 column chart (on chart paper) ahead of time. Label the columns "Colors", "Sounds", and "Places".  Reread book to make a list of describing words (colors) and sounds. Add student suggestions to list. Save this chart for Day 4.

Day 4: Make a Class book based on the story (writing). Review the chart from yesterday and the transportation web from Day 1. Complete the third column on the chart "Places" by having students brainstorm ideas of places to go. Have each student create a page for the book by following the pattern in the story and substituting new colors, vehicles, and places.

 Class Book page    Class Book Cloze Page

ABC: Key Chains--Students cut out key shapes and pictures. Students match the words/letters with the pictures and glue the pictures to the keys. They can use a hole puncher to punch a hole in each key and string them on a piece of yarn. As simple as this project is my kids LOVE it...we tie their key rings to their belt loops.

CVC Version     CVC pics

Beg. Sound Version    Beg Sd Pics

ABC: See Race Car Number Tiles on www.makinglearningfun.com

Math:

What Number Comes Before?--created using pieces from a file folder game. Students place the wheels to show the number that comes before.

Science: Racing Ramps (see Science Center Activites)

Students will respond to text by drawing, speaking, dramatizing, or writing.

Lesson Plan and Materials (search for K and then scroll down)

Students will be able to categorize modes of transportation by clicking and dragging pictures on a template.

Lesson Plan and Materials (search for K and then scroll down)

Transportation-Air

ABC Center: Airplane Cloze Sentences (picture clues)--Students use the pictures on each page of this plane-shaped book to fill in the words missing in each sentence. To make an easier version, reduce the number of pages.

Math: 

Airplane Addition--Students solve problems and match plane cut outs to the answers on the clouds.

Writing: What Can Fly?--Students fill in the words to match the pictures. The harder version has the words "can fly" missing as well.

Easy Version     Harder Version

Helper Page

Art: Craft Stick Airplane--each student will need a large craft stick, 4 small craft sticks, 3 black beads, several "holes" from a paper punch, and a tiny square of aluminum foil. Students use the diagram below to construct their planes. If desired, have students glue on the words to label their airplanes.

Diagram     Word Labels

Dan Goes Home

(Centers provided by Baltimore County Public Schools)

Day 1: Build background/make predictions--have students recall what they remember about Dan the Flying Man (read in November) and make predictions. Read story stopping on page 13. Have students predict what Dan will do--have students discuss with partners then have a few volunteers share. Have students write what they think Dan will do on the writing paper. Graph or tally responses if desired. Finish reading the story and check predictions.

Day 2: Recalling details from the text--Reread the story. Have students name ways that Dan imagines traveling. Using pages 16-17 from the Wright Group Lesson Plan, have students recall details from the text.

Day 3: Identify sight words--Reread the story. Have word cards prepared for the following sight words: will, he, go, by, in, a as well as picture cards from the text. Locate these words in the text. Provide pairs of students with word cards in a bag. Have students put these in order to make sentences that you dictate and make on the pocket chart. Have individual students sequence words to form sentences on the assessment page.

Assessment page      Cards for assessment

St. Patrick's Day

Math: Lucky Charm Graphing--Provide students with a bag of Lucky Charms cereal (be sure to buy the REGULAR kind ... sometimes they have fancy ones and the shapes will not match), a sorting mat, and the graph. Students sort and graph the marshmallows.

Math: Addition Puzzle--Students solve the addition problems and glue the puzzles pieces that match the answers to make a St. Patrick's Day picture. The set includes regular addition and 3 digit addition.

Math: Subtraction Mat (thematic part/part/whole mat)

Science: Color Mixing Paddles (see Science Center Activities page)

ABC Center:

Pot of Gold (CVC words)

ABC Center:

Shamrock Race (beginning sounds)

Math:

Shamrock Addition--I spray painted lima beans for this but you could also use those "gems" from the Dollar Store.

Art:

Rainbow Magnet

Direction Sheet

Transportation-Water

ABC Center: "ug" Word Family Stamping--Students use letter stamps or letter tiles to spell the words.

Math:

Sailboat Subtraction--Students solve problems and match boat cut outs to the answers on the waves.

Writing: Going to an Island (from Think, Do, and Read Mini Books published by Instructional Fair)

Art: Watercolor Fish: Cut fish shapes out of coffee filters. Have students use eyedroppers to put liquid watercolors on the fish. OTC has liquid watercolors available as well as nylon net shaped fish.

Grandpa, Grandpa

(Centers provided by Baltimore County Public Schools)

Day 1: Build background--discuss fishing. Make predictions about the story. Read the story. Begin a list of "Things in the Sea" by adding those from the story.

Day 2: Making an innovation--Prepare a background and add main text: "Children, children come with me. Let's go exploring in the sea. What will we look for? What will we see?". Reread the story...have students hold up number word cards as the story is read. Have students think/pair/share other things that are in the sea to add to the list from Day 1. When the list is finished, have children choose one animal to illustrate for the mural. Provide art materials (paint, markers, crayons) for students to use to create their animals. Have students complete the sentence "We see a ___." to post under their animal.

Day 3: Word Families (et)--Reread story using character voices. Locate the words "get" and "wet" in the text. Put those word cards in the pocket chart and have children tell you what they notice (rhyming, same letters at the end). Use letter cards to build other "et" words. Have students use stamps to complete "et" books (fold in half horizontally then vertically).

Day 4: Sink and Float--Prepare pocket chart cards, objects, pocket chart, and clean see-through container ahead of time. Read a sinking/floating book (Floating and Sinking, What Floats, Is It Floating...all by Wright Group). Discuss the meaning of floating and sinking. Show students test objects. Have them predict if they think an object will sink or float by showing EPR card. Place card on the pocket chart to show prediction. Test prediction and place card on chart to show results. Compare predictions and results--use check cards to show which predictions were confirmed.

ABC: Sailboat puzzles--Students match the CVC words or beginning sounds to pictures to make sailboats. Optional: Provide students with craft sticks to use as masts.

CVC       Beginning Sounds

ABC: Fish puzzles--Students match the CVC words or beginning sounds to pictures to make fish. Optional: Have students complete the project on blue paper. Provide yarn to use as seaweed.

CVC       Beginning Sounds

Science: Sinking and Floating (see shared reading lesson Day 4 on the left)

Students will respond to text by drawing, speaking, dramatizing, or writing.  

Lesson Plan and Materials (search for K and then scroll down)

Transportation-Space

ABC:

Sponge Painting/Labeling

Math: Countdown Number Sequencing--Have students cut and glue the rockets to a vertical sentence strip to count backwards from 10.

Writing: Use space themed paper. Have students write an imaginative story about a trip to space. Optional: Attach the writing to the space paintings for a display.

Art:

Milk Carton rockets

Directions

The Jigaree

(Centers provided by Baltimore County Public Schools)

Day 1: Build background/make predictions--discuss outer space (how to get there, what we might see). Read story modeling the following strategies: (sight words, picture clues, small words in a larger word--"ing" words).

Day 2: Recalling details from the text--Reread the story with motions. Have students name actions of the Jigaree. Make a class list. Using pages 18-19 from the Wright Group Lesson Plan, have students recall details from the text to make take-home books.

Day 3: Identify sight words--Reread the story. Try singing the story to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?".  Have word cards prepared for the following sight words: I, can, see, it, is, me, here, there*, after* (* for students who have already mastered the kindergarten words). Locate these words in the text. Provide pairs of students with letter cards in a bag and a word mat. Have students put these letters in order to spell sight words that you dictate/show. Have individual students cut out letters to spell words on the Jigaree paper (two levels).

Easy Words     Harder Words    Wings for Jigaree

Day 4: Reread the story--have students take parts to read. Discuss speech bubbles and how they can show what a character is saying. Use speech bubble cutouts (print 2 copies). Have students suggest what the boy might say to the Jigaree throughout the story; write these suggestions on the speech bubbles. Tape these speech bubbles to the pages. Discuss what the boys family might say to him on the last page. Have individual students make a speech bubble for this page on the writing paper.

Day 5: (Science/Social Studies Connection) Read and discuss a story about space exploration that shows the space shuttle (Lift Off, Big Silver Space Shuttle, etc). On a space shuttle cutout, identify and label the parts of the space shuttle. Watch the space shuttle launch (actual launch and cartoon versions--see links page on the right). Create the space shuttle snack with students focusing on the names of the parts. Use the snack to reenact the launch sequence. Sequence the steps in the launch on the space shuttle paper.

Sequencing Paper 1

Sequencing Paper2      Pics for Sequencing Paper 2

Teacher Directions for Snack

Student Direction Page for Snack

Writing: Rocket Ship Writing Paper--Blank writing paper

Math: Rocket Ship Tangram Puzzle

Math: Rocket Ship pattern block puzzle

*Great Space Links--Technology Integration

*NASA 3...2...1...Liftoff Educator's Guide (many of the graphics in this unit came from this guide)