This is a fun rhyming book that incorporates color and size.  It is a Dr. Suess Beginner Book and children all delight in this funny animal’s spot adventure.

Vocabulary

• Spots (little daubs of color)
• Zoo (a wildlife park where you can find many kinds of wild animals)

Materials Needed

• Cardboard or poster board
•  Music cd
•  Non-fiction animal book
• Bag of M&M’s or colored marking chips
• Bar Graph
• Picture of animal without spots

Introducing the story

Begin a conversation about the clothes that the children are wearing. Is anyone wearing red? green? blue? Is anyone wearing stripes? spots? a pattern? Show the children the cover of the book and ask them if they can guess what the story might be about. Can you guess which shape our story is about? (circle). Can you tell me anything else? (It’s about an animal, it has colors).

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.

Reading the Story

Slow down at the end of each page to see if the children can guess the rhyming word by listening to the clue.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; progresses in recognizing matching sounds and rhymes in familiar words, games, stories, songs, and poems.

After Reading the Story

            Talk about spots.  What animals can they think of that have spots?  Do people have spots (freckles, birthmarks)?  What else can you think of that has spots?  Make a list of all the things they think of and attach it to the wall.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; Develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects and materials.

Music & Movement

Use any color or shape songs that you have taught the children. Three Primary Colors https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu44JRTIxSQ Shapes Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6eTDfkvPmo

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Ask the children to make a large group circle and then do group circle songs such as Looby Loo or Hokey Pokey. Can they form a circle with only verbal cues?

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multi-step directions.

Discovery

Bring in non-fiction books about animals. Challenge the children to look at the various animals for comparisons. (Can you find two animals with stripes? Can you find two animals with bumpy skin? Can you find some with spots?).

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; Develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects and materials.

Blocks

            Make a sign that says ZOO on an index card.  Show it to the children and tell them that you are going to put it in the block corner for the day.  Encourage the children to make a zoo by sorting like animals together and making enclosures around them.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as shape or size. AND Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; shows growing capacity to maintain concentration over time on a task, question, or set of directions or interactions despite distractions and interruptions.

Art

Ask the children to draw a picture of where they would put their spots if they could put them anywhere. After they have drawn their picture, use a stamp pad to make finger print dots on top. Dictate their responses. (I would put spots on my baby brother. I would put spots on the car).

Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experiences through pictures, dictation, and in play.

Sand & Water

  Cut out a variety of circle sizes from cardboard.  Put these in the sand table.  Ask the children to sift through the sand to find all the circles.  Have them sort them by size.  With younger children you could cut out various color poster board and have them sort by color. 

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to determine whether or not two shapes are the same size.

Library and Writing

                  Cut out several 2 inch circles from cardboard.  Show the children how to hold it on a piece of paper and trace around it.  Encourage them to name the shape. 

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Before the children begin cutting out circles, remind them about how to carry and use scissors correctly. 

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; builds awareness and ability to follow basic health and safety rules such as fire safety, traffic and pedestrian safety, and responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities.

Ask the children to write one letter from their name on each circle as they cut them out (Kerry would need to cut out 5 circles).

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; identifies at least 10 letters of the alphabet, especially those in their own name. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools, including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushes, and various types of technology.

Math and Manipulatives

            Bring in a large bag of M&M’s, or a variety of colored chips. Give each child 10 and a bar graph.  Ask the children to sort the M&M’s onto a graph.    Ask them which color has the most?  How many greens do you have?  How many altogether?  Who in the group has the most brown’s?  Which is your favorite color?  When you are finished you can have them eat and count. 

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color or size. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as more, less, greater than, fewer, and equal to.

Outdoor Play

            On the playground lay hoola hoops on the ground.  Encourage the children to jump from hoop to hoop.  Play in the hoop, out of the hoop. 

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Transitions

Dismiss the children to the next activity by color. If you’re wearing yellow go wash your hands, line-up, or choose your center.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Resources