Children seem to like this silly story about a girl named Sally who went to town walking backwards upside down.

Materials

• A carnation flower or Queen Anne’s Lace. If no flower, a celery stalk
• Food coloring
• Pictures of Silly Sally characters

Vocabulary

• Backwards (to not face the front but the back)
• Upside down (where the upper part is where the lower part should be)
• Silly (to be goofy or foolish)

Before Reading the Story

            Bring to the rug a variety of classroom objects with sets of two that begin with the same letter sound (car and crayon, pencil and purple piece of paper, block and bear counter).  Put out the set plus one other item (car, crayon, pencil).  Name the objects and ask the children which one has a different beginning sound.  Do this several times until the children get the hang of the game.  Then ask the children if they can think of two words that begin with the same letter sound.  Write the children’s responses on a piece of paper.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows growing awareness of beginning and ending sounds in words.

Reading the Story

            On a second reading, have the children act out the actions.  They can walk backwards with their heads hung low instead of on their hands.

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

After Reading the Story

            Ask the children to answer questions about the story. Silly Sally went to town, walking which way upside down?  Silly Sally danced a jig with this very silly___?  Silly Sally played leap frog with this very silly ___?  Silly Sally sang a tune, with this very silly ___?  Silly Sally fell asleep with this very silly ___?  Along came Ned Buttercup walking ____?

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and predict what will happen next in a story. AND Literacy/Phonological Awareness; progresses in recognizing matching sounds and rhymes in familiar words, songs, stories, and poems.

Discovery

            There are lots of flowers in the story.  Put a carnation or Queen Anne’s lace into a vase of water.  Add a few drops of food coloring and predict what the children think will happen.  Observe it for a day or two and see if their predictions come true.  You can talk about how all living things need water.  People drink water through their mouths.  Plants are also alive and need water.  They drink theirs through their roots and stems.

Science/Scientific SKills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations. AND Science/Scientific Knowledge; shows increased awareness and beginning understanding of changes in materials and cause-effect relationships.

Music and Movement

            Teach the children a tongue twister; Silly Sally snake slithered slowly down the slippery slope on a sunny summer’s day.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness;associates sounds with written words, such as awareness that different words begin with the same sound.

            Sing Down By the Bay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CSxGHve60E

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

            Do the following finger-hand play.  Follow the movements accordingly.

Up and Down, round and round

I put my  fingers on the ground

Over, under, in between

Now my fingers can’t be seen!

Hands in front, hands behind

Now my  hands you  can not find!

Here’s my left hand, here’s my right

My hands and fingers are back in sight.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; builds an increasing understanding of directionality, order, and positions of objects, and words such as up, down, over, under, top, bottom, inside, outside, in front, behind.

 Blocks

            In the story there is a bridge that goes into town.  Encourage the children to make a bridge and line up the people or animals across it. Can they make a long bridge? A tall bridge? A bridge using only one size block? How many people fit onto their bridge? Can they make oine that will fit more?

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; begins to make comparisons between several objects based on a single attribute.

Art

            Tape pieces of drawing paper to the underside of the art table.  Put the markers or crayons in a basket under the table.  The children can lie on their backs under the table and draw upside down.

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation. AND Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in a increasing variety of tasks and activities.

Sand and Water

Put magnet letters into the sand today. Give the children spoons or tongs to search for the letters. As they pull a letter out, can they name it? Can they name another letter that rhymes with it?

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; identifies at least 10 letters of the alphabet, especially those in their own name. AND Literacy/Phonological Awareness; progresses in recognizing matching sounds and rhymes in familiar words, games, songs, and poems.

Library and Writing

            Bring out letters to trace or stamp.  Ask the children to find the first letter of their name and trace it/stamp it.  Ask them if they can think of a word that begins with that letter sound.  Write their name and the word beside one another.  As they trace more letters, ask them to think of two words that begin with that letter sound.

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; identifies at least 10 letters of the alphabet, especially those in their own name. AND Literacy/Phonological Awareness; progresses in recognizing matching sounds and rhymes in familiar words, games, songs, and poems

Dramatic Play

Add some silly hats and bow ties to the center.  Encourage the children to dress up silly.  Put the coat on backwards and two different shoes, add a bow tie and a silly hat.

Math and Manipulatives

Make a game using the Silly Sally pictures. Give each child a picture. Start by saying, “Everybody upside down”. The children turn their card so the figure is upside down to them. Continue playing by calling upside down or right side up. The children must move their picture accordingly. Try to trick them by calling upside down twice in a row, etc..

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

Outdoor Play

            Help the children to feel what it is like to walk on their hands, upside down.  Have them bend over, the teacher holds their ankles up in the air and they can try to walk on their hands several feet.

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

Transitions

            Send children off to the next activity with instructions to do a silly movement to get there.  As they go say, “Silly Serry went to town, walking on her knees.  Silly Soger went to town, jumping like a frog,” etc

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

Resources