The Line Up Book, by Marisabina Russo

Sam is busy lining things up. This story can be used to teach line order as well as categories of objects.

Materials

Pictures of items found in different rooms of house.
3 Skeins of yarn
Roll of masking tape
Clothes pins that clip shut and yarn for clothes line
Several rulers

Vocabulary

Line

Before Reading the Story

Open up the cover of the book so that the children can see the line of objects that Sam has made. Ask them to name what is in the front of the line (the duck), what is at the end of the line? Continue asking what is beside the turtle, behind the boot, in front of the cement truck?

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Reading the Story

On the page where Sam begins lining up books, ask the children what they think Sam is doing? On the page where Sam is in the living room and needs one more thing, ask the children if they can guess what he might use to finish his line?

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experience; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they can remember the first thing Sam used to make his line? What did he used second? Third? Fourth? Fifth? Last?

Discovery

Put out the timeline pictures of the little girl. Can the children put them in correct order? Let them talk about things they thought they could do when they were the age of the girl in the picture.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to sort, put in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as shape or size. AND Science/Scientific Knowledge; develops growing awareness of ideas and language related to attributes of time and temperature.

Music and Movement

Make lines on the floor using masking tape. The children can begin at one end of a line and walk backwards, jump, tip toe, etc. to the other end.

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

On pieces of paper write numbers one through however many children are in your class. Put the numbers in a line. Ask a child to go stand on number 1, ask the the next child to go stand on number 2, through all the numbers. Mix up the order you call the children so that they get practice standing on all the numbers over time.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increasing ability to count to 10 and beyond.

Teach the children the Peanut Butter & Jelly Song. Make up actions to go along with the words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L39J7jCoVKY

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

Blocks

Put out the wood alphabet blocks today and a poster showing each of the letters. The children then match the block to the appropriate square on the poster. How many letters can they name?

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; shows progress in associating the names of letters with their shapes and sounds.

Art

Use the line card and cut into individual strips for the children to use for cutting practice. http://www.attentionworksheets.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/IMAGES-Scissor-Skills-Worksheets-COLLECTION-1.pdf

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Put out several rulers and colored pencils. SHow the children how to hold the ruler on the paper to make a straight line. Encourage them to fill the paper with many straight lines.

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.

Library and Writing

Use the line card and let the children follow along with markers or pencils.

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.

Sand and Water

Damp sand and things that the children can use to draw and make lines in the sand (unsharpened pencil, plastic fork, pizza cutter, play dough cutters, etc. As they play, ask them if they can make a straight line, a curved line, a zig-zag line, and a loopy line. Can they write the letters of their name in the damp sand?

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary. AND Literacy/Early Writing; experiments with a growing variety of writing tools and materials, such as pencils, crayons, and computers. AND Literacy/Early Writing; progresses from using scribbles, shapes, or pictures to represent ideas, to using letter-like symbols, to copying or writing familiar words such as their own name.

Dramatic Play

Add a clothes line to the center today using yarn and clothes pins that clip. If it is winter add mittens for the children to clip[ on the line. Otherwise have the children clip on doll clothes.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Math and Manipulatives

Have the children name and sort pictures from different rooms in the house.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing abilities to classify, compare and contrast objects, events, and experiences.

Outdoor Play

Make an obstacle course for the children to follow. Use the skein of yarn to go under, over, and around objects on the playground. Explain to the children that they are to follow the yarn to know where to go next.

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

Transitions

As you line up to go to outside or to the bathroom tell the children that ___ is first and then ___ can be second. Have all the children count the children as they line up.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increasing ability to count to 10 and beyond. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.