The Mixed-Up Chameleon, Eric Carle

Materials

Poster Board with a simple rainbow design drawn across (see blocks)
Books or pictures off the Internet that show animals camouflaged into the environment.
26-52 Popsicle sticks
Insect page
Chameleons page

Vocabulary

Camouflage (when an animal blends in with the world all around him)
Mixed-up (to be confused about something)

Before Reading the Story

Put a piece of paper on the wall and ask the children what their favorite animal is. Ask them to tell you something that makes that animals really special. Write their response on the paper. I would like to be a ________because______ (A big dog because I could jump on my brother, A butterfly because I could fly).

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Reading the Story

As you introduce the story, hold up the cover and ask the children what do they think it means to be a mixed up chameleon. If no one can answer, explain that to be mixed up means to be confused about something. Ask the children if they can predict what the chameleon might be confused/mixed-up about. As you turn to each new page and the chameleon wishes to be another animal, pause and see if the children can name the animal first.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to describe and discuss predictions, explanations, and generalizations based of past experiences.

After Reading the Story

Go to the last page of the story (the one with the rainbow). Can the children name the animals and the colors? Ask, “Which animal is the color blue? Which animal has wings? “ Look on your chart from before reading to see if any of the children’s animals matched the ones in the story.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Discovery

Bring in pictures or books that show animals camouflaged in nature. Use these to generate discussion of different ways that animals camouflage into their environment.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction and non-fiction books and poetry. ALSO Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Music and Movement

Sing Everybody Do This to the tune of Mammy’s Little Baby (Pick a motion/action for all to follow)

Everybody do this, do this, do this,

Everybody do this just like me.

Everybody do this, do this, do this,

Everybody do this just like me.

(Now choose a child to lead)

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.

Sing The Rainbow Song (bring pieces of construction paper to hold up as you name the colors while singing) https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/songs/childrens/sing-a-rainbow/index.htm

Red and yellow and pink and green,

Purple and orange and blue,

Black, brown and white

I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow,

Sing a rainbow. Can you?

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

Blocks

On a piece of poster paper make a simple rainbow using the colors of a block set you have (Legos, Duplo’s, unifix cubes, or small colored wooden blocks). Put out the blocks and encourage the children to match the colors and fill in the rainbow.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Art

Ahead of time, use the chameleons’ page to make chameleons of different colors and cut out. Put these out on the art table with plenty of supplies for the children to collage. Explain to the children what the word camouflage means. You might even bring in a picture of an animal/s that are camouflaged in natural settings. Give each child a chameleon. Challenge the children to camouflage their chameleon within their picture?

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

Library and writing

Use the list that the children made during the ‘Before Reading the Story’ Session. Encourage them to draw their animal. Write the name of their animal on a piece of paper and ask them to try to copy the animals name onto their picture.

Literacy/Book Knowledge and Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading-related activities, such as asking to have a favorite book read; choosing to look at books; drawing pictures based on stories; asking to take books home.

Cut out/around each insect on the page. Write an alphabet letter on each one. Take a loop of tape and attach to the insect at one end. Attach a loop of tape to the end of a Popsicle stick. Explain to the children that the chameleon has a very long and sticky tongue like a frog. Tell the children that they are going to pretend the Popsicle stick is their long and sticky tongue and to see if they can pick up letters with it. Make small cards ahead of time with a letter written on it. The child can match the letter to an insect. Ask the child to find a letter that is in their name. To make this more challenging, we have done this with party blowers by attaching the tape to the end and then the children blow it causing it to unroll and catch an insect. You can also include several numbers to see if the children can distinguish letters-numbers.

Literacy/Alphabet knowledge; knows that letters of the alphabet are a special category of visual graphics that can be individually named.

Sand and Water

Put small animals and sand in the table today. Give the children tongs to use to poke around in the sand and pick up the animals. Can they name the animals that they have picked up?

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

Dramatic Play

Put out any dress-ups that you might have that represent animals. (We have tiger striped gloves, a scarf with a snake looking skin design, several animal tales, and a chicken suit.) Again, take your list of the children’s favorite animal and why. This time ask them to act their animal out. Can they remember any of the animals in the story? What did these animals have that made them special? Can the children act out these animals?

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 to predict what will happen next in a story.

Math and Manipulatives

Make many chameleons and color them in 1-3 different colors. Use these to make patterns for the children to copy. ABAB, ABCABC,ACCBACCA. Encourage the children to try to make their own pattern for you to copy.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, and extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Outdoor

Play Simon Says using colors. “If you’re wearing red, jump across the yard. If you’re wearing purple skip across the yard.”

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

As the children go to the next activity, ask them to think about and respond to the following sentence; ‘I like to be me because I can__________. ‘ Write their responses on another piece of large paper and hang next to the first chart.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.

Dear Parent- Today we read a story that involved many colors. Think of two colors that your child may not be too sure about and go together on a color hunt looking for that/those colors around the house.

Resources

A Grand Old Tree, Mary Newell DePalma

This is the story of a tree’s life cycle, how it lived and was a home to many animals. This is a good book to use to introduce a tree unit or to be used to talk about animal homes.

Materials

Tree trunk shape
Collect a variety of leaves from different kinds of trees.
1 large pinecone per child, peanut butter, plastic knives, and a bag of birdseed.
Collect a bag of leaves (green or colored) to use in dramatics, make sure that they are NOT poisonous.

Vocabulary

Grand (outstanding and wonderful)
Scurried (to run back and forth)
Sowed (spread or plant seeds around)
Bask (to lift up your head to the sun and feel its warmth.

Before Reading the Story

Bring in a variety of items that are made from wood or trees. Say, “Guess what all these items have in common? They are made from trees! Trees give of wood to make many things and also foods to eat”. Talk to the children about what each thing is. Say thank you tree as you introduce each item. (paper, pencil, bowl, chair, book, cardboard, chocolate, many fruits, etc).

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Reading the Story

Show the children the cover of the book and ask them if they know what the word grand means. Tell them that it means something or someone who is really wonderful. Ask them if they can think of what would make a tree really wonderful (It makes apples, I can swing on the swing that my Dad made on the branch, I climb the tree in my yard). Introduce the story.

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

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they can recall any of the animals that lived in the tree. Can they think of any other animals that might live in a tree?

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Discovery

Bring in pictures or objects of things that come from a tree. (Things made of wood and also paper). Also pictures of animals that make their home in trees. Add parts of trees to the center for the children to explore (bark, seed pods, leaves, branch, birds nest). Give the children magnifying glasses to look more closely at the tree parts. Help them to name the various parts of the tree. Talk to the children about the importance of trees.

Science/Scientific Skills & Method; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.

Music and Movement

Have the children act out parts of the story. Ask them to show you what it looks like to sink your roots deep into the soil; reach your branches high into the sky, sway in the breeze and dance in the wind. Show what cracking looks like and falling down.

Put on the song If I Were A Tree video by Jason Mesches. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mt79JW9u18

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; participates in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise that enhance physical fitness.

Do the 5 Little Monkeys in the Tree finger play.

5 little monkeys swing from the tree, Hold up 5 fingers

Teasing Mr. Alligator, You can’t catch me! Hold hands by ears making nah nahs

You can’t catch me! You can’t catch me! Say in teasing voice with nah nahs

Slowly Mr Alligator comes, Put hands together to make an alligator head

Slow as slow can be Move alligator around

And snapped that monkey right out of the tree! Snap hands

4, 3, 2, 1, 0 monkeys but Mr. Alligator is full.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems. AND Mathematics/Numbers & Operation; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Blocks

Remind the children that the blocks are made from wood and that wood comes from trees!

Art

Give each child a tree trunk shape and a variety of collage materials. Let them decorate the trunks to represent a tree in various seasons or stages of its life. Or cut out 4 large trees about three feet tall and have the children work together to make classroom trees depicting the seasons.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; approaches tasks and activities with increased flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness. AND Creative Arts/Art; progresses in abilities to create drawings, paintings, models, and other at creations that are more detailed, creative, or realistic.

Writing and Library

Encourage the children to write with pencils today. As they write remind them pencils come from wood and wood comes from trees!

Literacy/Early Writing; experiments with a growing variety of writing tools and materials such as pencils, crayons, and computers.

Ask the children to write a thank you letters to a tree and illustrate. (Thank you for pears that I like to eat, Thank you for letting me climb on you, Birds thank you)

Literacy/ Early Writing; develops an understanding that writing is a way of communicating for varied purposes.

Sand and Water

Add pieces of bark to the water and pretend that they are boats. How many small bear manipulatives can the child put onto the boat without sinking it. Try adding leaves, can the bears float on these?

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination such as building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Dramatic Play

Add a large bowl of leaves to the center and encourage the children to pretend that they are food.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; approaches tasks and activities with increased flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness.

Math and Manipulatives

Put out your other bag of leaves and let the children sort them in various ways.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; Shows growth in matching, sorting putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Outdoors

If you have a tree on your playground, go out and examine it. Look for signs of animal life. Look and ask the children to help the parts of the tree. Give the tree a thank you hug.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge if and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Let the children use the plastic knives to spread peanut butter onto the pinecones. Then have them roll the pinecone in the birdseed and attach a string. Hang these in a nearby tree as snacks for the birds.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; shows growing capacity to maintain concentration over time on a task, question, set of directions or interactions, despite distractions or interruptions.

Transitions

As each child gets up to go to the next activity, ask them to say, “Thank you tree for ___________”. Encourage the children to try to think of a variety of objects and foods that come from a tree.

Science/Scientific Skills Knowledge; shows increased awareness and beginning understanding of changes in materials and cause-effect relationships.

Have the children look around the room and name objects in your classroom that come from trees. Remind them that things made from wood or paper are the products of trees.

Science/Scientific Skills Knowledge; shows increased awareness and beginning understanding of changes in materials and cause-effect relationships.

Dear Parent- Today we read a story about a tree and all the animals that lived in the tree. Ask your child to help you name animals that might live in a tree. Then ask your child what else does a tree give us? (Think of wood and paper products and foods).

Resources

Abuelo and The Three Bears, by Jerry Tello

This is the classic Three Bears but with a multi-culture twist. Read the original story and then use this to compare.

Materials

Tortillas, beans, salsa
Popsicle sticks
Bear Masks
Hot and cold cards

Vocabulary

At the end of the story all the Spanish words are translated.
Grumpy (grouchy and in a bad mood)
Stubborn (very determined and going to do it your way no matter what)
Family Reunion (when all the members of an extended family get together for a party)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children if they ever have large family meals or meals where relatives and friends come to eat. What kinds of things do your parents make for these meals? (My Dad cooks spaghetti and Uncle Mark comes to my house, When Grandma came at Christmas we had turkey and cookies).

Reading the Story

Make sure you stop and help the children understand the Spanish words.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands a n increasingly complex and varies vocabulary.

After Reading the Story

Make a venn diagram and compare this story with the traditional Three bears. What are the similarities, what are the differences?

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction and non-fiction books and poetry.

Discovery

Bring in some tortillas and salsa for the children to try. Make some frijoles to put onto the tortillas. If a child is a picky eater, encourage them to try a new food.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks and projects.

Music and Movement

Sing People in a Family, sung to Frere Jaques. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FXH36epPnY

People in a family, people in a family

Eat together, eat together

People in a family, eat together

All day long, all day long.

People in a family, people in a family

Laugh together, laugh together

People in a family, laugh together

All day long, all day long

(ask the children to help think of other things that families do together.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; progresses in understanding similarities and respecting differences among people such as genders, race, special needs, culture, language, and family structures. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.

Tap out patterns in sets of three and see if the children can copy you. (3 claps or 1 clap, 2 stamps, etc.)

Creative Arts/Movement; shows growth in moving in time to different patterns of beat and rhythm in music.

Blocks

Challenge the children to make a bed and/or a chair for blocks big enough for a stuffed animal and then themselves.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; demonstrates increasing ability to set goals and develop and follow through on plans. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning and Problem Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, in trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults.

Art

Remind the children that Abuelo said Trencitas came back later to glue Ositos chair back together. Put out Popsicle sticks and glue and ask the children if they can build something from wood.

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Library and Writing

Have the children dictate a recipe that their parent cooks to you. They can either draw the food or find a picture and cut it out. (My Mom makes me tuna sandwiches. She opens the can and puts it in a bowl. Put in 5 spoons of mayonnaise and some little pickle pieces. She puts a shake of that stinky stuff and mixes it all together. I like to eat it on bread with cheese).

Sand and Water

Add dampened sand to the table today and some cooking utensils and plates. The children can pretend to cook various foods.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Dramatic Play

Add three bear masks and encourage the children to act out this or the traditional version of the three bears story. Add three bowls, three chairs and three blankets to represent beds.

Math and Manipulatives

Sort things by those that are hot and those that are cold.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as shape or size.

Outdoor Play

Encourage the children to have a family reunion. Help them figure what role they will play (aunt, grandparent, cousin, baby, father, etc).

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; progresses in understanding similarities and respecting differences among people such as genders, race, special needs, culture, language, and family structures.

Transitions

As the children go off to the next activity, play categories. Have them name one of their favorite foods, a food they eat for breakfast, a food their parent cooks, or a food they like to eat at a restaurant.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, or preferences

Resources