Tag Archives: Following Directions

Strega Nona, by Tomie dePaola

                  What happens when Big Anthony does not listen to Strega Nona and does what she asks him not to? 

Materials

  • A box of cooked spaghetti
  • Several different kinds of pasta that can be strung
  • Box of cornstarch
  • Two to three cookie sheets

Vocabulary

  •                   Pasta (another name for fancy noodles)
  •                   Grazie (thank you in Italian)
  •                   Confess (tell the truth)
  •                   Hero (someone who everyone admires and thinks is cool)

Before Reading the Story

                  Talk with the children about the importance of listening to adults.  Why do you think they make rules for children?  Have you ever disobeyed your parent, what happened?  Explain that the story today is about a boy named Anthony who did not listen when an adult told him not to touch something.

Reading the Story

Sing song Strega Nona’s directions to the pot. Encourage the children to hum along with you. There is a great reading of this story on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=PGVXwMX0e5w.

After Reading the Story

                  Ask the children if they can recall some of the jobs that Big Anthony does for Strega Nona.  Ask them if they ever help anyone at home or school?  What kinds of jobs do they do for others?  List on a piece of paper.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

Discovery

                  Put out cookie trays with a cornstarch and water mix.  Put the cornstarch onto the tray and slowly add small amounts of water.  You will know when the consistency is correct because you can scoop up the cornstarch mix in your hand but then the warmth of your skin makes it sort of melt between your fingers.  Let the children experiment with this mix.  Can they write their name in it?  Talk about the cause and effect.

Literacy/Early Writing; progresses from scribbles, shapes, or pictures to represent ideas, to using letter-like symbols, to copying or writing familiar words such as their own name. AND Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; 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

Sing the Pasta Pot song to the tune of Are You Sleeping? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVnmz2t5q-k

Blocks

Encourage the children to build Strega Nona’s house. The children can build it and then destroy it pretending that they are the pot of spaghetti.

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

Art

                  Cut pieces of yarn about 8 inches long.  The children can dip these into bowls of paint and then drag across a piece of paper. Add a spoon to the bowl of paint to help the children with dipping the yarn.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer. AND Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Sand and water

                  If you center allows you to use food, add cooked noodles to the table.  How do they feel? 

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

Library and Writing

                  Use cooked pasta or pieces of yarn (pretend spaghetti) to draw letters and shapes with.  You can draw the child’s name on a large piece of paper and the child can take glue, cover the lines and then attach yarn on top.

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.

Dramatic Play

                  Add a large pot to the center today and the children can act out the story.  What else can you cook in your magic pot? Also add a kerchief and a small apron if available. Hang the picture of Strega Nona in the center.

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

                  Bring in several different kinds of pasta that the children can string.  Can they make a pattern with their pasta?

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, and extend simple patterns using a variety of materials. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing patterns and shapes, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Outdoors Play

                  Weather permitting, give the children large buckets and add dirt, water, pine needles, rocks, sand, etc.  Make bubbling pots of whatever.

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.

Transitions

                  Re-read the magic chants that Strega Nona said to the pot.  Ask the children if they can name the rhyming words.  As the children go to the next activity, give them a word and ask them if they can make a rhyming word for it.

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

Resources

A Fish Out of Water, by Helen Palmer

When a boy does not follow the directions on how to feed his fish, things turn into a big problem. This is a good book to use to introduce a new fish tank into your room, or to help the children notice the fish you have. It is also a reminder about the importance of following directions.

Materials

  • Animals for pet graph
  • Fish bowl and five simple fish
  • A live fish in a tank or even just a simple bucket

Vocabulary

  • Veterinarian (a doctor who takes care of animals)
  • Big, bigger, biggest/smaller, smallest

Before Reading the Story

Talk to the children about pets that they might have. Make a graph of pets that the children have. Use the animals for the pet graph but make sure to leave a space or two incase someone has an unusual pet.

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

Reading the Story

As the boy keeps moving the fish to different containers, ask what is happening (the fish is getting bigger). When the boy puts the fish into the bathtub and says this tub holds my father… ask the children what they think is going to happen. After the tub scene, let the children make some suggestions on what to do next.

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

After Reading the Story

Continue your discussion about pets that the children might have. Ask them if they help care for their pet. (My Daddy and I walk my dog after we eat dinner. I put my cat in my room at night. My sister’s lizard has to have the light on when it is cold outside). Talk about how we have to be gentle with pets so that we do not hurt them.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops growing awareness of jobs and what is required to perform them.

Discovery

If you have fish in your room, this would be a good day to let the children record/draw the fish. Help them notice all the details of the fish (its fins, its little flippers. How he opens and closes his mouth). If you do not have fish in your room, consider setting up a tank or bowl. A beta fish is very easy and goldfish are not expensive. I have also gone fishing and brought in a 4-6 inch catfish for the children to observe for a day or two.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops growing abilities to collect, describe, and record information through a variety of means, including discussion, drawing, maps, and charts.

Music and Movement

Sing Bubble, Bubble, Bubble, Pop! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTlbZL8XKa8   Make a fish bowl and five fish. With each verse remove a fish.

Five little fish are swimming in the water
Swimming in the water, swimming in the water
Five little fish are swimming in the water
Bubble, bubble, bubble, POP!
Four little fish are swimming in the water
Swimming in the water, swimming in the water
Four little fish are swimming in the water
Bubble, bubble, bubble, POP!

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Ask the children to make themselves big. Now make themselves bigger, and biggest. Make yourself small, smaller, and now smallest. Make yourself long, longer, longest.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows progress in using standard and non-standard measures for length and area of objects.

Blocks

Otto grows so big that he needs a very long and deep tank to hold him! Ask the children to use your blocks to build a tank that might hold Otto.

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

Art

Give the children a copy of the fish bowl and encourage them to draw their own fish inside.  After they are finished with their drawing, ask them if they would like to tell you anything about their fish.  Write their response on the bottom of the page.  (My fish name is Sparkles.  I feed my fish just a little, my fish swims in the circle).

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.

Library and Writing

Write each child’s name onto an index card.  Try to use the same size letters for each child.  Put the name cards on the table and encourage the children to put in order from shortest name to longest name.  For younger children just pick 2-3 names for them to put into order of shortest, the same, and longest.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows progress in using standard and non-standard measures for length and area of objects.        

Sand and Water

Water Play today.  Add measuring cups and bowls of various sizes.  Ask the children if they can guess which container will hold the most water? Encourage the children to count how many scoops of water it takes to fill a container or bowl. Encourage them to scoop and count.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows progress in using standard and non-standard measures for length and area of objects.        

Dramatic Play

Encourage the children to be animal owners for any stuffed animals you might have.  What does this animal need for food?  Where will it sleep?  Does it need any special equipment to help take care of it?  Can the child use his/her imagination to figure out what is needed?  (My dog needs a leash, can I use the red yarn?  My cat wants a toy, can I get the ball from the block center?  My tiger needs to be in this cubby/box because he bites).

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

Math and Manipulatives

Encourage the children to use building manipulatives today. As they build make comments about how big their structure is, can you build it bigger? Who can build is the biggest one on the table?

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows progress in using standard and non-standard measures for length and area of objects.       

Outdoor Play

Pretend to be fish swimming in the water. Then do other animals that the children have as pets. Let the children suggest what other animal walks they would like to do.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks and activities.  AND Physical Health & Development; participates actively in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise to that enhance physical fitness.

Transitions

Make several shapes that you are working on (oval, rectangle, and triangle). Cut out the shapes in three sizes, big, bigger, biggest. As the children move to the next activity ask them to show you a shape and a size. (Kerry, can you find the big triangle, Roger can you find a bigger triangle)?

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows progress in using standard and non-standard measures for length and area of objects.     

Resources

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