Old MacDonald’s Things That Go, by Jane Clarke

Old MacDonald has a farm, and a whole collection of transportations that go!

Materials

1 paper plate per child in the classroom and tape to tape to floor.
Roll of aluminum foil
3 large circles cut from construction paper. One red, one yellow, one green
Transportation counters or cards, enough copies to make patterns with

Vocabulary

Transportation (ways to get from here to there)
Transporters (vehicles used in transportation like a car, a boat, an airplane to go from here to there)
Combine harvester (a transporter that helps farmers to cut and move his crop)
Wheels (rollers for vehicles in the shape of a circle)
Buoyant (able to float)

Introducing the Story

Sing Old McDonald with the children. After singing, tell the children that your story today is about a different Old MacDonald who really likes transportation vehicles, things that go. Ask the children if they know what transportation means. Reiterate that it means getting from one place to another. Get out a piece of paper and ask the children to name different transporters. Write their answers on the paper. After the children have listed transporters that they can think of, introduce the book by saying, “let’s find out what kinds of transporters, things that go, Old MacDonald loved”.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasingly complex and varied spoken vocabulary.

Reading the Story

This book can easily be sung to the tune of Old McDonald. Practice it once before singing with the children so that you comfortable with the rhythm of the text. As you turn each page and sing “and on this farm he had a ______”, pause and let the children name the vehicle is they can. As you sing each page, encourage the children to join along making the various vehicle sounds.

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

After Reading the Story

Have the children recall all the modes of transportation in the story-song. Look at the list the children made before reading the story, is it on the list? If not, add it to the list. When your list is complete, ask the children to help you check all the transporters that have wheels. Put your finger next to each mode of transportation and name it, ask the children if they think it has wheels. Put a mark next to all the ones that do have wheels. Then ask the children if they can remember which transporter Old MacDonald had that did not have wheels (boat).

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

Music and Movement

Sing The Wheels on the Bus but turn to various pages in the book and sing about different transporters. The wheels on the _____go round and round,

Round and round. Round and round.

The wheels on the _____go round and round

All through the town.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects and materials. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem-Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.

Give each child a paper plate and ask them to stand somewhere in the room where they cannot touch another child or a piece of furniture. Make a loop of tape for each and have the children tape their paper plate to the floor. Tell them that you are going to play a balance game on their circle. Ask them to stand up straight on their circle with their hands at their side. Can they stand on one foot? On their knee and one foot on their circle? Can they squat down low on their circle? Can they stand with one foot on their circle and on leg behind them? In front of them? Can they kneel on their circle with one leg up? Take any children’s suggestions and play until they are tired. Make sure you are modeling all the movements with the children.

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

Discovery

Tell the children that today you are going to build buoyant boats. Show the children two aluminum shapes that you have made, one a ball, and one a simple boat type shape. Have the children guess what will happen when you put your shapes into the water. Explain to the children that the boat shape floats because it is buoyant. Give each child a square of aluminum foil about 10 to 12 inches. Encourage them to make a boat shape and then test in in a tub of water. Is it buoyant? Encourage the children to say, “I built a buoyant boat” as their boat floats in the water.

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

Blocks

Put out a variety of cars today and show the children show to build a ramp using the long blocks. If you do not have long blocks, you can make a ramp from a long piece of cardboard. Let the children experiment rolling their cars down the ramp as they raise/lower the ramp angle.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; shows increased awareness and beginning understanding of changes in materials and cause-effect relationships. Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation shows increasing abilities to use compromise and discussion in working, playing, and resolving conflict with peers.

Art

Bring over several small toy cars. Put out large sheets of paper, and paper plates of tempera paint. Have the children dip the cars into the paint and roll it back and forth on their paper. As they work, encourage them to sing, The Wheels On The Car Go Round and Round.

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

Sand and Water

Put water in the table today and let the children use it to see if their home-made aluminum foil boats float.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem-Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, including trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults.

Library and Writing

Get many books about transportation and add them to your center. Encourage the children to talk about and name the different kinds of transporters in the picture. As they look at the books, ask the child if this is something that goes on the land, on the water, or in the sky.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; progresses in learning to handle and care for books; knowing to view one page at a time in sequences from front to back; and understanding that a book has a title, author, and illustrator. AND Mathematics/Patterns & Measurements; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Dramatic Play

Use one or two of your paper plates and draw a simple steering wheel upon it (a circle to be the horn). Encourage the children to pretend that they are going on a trip. What kind of transportation will you use? Invite them to bring chairs, boxes, or large blocks into the center to use to make their transporter.

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

Math and Manipulaties

If you have transportation counters or cards, use them to make patterns for the children to copy. (train, train, helicopter). Have two children play together. One makes a pattern using 4-5 counters/cards, and the other child has to copy it.

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

Outdoor Play

Play Red Light, Green Light with the children. Make two goals on opposite sides of your playground (the fence and the tree). Have the children stand at one goal and you at the other. Explain that when you hold up the green circle, the children must (walk, jump, gallop, crawl) towards you. When you hold up the yellow and shout warning!, the children will know that it is almost time to freeze. When you hold up the red and yell Stop! The children must freeze in their place until you hold up the green and shout Go! again. Play until the children have all reached you. After several rounds, a child might be able to be the caller alongside you.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Control; demonstrates increasing capacity to follow rules and routines and use materials purposefully, safely, and respectfully. AND Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, and marching

Transitions

Use the Old MacDonald book and say, I am a thinking of a kind of transporter that Old MacDonald loved. Sound it out slowly and phonetically and have the children see if they can guess the word before you finish. It begins with /b/b/b/u/s/.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows increasing ability to discriminate and identify sounds in the spoken language.

Dear Parents, today we read Old MacDonald’s Things That Go. In it was many forms of transportation. As we read about transportation, it might be a good time to talk to your child about safety rules both in the car and around cars. If you use public transportation, share safety reminders about these also.

Resources

Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, by Alice Schertle

Little Blue truck is bringing lettuce into the city. The city is big and moves quickly. In this story Little Blue Truck saves a rush hour nightmare and gets the lettuce delivered to the people.

Materials

Several small paper plates
5-8 Matchbox or other smaller type car
Rhyming word cards
Night and day cards
Truck Picture
Several dish towels or old bath towels

Vocabulary

Wrangle-to argue
Transportation-a way to get from here to there

Before Reading the Story

Tell the children that your story today is about a truck that is going to the city. Explain that a truck is a kind of transportation. Ask the children to think of all the different kinds of transportation that they can. Write them on a sheet of paper and hang it on the wall.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding;understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary. AND Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; Begins to make comparisons among several objects based on a single attribute.

Reading the Story

On the first page with words (Horn went Beep) read the sign City Limits to the children and ask them if they can tell what time of day it is. Point out the stars; the auto lights, the city lights, and skunks are generally nocturnal. When you get to the page with the double decker bus, stop and ask the children how it makes them feel (I think he’s mad! It looks mean. It’s got frowny teeth.). On the page with the traffic jam and everybody starts to shout and wrangle, ask the children what they think is going to happen. On the page where the mayor is handing out the boxes of lettuce, ask the children if they know why the truck was in the city (it is delivering lettuce from the farm to the store)

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

Turn to the page where there is the traffic jam and all the vehicles are in a tangle. Ask the children if they can remember what the faces of the many cars and trucks looked like (frowns, anger, mean). If not flip back a page or two so the children can see the vehicle faces. Ask them why they think the vehicles all looked so angry (they were stuck in traffic and nobody can move). Ask has this ever happened to you? Now ask who can remember how the problem was fixed (they all took turns, they cooperated). Give some examples of how the children have taken turns recently or cooperated with each other to get a job done (Remember when everybody clogged the drinking fountain yesterday? We had to get in line and take turns. This morning when Clarissa came to school, she waited until Lee hung his coat up before she tried to get past him). Remind the children that we take turns and cooperate with each other to stay safe and so everybody can have fun at school. This conversation has lead to discussing bullying in the classroom. If your class goes in this direction, allow them to talk about it without naming names. “I hear it makes you mad when someone pushes you out of the way”. “I hear it upsets you when another child takes a toy away from you”. If your discussion goes in this direction, make sure to let the children know that they can ask you or any other adult for help.

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. AND Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; shows increasing abilities to use compromise and discussion in working, playing, and resolving conflicts with peers.

Discovery

Have the children sort the day and night cards.

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

Music and Movement

Put on music that is both fast and slow and let the children dance to it. There is a fun song called Freeze by Greg and Steve (available on YouTube).

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

In the story the marching band joined the parade. Give the children instruments and have your own parade around the classroom. Can the children play their instruments very fast? Very slow? Over their heads? Behind their backs? While walking on tip toe? While sliding side to side?

Creative Arts/Music; experiments with a variety of musical instruments.

Blocks

Challenge the children to make a city out of blocks. If you have a road map, put it onto the floor and encourage the children to make city skyscrapers along it. If you do not have a road, use a piece of chalk or masking tape to mark out several roads on the floor for the children to build around.

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

Art

Let the children paint with small cars today. Put out large sheets of construction paper and plates of paint in various colors. Put a small car (matchbox) in each color of paint. The children drive the car through the paint and then onto their picture. While they are painting, talk to them about where they might be driving their car and about auto safety rules.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; begins to express and understand concepts and language of geography in the contexts of the classroom, home, and community. AND 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.

Sand and Water

Put baby dolls in with water today. Add several towels for the children to dry the babies after they give them a bath.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Library and Writing

Put out many non-fiction books about transportation that you might have.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading related activities; such as having a favorite story read; choosing to look at books; drawing pictures based on stories; asking to take books home; going to the library; and engaging in pretend reading with other children.

Remind the children that in the story that there were many rhyming words, read a page or two to the children so they can hear the rhyming. Put out rhyming word cards for the children to sort and match.

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

Dramatic Play

Put out some props that the children can use to pretend to fix cars and trucks. A chair can become a car and a box as a toolbox with some of the following items inside; flashlight, rag, screwdriver, old keys, gloves, an air pump, and a wrench.

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

Math and Manipulatives

Give each child a little blue truck picture. They can color it and then cut out pictures of things that they would like to deliver to the school. This works well if you give the children old school supplies catalogs. It’s fun to see what things the children would like to deliver to the school.

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

Outdoor Play

Play Follow the Leader. As you lead the children around the playground doing various gross motors, find places where you can have a traffic jam. At this point have another become the leader and everybody follow them about. When you are ready for a new leader, find a crowded place and have another traffic jam. (On my playground there are several trees near the fence. If everybody tries to get around and beside these trees, it gets very crowded).

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games and using materials; and to interact with others without being overly submissive or directive.

Transitions

As the children line up, ask the first child to step into line. Ask the next child to get first in line. Ask the next child to get last in line. Ask the next child to get first in line, etc. until all the children are lined up by being called to go either first or last.

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.

Dear Parent, today we read a story where everybody was in a hurry and became angry. Remember that there are times when it is healthy to slow down and take your time. When everybody works together, it all works out better in the end.