You are on page 1of 29

Literacy (Writing)

Sequencing sheet
Label plants
Growing plants- lifecycle
Chns seed journal
Grocery list
How will syllables help us write?
Make a new Jack and the Beanstalk story.

WOW/ Talking Tubs/ Entry or


Exit Points for PLANTS
Chn to plant their own seeds. Can you grow your own beanstalk?
Go to the Thonglor garden?
Chn bake, open a shop and sell to donate?
Chn use their senses to try and guess whats inside a shopping bag.

TargetWriting for different purposes

Trip to visit some shopkeepers around the area.

Sing 'Mary, Mary' Look at variety of illustrations from different rhyme


books.
With the children design and make a display to illustrate the rhyme.

Literacy (Reading)
Jaspers Beanstalk Jack and the Beanstalk
The Princess and the Pea.
Little Red Hen
Who are the famous characters inside my book?
What is the ending sound in the word _?
What is a syllable?
How many syllables does your name have? Your friends name?
Writing in the role play area. Making and writing books about Jack
and The Beanstalk. Writing labels for our growing plants.
Use non-fiction texts to find out facts about plants
Interactive rhyming flower display children choose words or pictures

Numeracy
Make number leaves for the beanstalk role
play area.
Bean diaries recording/measuring
height/growth of beans.

Counting petals on flowers


Order by size
Sorting by birds/plants/insects
Numbers/Counting counting beans
and other seeds, flower pots and
other growing resources.

Exploring (K & U of the World)


Caring for plants SOC 1-08a
Plant seeds- What is a seed? Where do
seeds come from? What seeds can we eat?
What kind of food comes from plants?
Collect different leaves
Grow potatoes
Compost column
What are living and living things?
What do living things need to grow?
Use non-fiction texts to find out facts about plants
from seed to flower, bean diary
Fairy Garden- what should we put here?

Role Play

that rhyme.
Phonics and sounds Weekly sound table - learning letter sounds,
finding words that start with the same sound. Experience rhyme and
alliteration

Jack and the Beanstalk?


Jaspers Beanstalk provide opportunity
for role-play? Grocers shop?

Art

Health and Well-being

Collage of leaves collected


Clay Pots. Decorating pots for seeds.
Make seed shakers.
Seed collage.
Design a fairy garden
Observational drawings of flowers: Georgia OKeefe
Van Goghs Sunflowers

Why do we eat vegetables?


Health & Bodily Awareness Using stories and talk to find out what
keeps us healthy including talking about the vegetables we are
growing at nursery. Fine Motor Skills Use small gardening tools.
Setting seeds. Using scissors and other small equipment on a daily
basis.

Bean game- broad bean, jumping beans,


etc

Music
Songs about growth/springtime :I planted a seed
Jaspers Beanstalk song
5 little flowers, Mary Mary, 5 little peas

https://www.tes.com/teachingresource/five-currant-buns-6034803

Technologies
Whiteboard activities
TCH 1-03b, TCH 1-04a
3D Garden design TCH 1-10b

Integrated IPC Activities


(830-915)

Maths (N)
Chart the main characters and
settings of the fairytales we

Read story.

Maths (N)
Measuring Jaspers Beanstalk

Read story.

Term 2, Week 1:

studied.
Use puzzle pieces, linking cubes
K2:Shared reading with
and fingers to reinforce adding
focus book
and
then
Objectives: Re-teach s a t p, Practise letters/sounds and start to practise oral blending and segmenting
Write the Room/
and number sentence
project work with
formation.
Revisit and Review
Teach
Practise
teacher. Independent
Read focus story for
Writing & FM: Name Hunt and
activities include: Write
enjoyment.
writing.
Objectives: Re-teach s a t p, Practise letters/sounds and
the room, Maths tray, ICT
start to practise oral blending and segmenting
and etc.
Jaspers Beanstalk Maths
Mon

N/A

Outdoor (915-940)
Morning Break (9401005)
Tue

using cubes.

Apply

problems.
Teach /s/ using flashLook
card at
and
objects
beginning
with
the /s/
Collect a bag of objects beginning with the /s/
*Strand 1:9 & 16
seeds,
soil
and pots.
Use
mung sound
seedsbefore
to grow
on cotton
sound. Emphasis the ssssss
saying
the name of
sound and some other objects. Using a puppet help
*Strand 2: 10, 12, 1, 20
(label).
the objects. Use the ASL and Jolly phonics action. All children
to sort the objects between rubbish and treasure.
*Strand 2: 9, 13, 14
to do the action and say the sound. Make sure each child is
Children to listen carefully for the initial sound as
*Strand 1: 23
saying the sound correctly.
teacher sings: Picking up _ and put em in my
*Strand 2: 9
pail.
Move to focus wall, skywrite the letter s, checking to make
Picking up _and put em in my pail.Picking
*Strand
3: 3, 7,
19
up _and put em in my pail
sure each child is writing
the sound
correctly
Way down yonder in the P picture patch!

How do plants breath?


Children will look at digital
microscope and see plants
stomata.

Labelling the parts of


Jaspers plant.
Demonstrate the letter using the
*Strand 1: 23
/s/ card
*Strand 2: 9
*Strand 3: 3, 7, 19
Children to practise writing the
letter s using the Jolly phonics
sheet.

Outdoor Play ; Wash & Toilet CP:

Collect objects in the treasure box beginning with

1.Line up on corridor 2. Get aprons. 3.Begin eating. 4. Chn engage in positive verbal interactions. 5. Chn remain sitting until teacher dismisses. 6.
the /s/ phoneme.
Plates away.

Recall /s/ using s flashcard

Teach /a/ using flash card and Use the ASL and Jolly phonics

Children use the satpin *strip. Show them an

Children to do the ssss

before saying apple. All children to do the action and say the

object begins with. Use /s/ and /a/

Drink (1005-1010)

Demonstrate the letter formation

(drink/ toilet) 7. Wait in corridor w/ Roina or Ji to send in 1 by 1 through counting + actions 8. WALK inside for Lit While waiting for chn,
and objects from the bag.
action.n. Show the children an apple and emphasis the aaaa
object and they put a counter on the letter the
for /a/ using the /a/. card
Phonics song playing

if it begins
with (N)
/s/
sound. Make sure each1010-1100
child is sayingNC
the sound correctly. Word Focus
Maths
Whole or small action
group,
one on one sessions for
Skywrite the letter s, checking to make sure each child is (based on Word family book)
Maths and Word Focus/
writing the letter correctly
Phonics
Start Maths session with
at, ip, in

Phonics

Children to practise writing the

1010-1100 NC

letter /a/ using the Jolly phonics


sheet.

E and I Jolly Phonics song.


counting song.
(some to To tie in
http://www.youtube.com/watch
Wed
Recall /s/ and /a/
using
Teach /t/ using the flash card and Jolly phonics story and
Demonstrate blending letters to make words by
Give each child 6 magnetic letters
with IPC)
?v=Zw6Fps2O7XY
flash cards and actions.
action Show the children a tennis racket and emphasis the ttt
using
a
magnetic
board
and
the
3
letters
learned
so
ask them
to find you /s/
Use magnetic letters to blend
Activity: Worksheet forand
E and
I.
Nino (10:10-11)
before
saying
tennis.
All
children
to
do
the
action
and
say
the
far
then
/a/
then
/t/
words
from
the
previous
term
Review addition language and
Choose objects/pictures
model activity.sound. Make sure each child is saying the sound correctly. (e.g. at c-at, b-at, etc)
beginning with /s/ or /a/
/s/ /a/ /t/
Demonstrate the letter formation
Use
seeds to create a simple
and children to do
the
for /t/ using the /t/ card
addition story on A3 paper
at, as, sat,
correct JP action.
(addition to 10).
Use fingers
as s, checking to make sure each child is Activity: Sorting rhyming
Skywrite
the letter
Children to practise writing /t/
pictures into leaves.
a way of adding.
Children to sound talk the letters with you and
writing the letter correctly
using Jolly phonics sheet.
blend into the word
*Strand 2: 14,15 & 16
Thu

Teach the clap rap


Use the letters learned so
far

Teach /p/ using the flash card and Jolly phonics story and

Demonstrate blending letters to make words by

Demonstrate the letter formation

action Show children a candle and light it. Children to practise

using a magnetic board and the 4 letters learned so

for /p/ using the /p/ card

blowing the candle out with the /p/ sound.

far
/s/ /a/ /t//p/

Skywrite the letter s, checking to make sure each child is

at, as, sat, pat, tap

Children to practise writing /t/


using Jolly phonics sheet.

Song to the tune of I'm a little teapot;


I'm a little bean small and round (curl up on the floor)
Bury me deep in the ground ( sung in a very low deep voice)
sprinkle on some water ( act out watering can)
some sunshine too( Hands out wide)
Watch me grow as tall as you ( stretch to the sky)

Art Activities
Planting Seeds Theme Art

Holding Seeds Art


Materials Needed: paper, crayon, scissors, tissue paper or seeds, glue

The children trace their hands and cut out.


They then glue rolled up pieces of tissue paper or actual seeds into their "hands". This is a follow up to The Tiny Seed story.
Seed Mosaic
Materials Needed: Clear contact paper, marker, seeds
Draw flowers on the clear contact. Let the children draw their own flowers!
Remove the backing. Children they use seeds to decorate the flowers.
Extension: Let the children create their own art work by placing the seeds where they want for a very creative design! They can place them on
the contact paper or glue them onto paper!
Pear Flower Blossoms
This is a great follow up to reading the Circle Time activity about pears (see circle time ideas below).
Materials Needed: Real pear tree blossoms or other flowering fruit blossoms (artifical flowers are fine, too!).
Use the branches and blossoms to paint with. Show the children how to gently dip the flowers into the paint and "print" with them, like
stamping.
Return to Top

Block Area
Planting Seeds Theme Block Center Ideas

Moving What Grows


Materials: Provide hollow blocks (or other blocks) and small, plastic wheelbarrows for the children to move their plants (blocks) to the shelves.
Explain what wheelbarrows are used for during planting or gardening.

Return to Top

Circle Time Activities


Planting Seeds Theme Circle Time Ideas

Circle Time is such a great time for children to learn the social skills of being together as a large group AND to learn more about your theme!
One Little Daffodil
In advance, make 5 daffodils from paper, laminate and place velcro or a piece of a dryer sheet on the back so that it sticks on your flannel
board.
Teach this fingerplay to the children while using the flannel board pieces:
One little daffodil had nothing to do
Up popped another one and then there were two.
Two little daffodils smiling at a bee
Another popped up and then there were three
Three little daffodils were growing by a door
Up popped another one and then there were four.
Four little daffodils happy to be alive
Up popped another one and then there were five.
Five little daffodils wearing golden crowns
They danced in the breeze wearing green satin gowns!

EXTENSION: Pause before saying each number for the children to have time to count and recall the next number. Ex: then there
were........right! 3!
EXTENSION: Bring actual daffodils to school and place them in your science area. The children can explore them while recalling this poem!
The Carrot Seed
Materials: In advance, make flannel pieces to go along with this book. You'll need a little boy, mother, father, brother, a tiny seed, a carrot top,
a wheelbarrow a watering can and a huge carrot.
Use these materials while telling the story.
VARIATION: Give each child one flannel piece to add to the board as you read it. You may need to read the story twice this day so that each
child has a turn!
Pears and Blossoms
Materials Needed: the book From Seed to Pear and a large pear!
Cut the pear down the middle lengthwise and show the children the seeds. Let them feel the seeds and talk about planting them, how long it
takes seeds to grow, etc.
Read the story, pointing out that the white flowers turn into little hard pears then ripe juicy ones!
Follow up with the Pear Flower Blossom art activity listed above in the Art Activities section.
Once Upon A Time....
Write a cooperative story. After discussing what seeds need to grow, start a story with them. Tell them they are going to help make up a story
about a seed!

Start with "Once upon a time, some preschool children wanted to begin planting seeds. One day, Maria ________(fill in the blank from this
child). Then, Cheryl thought she should ___________, etc. If the children seem to get off track, that will happen! However, give reminders as
needed such as:
"So, our seed was dug up by the turtle and the bird took the turtle and the seed in the air. What happened next?" Then go on to ask the next
child.
These stories are SO much fun to read back to them each day! And to photo copy and send home with them for their families to enjoy!
Return to Top

Cooking Recipes
Snack Recipe Ideas to Cook Up for Your Planting Seeds Theme!

Cooking with children helps develop their math skills and helps them to learn how to follow directions. It also allows for some great
conversation! Ask many questions while cooking with your children to encourage conversation! Be sure to ask specific theme related questions
while making these fun snacks!
Carrot and Raisin Salad
Ingredients and Items needed: Carrots (one per child) and raising; vegetable peelers, bowls (one for each child)
Discuss planting seeds- especially carrot seeds! Show them some carrot seeds.
Have the children help you to wash off the carrots.
Show them how to use the vegetable peelers.
Each child helps add to the pile of carrot peelings.
Place them into a bowl.
The children each scoop a teaspoon of raisins into the bowl.

Mix and enjoy!


Pear Tasting
If you have read From Seed to Pear for this planting seeds theme, have a pear tasting party!
Ingredients and Items Needed: Yellow and green pears, knife, chart for recording the children's likes/dislikes.
For the chart, draw 3 columns. Draw a picture of the yellow pear on top of the second column and a picture of the green pear on the top of the
third column.
List each child's name in the first column.
As each child tries a piece of each pear, write the words yes or now under each pear based on if they liked it or not.
These charts can be set up in many ways. You could also write each child's name on two pieces of paper. On the chart, the children place their
name under the pear only if they like it.
Return to Top

Dramatic Play Ideas


Planting Seeds Theme Ideas to Transform Your Dramatic Play Area

Gardeners
Provide hats, gardening gloves, aprons and plastic planting tools (such as pails, shovels, hoes, watering cans); artifical grass and moss; bandanas;
overalls to dress up in, for the children to plant in dramatic play!
Return to Top

Easel Ideas
Planting Seeds Theme Ideas for your Easel--More Than Just Painting (Although that is always THE favorite in our classroom!)

Paint While Planting Seeds!


Materials Needed: Mix some small seeds (like marigold or other small and thin seeds) into the paint for a different texture!
Return to Top

Gross Motor Games


Planting Seeds Theme Large Group Games that help build their muscles while they have fun together

Seed, Seed, GROW!


Do your children like the Duck, Duck, Goose game? Replace the words with Seed, Seed, Grow to compliment your theme!
The Carrot Seed
Materials: The book The Carrot Seed by Ruth Kraus.
After reading the book, have the children help act out the story. 4 children will act it out and the rest of the children will be the audience.
Choose 4 children to act it out-one is the little boy, one is the mother, one is the father and one is the big brother.
Explain to the audience that their job is to repeat the line "I'm afraid it won't come up."
Repeat until all the children have had a turn being in this reenactment!
Return to Top

Library and Literacy


Planting Seeds Theme Ideas for Your Library and Literacy Activities for your Preschool Classroom

Book Suggestions for the Library


The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

Dinofours: My Seeds Won't Grow by Steve Metzger


From Seed to Pear by Ali Mitgutsch
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
I Really Wonder What Plant I'm Growing by Lauren Child
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehhlert
Sunflower House by Even Bunting
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Return to Top

Math And Manipulatives Activities


Planting Seeds Theme activities to help your Preschoolers develop those small muscles in their hands!

Seed Sorting
Materials: several bowls and different packets of seeds.
Let the children combine, sort and separate seeds. This is a great time for them to use their fine motor skills, of course, but also to get to
know HOW flowers and plants begin!
Weighing and Measuring
Materials: balance scale; a variety of seeds (such as seed corn, bean seeds, pea seed, sunflowerseeds) in small plastic containers with covers,
measuring cups and spoons

Let children explore the seeds. Show them how to use the balance scale (this might be a great circle time activity- use your circle time to
introduce this tool).
Ask questions to get them started such as: Are the larger seeds heavier or lighter? How many seeds does it take to make one side of the scale
heavier?
Package Sorting
Materials Needed: Save the seed packets that you used for the seed activities in this unit.
Laminate them (be sure to have 2 of each type).
Place them out for the children to match. Use as a memory or concentration type game as well!
Return to Top

Music and Movement


Planting Seeds Theme Music and Movement Activities and Ideas to get your Preschoolers Movin' and Groovin'!

Here We GROW
Have the children squat down and pretend they are little seeds. Play some calming music. As you turn the volume up slowly on the CD player,
describe what is happening to "them"--the seeds. They should try to act this out!
The seeds are in the ground nice and warm.
It is raining and they are getting a drink.
The sun is warming them and help them grow!
The seed is opening and roots are coming out!
It is raining again! There's the sun! Oooh, the plants are coming out of the ground!

Planting Seeds Song


Sung to Farmer in the Dell
Act this song out with each verse:
The gardener plants the seeds, the gardener plants the seeds.
Hi-ho the derry-o, the farmer plants the seeds.
Additional verses could be (or make up some of your own to go along with specific seeds you are planting):
The rain starts to fall........
The sun begins to shine...........
The plants begin to grow.......
The flowers open up.............
Seed Shakers
In advance, place seeds into plastic easter eggs. Use these as maracas to dance with!
EXTENSION: If you make eggs using different seeds, try making 2 eggs with each seed. Place the eggs in your science are to see if the
children can guess which ones have the same seeds based on the sound (sunflower seeds will be much louder than marigold seeds!)
Return to Top

Sand and Water Table


Planting Seeds Activities for the Senses!

Potting Soil and Seeds

Add potting soil and lots of seeds to your sensory table for your students to explore. At the end of the week, transfer the soil and seed mix to
another bin and water.
Place this in your science table for your children to care for and watch the seeds grow!
Harvesting
Place soil and several (9 or 10) small potatoes under the soild. Provide plastic buckets, trowels and shovels. Let the children know that potatoes
grow underground like carrots.
Return to Top

Science Activities
Planting Seeds Theme Science Activities--for your Preschool Scientists in Training!

Planting Bean Seeds


Materials: ziplock baggies, paper towels, spray water bottle, lima beans, markers.
Children spray their paper towels with water.
They place 3 lima beans in the middle of their paper towel.
Help them to fold the paper towel over the beans.
They place that into a ziplock baggie.
Write their name with marker on the outside of the baggie.
Tape baggies to a sunny window and watch them for a week or two until they sprout!
NOTE: Once you open the baggies, they will smell terrible! Be prepared!
Plant a Sweet Potato

Ok, so this is not a seed but it is planting! Insert toothpicks into the sides so that you can balance it on the top of a cup. Fill the cup with water
so that the half the potato is in the water. Check often for roots!
Exploring Seeds
Bring in flowers that have seeds for the children to investigate such as sunflowers and dandelions. Let them take them apart to find the seeds.
Then, try planing the seeds!
Clear Glass Planter
One year we had a Root-Vue grower. It had a styrofoam based and clear plexiglass cover. The idea was that the cihldren could see the seeds
grow and form roots (especially for carrot seeds!). You can make your own!
Use a small, five gallon glass fish tank (ask parents if they have one to donate, many people do in their basements!).
Fill about 3/4 of the way with potting soil.
Have the children help you to make holes in the soil about half way down (we used a pencil or straw). The key is to push the hole down right
against the glass.
Drop seeds in the holes and lightly fill in the holes.
Do this all the way around the tank.
When done, also plant seeds in the middle of the tank, but not as deeply).
Water the soil as needed and the children will, over time, see the process of the seed growing its roots as well as the plants in the middle
popping through.
How do Roots Work?
Although this is an experiment that you may be bored with, remember that your children have never seen it before!

Materials: Celery stalks (preferably ones with greens on the tops), two tall, clear glasses of water; food coloring
Place a different color of food coloring in each cup of water.
Place one celery stalk in each cup, with the greens at the top.
Watch and discuss daily.
The children learn how root systems "drink" water from the bottom and bring it to the top.
NOTE: We used blue and red food coloring. The interesting thing was that after a couple of weeks, the blue one still looked blue and ok, but
the red one actually began wilting and turning brown...I guess there is something to that whole fear of red dye...it was proven to us with this
experiment!
Return to Top

Writing Activities
Writing Activity Ideas for Your Preschool Classroom's Planting Seeds Theme!

Invisible seeds
Provide the children with a piece of white construction paper and a white crayon. Encourage them to draw different sized seeds and what their
seeds will grow.
Have the children paint over their picture with watered down brown tempura paint. It will not stick to their crayon drawings.
VARIATION: Have the children print their name or other letters you may be working on with them. If the white on white is too frustrating for
them, provide a color they can see to use on the white paper. It will still amaze the kids that the paint won't stick to their letters!

Word recognition of high-frequency words combined


with explicit and systematic focus on letter/
sound relationships, both in isolation and within
meaningful texts, and practice in using word chunks
(e.g. onset and rime, analogy, word endings, and
blends/digraphs) are a feature of Sails First Wave,
Emergent, and Early levels, which also strengthen
childrens word recognition and spelling.

Sails Teachers Resource Books identify as a target


for the Emergent and Early level the naming of
letters; matching letters and sounds; recognizing
blends, digraphs, compound words, contractions,
suffixes, onset and rime patterns, and using
graphophonic cues in reading. These literacy
behaviors are all implicated in developing childrens
spelling competencies.

Start Maths session with counting song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw6Fps2O7XY


Review addition language and model activity.
Use leaves collected to create a simple addition story on A3 paper.

My name is ________________.

Jasper found 5 beans on Monday. He found 5 more on Tuesday. How many beans did
he find altogether?

4 beans sprouted on Wednesday. 3 more sprouted on Thursday. How many beans


sprouted in all?

Name:

Jaspers beanstalk is beginning to grow! Can you write labels for all its parts?

LO: To label a picture

roots

bean

stalk

leaf

Name:

Jaspers beanstalk is beginning to grow! Can you write labels for all its parts?

LO: To label a picture

roots

bean

stalk

leaf

Literacy and Numeracy in the


Early Years

These early literacy and numeracy activities are included in the learning strands:
Early literacy opportunities
2.3 Using language skills in a variety of contexts
2.4 Using repetitive sounds and words, aspects of language such as rhythm, rhyme
and alliteration, and to enjoy nonsense stories and rhymes
2.7 Enjoying and using verbal communication
2.8 Listening attentively and responding appropriately to others
2.9 Using words, pictures, print, numbers, sounds, shapes, models, photographs and
ICT to represent thoughts, experiences and ideas
2.10 Exploring and observing the use of print
2.11 Stories and literature valued by the cultures in their community
2.12 Enjoying and using words and books
2.16 Some of the technology and resources used for mathematics, reading and writing
2.17 Creating stories and symbols
THE EARLY YEARS

Early numeracy opportunities


2.9 Using words, pictures, print, numbers, sounds, shapes, models, photographs and
ICT to represent thoughts, experiences and ideas
2.13 Exploring and observing the use of numbers in purposeful activities
2.14 Using mathematical symbols and concepts

2.15 Enjoying and using numbers


Some of the technology and resources used for mathematics, reading and writing
3.10 Setting and solving problems
3.11 Looking for patterns, classifying things for a purpose, guessing, using trial and
error

You might also like