Lesson Planning with Me

Hello! I teach an integrated preschool classroom, which means I am responsible for students ages three to five with special needs of all types as well as typical developing students. My students range in ability from a toddler to a typical kindergartener. Therefore, my activities must be able to reach a wide range and be easily adjusted for multiple ability levels.

I created this blog as a way to keep track of the fantastic ideas I have gathered over the years. Because I just randomly add activities to the blog, use the search, standard list, or theme list on the left side to find the activities you are after!

I also create and sell resources that can be found at TeachersPayTeachers and Teacher's Notebook.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Alphabet Actions


A
act like an airplane
B
blink
C
crawl
D
dance
E
exercise
F
fly
G
growl
H
hop
I
itch
J
jump
K
kick
L
leap
M
march
N
nod
O
over
P
push ups
Q
quack
R
run
S
sit
T
twist
U
under
V
visit
W
wiggle
X
xylophone
Y
yawn
Z
zip

Alphabet Class Book


Our Class Alphabet
1.          Cut construction paper in half.
2.          Use one half page for each child.
3.          On each page glue the photograph of an individual child.
4.          Under the picture print the first letter of the child’s name.
5.          Under the first letter print the child’s first name.
6.          Repeat for each child in the class.
7.          Arrange the pages in alphabetical order.  It is all right to have a number of children with the same first letter in their names.
8.          Determine which letters are missing.
9.          Use the magazine or toy catalog to find colored pictures of objects that start with the missing letters and make a page for each letter, so that each letter of the alphabet has at least one page with either a photograph of a child or a picture of an object that starts with that letter.
10.      Read the children their “Class Alphabet Book” during circle time.  Encourage the children to “read” the book aloud: “A is for Allison, B is for Bill, etc.”  Make the book available for them to look at during playtime.

Mixing Paint Bags


Paint in a Bag
1.          Write each child’s name on a bag with a permanent marker.
2.          Ask a child to choose the colors to put into her bag.
3.          Allow the child to zip the bag closed (check that the seal is good).
4.          Place the bags on a flat, clean surface where the children can squeeze, squish, squash and mix the paint by manipulating the bags.
5.          At circle time, ask each child to describe the colors in her bag.
More – Mix liquid tempera with liquid dish detergent.  You’ll extend the paint and it will wash out of clothes more easily.

Games


Musical Spots
1.          Make enough shapes of various colors for each child in the class.  They should be large enough for a child to stand on.
2.          At circle time talk about the shapes and colors with the children.
3.          Give one shape to each child.  Ask the children to place their shapes in a circle on the floor.  This circle should be large enough for the children to walk in a circle without touching the next child.  Ask the children to stand on their shapes.
4.          Explain that this game is played like musical chairs.  When the music starts the children begin to walk outside the circle of shapes.  When the music stops the children will step on the shape that is closest to them.  Only one child may stand on a shape.  There is one less shape than children each time the game is played.
5.          The child who does not have a shape to stand on is asked to sit down and hold the shape that is taken away.
6.          The game continues with a shape being removed each time the music stops.

More – The game can be played with shapes of animals, transportation vehicles or with vinyl placemats.