Outside My Window

Directions: Photocopy pages 1–2 onto one sheet of paper, front and back. Cut along the dotted lines and fold to make a book. Staple along the inside fold.

The InvestiGator ClubPrekindergarten Learning System

SquirrelButterfly

Outside My Window

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What animal do you see?

Prompt children to name and describe animals they have seen near their school and home. Then read the title of the book aloud. Tell children that the book is about the different animals a little boy sees through his window. Read the book aloud pausing to let children talk about the pictures. Ask questions such as:

•Whatdoyouknowaboutspiders?

•Wheredobirdslive?

•Howmanyanimalsdoestheboyseethroughhiswindow?

Have children discuss which of the animals they have seen outside their own windows. Invite them to draw one of the animals on page 6.

Literacy: Read Outside My Window Objectives

• Understand that illustrations carry meaning.

• Show interest in reading-related activities.

Display the picture of the butterfly in Outside My Window. Point to the word and explain: Butterfly isonebigwordthatismadeupoftwosmallerwords,butterandfly.

Tell children: Iwillsaydifferentanimalnames.Someoftheanimalnamesaremadeupoftwosmallerwords.Givetwothumbsupwhenyouhearawordthatismadeupoftwosmallerwords. Say the names of these animals: woodchuck,horse,horsefly,toad,bullfrog,goldfish,cat,earthworm,honeybee.As children identify the compound words, prompt them to name both of the smaller words that make up the compound word.

Phonological Awareness: Furry, Feathery Compound WordsObjective

• Identify compound words.

Finny, Feathery, Furry Friends 3

Materials

• Outside My Window

Collect non-fiction and fiction books about animals and place them in the reading corner. You might add:

Bring on the Birds by Susan Stockdale

Fish Faces by Norbert Wu

Animal Dads by Sneed B. Collard III

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest by Steve Jenkins

Read aloud the title of each book and briefly page through it. Point out the words on each page and explain what type of information the words communicate. For example, say: Thesewordstellwhattypesoffoodspiderseat. As children ask questions about animals throughout the investigation, encourage them to look in books for answers.

Literacy: Books About AnimalsObjective

• Ask questions about books.

Review the story Outside My Window. Have children use the terms first, second, third, and fourth to tell which animals the boy in the story saw. Then assign children a character or animal to role play: boy, spider, bird, squirrel, and butterfly. Have children rehearse their parts before they retell the story.

Literacy/Math: First and Last Outside My Window

Finny, Feathery, Furry Friends 4

Objectives

• Retell a story.

• Use verbal ordinal terms.

Materials

• books about animals

Materials

• Outside My Window

Display the toy animals and tell children: Itispetadoptionday.Thereareanumberofanimalsthatwanttogohomewithafamily.Countthenumberofanimalsthatneednewhomes. (10) Continue, asking questions such as: Howmanycatsarethere? (5) If(Susie)adoptsthiscat,howmanycatsareleft? (4)

Have children continue role playing Pet Adoption Day, subtracting the number of animals as each is adopted. Encourage children to ask questions about the number of pets remaining.

Math: Pet AdoptionObjectives

• Subtract with concrete objects.

• Make verbal word problems for subtracting 1–5.

Finny, Feathery, Furry Friends 5

Materials

• 5 toy dogs, 5 toy cats

Materials

• weight scaleMaterials

• weight scale

Place up to 30 animal figures in a jar. Have children guess how many animals the jar contains. Then have them dump the contents in a pile and count them to confirm their predictions.

Then stand the same number of animal figurines in two rows of 15. Have children count from left to right. Ask:Isthenumberthesameasbefore? (yes) Ask: Willthenumberchangeifyoucountthemfromrighttoleft? (no) Have children count the animals again to confirm their predictions.

Math: Count the AnimalsObjective

• Demonstrate understanding that items can be counted in any order.

Materials

• 30 animal figurines

Have children look at page 1 as they share what they know about spiders, such as how many legs they have and what they eat and do. Say: Let’s write down the things we know about spiders. Have younger children draw a picture of a spider and label the spider’s parts, such as legs, eyes, and body. They can dictate or write using invented spelling. Have older children write three facts about spiders, attempting to use correct capitalization and punctuation.

When finished, guide older children to check their work by pointing to the first letter in each sentence. Ask: Is it a capital letter? If necessary, show children how to revise the sentence. For example, rewrite the capitalized word above the first word in the sentence.

Writing: Spiders

Finny, Feathery, Furry Friends 6

Objectives

• Engage in written exploration.

• Begin to edit and revise work.

Materials

• paper, pencil, crayons

Have children use the paper shapes to construct animals and a barn. As they explore ways to utilize the shapes, ask children questions such as: What would happen if you flipped this square over? Is it the same or different? (the same) If you turn this triangle around, does it change the picture? (no) As children slide, flip, and turn the shapes, observe if they understand that the shapes remain the same.

Math: Shape FarmObjective

• Slide, flip, and turn shapes to demonstrate that shapes remain the same.

Materials

• paper shapes in various sizes