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Dragonflies  Lesson Plan    2022-2023 School Year     Week of April 17, 2022

Week 34          Theme: Desert Animals                     Letters:  Gg, Qq        

Vocabulary:  saguaro    shelter      topic     adaptations                   Sight Words: the, is, at           

Songs/Nursery Rhymes:  In the Desert

Books:  How Jackrabbit Got His Very Long Ears by Heather Irbinskas    The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell     Cactus Hotel by Brenda Guiberson   Guess Who’s in the Desert? by Charline Profiri 

                                   

Arizona Early Learning Standards:  Language and Literacy  Strand 2: Emergent Literacy   Concept 5: Comprehension

a. Takes an active role in reading activities.

g. Begins to demonstrate an understanding of the differences between fiction and non-fiction.

h. Identifies the top of informational text that has been read aloud.

 

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Parent Drop Off in Backyard 8:30-8:35am

Outdoor Play

8:30 – 9:05

Parachute, wagon, play house

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Transition Inside

Sing "In the Desert"

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Circle Time

9:05 – 9:25

Monday: Introduce theme, vocabulary, letters of the week, and sight words. Shared reading: “In the Desert.” Begin science experiment to see how plants lose water through leaves. Shared writing: What is your prediction?

Tuesday: Review theme, vocabulary, letters of the week, and sight words. Read “In the Desert.”  Read How Jackrabbit Got His Very Long Ears. Discuss the feelings of the animals. How would you feel if you were the animals?

Wednesday: Review theme, vocabulary, letters, and sight words. Shared reading: “In the Desert.” Children will examine toy animals and decide if they are desert or polar animals. What adaptations do the animals have? Evaporation experiment.

Thursday: Review theme, vocabulary, letters and sight words. Shared reading: “In the Desert.” Sort books: fiction or non-fiction. Work together to make words with letter tiles.

 

Activity Time

9:25 – 9:55

Children will participate in different activities throughout the week:

*match first and last sound/letter magnets to animal magnets

*trace and cut ovals to make into a cactus for a classmate and mail their picture

*participate in reading activities

*create a desert habitat with playdough. Students will write or dictate a sentence about their habitat with sight words and practice reading.

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Snack Time

10:00 - 10:25 

Monday: Conversation Starter: Talk about our weekends.

Tuesday: Conversation Starter:  Generate rhyming words and other phonemic awareness games.

Wednesday: Conversation Starter:  Do you have a favorite desert animal?

Thursday: Talk about expectations for our field trip. 

 

Puzzles and Books

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Music and Movement

10:30 – 10:35

Desert Animal Yoga Poses

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Read Aloud

10:35 – 10:45

Monday: Cactus Hotel

Is this a made-up story or does it have true information? What is the topic of this story?

Tuesday: The Three Little Javelinas

Children will make predictions and say repeated phrases.

Wednesday: Guess Who’s In the Desert?

Children will guess animals based on clues. What is the topic of this book? Discuss adaptations of desert animals.

Thursday:The Three Little Javelinas

Children will recall events from the story. Is this a made-up story or does it have true information?

 

Choice Time

10:45 – 11:45

Children may choose from different centers.

Block center: Children may build with blocks or play with cars. Children will be encouraged to build a zoo for zoo animals. Desert habitat props will be added.  

Pretend play center: Children may pretend to be a zookeeper and take care of animals at the zoo. Train tickets will be added to buy and sell to customers. Children will be encouraged to draw the animals they see while on the zoo train.

Sensory Table: kinetic sand and desert animals

Easel: cactus painting

Middle Table: play dough

Teaching Table: reading and writing activities

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Closing Circle

11:45 – 11:55

Children will guess what is in the mystery bag. We will talk about our day and sing our good-bye song.

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Parent Pick Up at front door      11:55 - noon