- chart paper
- crayons
- magazines (old)
- paper
- color
MA Standards:
Foundational Skills/RF.PK.MA.1: With guidance and support, demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of printed and written text: books, words, letters, and the alphabet.
Head Start Outcomes:
Language Development/
Receptive Language: Attends to language during conversations, songs, stories, or other learning experiences.
Literacy Knowledge/Phonological Awareness: Identifies and discriminates between words in language.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/
Reading and Literature 7: Develop familiarity with the forms of alphabet letters, awareness of print, and letter forms.
English Language Arts/
Composition 17: Add details or make changes to published or class-made stories.
Draw and Write Together: Colors All Around Poem
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
ELA Focus Skills: Vocabulary, Listening and Speaking, Color Recognition, Concepts of Print
Educator Prep: Write the following template on a large sheet of chart paper. Leave space between each line so children can draw or tape a picture to record their responses.
Colors All Around
We see colors everywhere.
We see a that is blue,
And a that is brown,
And a light red over there!
Here’s a that is dark green,
And a that is orange.
And a that is yellow,
The brightest you’ve ever seen!
Tell children that they are going to write about some of the colors they learned about this week. Say, Let’s write a color poem together. We will call it “Colors All Around.”
- Read the first line and then demonstrate filling in the second line.
- Continue the poem and ask children to complete the lines by naming things in the room. Have them write orwrite their suggestions on the lines.
- Read the finished verse aloud, tracking the words with your finger to help children follow along. Point out how you begin each sentence at the left side of the page.
- Children may want to glue on a picture of each object, either hand-drawn or cut from an old magazine.
Adaptation: If you have very young children, they may have difficulty coming up with the names of objects. You can allow them to look at ABC books or color books in your library center for ideas.
Adaptation: If you have children with advanced writing skills, you may ask them to take over the job of writing on the blanks.