- strong
MA Standards:
English Language Arts/Speaking and Listening/SL.PK.MA.2: Recall information for short periods of time and retell, act out, or represent information from a text read aloud, a recording, or a video (e.g., watch a video about birds and their habitats and make drawings or constructions of birds and their nests).
Head Start Outcomes:
Logic and Reasoning/Reasoning and Problem Solving: Classifies, compares, and contrasts objects, events, and experiences.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 12: Listen to, recite, sing, and dramatize a variety of age-appropriate literature.
Watch Together: “Chirp Builds a Nest” #2 (PEEP show)
STEM Key Concepts: How you design and build a structure helps determine how strong it will be; Different materials are useful for making different structures and different parts of structures; Walls, roofs, and bridges need to be supported in special ways
ELA Focus Skills: Active Viewing, Active Listening, Cause and Effect, Listening and Speaking, Story Comprehension, Vocabulary
Before You Watch
Invite children to watch the PEEP and the Big Wide World “Chirp Builds a Nest” video. Set a viewing focus for children by asking children to recognize some of the problems Chirp is having while building her nest.
As You Watch
Model active viewing by naming the characters, describing the action and events, and pausing to review the problems Chirp and Peep face and the solutions they come up with. For example,
- Pause when Chirp tries to balance the “floor” over the branch by moving to various points
- Pause when Chirp ties the sticks together to create walls
- Pause when Chirp tries to replace the prop-stick and save the “nest” from falling
After You Watch
Discuss the video with children. Ask questions such as,
- Why do you think the floor of Chirp’s nest would not balance and kept falling down?
- What do you think would have happened to the nest if a big gust of wind blew on it?
- What else could Chirp do to make her nest strong?
Educator Tip: Watching and discussing the selected PEEP stories and live-action video clips can spark and extend children’s interest and understanding of building structures. We suggest that children watch the video clips after they have had an opportunity to do their own initial exploration of building structures. That way your children can compare their experiences and discoveries with those shown on the video clip and think about what additional explorations they might like to try in building structures.
