- materials
- tool
MA Standards:
English Language Arts/Literature/RL.PK.MA.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about a story or a poem read aloud.
English Language Arts/Literature/RL.PK.MA.4 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words in a story or poem read aloud.
English Language Arts/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:
Literacy Knowledge/Alphabet Knowledge Recognizes that the letters of the alphabet are a special category of visual graphics that can be individually named.
Literacy Knowledge/Book Appreciation and Knowledge Asks and answers questions and makes comments about print materials.
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/Reading and Literature 6 Listen to a wide variety of age appropriate literature read aloud.
Read Together: Alphabet Under Construction #1
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
STEM Key Concepts: Identify tools and simple machines that can be used for a specific purpose
ELA Focus Skills: Concepts of Print, Letter Recognition, Listening and Speaking, Story Comprehension, Vocabulary
Before You Read
Show children the cover of Alphabet Under Construction and ask them to point to the title. Read it aloud, tracking the words as you do. Ask children to recall what they know about the alphabet. Say, What books have you read about the alphabet? What do you know about the alphabet?
Read the name of the author/illustrator. Explain that Denise Fleming wrote the words and drew the pictures. Talk about her cover illustration. Say, In this book, a mouse uses different tools and materials to construct all the letters of the alphabet. Encourage children to identify any tools they recognize on the cover.
Guide children to understand that when something is “under construction,” it’s still being made—it’s not yet finished. Give an example; say, Nora is building a really long bridge in the Block Center. Her bridge is under construction. Set a listening focus for this reading by saying, The alphabet in this book is under construction. Look for the different kinds of tools and materials the mouse uses to construct his alphabet!
As You Read
Read slowly, pointing to the large letter on a page and then reading the three words. Remind children that we always say the alphabet in the same order, beginning with “A” and ending with “Z.”
- Pause to talk about the tools the mouse is using. Ask children how the tools are being used.
- Encourage children to make connections to other books that feature the same tools. For example, ask, Where have you seen a level before? (Tap Tap Bang Bang in Week 2) What does a level do? (measures whether something is level, or horizontal)
After You Read
Talk about the book with children. Ask questions such as,
- Did you like this book? What did you like about it?
- How did the mouse use the tools? What new things did you learn about tools?
Adaptation: If younger children have trouble concentrating as you move through the book, read a few pages and return later to read more. Review what has been covered. Say, We read about how the mouse constructed “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” “E,” and “F”; now let’s read about how he made more letters!
English Language Learners: Point to tools and materials and name them. Pantomime how to use the tools. Have children repeat the names and actions after you.