- absorb
- flow
- river
- stream
MA Standards:
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:
Language Development/Receptive Language: Attends to language during conversations, songs, stories, or other learning experiences.
Logic and Reasoning/Reasoning and Problem Solving: Classifies, compares, and contrasts objects, events, and experiences.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Language 2: Participate actively in discussions, listen to the ideas of others, and ask and answer relevant questions.
English Language Arts/Language 3: Communicate personal experiences or interests.
Watch Together: “River Story” (BTL show) #1
STEM Key Concepts: Water flows downhill; Water behaves differently on different surfaces: Some surfaces absorb water, some don't; You can change the direction water flows; You can use different objects to move water
ELA Focus Skills: Active Viewing, Listening and Speaking, Vocabulary
Educator Prep: This week, plan to focus on viewing the first half of the video, up to the point where the narrator says, “The water moves silently, on to the city.” Next week, children will explore the rest of the video.
Before You Watch
Tell children they are going to watch a video about a river. Ask children to tell you what they know about rivers. Ask questions such as, Have you ever seen or been to a river? Can you tell me what a river is? Encourage children to share their experiences with rivers.
Tell children they are going to watch the Between the Lions video “River Story.” Explain that the video follows a river as it flows––it begins on the mountain and travels many different places. Set a reading focus for children by having them listen for all the different ways the river moves as it travels along.
As You Watch
Model active viewing—describe the action and repeat featured words. Pause the video to introduce the different ways the water moves and have children act out some of the words with you, for example,
- Bouncing down boulders
- Scooping up earth
- Digging out stones
- Swirling busily
- Winding between meadows
Pause the video when the narrator says, “. . . coming together into a stream.” Guide children to understand that a river is larger than a stream and is made up of multiple streams of water.
After You Watch
Talk about the video with children. Ask questions such as,
- Did you like the show? What was your favorite part?
- Where do rivers begin?
- How is the way the river flows similar to the way you observed water flowing in your explorations? How is it different?
- Discuss the meaning of some of the descriptive vocabulary used in the video such as bubbling, slipping, bouncing, and dripping and then ask, How do the words help you imagine how the river is moving down the mountain?
Take It Further: Replay the video. Pause on the words, “It winds between meadows . . .” Say, When something winds, it twists and turns. You may want to demonstrate the meaning by comparing a straight strip of paper to a winding, twisting strip of paper. Cut a long, straight strip of construction paper and a long strip of construction paper that twists and turns.
