- block
- dam
- stream
- water
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: “Building Dams” (PEEP live-action clip)
STEM Key Concepts: Water flows downhill; Objects behave differently in water
ELA Focus Skills: Active Listening, Active Viewing, Vocabulary
Invite children to watch the PEEP and the Big Wide World video “Building Dams.” Follow up with questions such as,
- Why did the children put bricks in the stream of water? Did it work?
- What did the children use to block the cracks in the bricks? Did it work?
- What else could the children use to build a dam and block the cracks?
- Are there any ideas from the video that you would like to try?
Take It Further: If you can, take a field trip to a nearby river or stream. Before you go, talk about safety rules for being around water. Have children float leaves and twigs in the water and watch how they move in the current. Listen to all the different water sounds.
Educator Tip: Watching and discussing the selected PEEP stories and live-action video clips can spark and extend children’s interest and understanding of water. We suggest that children watch the video clips after they have had an opportunity to do their own initial exploration of water. That way your children can compare their experiences and discoveries with those shown on the video clip and think about what additional water explorations they might like to try.
