- blocks
- cardboard sheet
- chart paper
- markers
- pictures of small objects
- small objects (same as pictures)
- down
- move
- ramp
- roll
- slant
- slide (v.)
MA Standards:
Writing/W.PK.MA.2: Use a combination of dictating and drawing to explain information about a topic.
Head Start Outcomes:
Literacy Knowledge/Early Writing: Uses scribbles, shapes, pictures, and letters to represent objects, stories, experiences, or ideas.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Composition 16: Use their own words or illustrations to describe their experiences, tell imaginative stories, or communicate information about a topic of interest.
Draw and Write Together: “How It Moves” Chart
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
STEM Key Concepts: A ramp, or inclined plane, is a surface with one end higher than the other; An object placed on an inclined plane will roll, slide, or stay put; The shape of an object affects whether it will roll or slide or stay put; Describe the way objects move when they are placed on ramps
ELA Focus Skills: Concepts of Print, Sorting and Categorizing, Speaking and Listening
Educator Prep: Before gathering children, use the materials and set up a ramp that is accessible to all children to use during the activity.
Discuss and review what children observed while rolling or sliding objects down ramps. Tell children you are going to make a "Roll and Slide" chart with them. Say, Let’s make a chart to show what things roll and what things slide.
- Create a chart with two columns labeled “Roll” and “Slide.”
- One at a time have a child choose an object and tell whether it rolls or slides down the ramp.
- After each child demonstrates the object moving down the slant of a ramp, have him or her tape the picture of the object in the correct column on the chart.
- Continue until all children have had an equal amount of turns.
Review the list with children when the chart is complete. Encourage children to discuss their ideas as a group.
Social Emotional Tip: Encourage children to express their preferences in a group setting, to help them learn to support their personal ideas while accepting that others have different, valid views.
English Language Learners: Help children distinguish the difference between roll and slide by placing a ball and a box on the table. Tap the ball to make it roll away and say, “The ball rolls away when I tap it.” Now tap the box to show it does not roll. Slide the box with your hand and say, “I can slide the box with my hand.” Have children repeat the motions and describing each one.