- down
- opposite
- up
MA Standards:
Language/L.PK.MA.1.e: Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).
Head Start Outcomes:
Social Emotional Development/Self-Regulation: Follows simple rules, routines, and directions.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Language 4: Engage in play experiences that involve naming and sorting common words into various classifications using general and specific language.
Recite Together: “The Grand Old Duke of York”
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
ELA Focus Skills: Fine Motor Skills, Phonological Awareness, Vocabulary
Talk about opposite words. Swipe your hand down the ramp and say, I moved my hand down the ramp. Now switch direction and swipe your hand up the ramp and say, Now I moved it up the ramp. Say, Down and up are opposite words. Opposite words are words that mean something totally different from one another.
- To illustrate the meaning even further, have children stand up and then sit down.
- You may need to offer other opposites for children to act out to help them grasp the meaning. (open eyes/close eyes; walk fast/walk slow)
Then tell children you are going to teach them a chant about up and down. Recite “The Grand Old Duke of York” with enthusiasm. Then invite children to join in as you sing the song again. Add the movements.
The Grand Old Duke of York
The Grand Old Duke of York
He had ten thousand men. (hold up ten fingers)
He marched them up to the top of the hill, (point up)
And he marched them down again. (point down)
And when they were up, they were up. (stand tall)
And when they were down, they were down. (crouch way down)
And when they were only halfway up, (rise halfway up)
They were neither up nor down. (open arms and shrug)
English Language Learners: Have pictures of opposites on display for children to see. Give children yes/no questions to help them at first. Choose a set of pictures and say, This ramp is long. Is that ramp long? Then help children generate the opposite term by giving them the sentence frame This ramp is long. That ramp is .
Adaptation: Simplify the song for younger children. Sing one line at a time; have children sing it back to you. Model the action for that line; have children copy it. Then, sing the line, do the action, and have children repeat it.