- blue construction paper
- rulers or strips of cardboard
- white pencils or crayons
- blueprint
- build
- plan
MA Standards:
English Language Arts/Language/L.PK.MA.6 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, listening to books read aloud, activities, and play.Mathematics/Geometry/PK.G.MA.3 Create and represent three-dimensional shapes (ball/sphere, square box/cube, tube/cylinder) using various manipulative materials (such as popsicle sticks, blocks, pipe cleaners, pattern blocks).
Head Start Outcomes:
Science Knowledge/Scientific Skills and Method Observes and discusses common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
Science and Technology/Technology and Engineering 233 Explore and describe a wide variety of natural and man-made materials through sensory experiences.English Language Arts/Language 2 Participate actively in discussions, listen to the ideas of others, and ask and answer relevant questions.
Blueprints
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
Skill Focus: Small Motor Skills, Listening and Speaking, Vocabulary
Show children the blueprint at the beginning of Building a House by Byron Barton or display real blueprints. Talk about what types of structures children would like to build. Have them recall the structures they saw while exploring structures outside—houses, stores, apartment buildings, etc.
- Tell children they are going to draw a blueprint for a house or building they would like to build. Prompt children to think about the different shapes of the features (doors, windows, roof, etc.) on their building. Demonstrate how to use the rulers or strips of cardboard to help them make straight lines on their blueprint.
- When children are finished drawing their blueprint, encourage them to use their blueprint in the Block Center to build their structure.