Unit 3: Stop and Listen

Have whisper, stomp, clap, and shout out a child’s name to help them continue to identify other children in the group.

Create a chart listing loud and quiet sounds and discuss reasons for using loud or quiet voices.

Have children explore making loud and quiet sounds with their hands, feet, and mouths. 

Watch a short video about loud and quiet sounds, then replay the video and have children make loud and quiet sounds along with the video.

Darken the room and have children imagine it is nighttime and talk about the nighttime sounds they hear.

Read a book about nighttime sounds in the country using a quiet, soft, soothing tone. Ask children to imagine the sounds and act them out.

Read aloud and discuss the poem “Night Music” about the nighttime sounds in the country. 

Use the Target Letter and Word Routine to introduce children to the letter “Qq” and the word quiet.

Have children trace sandpaper letters to help them begin to write the letter “Qq.”

Show the video clip Between the Lions  “Words Beginning with ‘q’” and have children repeat the words during a second viewing.

Send a Family Connection letter home with children.

Sing “Hickety, Pickety, Bumblebee” with children and have each child sing his or her name in a loud voice.

Talk about the different sounds children hear inside and outside the room. Encourage children compare the sounds they hear.

Have children choose materials and containers to explore making sounds. Challenge children to make loud and soft sounds with the shakers.

Have small groups of children continue to explore predicting and making sounds with the shakers made of different materials.

Play the video Between the Lions “Night in the Country” and have children focus on the sounds in the video.

Invite children to use their voices, bodies, or objects to make some of the sounds in the book.  

Use the target letter and word routine to introduce the letter “Nn” and the word night.

Help children identify and place objects in a bag that rhyme with the word night.  

Sing “Hickety, Pickety, Bumblebee” with children and have each child sing his or her name in a quiet voice.

Have children make sounds that are loud, louder, and loudest and soft, softer, softest.

Have children predict which objects make the loudest sounds. Facilitate children’s explorations.

Have children continue to explore making sounds with the shakers and use concept vocabulary to describe the sounds.

Have children close their eyes as you play or sing a soothing lullaby and then talk about how it makes them feel.

Read a story full of sounds you hear in the city and ask children to repeat some of the city sounds they hear in the book.

Read the book City Lullaby with children, focusing on the rhyming words. Pause and ask children to identify the rhyming words.

Have children trace sandpaper letters to help them recognize and write the letter “Nn."

Reread the poem “Night Music,” and together then compose a new group poem based on city sounds.

Sing “Hickety, Pickety, Bumblebee” with children and have them make loud or quiet sounds with their shakers when they say their name.

Have children discuss making sounds with shakers. Help them make connections between their explorations and the book What Is a Scientist?

Have children make shakers with different materials. Then have them listening to the shaker sounds and guess what object is inside making the sound.

Join small groups of children at the Science and Math Center to have children focus on making pairs of mystery shakers.

Together recite the familiar chant “Ten Little Monkeys” using finger actions to help the children count down from ten.

Reread City Lullaby as you focus on the story as a number book and have children count the objects on the page.

Create a number chart with children by using the illustrations and text from City Lullaby. Include the numbers, the noise makers, and the descriptive sound words.

Use the Letters in Our Name Routine to help children recognize the letter “Nn” in their names.

Show the video clip Between the Lions “Words Beginning with ‘n'” and have children repeat the words on the screen.

Sing “Hickety, Pickety, Bumblebee” and have each child say his or her name louder or softer than the child before.

Revisit the book What Is a Scientist? and have children compare their explorations to the descriptions in the book.

Bring children outside on a listening walk and record the different sounds children hear.

Have children watch the live-action video PEEP and the Big Wide World “Tracking Down Sounds” and encourage children to make connections to their own explorations.

Revisit one of the books from the week or the video Between the Lions “Night in the Country” and focus on the sounds in the story.

Have children collectively make a number book of sounds modeled on the book City Lullaby. Keep the book in the Writing Center for children to view.

Play a rhyming game with children. Say two words and have the children clap loudly if the words rhyme, and softly if the words do not rhyme.

Watch a video clip about the letter “n” and have children repeat the words as they identify the "n" on the screen.

Watch a  video clip about the letter "q" and have children call out "q" when they see the letter on the screen.

Review loud and quiet sounds and have children share a favorite activity from the week.