Unit 5: Ramps and Rolling

Sing the greeting song and signal to one child and have the whole class greet him or her. 

Introduce the concept of inclined planes by constructing a ramp. Have children predict how objects will move down the ramp.

Take children outside to the playground slide or a preassembled ramp to explore objects that roll, slide, or stay put on the ramp.

Sort objects based on how they move down ramps.

Play a Peep and the Big Wide World video about ramps and model active viewing as you discuss the ramp and how things move down it.

Have children generate rhyme words as they dictate or write to complete the poem “It’s a Whatchamacallit.”

Have children follow directions as they play the game “Roll, Roll, Slide!” using a block and a ramp.  

Use the Target Letter and Word Routine to introduce children to the letter “Uu” and the word up.

Have children practice tracing the letter "Uu."

Send a Family Connection letter home with children.

Hold up a name card in the last line of the greeting song "Will You Be A Friend Of Mine" and have everyone greet that child. 

Children slide their hand down a ramp every time they hear two words that rhyme and then generate words that rhyme with ramp.

Discuss how things with and without wheels move down ramps. Have children work in groups to construct ramps.

Display pictures of ramps making work easier for someone. Discuss how ramps are simple machines.

Read the book and have children listen actively as they use hand and body motions to act out action words and phrases.

Discuss opposite words up and down as you recite “The Grand Old Duke of York” with children.

Use the Letters in Our Names Routine to help children find the letter “Uu” in their names.

Roll the cube and name the picture that faces up. If the word rhymes with up, children motion going up a ramp as they say the word.

Draw or tape a gigantic letter “U” outdoors and have children march along the letter.

Sing the greeting song. Clap once for each word in the last sentence. Repeat until each child’s name is included.

Discuss trackways. Show a picture of a real trackway and talk about how tracks help keep things, such as trains, on a straight path.

Have children work in pairs to build a trackway and observe how a marble moves down the track.

Have children create ramp paintings using balls dipped in paint and ramps.

Review what children have learned about ramps. Recite “One Ramp, Two Ramps” with the up and down movements.

Read Roll, Slope, Slide: A Book About Ramps and have children point out how ramps make some things easier to do.

Have children dictate, write, or draw to illustrate a way in which ramps are used.

Use the “Tell Me What You Hear” routine to help children listen for the short beginning /u/ sound in familiar words.

Have children decorate a cutout "U" and then have a "U" parade around the room. 

Sing the greeting song as children act out the motions of going up and down the ramp. 

Encourage children to demonstrate and share their observations about how marbles move down the tracks. 

Have children build tube tracks and explore changing the tracks to make their ball move in different directions.

Play the video Between the Lions “Roller Coaster” and have children focus on all the ramps and trackways in the video.

Explore ordinal numbers. Have children pick a number card 1–5 and stand on the matching number on a number line. 

Play a Between the Lions video about the letter "U" as children listen to how many names have the letter “Uu”  in them.

Ask children to listen for the beginning sound /u/ of each word in a sentence.

Have children discuss and choose how they would like to sing the greeting song.

Have children talk about ramps, slides, or tracks in their environment. Then act out motions as they recite a rhyme.

Have children explore ramps, slides, and trackways outdoors and record their observations. Ask children to reflect and share their observations.

Have children complete a sentence strip chart as they dictate or write about ramp observations to fill in the last sentence. 

Play the video PEEP and the Big Wide World “The Whatchamacallit.” Have children focus on how things roll, slide, or stay put on the slide.

Read the book Roller Coaster and encourage children to act out all the motion words.

Discuss feelings and have children draw a time they have specific feeling and dictate or write a caption.

Play the video Between the Lions “Get Your Mouth Moving (u).” Tell children to look for the letter “Uu” and listen for the /u/ sound in the words that appear on the screen.

Play a listening game to review the letter sound /u/.

Revisit the charts, objects, and pictures from the week as you review ramps, slides, and trackways, “Uu,” /u/, and up.

Send a Family Connection letter home with children.