Unit 6: Building Structures

Sing the greeting song and signal a child to say his or her name. Repeat until every child is included.

Open a discussion about measuring tools and how you measure things to tell their size.

Measure the length of the Block Center using a child’s length.

Have children work in pairs to make “kid rulers.” Have them use their tools to measure big things.

Play the video Between the Lions “My house.” Point out the names of different kinds of houses.

Read another story about the three little pigs. Explain that this book tells the big bad wolf’s side to the story.

Have children dictate or write a rhyme about houses and draw pictures to illustrate their rhyme.    

Use the Target Letter and Word Routine to introduce children to the letter “Xx” and the word x-ray.

Challenge children to make the letter "X" with different parts of their bodies.

Send a Family Connection letter home with children.

Hold up a name card and have that child say his or her name. Repeat the song until every child is included.

Discuss how things are built to size. Use toys as examples.

Have children make houses for toys. Focus them on the size of the house so the toys fit inside.

Play the video Between the Lions “My House.” Talk about the houses’ different sizes.

Comment on the different tools used to construct the letters of the alphabet in the story.

Sing the song and remind children that the letters are in the same order as the letters in Alphabet Under Construction. 

Stop the music to signal children to sit on a chair. Ask each child to identify the letter on his or her chair.

Construct the letter “X” using pieces of posterboard and fasteners.

Play the video Between the Lions “Reginald Monkey: x, x-ray, xylophone.” Review the different /x/ letter sounds.

Play the video Between the Lions “Words Beginning with ‘x.’” Have children say the words with the letter ‘x’ as they appear on the screen.

Have children review with family members what they learned about building to size.

Clap the syllables in a child’s name. Repeat the song until every child is included.

Take children outside to choose a structure they would like to build a representation of.

Have children build a representation of the building they saw.

Reread the story and have children identify the tools in the book.

Have children recall the story Tell the Truth, B.B. Wolf and sing the song about the wolf and the three pigs.

Have children write, draw, or dictate a letter to the big bad wolf.

Play the video Between the Lions “Fred Says: fix/six.” Emphasize the ending sound in fix and six.

Help children recognize the /ks/ sound of the letter “Xx” at the end of words.

Invite children to fish for and arrange letters to spell x-ray.

Sing the greeting song. Hold up a name card and have that child say his or her name. Repeat until every child is included.

Open a discussion about bridges and what makes bridges strong.

Have children work in pairs to build their bridges.  

Reread the book and have children create their own alphabet charts with letters they cut from magazines.

Have children play the letter card game to get to the “X” spot.

Sing the song. Emphasize the /ks/ sound at the end of box and fox.

Make sentence strips and count the number of words in the sentence.

Have children march along a large uppercase and lowercase “Xx” on the floor.

Clap the syllables in a child’s name and insert that name into the song. Repeat until every child is included.

Have children share a structure they built. Discuss their buildings’ different sizes and purposes.

Challenge children to recreate their houses, bridges, and 3-D representations using different materials.

Encourage children to act out building and huffing-and-puffing as they sing the song.

Watch the Bonus Track: “The Wolfinator: A Sequel.” Compare this sequel to the sequel Tell the Truth, B.B. Wolf.

Create a “Same/Different” Chart to compare the versions of the three little pigs’ story.

Play the video Between The Lions “Word Morph: six-sax-fax-fox-box.” Clarify any words children do not know.

Have children match cards that have the same word on them.

Have children find the hidden letters and build the alphabet in the correct order.

Revisit the charts, objects, and pictures from the week.  Review measuring tools, size, and bridges, “Xx,” /x/, /ks/, and x-ray.

Send structures home that children worked on this week.