Unit 7: Watch It Grow

Sing the greeting song and have children clap the syllables of his or her name. Repeat until every child is included.

Introduce plants and tell children they will learn about different types of plants. “Plant Wall” of pictures and children’s works.

Discuss how to treat outdoor plants with care. Go outside and observe plants in their environment.

Read The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. Focus on how the boy plants a seed and cares for his plant.

Sing the song to help children retell the story of The Carrot Seed.

Play Simon Says using words that begin with the /s/ sound.

Use the Sandpaper Writing Routine to introduce the letter “Ss.”

Send a Family Connection letter home with children and sing “Good-bye to You” as children depart.

Sing the greeting song, hold up a name card, and have child clap the syllables in his or her name. Repeat until every child is included.

Talk with children about plants and what they need to grow.

Collect plant parts that have fallen to the ground. Have children use magnifying lenses to explore plant parts.

Discuss parts of a tree. Go outside and have children compare and explore trees.

Play the live-action video clip PEEP and the Big Wide World “Exploring Small Spaces.” Have children compare the plants in the video to plants they have explored.

Play soft music and have children act out moving like a plant as it grows.

Have children look for things a little boy does as he watches his seed grow in the Between the Lions "The Carrot Seed" video.

Make multiple “S” letters on the floor or playground with tape or chalk. Have children skip around each letter “S.”

Play the video clip Between the Lions “Words Beginning with ‘s’” and have children listen for words that begin with /s/.

Show children picture cards to identify and emphasize the beginning letter sounds.

Give each child a twig as they leave. Encourage children to explore roots and trees with their families.

Sing the greeting song and hold up a name card as children “grow” like a plant. Repeat until every child is included.

Continue to discuss plants, including trees and roots.

Have children observe, compare, and sort seeds into different categories.

Have children plant bean seeds and draw to record in their science notebooks.

Have children dictate or write to record observations as children’s plants grow. 

Read One Bean by Anne Rockwell. Have children focus on how the boy helps the seeds grow.

Sing and act out the song to help children practice patience.

Children choose /s/ objects from a bag and create sentences for objects that start with the /s/ sound.

Create a sentence emphasizing the beginning sound of /s/. Challenge children to say the sentence faster and faster.

Sing the greeting song and hold up a name card for each child to recognize his or her name. 

Introduce bulbs. Explore an onion bulb and an onion.

Explore different types of bulbs. Have children record observations.

Have children plant onion bulbs in water and dictate or write to record observations.

Play the video Between the Lions “Information Hen: Things That Grow” as you review seeds and plants.

Play Peep and the Big Wide World “Peep Plants a Seed” and have children focus on what the characters do with the seed.

Reread One Bean and focus on the sequence the boy follows as to plant his seed.

Children choose a plant they would like to grow and illustrate, dictate or write about it.

Make a list of words with the /s/ sound and  use the words to make up riddles for children to solve.

Recite the poem “A Seed Is Planted” and have children identify words that rhyme.  

Sing the greeting song to each child as he or she identifies his or her name on a name chart.

Have children illustrate and dictate a sentence featuring what a plant needs to grow.

Have children plant grass seeds and record changes in previously planted seeds.

Reread one of the books of the week or select a favorite book about plants and seeds.

Follow the rules for the game “Duck, Duck, Goose” but change the words to “Seed, Seed, Sprout.”

Play the Between the Lions video “Fred Says: sing” and have children identify the letter “s.”

Use the Target Letter and Word Routine to review the letter “Ss” and the word seed.

Revisit the charts, objects, and pictures from the week. 

Give each child a photo you took of him or her while engaged in hands-on explorations to share with family. Sing "Good-bye To You" as children depart.