Week of May 22, 2023

REMINDERS

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

May 25, 2023, Thursday at 10:00 AM - Prek-4 Moving up Ceremony!

May 26, 2023- Friday, School Closed all grades and all classes 

June 15, 2023 -The last day of the Afterschool Program

June 23, 2023- Last Day of School, Dismissal at 11:00am

Always make sure to read the OLQM School Blog for additional information, located HERE!

 

If you have any questions or concerns, you can email me at MrsHernandez@olqmnyc.org I will do my best to answer at the end of the day. 

Unit Topic: Plants

Essential Question for the Unit:

How do plants grow and why are they important?  

Focus Questions for this Week:

     What do plants need and where do we find them?  

 Focused Learning Activity for this Week

 

The Parts of a Flower

 The teacher will work with students in the writing center. She will discuss each part of a flower and talk about its importance. Students will be encouraged to use flowers, green and brown piper cleaner, and leaves to create and label their own flowers. 

 

Pre-K Common Core Learning Standard Addressed:

  PK.SCI.5 Plans and conducts investigations to determine how familiar plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive in the environment.

Foundational text for the week:

An Orange in January - by Diana Hutts Aston 

           Link to the foundational text  HERE! 

 

Questions that will be asked throughout the week related to the foundational text:

 

Level 1: Recall 

Where was the orange at the beginning of the book? Where was the orange at the end of the book? 

How did the orange get from the tree to the grocery store?

 

Level 2: Skill/Concept 

The book says, “The petals fell away and the orange began to grow into what it was meant to be.” What was the orange meant to be? How did the boy get the orange?

 

Level 3: Strategic Thinking 

The boy shared the orange. Why do you think he did that? 

How do you think the other children felt when he shared the orange with them?

 

Level 4: Extended Thinking 

The illustrator of this book, Julie Maren, used curly lines to show the wind. Why do you think she did that? How would you show wind in a picture? How did Julie Maren illustrate the sun? Why do you think she did that? How would you show the sun in a picture? How did Julie Maren illustrate the rain? Why do you think she did that? How would you show the rain in a picture? This book talks about how an orange grows and travels. How do you think other fruits grow and travel?

    

Lesson and activities for the week:

 

Blocks- Students will be invited to build a garden using blocks and materials added to the block center.

 

Pretend Play- The teacher will turn Dramatic Play into a flower shop by adding pretend flowers, containers, pictures of flower arrangements, a cash register, a notepad, writing utensils, etc. Children can pretend to make, buy, and sell floral arrangements. Vocabulary words such as bouquet, floral arrangement, florist, and flower will be highlighted.

 

Art- The teacher will supply pipe cleaners as well as tissue paper circles. Children can pierce the middle of the tissue paper circles with the pipe cleaner, adding as many as they would like, then fold the circles up to create a flower. After creating these flowers children can use them in the Dramatic Play flower shop.

 

Science- The teacher will provide individual pictures of the plant life cycle. Students will be asked to sequence the pictures. The teacher will provide pictures/diagrams for children to refer to as they discuss each stage in the life cycle. 

 

Math- The teacher will cut out several paper watermelons, add a number to each one, and ask the children to put the appropriate number of seeds on each watermelon. Students are encouraged to write the corresponding number.

 

Library- Students are invited to read books about our theme, plants.

 

Writing- Students will write letters on a sheet of construction paper.  They can glue seeds onto the letter.  The teacher will talk with students about words that start with the letter.

 

Sensory- Students will be able to play with their own individual containers of play-doh.

 

 If there are any questions regarding the Pre-K for All program that cannot be answered by the office or classroom teacher, please feel free to contact the Help Line at 888-227-8175