Acelero Curriculum Plans—Unit MapPage 1 of 5
Theme 7: “Mail and Friendship”
Book List:
The following books are included in this unit as read-alouds; copies will be provided to each classroom.
The Jolly Postman / Janet and Allan AhlbergDear Juno / Soyung Pak
A Letter to Amy / Ezra Jack Keats
The Post Office Book / Gail Gibbons
My Friend Rabbit / Eric Rohmann
The Lion and the Little Red Bird / Elisa Kleven
The Three Bears / Paul Galdone
Jack & the Beanstalk / Carol Ottolenghi
Little Red Riding Hood / James Marshall
Additional Resources:
The following books are not required, but could be used to complement and enrich this theme, if teachers have access to these or similar titles:
Larabee / Kevin LuthardtClick, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type / Doreen Cronin
Good-bye, Curtis / Kevin Henkes
Chester’s Way / Kevin Henkes
Matthew and Tilly / Rebecca C. Jones
© 2013 Acelero, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Uses are subject to the limitations set forth in your user agreement. Your right to use these materials is contingent upon remaining a current SARGE subscriber with Acelero, Inc.
Acelero Curriculum Plans—Unit MapPage 1 of 5
Theme 7: “Mail and Friendship”
Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3Big Idea(s) / In this first week of the new theme, children will be introduced to concepts related to mail by reading the book The Jolly Postman. To better appreciate this book, we will also revisit some fairy tales from earlier in the year. Children will begin a pen pal activity with another classroom, which will lead into discussions about friendship later in the theme. / Children will delve deeper into the process of writing and sending mail through a “classroom post office” where they can role-play as postal workers, sort mail, weigh packages, add stamps, etc. Through this play, our ongoing pen-pal activity, and several read-alouds, children will have multiple opportunities to learn that that mail is an important way to communicate with people. / “Friendship” is an extremely important and relevant topic to preschool children. This week children will continue to write, send, sort and explore mail, while focusing more on friends—including ideas such as friends help each other; friends like to do things together; we can solve problems with our friends.
Read-Alouds
Mon / The Three Bears / Dear Juno by Soyung Pak / The Lion & the Little Red Bird by Elisa Kleven
Tues / The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg / Dear Juno / The Lion & the Little Red Bird
My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann
Wed / Little Red Riding Hood
The Jolly Postman: revisit page that connects to Little Red Riding Hood only / A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats / My Friend Rabbit
Thurs / Jack and the Beanstalk
The Jolly Postman: revisit page that connects to Jack and the Beanstalk only / A Letter to Amy / The Post Office Book by Gail Gibbons
Fri / The Jolly Postman / Rereading (child choice) – “Which book about mail should we read again?” / Rereading (child choice) – “Which book about friends should we read again?”
Small Group Activities
Mon / Group1 – Silly Words & Animals
**Embedded Assessment – Alliteration, Segmentation / Group1 – Patterns & Problem Solving
**Embedded Assessment – Patterning, Number / Group 1 – Friendship Dough
Working with a partner to make cloud dough
Tues / Group 1 – Stamps with Ink
Experimenting with ABC stamps / Group 1 – Introduction to the Post Office
Exploring classroom post office in dramatic play area / Group 1 – Mural with Friends
Working together to create one large mural
Wed / Group 1 – Pen Pals
Writing letters to children in another classroom/center / Group 1 – Mail
**Embedded Assessment – Writing / Group 1 – Exploring Symmetry
Using paint and folded paper to create symmetrical shapes
Thurs / Group 1 – Favorite Fairy Tale
Writing/drawing about something you remember from one of the fairy tales / Group 1 – Weighing Mail
Sorting and comparing envelopes of various weights, using balance scales / Group 1 – Postcards
Using pictures to create a postcard of a place you’d like to go
Circle Time / Opening Meeting
Mon / Question of the Day (QOTD): “Who is your favorite character from this story?” (Goldilocks/ baby bear/ mommy bear)
Song: Introduce friendship song / Question of the Day (QOTD): Are these the same kind of pattern? (Y/N) Post Patterns #1 & #2 (see QOTD Pattern Template in Activities packet) for children to compare.
Poem/Song: “Mail Myself to You” / Question of the Day (QOTD): What will you do with a friend today?
Post Office Play Review: Ask children to talk about what they did last week in the classroom post office.
Friendship Song: Teach a new friendship song
Tues / Morning Message
Song: Repeat friendship song / QOTD: Are these the same kind of pattern? (Y/N) Post Patterns #1 and #3 (see QOTD Pattern Template in Activities packet). / Discussion: How can you help your friends?
Friendship Song: Repeat song(s) from yesterday and/or earlier in the theme.
Wed / QOTD: “Who would you like to have the Jolly Postman deliver a letter to?”
Song: “Mail Carrier”
Introduce Pen Pals activity / Poem/Song: “Mail Myself to You”
Exploring Envelopes: Show envelopes and packages of different sizes.
Movement: “Freeze Dance” (see below) / QOTD: Should we send more letters to our pen pals? (Y/N)
Discussion – Problem Solving: Use puppets to present a brief story about friends who have a problem they need to solve. Invite children to propose solutions; then re-enact.
Friendship Poem: Read/teach a poem about friends
Movement: “Partner Simon Says” (see below)
Thurs / Song: “Mail Carrier”
Pen Pals follow-up – Share a few examples of letters that children wrote yesterday.
Movement: “Big, Medium, Small” (see below) / Morning Message
Pen Pals: Read/distribute letters received from partner classroom (if you’ve received any).
Movement: “Freeze Dance” (see Wed.) / Shared Writing: Involve children in composing a letter together as a class.
Fri / QOTD: “Do you want to write another letter at school today?” (Y / N / I don’t know)
Pen Pals next steps / QOTD: “What kind of mail do you like better, letters or postcards?”
Poem: “Post Office” (or repeat another song from this unit)
Experience Chart: Invite children to talk about what they explored and learned this week. / QOTD: “What will you do with a friend with today?”
Friendship Song/Poem: Repeat from earlier in the week.
Movement: “Partner Simon Says” (see Wed.)
Movement / Ask children to march in place with big steps, then medium steps, then small (or tiny). Repeat with arm circles, kicks, etc.; vary the order (sometimes starting with small). Allow children to suggest new movements. / Freeze Dance: When the music stops, children must freeze in specific positions, indicated by cards with stick-figure drawings (e.g., 2 children holding hands, hugging, etc.). Show the picture before the music stops, for an extra self-regulation challenge. / “Partner Simon Says”: each child links arms with a partner and follows directions in unison – jumping together, clapping (one child’s right hand with other’s left), turning in circle, etc. Disregard the usual Simon Says rules; getting children “out” isn’t the point here.
Centers
Blocks / Materials to act out fairy tales – e.g., bears and blond doll – if desired / Community helper figure of postal worker
Boxes in different sizes, and variety of heavy and light items to put in them. / Photos of friends – either ones that families have sent in, or that you have taken of the children at school.
Dr Play / Materials to act out fairy tales – e.g., oatmeal box, red cape, etc. – if desired / “Classroom Post Office”:
Envelopes/boxes in varied sizes
Variety of mail (letters, postcards, advertisements, greeting cards, etc.)
Stickers or stamps/ink pads
Balance scales
Mailman uniform/ bag / Classroom Post Office
Toys-Games / Big, Medium, Small:Variety of materials in different sizes for children to sort; three containers, labeled with word and symbol. / Mailbox Matching Game: Shoeboxes or manila folders, each labeled with a number or letter; “mail” labeled with the same numbers/ letters
Art / Ink pads and stamps
Paper circles, pompoms or popsicle sticks of different sizes (small, med, large) for collages / Pictures of symmetrical paintings/drawings
Cloud dough; playdough tools
Library/Writing / Read-aloud books
Puppets or flannelboard pieces related to fairy tales– if desired / Envelopes, paper, children’s name cards
Poster with children's pictures and name, to facilitate letter-writing to classmates. / Other books about friendship (if available)
Discovery (Science) / Variety of mail items – postcards, greeting cards, flyers, etc. – some of them cut into pieces
Magnifying lenses / “I Like”/ “I Don’t Like”: Have a variety of items for children to smell, with a chart labeled “I Like”/ “I Don’t Like” (or a smile face/frown face). Compare results between different students to find out what they have in common.
Sand-Water
Music-Movement
Computer / To support children’s interest in patterning:
/ To build on children’s experience with symmetry (see small-group activity):
Outdoors / “Simon Says” – Embedded Assessment for gross motor objectives.
Do this activity in small groups of 3-6 children, spreading it out throughout the week as needed.
Materials needed: balls to kick and catch; cones or tricycles to serve as obstacles. / Play “Friendship Tag,” in which children link arms and run in pairs as ‘friends.’
As children play, comment on kind acts, cooperation, examples of helping or solving problems, etc.
Other
Family Involvement / communication / If possible, plan a class trip to the local post office or ask a postal worker to visit the classroom.
After sending home family letter about theme, follow up later in the week to remind/encourage parents to write letters to their children at school.
There are always props and materials needed for classroom activities, and parents can be extremely helpful by donating or lending items. This week items include different size boxes, different size/ shape envelopes, old greeting cards/ postcards, circulars/advertisements, magazine pictures or photos of vacation spots. / Letter-writing is a perfect way to bring home and school together. Encourage all families to send in a letter for their preschooler—in an envelope, labeled with child’s name, so it can be delivered through the classroom post office! (Be prepared with special letters for the children than may not receive one from home.)
Ask families to contribute other mail for the classroom post office, such as junk mail, circulars, etc. If they have any letters or postcards from family members far away, ask to borrow these (to connect to Dear Juno).
If it’s not possible to arrange a visit to the post office, find out what time the mail is typically delivered to your center, and take an excursion with a small group of children to wait for the mail carrier and ask him/her questions. Bring a camera! / In this final week of the theme, make one last request for families to send in letters for their preschoolers. Update family members individually (informally) about their children’s letter-writing activities: what have children been writing letters about? what aspects of the classroom post office is their child most interested in? etc. You can also encourage families to continue writing letters with children at home … to send to family members, friends, or even to teachers!
If materials are still needed for the Postcards small-group activity—e.g., magazines with photos, examples of real postcards—ask families to contribute these.
Update families on what you have been discussing regarding friendship, helping friends and solving problems with friends. In particular, let individual families know if their children have responded strongly to any of the books; have been talking about specific friends in the classroom; or any other individual updates you think families might like to know.
Materials Needed:
The following list compiles any new, unusual or important materials needed for this unit. (Materials are also listed under the appropriate small-group activity, read-aloud guide or lesson plan for that week.) Items are listed only in the first week they are used, but may be re-used in a later week of the theme.
Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3-Various animal puppets or small plastic animals (should start with a clear consonant sound: e.g., cat, dog, goose, mouse)
-Picture cards of items with varied initial sounds
-Information about pen-pal classroom: name cards for students; address of classroom written out; list of which of your students are writing to which of theirs (if applicable)
-Envelopes
-Ink pads and stamps – including ABC stamps and one other type
-Materials to retell/act out fairy tales (if desired)
-Big, medium and small items
-Balls and cones (for Simon Says outdoors) / -Pattern cards(see examples provided in Activities packet)
-Post office materials (also see Intro to Post Office small-group activity):
- Mailbox, sorting boxes (shoeboxes, manila envelopes, hanging shoe organizer, etc.)
- Variety of envelopes and boxes
- Stickers/stamps/ink pads
- Mail carrier uniform/bag(s)
-Mailbox Matching Game – shoeboxes or manila folders, each labeled with a number or letter, and a stack of “mail” labeled with the same numbers/ letters.
-Poster with children's pictures and name, to facilitate letter-writing to classmates. (Also consider doing this for pen-pal classroom.) / -Picture of a butterfly or other symmetrical animal/object (self-made or printed from internet)
-Old postcards (donated by parents, collected by you, or self-made)
-Photos, magazine clippings, greeting cards, etc. showing varied places or activities
-Flour
-Baby oil (or other type of oil – olive, canola, etc.)
-Large butcher paper
-Photos of friends – either ones that families have sent in, or that you have taken of the children at school.
-Variety of items for children to smell, with a chart labeled “I Like”/ “I Don’t Like” (or a smile face/frown face).
© 2013 Acelero, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Uses are subject to the limitations set forth in your user agreement. Your right to use these materials is contingent upon remaining a current SARGE subscriber with Acelero, Inc.