Curriculum Plans Unit Mappage 1 of 5

Curriculum Plans—Unit MapPage 1 of 5

Theme 5: “Neighborhood”

Book List:

The following books are included in this unit as read-alouds; copies will be provided to each classroom.

Trashy Town / Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha
Career Day / Anne Rockwell
A Chair for My Mother / Vera B. Williams
Caps for Sale(Se venden gorras) / Esphyr Slobodkina
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel / Virginia Lee Burton
The Dumpster Diver / Janet S. Wong
Recycle! A Handbook for Kids / Gail Gibbons

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:

My Community / J. Jean Robertson
Helpers in My Community
(Ayudante de mi comunidad) / Bobbie Kalman
Pig-Pig Gets a Job / David McPhail
The Three Little Pigs / James Marshall
Fire Trucks and Rescue Vehicles / Jean Coppendale
Garbage Trucks / Terri DeGezelle
I Stink! / Kate & Jim McMullan
Don't Throw That Away! / Lara Bergen
The Three Rs: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle / Nuria Roca
We Need Custodians (Helpers in our Schools) / Jane Scoggins Bauld

© 2012 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.

Curriculum Plans—Unit MapPage 1 of 5

Theme 5: “Neighborhood”

Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3
Big Idea(s) / What and who are in our neighborhood? In the first week of this new theme, children will explore ideas about “neighborhood” by focusing on the key places in our community and the variety of jobs that people do. / Children will continue their exploration of neighborhood and jobs through read-alouds and dramatic play related to a particular neighborhood place. We will also begin a “decomposition bin” experiment, as part of a deeper investigation into trash and recycling that will continue through the second half of this theme. / Students will conclude their study of “Neighborhood” by delving deeper into concepts of trash and recycling.
Read-Alouds
Mon / Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha / A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams / Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Tues / Career Day by Anne Rockwell / A Chair for My Mother / Trashy Town
The Dumpster Diver by Janet S. Wong
Wed / Trashy Town
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton / Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina / The Dumpster Diver
Thurs / Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel / Rereading (child choice) – A Chair for My Mother or Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel / Caps for Sale / Se venden gorras
Fri / Career Day / Rereading – the other book from yesterday / Rereading (teacher’s choice)
Small Groups
Mon / Group 1 – Building a Neighborhood / Group 1 – Neighborhood Props / Group 1 – Patterns with Caps
Tues / Group 1 – Community Helpers in the Block Area / Group 1 – Moving Heavy Objects / Group 1 – Sorting Recycling
Wed / Group 1: Buried Letters / Group 1 – Counting Coins / Group 1—Garbage Art
Thurs / Group 1 – “Favorite Jobs” Class Book / Group 1 – Decomposition: Part 1 / Group 1 – Decomposition: Part 2
Circle Time
Mon / Question of the Day (QOTD): What part of our neighborhood do you like best?
Intro to small-group time: “What do you think I have in my bag?” Have community helpers hidden in the bag. / Question of the Day (QOTD): Where did you go in the neighborhood this weekend?
Previewing dramatic play:Remind children of last week’s discussion about having a neighborhood place in Dramatic Play. Show a few examples of new items you’ve added to this area. / Question of the Day (QOTD): Did you throw something in the trash today? (Yes/No/Not Sure)
Decomposition bin: Bring bin/jar to meeting area and ask children what changes they notice since last week. Explain that some items won’t ever decompose – that’s why we need to recycle them!
Tues / QOTD: Which job would you most like to do? (Police officer, fire fighter, garbage collector)
What do we know about jobs? Start KWL chart or have an open-ended discussion. / QOTD: Would you like to work in a ______? (Y/N) Customize this question to reflect the neighborhood place in your Dramatic Play area.
Song: “People in Your Neighborhood” / Song: “One Bottle of Pop”
Movement: “Trashy Town March”
Wed / QOTD: Which job would you most like to do?
Song – “People in Your Neighborhood.”
Song – “Wheels on the Bus.”
Movement: Trashy Town March / Discussion: What have we learned about jobs?
“Decomposition Bin” (see instructions in Activities packet) – Show children the bin/jar, explaining that this will help us see what happens to things that people throw in the garbage! / Song: “One Bottle of Pop”
Nursery Rhyme: introduce new one and/or revisit old favorites.
Introduce Small-Group Activity:Show children a few of the materials available for “garbage art.”
Thurs / Song – “People in Your Neighborhood.”
Morning Message:
Next week we will turn Dramatic Play into a special neighborhood place. Can you help me?
Talk about the place you will create in Dramatic Play next week (doctor’s office, restaurant, etc.). Ask for children’s ideas about how to do this: / Morning Message:
There are 3 things in our decomposition bin:

Bread
Apple
Plastic bottle

I wonder if any of them have changed?
Customize this message as appropriate.
Movement: “Monkey See, Monkey Do” / Nursery Rhyme: Repeat new one (see Wednesday) and/or revisit old favorites.
Morning Message:
Mr. Gilly keeps Trashy Town clean. What are some ways we can keep our classroom clean?
Have follow-up discussion, inviting children to share ideas about keeping the classroom clean.
Fri / Songs – “People in Your Neighborhood” and/or “Wheels on the Bus.”
Continue discussion about “Planning a neighborhood place for Dramatic Play.” / QOTD: Do you have a T in your name, like Trashy Town? (Y/N)
Debrief Dramatic Play: Talk about what children have been doing in the “neighborhood place” this week. If possible, show some photos you’ve taken of children playing there. / QOTD: What would you like to find in a dumpster? [Provide 2-3 choices, with visual examples if possible]
Song: “One Bottle of Pop” – teach new verse related to recycling, if desired
Discussion: What have we learned about trash and recycling?
Centers
Blocks / Photos of neighborhood places (actual ones from your neighborhood, or generic ones you find online) – e.g., pizza parlor, fire station, park, doctor’s office.
Community-worker figures, vehicles
Mid-week: Add buildings children constructed during small-group (from milk cartons/etc.) / Buildings children created last week (from milk cartons, etc.)
Photos of children’s block play last week and/or from your neighborhood walk / Garbage trucks
Small containers to serve as “trash cans”
Pictures of garbage or recycling trucks, litter/trash, dumps/landfills, etc.
Dr Play / Career hats/uniforms – e.g., police, firefighter, doctor, chef
Tools related to community jobs – e.g., toolbox, stethoscope, prescription pads, etc. / “Neighborhood Place” – Create the community place that you discussed with children last week – doctors’ office, restaurant, fire station, etc. / Keep: “Neighborhood Place”
Add:
Wastebaskets/trash cans, recycling bins
Toys-Games / Community helpers puzzles (if available)
Community Helper Memory (see ) / Picture-cards showing community jobs and their corresponding vehicles/tools. (See Activities packet from Week 1 of this theme)
Pennies or other coins, number lines, baggies – see “Counting Coins” small-group activity
Art / Playdough with people-shaped cookie cutters / Recycling bins
Recycled objects or reusable trash– see “Garbage Art” small-group activity
Newspaper
Library/Writing / Read-aloud books from this unit
Non-fiction books about jobs, if available / Materials to make recycling labels/signs (including examples of recycling symbol – find images online)
Discovery (Science) / Add to collections with findings from neighborhood walk. / Mid-week – “Decomposition Bins” to observe
Journals for recording/drawing observations
Sand-Water / Sand molds
Construction vehicles/garbage trucks / Shredded paper, scissors, hole punches, small containers to fill and sort
Music-Movement / Instruments used by the children and families in your classroom. / Containers with lids, such as oatmeal containers, coffee cans, or cups with lids.
Computer /
/
Outdoors / Neighborhood walk – Go on a walk to look for people doing jobs in the community, or buildings that relate to different jobs.
Wagons/wheelbarrows/carts – and heavy objects (e.g. large blocks) to transport.
Career props – “hoses,” nets, whistles. / Extend the Dramatic Play “neighborhood place” into outside time, if possible. Engage children in deciding which items and props they could take outdoors! / Take a neighborhood walk – ideally on trash pick-up day – to see trash/recycling in action. Count trash cans, look for the recycling symbol, or perhaps even see the trash/recycling truck and talk to the sanitation worker! Alternatively, take a “clean-up walk” to pick up litter (wearing disposable gloves and being careful of sharp or dangerous objects).
Other
Family Involvement / communication / Invite parent volunteers to join you on a neighborhood walk. Talk to families to find out what buildings or areas in the neighborhood are important to them. For example, are there certain parks or stores that children are familiar with? Encourage parents to point out any community workers they pass on the way to school.
Encourage parents to discuss their jobs with children at home. If any family members have community jobs – e.g., police officer, firefighter, bus driver, pizza store manager, etc. – invite them to come in and talk to children about what they do. OR ask if they can arrange a “walking field trip” (if feasible) to that community location!
Ask families to donate items for “Building the Neighborhood” – milk cartons, paper towel tubes, cardboard, etc. – or to lend items that will help you transform Dramatic Play into a neighborhood place next week. This will vary, depending what your children are interested in; see ** note above. / Ask families to donate items for small-group activities, such as building materials (paper-towel tubes, fabric scraps) and recyclables (paper, cardboard, plastic bottles – should be empty and reasonably clean!)
During arrival or departure times, encourage children to tell their parents about important activities from this curriculum unit. For example, children could show the buildings they’ve created, the dramatic play area, or the decomposition bin.
Investigate opportunities for children to see trash/recycling in action during the final week of this theme; Could you go outside on a certain day/time to see trash being collected on your street? Perhaps you can even convince the garbage/recycling collector to take a quick break to talk to the class! / Ask custodians to come talk to the students about recycling. Make plans for neighborhood walk to observe trash/recycling pickup (if possible – see Outside Time, below).
Talk to families about the different aspects of “Neighborhood” you have explored during the past few weeks – for example, specific buildings or places in the community; jobs that children were interested in; trash and recycling. Different children will respond to different aspects of the curriculum and you can share those individual experiences with families. Encourage families to continue exploring and talking about their neighborhood even after this theme ends!

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
-Magnetic letters, magnetic wands (OR any small letter manipulatives)
-Photos of neighborhood buildings (actual ones from your neighborhood, if possible – or generic ones printed from internet)
-Community helper figurines and related vehicles (if available)
-Materials to create buildings (collected or donated from families) – e.g., clean, empty milk cartons, paper-towel tubes, cardboard scraps, popsicle sticks, toothpicks, etc.
-Career hats/uniforms – e.g., police, firefighter, doctor, chef
-Tools related to community jobs – e.g., toolbox, stethoscope, prescription pads, etc.
-Community helpers puzzles (if available)
-Community Helper Memory () / -Heavy objects (rocks, large blocks, bucket of sand, etc.)
-Wheelbarrow, wagon, dolly, or other device with wheels and a flat surface
-Materials to create props for neighborhood place in Dramatic Play (will vary): 3D materials, e.g. paper-towel tubes, popsicle sticks, cardboard, pipe cleaners; fabric for costume items; pictures of this neighborhood place / related jobs
-Large quantity of coins –real pennies if possible, or play coins/counters
-Plastic baggies
-Number lines
-Decomposition Bin(s)– see
-Magnifying lenses
-Science Journal for each child
-Containers with lids (oatmeal boxes, coffee cans, etc)
-Picture-cards of community jobs and their tools/ vehicles(see Activities packet) / -Small objects to represent caps—counters, coins, foam circles, etc.—in at least 3 different colors
-Pattern cards
-Recycling: A Handbook for Kids by Gail Gibbons
-Variety of recyclable items (collected from classroom or donated by families) – plastic bottles, milk cartons, aluminum cans, newspaper, cereal boxes, glass jars, etc.
-Multiple bins/boxes for sorting materials
-Collage materials—scrap paper, ribbon, cotton balls, etc.
-Example of recycling symbol (find online)
-Shredded paper