Kindergarten
Social Studies/Integrated Writing
Fourth Grading Period – Weeks 1- 9 CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
Big Idea / RationaleForm, Function and Inter-relationships
An integrated curriculum deepens children’s knowledge of themselves and the world around them. During these units, children begin to learn about the individual parts of a system, the role each part plays and how these parts interact to function as a whole. Authentic connections with Writing have been integrated into the Social Studies Curriculum Guide. / Form, Function and Inter-relationships
Learning about gardens and ocean life, students begin to see how important our environment is to us and all living things. It is important that we help kindergarten children establish an understanding of their environment and their responsibility for taking care of it. By engaging in meaningful activities and interacting with each other, students will learn about how they inter-relate with others as well as their environment.
Social Studies TEKS / Guidelines Specificity - Intended Outcome
K.5 Geography. The student understands the physical and human characteristics of the environment. The student is expected to:
A. identify the physical characteristics of places such as landforms, bodies of water, natural resources, and weather;
K.6 Economics. The student understands that basic human needs are met in many ways. The student is expected to:
A. identify basic human needs;
K.12 Culture. The student understands how people learn about themselves through family customs and traditions. The student is expected to:
C. describe customs of the local community.
K.15 Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of sources including electronic technology. The student is expected to:
A. obtain information about a topic using a variety of oral sources such as conversations, interviews, and
music;
B. obtain information about a topic using a variety of visual sources such as pictures, symbols, television,
maps, computer images, print material, and artifacts;
C. sequence and categorize information; and
D. identify main ideas from oral, visual, and print sources. / ” I CAN” statements highlighted in yellow should be displayed for students.
I can:
· name characteristics of places such as land and water
· name things we get from the environment.
· name things I need to grow, such as food, clothes and shelter.
· tell about celebrations we have in San Antonio
· learn ways to get along with others in school.
· learn how to work with others.
· respect differences among friends.
· use proper social skills in the classroom and beyond to demonstrate good citizenship in action.
· actively problem-solve with my teacher and classmates.
· demonstrate the ability to work/play safely in learning centers.
· sequence and sort information
· tell main ideas from stories or pictures
· tell you my thoughts and watch as you write them down.
· use what I know about letter sounds and sight words to participate in interactive writing lessons.
· use what I know about letter sounds and sight words to write my own thoughts down.
· label my drawings using what I know about letters sounds and sight words.
K.16 Social Studies Skills. The student communicates in oral and visual forms. The student is expected to:
A. express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences.
K.17 Social Studies Skills The student uses problem solving and decision-making skills, working independently and with others, in a variety of settings. The student is expected to:
A. Use a problem-solving process to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options,
consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the
effectiveness of the solution.
B. Use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, identify options, predict consequences, and take action to implement a decision.
K.15 Writing/composition. The student composes original texts. The student is expected to:
A. dictate messages such as news and stories for others to write (K-1);
B. write labels, notes, and captions for illustrations, possessions, charts, centers (K-1);
C. write to record ideas and reflections (K-3);
D. generate ideas before writing on self-selected topics (K-1);
E. generate ideas before writing on assigned tasks (K-1); and
Evidence of Learning
· Students will demonstrate appropriate social skills in the classroom by following classroom rules with 80% accuracy.
· Students will demonstrate awareness of rules by working in centers with 80% accuracy.
· Students will name some physical characteristics of places such as land and water, with 80% accuracy.
· Students will identify some natural resources that are provided to us by plants with 80% accuracy.
· During Shared Writing lessons students will orally participate in the writing process with 80% accuracy.
· During Interactive Writing lessons, 80% of the students will actively participate in labeling and illustrating writing products.
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
· What do living things need in order to grow?
· What do we get from the environment?
· Why do we need to care for our environment? / · Child identifies similarities and differences in characteristics in personal relationships. (Pre-K VII. A.1.)
· Child organizes their life around event, time and routines. (Pre-K VII. A.3.)
· Child discusses that all people need food, clothing and shelter. (Pre-K VII. B.1.)
· Child discusses the roles and responsibilities of community workers. (Pre-K VII. B.3.)
· Child identifies and creates common features in their immediate environment. (Pre-K VII. C.1.)
The Teaching Plan
Instructional Model & Teacher Directions
The teacher will … / So students can… / Resources
Weeks 1-4 : Everything Grows
Week 1:
Making Connections: April 22 is Earth Day. During this theme we will focus on the importance of caring for our environment. Prior to the beginning of this unit…Create a garden or green house using a small plastic pool. Add soil, gardening gloves, blunt edge gardening tools, plastic flowers, a gardening hat, play lawn mowers, play wheelbarrows, a watering can or a piece of watering hose, etc. Students can pretend to be Gardeners and will practice new vocabulary by using the props made available to them. Through this type of role-playing, students develop problem-solving and communication skills that help them through meaningful activities.
Day 1-5
Allow students to work in the Dramatic Play Center during center time. Remember to implement the Center Management System and remind students that everyone will have an opportunity to work in the center over the course of the unit.
Day 1:
· Activating Prior Knowledge: Engage the children in a Shared Writing lesson. Ask, “What are some things we get from our Earth. What would happen if the Earth ran out of water? What could happen if we don’t take care of our Earth?” Write children’s responses on a chart tablet.
· Read the book, Wump World/El Lorax. Ask, “What happened to Wump’s or Lorax’s world? “ Explain that during the next few weeks they will learn about how important it is to take care of our Earth.
Day 2:
· Review the story the story you read yesterday.
· Tell the children they are going to begin caring for the Earth by helping to keep the school clean.
· Take the children for a walk around the campus. Take a trash bag and ask the children to help you pick up paper and cans that are thrown on the ground. (NOTE: Walk around the area prior to taking the children to make sure there aren’t any dangerous item such as glass, needles, etc)
· Upon returning with the children, have them wash their hands.
· Invite the children to the carpet. Ask, “What did you notice about our school ground?” (Perhaps it was very clean or perhaps it had a lot of trash.) What can we do to keep it clean?” Write their responses down on a chart tablet.
Day 3-5:
· Tell the children that sometimes we need to be reminded about putting our trash in the trashcans. Ask, “What are some ways we can remind all the children in our school to put trash where it belongs?”
· Create a sign by inviting the children to help you through interactive writing. For example, “Please throw trash in trashcans.”, “Please don’t litter.”, or “Help keep our school clean.” Ask a couple of children to illustrate it.
· Have the children make their own signs and post them around the campus.
Week 2: Everything Grows
Day 1-5:
· Allow students to work in the Dramatic Play Center during center time. Remember to implement the Center Management System and remind students that everyone will have an opportunity to work in the center over the course of the unit.
Day 1:
· Show the children a picture of our Earth or use the globe. Point to on all the blue and ask, “What is all of this?” Explain that while most of the Earth is made up of water, it’s not all safe for drinking. Our drinking water comes from lakes, rivers or from wells underground. Explain the importance of not wasting water.
· Read the book Saving Water/ Ahorrar agua or another book about conserving water.
· Ask the children, “What are some ways we can save water?” (Shutting off the water while you’re brushing your teeth or washing your hands. Watering the yard or plants with a watering can. etc)
· Do a Shared Writing activity by recording their responses on a cart tablet.
Day 2:
· Review the story read aloud yesterday and the children’s responses to the questions.
· Explain to the children that saving water is everyone’s responsibility. Ask the children, “How can we tell others about the importance of saving water?”
· Explain to the children that they will be making a mural telling about the ways they can save water. Invite the children to help you write the following statement through interactive writing: “I am not a water waster. I……” onto a sheet of butcher paper and add it to the Writing Center.
Day 3-5:
· Review the ideas the children gave about how they can save water.
· Tell the children that you have added the butcher paper for the mural to the Writing Center. Add markers.
· Tell the children that when they are at centers they can write and illustrate their idea of how they will save water.
· Ask the children for ideas for where they think you could hang the mural when it’s complete.
Week 3: Everything Grows
Day 1-5:
· Allow students to work in the Dramatic Play Center during center time. Remember to implement the Center Management System and remind students that everyone will have an opportunity to work in the center over the course of the unit.
Making Connections: While this the week Earth Day falls on, it is also Fiesta Week in San Antonio. As this event is relevant to our students we will take a short break from the Earth Day focus and spend the next few days discussing San Antonio’s Fiesta Celebration.
Day 1:
· Ask the children what they think Fiesta is. Record their responses as a Shared Writing activity.
· Show the children the Fiesta Power Point/ Fiesta Power Point-Spanish.
· Ask, “Has anyone ever been to any of the Fiesta activities? Which ones?” Tell the children that this is “Fiesta” week in San Antonio. Our city celebrates with many activities.
Day 2:
Prior to the lesson, select some of the blocks and wrap them in different colors of tissue paper to simulate parade floats. Add some small dolls or plastic people figures for the children to use as they create a parade at the Block Center.
· Review the discussion about Fiesta.
· Ask, “What is a parade?” ,“What do you see at a parade?” Record their responses as a Shared Writing experience.
· Read the book Parade/Vamos al desfile or a book about a parade.
· Ask, “What are some things we learned about parades? What are some things we saw and heard about in the book?” Tell the children that a parade involves a great deal of planning. Besides determining who will march in the parade and how many floats there will be, a parade route has to be chosen. Explain that a parade route is a kind of map that tells those who are in the parade where they will be marching and those who want to watch the parade where they can sit to watch.
· Invite the children to help you write their responses interactively on a sheet of chart paper. Ask a couple of the students to illustrate it.
· Tell the children that when they visit the block center during center time, they can create a parade using the blocks and toys that you have added to the block center.
· Provide paper and crayons to the block center. Tell the children that after they finish setting up their parade route using the blocks, they need to draw the route out on paper.
Day 3-5:
· Prior to the lesson, add small squares of colored tissue paper and pipe cleaners to the art center for the children to make tissue flowers. Include some larger sheets of tissue paper to make paper flags.
· Review the discussion about Fiesta.
· Ask, “When you have a party, what do you use to make the party look colorful? (balloons, colorful napkins and plates, table decorations, etc.) Invite the children to help create a list of their responses through interactive writing.
· Explain that during Fiesta we see a lot of color decorations. Some people make paper flowers and “papel picado” (colorful tissue paper flags)
· Tell the children that when they visit the art center, they will have an opportunity to create paper flowers and “papel picado”. How to make tissue paper flowers. How to make Papel Picado.