For this lesson, you will need:
Sticker basket
Sticker chart
Construction paper and glue
Scissors
Glue
Household junk such as: Bottle caps, toilet paper rolls, empty jugs or cartons, etc.
Household items such as: Telephone, clock, electric hand mixer, toy car,
toothbrush, camera, DVD, etc.
Picture of Alexander Graham Bell (see below)
Snack ingredients
Welcome Song: (To tune of Old MacDonald):
Welcome, welcome everyone
So glad that you are here.
Today we’re gonna have some fun
So let’s give out a cheer
Woo hoo!!
Clap clap clap clap
Slap(legs) slap slap slap
Clap clap clap let’s go! (when you shout “let’s go!”, do a group high five in the center)
Question of the day: What do you think is the most important thing/item in your whole house, and why? Allow each child to share their answer. Share your answer with the children as well.
Number of the Day ‘9’: Before Preschool cut out 9 strips of construction paper and write the following phrases on them :
1. Jump 9 times
2. Name 9 colors
3. Say 9 girl names
4. Say 9 words that rhyme with ‘at’
5. Do 9 sign language signs
6. Think of 9 favorite foods
7. Name 9 sports
8. Name 9 animals
9. Name 9 things you find at the grocery store
Link these strips of paper together with a stapler to make a paper chain. When it’s time for the number of the day, tell them they will be getting some great practice with the number 9 today (display the number 9 on a piece of paper). Give each child a turn (or multiple turns) to tear off a link and have you read it aloud. Tell them they must do whatever the chain tells them to do. You may choose to either have one child give an answer for each strip, or to have everyone pitch in their answers.
When done with this activity, pass around the sticker basket and allow them to choose 9 stickers to put on the sticker chart (see “Shall We Begin?” posting on Feb 2 for details)
Letter of the Day ‘I’: Lead the children in a game of “I’m thinking of a _______ (thing, animal, place),” centered around things that begin with the letter ‘I’. Rather than having them come up with questions about what you’re thinking of, give them clues.
“I’m thinking of a thing. It’s something that you eat. Any guesses?
It comes in lots of colors. Anyone have any ideas?
It’s very cold on my tongue. Who thinks they might know what it is?
My favorite flavor is chocolate. ????
Sometimes it comes in a cone.” (ICE CREAM!)
Other ideas: Ice, Igloo, Irish, Icicles, Inch, Itch, Insect, Instrument, Iron, etc.
Play game as many times as you wish. At the end, review the words you used in the game and ask what letter all of them start with.
Demonstrate how to write the letter Ii and allow them to practice in their writing notebooks. Show ASL signs for I and explain the two different sounds the letter makes.
Show ASL signs for Ice, Insect and Invention.
Introduction of Topic: Before Preschool, gather several of the following items together:
Telephone
Clock
CD player (ipod, mp3 player…)
Flashlight
Camera
Toy Car
Toothbrush
DVD
Electric Mixer
Any other cool gadgets you might find lying around the house
Pick up the telephone and say, “What do you think we would do if we didn’t have a telephone? How would we talk to people that are far away? How would we get help in an emergency?” Allow children to give their answers.
“Did you know that a long time ago, nobody in the whole world had phones? A long time ago, instead of calling each other, people would write letters and give them to a man. That man would then jump on his horse and ride around until all of the letters were delivered. If people needed to speak to someone right away, they would either run or ride a horse to find the people they needed to talk to.” (Hold up the toy car and explain that nobody had cars back then either.) Ask them if they can imagine having to run all the way to their Grandma’s or friend’s house every time they needed to talk to them.
Hold up a few more of the items and explain what people did before these things were available for use.
(Before flashlights, people would use candles. Before Cameras people created drawings and paintings. Before Toothbrushes, many people had rotten teeth! )
Hold up the telephone again.
Do you want to know about the person who made the telephone?
His name was Alexander Graham Bell.
Tell the following story using picture when necessary:
Story: “When Alexander was just a small boy, about your age, he loved to read and write. How many of you like to read? Because he loved to read so much, he developed a wonderful imagination. He liked to think a lot, and come up with new ways to do things. When he was 14 years old, his father asked him to think of a way to get the husks off of wheat. (Wheat is a plant we use to make flour. The husk is the outside of the plant that we do not eat ) He knew that if he thought hard enough, he could come up with a way to do it really fast. He thought about it, and he tried different things. Most of the things he tried didn’t work very well, but he didn’t stop trying. Finally, he came up with a tool that worked perfectly. He put some nails on a board and used it to brush the husks away from the wheat. He was really happy that he kept on trying.
(Hold up picture of AGB. if you wish) When he was older, he did some more experimenting and tried to find a way to talk to people without having to run to their house. He worked really hard, and tried lots of different things, and finally created the telephone!!
All these things we have now (point to the pile of items) are called inventions: They all were made from different people who had an idea in their mind, and worked hard to make something new and something better than what they already had.
I’m sure glad there was someone who had an idea to invent cars! I don’t like to walk places when it’s freezing cold outside. And it sure is nice to have a way to listen to music, because I don’t know how much you’d like to have to listen to ME sing all day :)!
Anyone can invent new things. Even you can be an inventor. All you have to have is a little bit of imagination. Raise your hand if you think you have an imagination!”
Activity: Lead a brainstorm session about what the children would like to invent. Emphasize that all ideas are great ideas. Add a few of your own ideas: A robot that brings me breakfast in bed and rubs my feet. A machine that will let you choose your own dreams at night! Let their imaginations roam free.
Craft: Provide a table full of household ‘junk’. Milk cartons, cardboard, bottle caps, toilet paper tubes, etc. and allow children to create something of their very own. No limitations (except for maybe the amount of glue they use).
Snack: Provide some ingredients for children to put together themselves and invent their own snack. They’ll be so proud….even if it doesn’t taste that good.
Service: Have children use the telephone from the lesson, to call a friend or family member and wish them a happy day.
Goodbye song: To the tune of “If You’re Happy and you Know it”
If you’ve learned a lot today, clap your hands (clap clap)
Here’s the letter of the day (sign the letter I), clap your hands (clap clap)
Oh, we’ve had a lot of fun,
Now our preschool time is done (tap index finger to wrist)
See you next time (wave) and we’ll do it all again! (Clap clap.)
