The next day, I introduced the pan balance and how we compare the weights of objects. To begin, I held up two identical containers that were filled with different objects. One container had matchbox cars and the other had plastic chain links. I passed each container around and asked the children if the containers felt different. They all agreed that the container filled with cars felt heavier. Next, I showed them the pan balance and asked the children what they noticed. We discussed the word "balance" and I explained that the two empty pans are the same height or level. I placed the container with cars in the pan and asked for observations. I asked, "Why do you think the pan with the container is lower? What happens to the other pan when one goes down? What do you think will happen if we add the other container to the other side? Why?” I then added the second container with the links to the other side. The children noticed that because the side with the cars was lower, it was heavier than the links. Finally, I displayed a variety of objects and selected a child to select two objects. They told the class which object felt heavier as they pretended to be a pan balance. We tested the results by weighting the objects on the pan balance.
In addition, the children learned how to count dominoes and match them under the correct number. We also played the "Monster Squeeze Game" and measured farm animal cut-outs using unifix cubes (pictured below).
They labeled their illustration and/or wrote a sentence about what they drew by stretching out the sounds they heard.
On Wednesday, we began our Thanksgiving unit. We read stories pertaining to Thanksgiving and read an emergent reader titled "Turkeys" chorally as a class. This story included two high-frequency words: by and the. The children used the pictures as clues in order to successfully read the story.
During Guided Reading, the students rotated between 5 new literacy centers. They are listed below :)
- Q-tip Letters- children dipped a Q-tip in paint and filled in the circle for each letter.
- Highway Letters- Children used cars to trace letters and then used dry erase boards to form each letter properly.
- Writing Center- Children completed the writing prompt “A Pumpkin is…” by stretching out the sounds they heard and drawing a detailed picture to match their words.
- Sight Word Center- Children used word work mats to “say it, build it (using wiki sticks), and write it.”
- Teen Number Race- Children spun a number and recorded it on their recording sheet.