On the first day of school, the body of a dragonfly was displayed in a clear container for the students to explore.

The students were fascinated to see a real dragonfly that they used a magnifying glass to explore the body parts of the dragonfly. They also shared their experience of when they encountered a dragonfly. Lessons were implemented to meet the students interests in learning about dragonflies. Lessons were also integrated with the NYS Common Core Standard for Pre-Kindergarten.

Dragonflies
September 10-28 At group time, show pictures of dragonflies and ask the children if they've ever seen these insects. Ask them what they know about the dragonflies and make a chart of their responses. Questions: What do dragonflies eat? Where do they live? Why are they called dragonflies?

*Read factual books about dragonflies or work with children in small group to find factual information about dragonflies on the internet to share with their peers during group meeting. *Life Cycle of a Dragonfly * Body parts of a Dragonfly

Students learned about the body part of dragonfly during morning meeting. Art Media- During choice time Display a stilled dragon fly on the table for observational drawing. Work with the children by pointing out the parts of the dragonfly. * How many legs it has and the patterns on the wings. Allow children to draw dragonflies using pencil or black markers first so children pay attention to the details on a dragonfly's body.

Observational Drawing: The children became motivated about the body of the dragonfly that was displayed in the classroom. Every day the children would get magnifying glasses and explore the dragonfly. The benefits of observational drawing of the dragonfly was learning to see what is in front of them, noticing details and taking the times to draw which encourage the children to become more persistence with their task. Most importantly children are developing language skills where they are engaged in a conversation with their peers about dragonflies. Clay- teaches students how to use clay. Encourage students to follow the same method stated above when using clay.

Paint- Use of colors, how to mix colors. Clean the paintbrush. Students choose an insect from to create their painting.

Bebe read about pillbug and decided to make a painting portrait of a pill bug
Dragonfly Mosaic- Develop math skills and fine motor skills Color patterns

The proper use of the paintbrush to dip in the glie and paste on the cardboard

Molly was very persistence with her task. She was able to create color patterns of her choice. New York State Prekindergarten Learning Standards Writing Standard- Production and Distribution of Writing With guidance and support, respond to questions and suggestions and add details to strengthen illustration or writing, as needed Research to build and Present Knowledge With guidance and support, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. Speaking and Listening Standards: With Guidance and support, participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners with peers and adults in small and large groups. engaged in agreed upon rules for discussion engaged in extended conversations Effectiveness learning in art media When children drew pictures of the dragonflies they had the opportunity to make close observations and become more aware of small details. They promoted fine motor skills. In addition to developing their language skills. Math Activities

Use toy dragonflies or draw dragonflies and make the pictures into small laminated cards. Use the toys or cards in your math center. Count them, pattern them, sort them or weigh them. Promote students to excel in counting and categorization *Students used the toy insects for sorting and counting.

Ricky was able to sort the insects toy and count how many insects were in each bowl. Ricky excelled in counting and sorting. Counting and Cardinality PK.CC Know number names and the count sequence. Count to 20. Count to tell the number of objects. Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities to 10; connect counting to cardinality. When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object. Understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted. The number of objects is the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted. . Science Water Table

Freeze the dragonflies in a bowl of water. Invert the ice mold onto a tray and provide eye droppers, spoons and warm water. Show the children how to use the eye droppers to put water on the dragonflies, eventually melting them. This activity will help students to understand physical properties and build their fine motor skill.

Dragonfly in Ice was an activity for choice time. The purpose of the activity was to allow the students to see the physical change from solid to liquid. It assisted the students on recognizing and describing the effect of his/her action on the ice. The question for the students was how they can get the dragonfly out of the ice. This promoted their thinking skills by answering the questions of why, how and what if through experimentation and investigation. Students were given the opportunity to manipulate and observe the changes of the ice to develop a conclusion. Most importantly students work with their peers to seek input from each other in order to reach the outcome.

Marilyn and Shane worked together to come to a conclusion of how to get the dragonfly out of the ice.

Students work was documented during the experiment to see the growth in language and their knowledge of the task. NYS Pre-Kindergarten Common Core Standard Approaches to Learning: Foundational Skills Identifies a problem and tries to solve it independently Engages with peers and adults to solve problems Approaches to Communication: Foundational Skills Demonstrates that he/she understand what they observe SCIENCE Scientific Thinking Asks questions and makes predictions based on observations and manipulation of things and events in the environment

Block Area Add props such as dragonflies and blue felt for pond. Encourage students to build dragonflies home.

***Students often used magnetic blocks for creating a home of all the insects***The activity assisted student to promote language development, socialization skill with their peers during play. Literacy Read stories about pond life, such as: "Over in the Meadow" by Ezra Jack Keats Counting animals What is a meadow? The characteristics of each animal in the story. "Are You a Dragonfly?" by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries Life cycle of a Dragonfly The importance of the eyes. "In the Small, Small Pond" by Denise Fleming. October 1- 21

Last week students have been talking about butterflies. Cooper brought a book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. We have read the book numerous times during independent reading that we felt it was a perfect opportunity to start the comparison to the dragonfly. We will make a comparison between what they know how butterflies and dragonflies. Comparing the similarities and differences of both insects using Venn Diagram. Read Aloud: From Caterpillar to Butterfly By Deborah Heiligman The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle Are You a Dragonfly? By Judy Allen ****Using books to gather information about the similarities and differences between dragonflies and butterflies. Record students responses to their knowledge of the butterflies.

Discussion during Meeting Time: What would you do if you were a dragonfly? What do you know about butterflies?

What do butterflies and dragonflies have in common? How are they different?

Use of Floor Venn Diagram: Comparison of Butterfly and Dragonfly

Students Independent Work of the Venn Diagram

Comparing Pond and Meadow

October 22- December 14, 2012 After comparing butterflies and dragonflies, we decided to teach students to understand the differences in meadow and pond. In addition to what kind of animals live in the meadow and pond. Prior to this unit, students learned about the life cycle of a dragonfly where in the beginning of its stage the

dragonfly lay its eggs on a pond and live in the water before they were able to breathe in the air. The students learned a new vocabulary: Metamorphosis. Questions to ask during morning meeting: What is a meadow? What is a pond? What kind of animals live in the meadow?

Students brainstorm list of animals in the meadow. What kind of animals live in the pond?

Students brainstorm list of animals in the pond.

Read Alouds Its Mine by Leo Lionni Ask children to tell what it means to share. Ask children how they feel about sharing: Is it important to share? Why do you think that?

 How do you feel when someone shares with you? How do you feel when someone won't share? An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni Read the book An Extraordinary Egg to the students. Stop and ask questions during the reading. Have the students guess what creature is in the egg. List of animals that lay eggs Brainstorm the qualities of a good friends. Have students explain the qualities they have. The Three Billy Goat Gruff by Paul Galdone Over in the Meadow by Ezra Jack Keats In a Small Small Pond by Denise Fleming NYS PRE-K COMMON CORE STANDARD Domain 4: Communication, Language, and Literacy Reading Standards for Literature With prompting and support, ask and answer about detail(s) in a text. With prompting and support, retell familiar stories. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about characters and major events in a story. Integration and Knowledge of Ideas With prompting and support, students will engage in a picture walk to make connections between self, illustrations, and the story.

Math Activities Frog Jump- Students will work in pairs and learn about measurement. They will use masking tape as their start point and take a frog jump where their

partner will use the tape to tape the floor as their finish point. After they are done, they will measure how far they jumped and compare their measurement with their partners. They will each have clipboard, paper and pencil. The students will write their name and document the measurements.

How many insects fit on the bark? Use various bark with different length to allow students to use the toy insects to fit on the bark. This will assist students to understand measurement and counting how many insects can fit on specific bark. Domain 5: Cognition and Knowledge of the World Mathematics Measurement and Data Describe and compare measurable attributes. Identify measurable attributes of objects, such as length, and weight. Describe them using correct vocabulary (e.g., small, big, short, tall, empty, full, heavy, and light). Sort objects and count the number of objects in each category. Sort objects into categories; count the numbers of objects in each category (limit category counts to be less than or equal to 10).

ScienceThe students brainstorm what is a pond. One students mentioned dirt. Prior to muddy ponds, ask students how do we make the dirt muddy? What do we need? Sensory Activity: Muddy Ponds Fill a large plastic container with dirt; next add enough water to make mud. Add some pond animals that you would find in a pond such as: plastic frogs, fish, turtles, and snakes. Let students move the animals through the mud letting it squeeze through their fingers. ArtOne-on-One : After students have brainstormed different animals that lived in the pond and meadow, students will use natural materials to create an animal of their choice. The students will use natural materials to indicate the body parts. In addition, the students will learn how to use a hot glue gun to assemble their artwork.

Marilyn chose to create a flamingo

Habitats
DECEMBER 17- JANUARY 2013 Once the students have created their animal using natural materials, the students began to use different resources such as factual books and computer to gain more knowledge about their animal. This led to the topic on habitats. To introduce this lesson of Habitats, discuss the importance of a home as a class. Talk about the different benefits of living in a home it keeps you warm in the winter, provides shade in the summer, holds food and other belongings, provides a place to sleep, etc. Ask students what it would be like if they lived in a desert instead of in their homes. Then explain that animals have homes as well. In fact, some animals actually live in the desert. Tell students that animals homes are called habitats.

To introduce students to the concept of animal habitats, read them a book such as "My Very First Book of Animal Homes," by Eric Carle or the "Animal Homes Lap Book," by Jodene Lynn Smith. Make sure that students understand how different animals live in different habitats and ask them to guess which habitats common animals live in, such as whales or fish (water/ocean), monkeys or birds (rainforest/trees), etc. Set out two boxes, one with a photo of an ocean and one with a photo of a desert. Then give each student the toy animals , all of which live in either the ocean or in the desert, and ask them to place their animal into the appropriate box. Students should be able to differentiate between animals that make their homes in the water and those that make their homes on dry land. Questions to ask during morning meeting: What is a desert? What is a forest? What is a ocean? What is an environment? What is a climate? What are habitats? What is herbivore? What is omnivore? What is carnivore? Choice time activity Art One-on-One Students will create their own animals habitat for their diorama. Students will research about their animals habitat using resources such as pictures, books and

computer. The students will also explore what materials they will use to create their habitat diorama.

Domain 5: Cognition and Knowledge of the World The Arts Visual Arts 1 Experiments with a variety of mediums and methods of using art materials (such as using a big brush to paint broad strokes, combining colors, etc.). Uses materials to build and create pieces that represent another item (blocks become a castle; clay becomes a snake). Paints, draws and constructs models based on observations.

Blocks Provide props or create props for different animals and habitats to engage student to promote creativity and language during building.

Literacy Rabbits by Melanie Mitchell The Animal Habitats series by Oona Gaarder-Juntti (Antarctica, Prairie, Savannah, Ocean) I See A Kookaburra by Steve Jenkins and Robin Pag Owls and Their Homes by Deborah Chase Gibson Bats and Their Homes by Deborah Chase Gibson Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Woods Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni Gulls, Gulls, Gulls by Gail Gibbon Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Woods How would you describe yourself?

Students will learn to define simile by comparing their characteristics to an object? Animal? The story is based on comparing the characteristic of the character to the animals. The students were asked how they would describe themselves and to which animal they felt they resembled. This introduced the class to the concept of similes. The students created their similes book by drawing the animals they picked and the signs of the characteristics of that animal.

I see Kookaburra by Steve Jenkins Have students describes how animals develop different ways of surviving various climates and environments. Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni How were the fish and the frog alike at the beginning of the story? In what ways did they become different from each other as they grew? How did the fish feel when he heard about the many things the frog had seen?

What happened to the fish when he jumped out of the water? What did he learn from this? Was the frog a good friend to the fish? Why do you think that NYS PRE-K COMMON CORE STANDARD Domain 4: Communication, Language, and Literacy Reading Standards for Literature With prompting and support, ask and answer about detail(s) in a text. With prompting and support, retell familiar stories. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about characters and major events in a story.

Math Animal Count: Children will learn one to one correspondence. They will also sort the plastic insect and document the quantity of the insect on a post it pad.

Take measurements:

Weigh and measure the toy creatures. Students will take notes of different measurements and to be able to document their information. Students will use a balance scale to weight plastic animal toys. Domain 5: Cognition and Knowledge of the World Mathematics Counting and Cardinality Know number names and the count sequence. Count to tell the number of objects. Measurement and Data Describe and compare measurable attributes. Identify measurable attributes of objects, such as length, and weight. Describe them using correct vocabulary (e.g., small, big, short, tall, empty, full, heavy, and light). Science A habitat contains the necessities of life including food, water, shelter and space for the animal to roam. Have students do research on the particular animal to determine what it eats, how it gets its water, and what sort of shelter and amount of space it requires. This will help to create their diorama. Introduce new words about the animal they choose and what their animals eat. Some animals are herbivores and eat only plants. Others are carnivores and eat animals. Omnivores eat both plants and animals. Ask students to think of some animals that eat only plants. If students are stuck, suggest some common farm animals. Explain that scientists have special names for animals that eat only plants: herbivores Encourage students to say this word with the animal(s) they suggested. Example: "A cow is an herbivore." Proceed to the same method for carnivores and omnivore. Ask students what they consider themselves? Herbivore, omnivore or carnivore? And Why?

Domain 5: Cognition and Knowledge of the World Science Living Things Observes and describes characteristics of living things. Observes, describes, and compares the habitats of plants and animals. Observes and discusses similarities, differences, and categories of plants and animals.

Literacy: The students have worked on their animal masterpiece as well as their animals habitat diorama. To conclude the project the students will create their animals fact book that incorporates where the animal live, what it eats and what activity they do during the day. Students will use cardboard, paint, paper, masking tape and markers to create their book.

Steps for Book-Making Students will paint the cardboard. Students will illustrate on the paper to be used as pages. Students will assemble the cardboard with masking tape to create a book. Students will add the pages inside the book with masking tape.

This activity promoted their writing skills of writing the title and the author (their name). Their illustration assisted the students to tell a factual story about their animal. The students had knowledge that the front cover of a book has a title and an author. Overall, the students enjoyed the research of their animal because they acquired more information about their animal. For example, Molly learned that horses sleep standing up when she assumed that a horse will lay on the grass and sleep. April learned that tigers are good swimmers. After a thoroughly research, the students were able to create their illustration for their book.

To wrap up our learning project, students celebrated their learning with family and friends by showing all of their work: Animal masterpiece, habitat diorama and their book.