TITLE: Life on a Farm

AUTHOR: Cindy Stocker

GRADE LEVEL: Kindergarten

SCHOOL ADDRESS: Deerfield Elementary School Trenton Rd, Utica NY

SUBJECT AREA: Science/ELA

SCHOOL PHONE: 797-7141

CONTENT LANGUAGE
Declarative

Identify farm animals and their use

Identifies and knows the sounds for the letters; Bb, Pp, Hh, Dd, Gg, and Ss

Draws conclusions that plants and animals affect each other

Procedural

Listen to ideas of others as a way of gaining information.

Asks specific questions to clarify meaning

The students will access a clip art on Claris Works for Kids and create their own farm scene.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1. How do farms affect me?

2. How are animals on the farm used?

NOTE: A Bibliography of all books used is found at the end of unit.

CONNECTIONS TO STANDARDS

This unit focuses on:

1. ELA standard #1: Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding. Performance Indicators 1.1: Gather and interpret information from children's reference books. 1.3: Make appropriate and effective use of strategies to construct meaning from print.
2. ELA standard #2: Students will listen and speak for literary response and expression. Performance Indicators 2.1: Listen to a variety of genre.
3. MST standard #4: Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principals, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science. Performance Indicators 4.5: Students will describe the major stages in a life cycle of a given animal. 4.8: Students will describe how plants and animals, including humans, depend upon each other.

This unit also teaches many of my own district's science standards for kindergarten.

INITIATING ACTIVITY
The initiating activity will be broken up into many parts and will be carried out over an entire day. (NOTE: All of my units are started and ended with an entire day of activities woven in and out of specials, lunch and outside play. You may decide to pick and choose only some of these activities to use.)

If I can, I love to begin this unit with a field trip to the farm. Before we leave we make a list of all the thinks that we might see there and questions that we have for the farmer. I bring the digital camera along and take pictures of the interesting things that we see. Upon our return we make a book of our trip to the farm and all that we learned.

If the unit does not begin with a field trip thatn I start with a concept attainment activity. I use pictures of different kinds of animals and separate them into two groups putting only the farm animals together. It doesn't take to long before the students know the rule and begin placing the animals themselves.

Then we complete a K and W of a KWL. We brainstorm all the animals that you may see on a farm. We discuss what it may be like to live on a farm and how farms are useful.

Next, and finally, in small groups we paint a mural of a barn, pond, trees and fields. The animals are added to this at a later date.

LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Morning Meeting/Shared Reading

Each day in our whole group circle and calendar time we will complete the following activities. All of these activities lend themselves to both the ELA standards a fore mentioned. These activities also reinforce the declarative knowledge that states that each student will identify and know the sounds for the letters Bb, Pp, Hh, Dd, Gg, and Ss.

Big Books: Who's In The Shed, Mrs. Wishy Washy, Have You Ever Seen?, I Went Walking

Charts: The Big Red Barn, I Went To Visit The Farm One Day, Mud

Songs: I Love My Little Rooster, B-I-N-G-O, Five Little Ducks Went Out To Play, Mary Had a Little Lamb, The Farmer in the Dell, Who Stole the Farmer's Hat

Interactive Chart: Old Macdonald had a farm (This is a chart in which the students take turns changing the animal and the sound that the animal makes in the poem. The words are selected based on the letters and sounds that are being taught during that unit. The student then explains how they used the initial and final sounds of the words in order to "read" the word. They say the letter and the sound of that letter in isolation. This activity has become a very good way to reinforce letter and sound/symbol recognition.) This activity reinforces declarative knowledge #2.

Very often to encourage inductive reasoning and reinforce sound symbol association, we will play, "Guess What I Am Thinking". This begins by saying I an thinking of something that lives on a farm ad begins with this sound. Then I make the sound of the first letter in the word.

Each day the appropriate charts and songs will be recited as a class. The student will then count the number of times certain words and letters appear in each chart. This is also to reinforce letter and sound/symbol recognition.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE 1:

We begin by addressing ELA standard #2 with a fiction book named Who's In the Shed. I use this book for literary prediction. There is a clue in the book that helps the students know who is in the shed. I read the book twice. The first time leaving off the last page. When I read the second time the students look more closely for the clue. After they have found the clue and we check their predictions, I read the book a third time and emphasize the rhyme and rhythm of the story. The students love this story and they chime in quickly. After we have completed the shared reading activity the student choose animals to make paper bag puppets. We use these puppets to dramatize Old Macdonald had a Farm when we sing.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE 2:

In order to teach procedural knowledge #3 I use Claris Works for Kids. After watching a demonstration the children in collaborative pairs open up to a blank art page. They use the art tools, which have been taught very systematically previous to this, to create a farm scene. Then the students open the clip art and find farm animals and place them on there farm scene. These pictures will need to be resized and possibly rotated. If the students are able, this is not a requirement for this project, they can create a text box and write a sentence or two. Then they will print their picture. This usually takes more than one day. After the necessary skills are taught the students are given ample time to complete their work. They can save to their folder, which has also been taught previously, and work on this another day when they have time.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE 3:

This experience directly deals with ELA standard #1, performance indicator 1.1 and MST standard #4, performance indicator 4.5. Since my students cannot read on the level that some of the books used are written on I conduct a modified Directed Teaching Reading Approach (DRTA). I ask the question "What comes first the chicken or the egg?" The students take a guess. (Even though this question cannot be answered it is a good attention grabber and starts discussions. Then I ask if anyone knows how a chicken is born? The students make predictions and then I read Chicken and Egg and What's Inside? These books explain vary clearly how a chicken develops inside an egg. The students listen for the answer and are instructed to raise their hand when they can verbalize the answer. We then discuss the answer and make a decision as to its accuracy.

When we are sure that we have the correct answer the students dictate the life cycle of a chicken as I write it on chart paper. Since we have studied other life cycles, the students usually notice that is a circular pattern. As a class we complete a comparison graphic organizer comparing the life cycle of a chicken to that of the caterpillar and humans.

At this point the students turn to their partner and complete a Think-Pair-Share on the life cycle of a chicken.

To further their understanding and give them a graphic representation of the life cycle the students use either the computer to create the life cycle or paper and crayon.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE 4:

Keeping with the same patterning theme and in order to more effectively teach ELA standard #1, performance indicator 1.3; we read two books, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Moose a Muffin. I have and use all the props that are in these two books. As we read I lay the props out. Sometimes I stop and have the students guess what the mouse will want next. When we have finished with the books and the props are still on the floor I take one item away and ask, "What would happen if the mouse never asked for _____." We discuss each item effected or caused the next. We discuss how this helps the book makes sense. For ex. wanting a drink when eating a cookie makes sense. It wouldn't have made sense if the author had written that the mouse would want to go to bed. As a class we compare the two books. Then we use a farm animal and farm food and write a class take off story. I word process this and the students illustrate the book for our class library.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE 5:

Continuing with pattern as found in literature, I read Inside a Barn in the Country. This book is a picture book about farm animals with an add on pattern. It begins with the mouse that squeaked in the hay and woke up farm animal after farm animal. First, as a class we complete a comparison of this book and the If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. Then the students complete a Think-Pair-Share activity and we discuss all the things we have learned from this. I then ask is they remember another book with this familiar pattern. (My weather unit precedes this unit and during that unit I read The Napping House which is also an add on story.) We then compare Inside a Barn in the Country to The Napping House. Next the discussion is lead towards what would have happened if the mouse never squeaked.

As a final activity in this learning experience I sometimes create a take off book which begins with the cat jumping on the owl. I choose this beginning because that is the illustration on the very last page after the farmer has finally quieted down all the animals in the barn again. I begin this by turning to that page and simply saying I wonder what would happen if…

LEARNING EXPEIENCE 6:

This experience continues with an add on theme only in real life and to teach MST standard #4, performance indicator 4.8: students will describe how plants and animals, including humans, depend upon each other. As a class we brainstorm all the things that they can think of that come from a cow. I then ask them if they think cookies come from cows or if ice cream comes from cows? I then read From Cow to Ice Cream. This book explains how ice cream does come from cows because milk and cream comes from cows.

Now we go back and brainstorm all the things that have milk in them and add them to our list. Then I ask, what would happen if there were no cows? I usually have to ask this question a few times. The students do make the connection that there would be no ice cream. Then I ask what would happen if there were no grass. After they share their thoughts I take blocks (By the way we are in a circle) and start with one block to represent grass. On top of that block we place a block that represents cows, then a block that represents milk, then a block that represents; ice cream, cream, milk shakes, and yogurt. Then I ask again what would happen if there was no grass? I don't let the students answer, instead I pull the grass block out from under all the other blocks. This helps the children visualize the cause and effect.

Individually the students make a visual representation of the chain of events that need to take place in order for ice cream to be made. After they have completed their representations we sit in a circle on the rug and they share them explaining to the class what they mean.

This concept is revised regularly. When we read other non-fiction books about arm animals I ask cause and effect questions so that the children really think and learn how one change can effect many things.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE 7:

In order to teach ELA standard #1, performance indicator 1.3: Make appropriate and effective use of strategies to construct meaning from print; I complete a picture of I Went Walking and we discuss the repetitive pattern. I read the book and the students are free to chime in if and when they please. I ask them what they noticed about the story or the words on the page. Then I read the book and place the picture of the animal and the animal word card, color card and color word card of the animal in the pocket chart as I read each animal encountered. When the reading is complete I review the animals using ordinal numbers. The first animal that the little boy saw was the…What was the fifth animal that the little boy saw? I leave these pictures in the pocket chart for the students to use and sequence during centers.

We use this book to write another class take off story. I word process this and the students illustrate the pages. This is then put into our class library.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE 8:

This experience also teaches ELA standard #1, performance indicator 1.3: make appropriate and effective use of strategies to construct meaning from print. By this time we have spent a lot of time learning and singing Five Little Ducks. For fun, to tie in art and to promote retelling we make a retell of this song. The students make the mother duck and five baby ducks which are put on sticks. We fold blue paper and a pond is made on one side and a field on the other. This becomes a puppet theater and the students act out the song. They take this home and sing it for their families also.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE 9:

This experience also teaches ELA standard #1, performance indicator 1.3: make appropriate and effective use of strategies to construct meaning from print. I read Mrs. Wishy Washy. First I do a picture walk and then we complete several shared readings of the story. When this is complete the students create another puppet retelling of the story. When they are finished they join their partner and retell each other the story. This is also sent home to be shared with their families.

NOTE: This unit is perfectly planned after my weather and plant units which allows the students to use information that have already learned to draw conclusion during this unit.

CULMINATING ACTIVITY

The culminating activity is an invention activity. We begin by reading Who Lives Here? This book gives clues about animals and then pictures the animal on the next page. The students each choose a farm animal that we have learned about. I provide a picture for that farm animal and they write or dictate clues. These clues are word processed and the student draws the illustration. This is compiled into a class book and is shared with our third grade buddies. The children read their page and the third graders guess which animal they are describing. I do explain to the students that the test of a very good clue is that other people will know what you are trying to describe.

To celebrate the end of the unit we all enjoy making our own sundaes. Just because ice cream does come from cows. To do this we make our own ice cream using cream and tin cans.

EXTENDING AND REFINING

NOTE: As part of this unit the letters mentioned in declarative knowledge will continuously be reinforced. Words beginning with these letters will be added to the word wall and the students will practice writing these letters.

REFLECTION

Many of the learning experiences took more than one lesson as mentioned above. This was a fun unit. The students enjoyed the unit. They did not feel threatened by farms because they were familiar with these animals. However, they did realize how much more there was to learn about the life on a farm.

The cause and effect pieces to this unit added a new dimension in the students learning. I found that after they conquered this way of thinking they did apply it to other areas.

DEDUCTION RUBRIC

Technology (Accessing and Editing) Rubric

Invention

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Asch, Frank. Oats and Wild Apples, Trumpet Club, New York, 1988

Back, Christine. Chicken and Egg, Trumpet Club, New York, 1984

Calder, Lyn. Little Red Hen, A Golden Book, New York, 1988

Capucilli, Alyssa. Inside the Barn in the Country, Scholastic, New York, 1995

Cowley, Joy. Mrs. Wishy-Washy, The Wright Group, New York, 1990

Garlick, May. What's Inside?, Scholastic, New York, 1968

Harrison, David. Wake Up, Sun!, Random House, New York, 1986

Knight, Bertram. From Cow To Ice Cream, Children's Press, New York, 1997

Martin, Bill Jr. Knots on Counting Rope, Trumpet club, New York, 1987

Meiser and Cowley. Poor Old Polly, The Wright Group, New York, 1990

Meiser and Cowley. Three Little Ducks, The Wright Group, New York, 1990

Meiser and Cowley. Boo-Hoo, The Wright Group, New York, 1990

Meiser, June. Yes Ma'am, The Wright Group, New York, 1990

Parkes, Brenda. Who's In The Shed, Rigby, Illinois, 1989

Williams, Rozanne. Who Lives Here?, Creative Teaching Press, California, 1994

ClarisWorks for Kids 1.0 by Claris Corporation, 1997

NOTE: Whitesboro Central School District or classroom teacher purchased all the above books/software to be used with students.