MSU Aiken Village Preschool Curriculum Plan
Mississippi State University, Early Childhood Institute
Unit: Pumpkins and Scarecrows
Age Group: 4’s
Teacher’s: Georgia Graham & Caroline Fortner
Date: October 21-25, 2013
Mississippi Early Learning Standards
Approaches to Learning
PA 4. Identify a problem or ask a question
PA 5. Use a variety of strategies to solve a
problem, reach a goal, or answer a question
(e.g., work with others, use a variety of materials,
experiment)
English/Language
Arts:
LI 5. With prompting and support, interact with
common types of texts
SL 2. With prompting and support, confirm
understanding of information presented orally,
from read-alouds, or through other media by
asking and answering questions about details
Social Studies:
FC 4. Identify some similarities and some
differences in family structure, culture, ability,
language, age and gender
FC 5. With prompting and support, demonstrate
responsible behavior related to daily routines
(The art table)
SI 1. Make observations,
predictions, and ask
questions about natural occurrences or events
and slow tempos and simple elements of music
DM 2. Respond rhythmically to different types of
music (e.g, fast, slow)
MD 1. With guidance and support,
recognize measurable attributes of
everyday objects such as length,
weight, size, using appropriate
vocabulary
MD 2. With guidance and support,
compare two objects using attributes
of length, weight, and size
Physical Development:
SI 3. Use a variety of simple tools to make
investigations
SI 8. Describe similarities and differences in the
environment using the five senses
Creative Expression:
MU 4. With prompting and support, identify fast
Science:
Mathematics:
Social and Emotional Development:
SD 4c. Accept assigned duties during play of
classroom management routines (The art table)
FM 2. Demonstrate fine muscle
coordination using manipulative
materials that vary in size, shape and
skill requirement
SC 3. With prompting and support,
demonstrate appropriate behavior to
respect self and others in physical
activity by following simple directions
and safety procedures
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MSU Aiken Village Preschool Curriculum Plan
Mississippi State University, Early Childhood Institute
Vocabulary
Unit Overview:
1. The children will dissect pumpkin and label its parts.
2. The children will recall all four seasons.
3. The children will follow 3 part directions in order to mix and pour our
pumpkin pancakes.
4. We will explore books on similar topics that are written by different
authors (and in different languages).
5. Measure height, weight, width, etc of pumpkins using both
standard tools (a scale, ruler) and other objects.
dissect
seasons
autumn
recipe
espanta pajaros
review
stuffing
equator
circumference
estimate
classify
gourd
imaginary
pretend
fiction
Small Group Instruction
Day
Book
Monday
I Like Pumpkins by Jerry Smath
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
The Scarecrow’s Hat by Ken Brown
AM Samuel el Espanta pajaros
AM If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura
Numeroff
PM Popcorn by Frank Asch
Activity
The last pages of this book include a pumpkin picture search and a few other
math activities. The teacher will go over these activities with the small group, and
then work with interested individuals in the math center.
AM After reading the book, we will explore a few of the materials from the book: a
piece of ribbon, a feather, and a rock. We will form a hypothesis about which one
we think the “wind” would blow farther.
PM Using a hair drier, we will test our hypothesis from this morning!!
AM Margot’s mommy is coming to share a book about scarecrows that is written in
Spanish!!
PM How strong is a seed? Card 17 from Science Discovery Chest (Lakeshore) We
will do this activity outside. It will be small or large group, depending on the level
of interest.
AM We will make pumpkin pancakes!! This will mean that we have to follow a
recipe and directions (and be very careful and focused when we are working
near the pancake griddle).
PM We are going to pop popcorn! This is a great activity where we can use all five
senses. After putting down a big piece of butcher paper, we will pop the popcorn
directly on to the FLOOR!!! The kids love this one.
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MSU Aiken Village Preschool Curriculum Plan
Friday
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll
Mississippi State University, Early Childhood Institute
AM This is a longer book. We are going to try and get through the entire book, but
may have to break it into sections. This is a great story about teamwork
(accidental or otherwise).
PM We will review what we have learned about pumpkins, discuss what they need
to live, label the parts of a pumpkin, and go over the four seasons.
Intentional Teaching
Art
Language/
Writing
Math
Music
Nutrition/
Health
Nature/
Science
Outdoor
Activities
Mixing play dough is only part of the fun! We will use our hands (and arms) to make a variety of shapes and experiment with
different tools.
Writing letters in birdseed. This will require a little more cleaning than usual. We will roll up the carpet that is typically under the
writing table. Using a shallow tub filled with birdseed, the children will take their fingers and write various shapes, letters, and
words.
Word cards: apple, tree, leaf, pumpkin, seed, scarecrow
Have the children dictate pumpkin pancake (what ingredients do we use? What temperature should the griddle be on? How
long do we cook them? Etc).
We will count and sort pumpkin seeds, and compare them to other types of seeds.
We will sort pumpkins based on their physical characteristics
We will continue to chart the growth of our pumpkins in the garden.
Using pieces of string, we will estimate the size of a pumpkin
Guessing the weight of a pumpkin
Everyday Discoveries, page173, “Five Round Pumpkins”
Finger Frolics, page 59-61, “Cut into a Pumpkin” “Pumpkin Time” “This Little Pumpkin” “I am a Pumpkin”
The teachers will help the children learn the fingerplays that go along with the songs we are highlighting this week.
We will make pumpkin pancakes! This will require us to follow a recipe. We will notice how the texture of the batter changes
when different ingredients are added or when it is heated.
We will discuss how some materials are more easily moved by the wind than others. We will guess which of a group of
materials will blow the farthest and record our answers. Using a hair drier, we will test our hypothesis during afternoon small
group.
Seeds are really, really strong! We are going to plant pumpkin seeds and then pour plaster of paris over the soil. What will
happen to the seed?? Will it be able to break through such a hard material?
After planting our pumpkin seeds, we will go on a hunt for super strong seeds on the playground. There are some spots where
grass is growing through the concrete!! How did the grass seeds do that??
We are going to put at least one of the pumpkins that we experiment with this week outside in the garden. What will happen?
Page 3 Pumpkins and Scarecrows 2
MSU Aiken Village Preschool Curriculum Plan
Mississippi State University, Early Childhood Institute
Center Enrichment
Art
Math
Dramatic
Play
Music
Sand/Water
Blocks
Science
Manipulative
Add pumpkin spice play dough
Add play dough tools
Add vegetable counting game
Add small farm animals (for measuring and sorting)
Add a child made pumpkin patch
Add pumpkins and gourds
Add bells and mallets
Bedtime Business: Pajama Time (Blue’s Clues)
Add small gourds to the sand and water table.
Add tractors and farm accessories
Add pine cones
Add plant life cycle puzzle
Add a variety of seeds with tweezers and magnifying glasses
Add Lincoln logs
Add geo builders
Add seeds and tweezers
Page 4 Pumpkins and Scarecrows 2
MSU Aiken Village Preschool Curriculum Plan
Mississippi State University, Early Childhood Institute
Resources:
Resources:
Additional Books:
CDS
Barn Dance! By Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
Bedtime Business (Blues Clues)
Chicka Chicka 1 2 3 by Bill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson, and Lois
Ehlert
Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night by Anne Rockwell
Picking Apples & Pumpkins by Amy and Richard Hutchings
The Bumpy Little Pumpkin by Margery Cuyler
Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant
It’s Pumpkin Time! By Zoe Hall
“Pajama Time”
“The Popcorn Song” by Gershon Kingley (found on Youtube)
Chicka Chicka 1,2,3 by Bill Martin Jr. and Ray Charles
More Singable Songs by Raffi with Ken Whiteley
“Skin and Bones”
Singing, Moving and Learning with Thomas Moore
“The Itsy Bitsy Spider”
Kiss Your Brain! By Dr. Jean
Reference Books:
“Seasons”
All About Preschoolers by Debby Cryer (Kaplan)
Science is Simple by Peggy Ashbrook (Gryphon House)
Everyday Discoveries by Sharon MacDonald (Gryphon House)
Finger Frolics by Rebecca Boynton, Colleen Kobe, Lois Peters
Creative Curriculum for Preschool: Fourth Edition by Diane Trister
Dodge, Laura J. Colker, and Cate Heroman (Teaching Strategies)
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