Integrated Language Art Unit By Norma Cierto Unit Title: My Five Senses Curriculum: Science Grade level: Pre K CONTENT OBJECTIVES: The students will identify the five sense as body functions Students will get notions about science investigations through simple experiments by using the five senses The students will be able to understand the importance of each sense to know the world around them READING LANGUAGE ART OBJECTIVES: The students will understand oral message by listening concepts about the five senses. The student will be able to communicate , participate in class by answering or inquiring about the five senses The students will develop reading skills by reading letter, words, and pictures about the five senses. The students will develop writing skills by drawing, writing and shaping about the five senses. The students will increase their vocabulary through new words and sentences about the five senses. Learning Teaching Activities LISTENING / SPEAKING / OBSERVING Previous knowledge exploring, students will listen to oral messages, questions about the five senses: we have five senses that tell us the world around us, can some of you name any of those? Then they will answer the questions and comment what they know about it. The answers will be written on the chart; which will be completed throughout the unit. To complete the concept of the five senses, students will observe posters, pictures and listen to my five senses story. Then identify their five senses as part of the body functions. NCTE / IRA Students Performance 2,3 IRA teachers competences (program portfolio subcategory addressed) Standard 3 3.1 2,7,8 READING / TECHNOLOGY Sight-touch senses Cyberlesson to be completed in a small group. Students will complete Cyberlesson activities by reading Seven Blind Mice; through these activities students will learn how people with vision impairment can use other senses (touch) to identify things around them. Standard 2 2.1 Standard 3 3.1 Standard 4 4.1 2,3,4 Standard 1 1.4 Standard 2 2.1 Standard 4 4.1 SMELL SENSE / SCIENCE / LITERACY Gingerbread Boy story to completed on large group, after answering questions about the story small group of students will experiment different scents: cinnamon, coffee, perfumes, mint, etc. then they will draw pictures of what they smelled and shape words and read the vocabulary chart of smell senses. Science Frameworks Standards K.1 objects have properties that can be observed and used to described similarities and differences. 1.1 Some properties can be observed with the senses, and others can be discovered by using simple tools or tests. K.1 1.1 TASTE SENSE / SCIENCE / LITERACY Whole and small group activity: Let’s Talk About Tongues story, students will listen the story and participate answering questions. Blindfolded small group of students will identify four basic flavors: sweet (chocolate candy), sour (lemon), salty (potato chips), bitter (lemon peel). Then they will draw their favorite food, shape letters and words, and read vocabulary chart about the taste sense. 2,3,4 Standard 1 1.1 Standard 2 2.1 Standard 4 4.1 K.1 1.1 HEARING SENSE / LISTENING / LITERACY Hearing Things story, to be completed in whole group. Students will answer comprehension questions of what the story is about, what sense you used to listen to the story. Students, to complete this lesson will identify different sounds of their environment: a teacher hiding in a strategic place of the classroom will make sound of different objects like: whistle, bell, drums, telephone, radio, etc. students will answer the question: what did you hear? By drawing the objects, and shape word and read vocabulary chart about the hearing sense. 2,3,4 Standard 2 2.1 Standard 3 3.1 Standard 4 4.1 K.1 1.1 TOUCH SENSE / LITERACY / SCIENCE To complete in small group by listening to Seven Blind Mice story, students will get concepts about touch sense: blindfolded, they will identify objects contained in a box by texture like: cotton balls (soft), dry leaves (rough), sea shells (bumpy), wood blocks (smooth).they will find out similar materials in the classroom to compare, select and sort them by their texture. Finally they will write their favorite objects, reproduce words, and read vocabulary chart about touch sense 2,3,4 Standard 1 1.4 Standard 2 2.1 Standard 4 4.1 K.1 1.1 SCIENCE /ART Fingerprint activity, to be completed in a small group. Students will learn that no one has the same fingerprint by observing, comparing their fingerprint with each other. Using washable ink, students will place their fingerprint on the chart. Using a magnifying glass they will observe and compare their fingerprints and using crayons, markers they will decorate it making picture around it. 3,4 Standard 2 2.1 SIGN LANGUAGE/ LISTENING / KINESTHESIA Signing book. To be completed in whole group and partner .Students will listen about no verbal communication using body movements: hands, head, and facial expression. They will observe pictures of sign language, then practice basic expressions in daily activities: days of the week, eat, water, more, stop etc. both, regular and students with IEPs will practice (partners) to communicate each other using sign language cards. 4,9,12 Standard 1 1.2 Standard 2 2.1 BRAILLE SYSTEM /TOUCHING SENSE/LISTENING The Special Thing story .To is completed in whole and small group. Students will have the opportunity to understand to their classmate with visual impairment by exploring books, alphabetic chart and other learning materials printed in Braille. They will learn how blind people use their touch sense to know thing around them and communicate with others by reading and writing with the Braille system. 4,9,12 Standard 1 1.2 Standard 2 2.1 K.1 1.1 K.1 1.1 FIVE SENSES /SCIENCE / LITERACY What is inside my body? To be completed in whole and small group. Students will listen the reading and observe pictures including the five senses, how these work connected to the brain, then they will describe an apple using the five senses: color (sight), flavor (taste), texture (touch), scent (smell), sound (hearing). After exploring they will write their experience describing apple and read the vocabulary chart of the five senses. 1,2,3,4 Standard 1 1.1 Standard 2 2.1 Standard 4 4.1 K.1 1.1 TOOLS AND RESOURCE: (List and briefly annotate websites, 5 annotated children’s texts, specific software and hardware, and other needs to support this unit) Books children will read: 1. Brandenberg, Aliki (1997) My Five Senses. Hoper Collins, New York. A juvenile nonfiction book is an appropriate book for children to introduce notions about the five senses. It has great illustrations for good kids understanding their five senses and an easy way. 2. Rostan, Angela (1991) what’s inside? My Body. DK Publishing INC. New York. This book is specially designed to help children understand how the human body works. It shows important features, including location of the five senses and how these work connected to the brain. It is a really helpful book for children learning the five senses as part of body function. 3. Fowler, Alan (1991) Seeing Things. Children’s Press, Chicago. This is another recommendable book for children to explore specifically the sight sense; it contains a short and enjoyable story with a variety colorful illustration appropriate for young children. 4. Fowler, Alan (1997) Let’s Talk About Tongues. Children’s Press. Canada. It’s a great book to introduce learning science to young children. By reading this book children will learn both tasting and phonological functions of the tongue, it means that we use the tongue to taste and to talk. In addition this book contains a great list of vocabulary. 5. Young, Ed (1992) Seven Blind Mice. Penguin Group. New York. In order to connect an understanding of visual impairment to one of my students, I selected this book; which is really appropriate for this objective. The story shows how the blind mice discovered a strange thing in their pond just using their touch sense. This learning is very important for children to understand how blind people and children like their classmate can learn to identify the things around them just by using their other senses, specially the touch sense. Other additional books and articles used to develop the unit: Bill, Martin Jr. / Erick Carle (1995). Brown Bear, Brawn Bear, what do you See? Henry Holtand Company. New York. Driscoll, Laura (2003) Apples And How They Grow, Grosset & Dunlap. New York. O’ Brian-Palmer, Michell (1998) Senses Abilities. Review Press. Chicago. Burdette, Teri (1995) Signing, share the Music. Macmillan/McGraw-Hill School Publishing Company. New York. Ford Grove, Sandra / Hetchman, Judi (1996) Explore and Discover Five Senses. Creative Teaching Press, Inc. Cypress, California. Humphries, Tom / Padden, Carol / O’Rourke, Terrence. A Basic Course In American Sign Language. T-J Publishers, Second Edition. Montesory Images: Illustrative Learning Materials for Early Childhood Setting WEBSITES: http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/5senses.htm http://www.kinderplans.com/content.cfm?pagead=165 http://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/faculty/kkvre/units/2002/rick/fivesenses.html http://www.educationworld.com/a-lesso/lesson183.shtml http://wwwmembers.trpod.com/~imaware/fmotor.html http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jshindl/teaching/brookeSchufreiderISP.htm http://www.edcation.com/activity/kindergarten/science ASSESSMENT: (How you will assess the students’ learning? List rubrics here, and attach them to your outline. Be as specific as possible) To complete this Unit students will be assessed in two different ways: Informal and formal. As informal assessment I will consider the students attention, participation, answer to verbal questions with complete sentences during daily activities. Due to my topic “The Five Senses: I will focus the informal assessment basically in listening and speaking, students will demonstrate the correct use of their hearing senses by listening and understanding diverse oral messages during daily activities, therefore they will express their ideas and answer questions in a correct way. During group work on the learning centers I will supervise and observe how students are working, cooperating, sharing and helping each another and I will ask questions to know their daily learning progress. At the ending Unit students will be assessed (formal assessment), using four basic points: Science: I will assess students, in oral form, the last activity of the Unit. I will ask students: what’s an apple like? Name the five features of the apple that connect to your five senses. Student will answer the question describing: “the apple is red, yellow or green , is round, is juicy, is crunch and it has special smell”(Rubric attached) Knowledge: I will give students a picture of a human body where the parts of five senses will be absent, and then they will complete the picture by drawing the five senses appropriately. Reading: I will give students five incomplete sentences where they will draw the right picture to complete it. Obviously I will read the first part of the sentences and explain what they are going to do. Writing: I will give students the names of the parts of the body that represent the five senses with their pictures and I will ask them to reproduce (copy) the names. (Rubric Attached) STUDENT ASSIGNMENT SCORE 3 (EXCELLENT) SCORE 2 (GOOD) SCORE 1 (IN PROGRESS) SCIENCE: Exploring an apple using five senses and describes its five features, color, shape, smell, flavor, texture sound (crunch). Correctly named all five features of an apple. Correctly named 3 to 4 features of an apple. Correctly named 1 to 2 features of an apple. KNOWLEDGE: Identify the five senses by drawing the senses on an incomplete picture of human body. Correctly drawn all five senses on the incomplete picture. Correctly drawn 3 to 4 senses on the incomplete picture. Correctly drawn 1 to 2 senses on the incomplete picture. READING: Understanding graphics, words in five sentences by completing it drawing pictures. Correctly completed all five sentences. Correctly completed 3 to 4 sentences. Correctly completed 1 to 2 sentences. WRITING: Distinguishing the words as a group of letters logically organized in the process of writing by reproducing (copying) words in correct way. Correctly reproduced all five Correctly reproduced 3 to 4 words. words. Correctly reproduced 1 to 2 words. CREDITS: The most activities of this unit were created by myself, taking some ideas from websites mentioned above. Two colleagues , Julie Morin, a special Ed teacher, and Lucy Sabona a pre-k classroom teacher were my support giving up some ideas and borrowing me some books and basically allowing me to develop this unit with their class. I really want to express my gratitude to them. I also want to express my special thanks to my son who was my support, managing the computer and programs to develop the Cyberlesson and this unit. REFLECTION: I really have to be honest, when I started this unit, I was very confused and concerned for two reason: The first one, it was my first time that I was doing this important assignment for teaching children in this country, I had an idea of what this was going to be like; because I used to be a teacher for a long time in my country. The unit was the monthly programming activities for teaching my students, but here I was not sure how I was going to do it. Another reason of my concern was using the computer to do the Cyberlesson and this unit, because honestly I am not very experienced using computers, but thanks to my colleagues, classmates, and my son I overcame those concerns and suddenly came up with many ideas on my mind remembering my experience teaching children and reading many articles and books about five senses. I chose this topic considering two things: First, I wanted to connect “The Investigator Club” curriculum program for pre-k with science through teaching five senses, where student would learn investigating notions through simple science activities using their five senses. Second, I wanted to teach students to understand their classmates with IEPs especially to the child with vision impairment, by exploring and learning about their five senses. At the beginning, I thought that it would not be difficult to do, but later I had some difficulties like: selecting a suitable book for my Cyberlesson (I got it after revising many books), finding out the content area standards , it was incredible for me because my topic was not in science content area as theme ; therefore, there was not a standard for it. I solve this difficulty by using science framework standard for Matter and proprieties, where the senses are included as subtheme. Integrating Language Art and Science in this grade level was not very difficult because I think teaching in this level is integrating all subjects with early literacy. I have considered literacy after each activities in this unit In order to apply my learning from Because Writing Matter , giving students more time for writing. I think developing this unit between fear and difficulties has been really interesting and beneficial for me and my students. I will have in mind this learning on my future teaching experience in any grade level , and I also will extend and share this learning with other teachers in order to enhance the students learning.