Our study of nursery rhymes naturally led to fairy tales. For this unit we focused on the stories, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, the Three Little Pigs and Jack and the Beanstalk. Throughout the unit students worked on sequencing skills, retelling, identifying story elements and oral storytelling.
The children had a blast each day as we read a story, identified the story elements (characters, setting, sequence of main events) and then acted it out. We have many budding actors in our midst. Once a story was introduced, it became a theme for other classroom activities including dramatic play, the sensory table, playdoh, and games. The children loved performing each story in dramatic play!
Goldilocks and the Three Bears:
Volunteers acted out the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears using puppets in our dramatic play area.
The sensory table had different sized pom poms. Students used grabbers to pick them up, sort them by color, put them in different sized containers and just have fun with them.
Little Red Riding Hood:
Students played with porridge play doh in made from oatmeal. They made bears and props from the Three Bears story.
Students were also able to retell the fair tales using our small animal and people figurines in the dollhouse.
The Three Bill Goats Gruff
To accompany our reading of the Three Billy Goats Gruff, the students completed a STEM activity. As a group we discussed different types of bridges- arch, suspension and beam. I showed the children photographs of each type and we discussed their most important elements. Next we used wooden blocks and a strip of poster paper to build a beam bridge. As a group, we discovered that the more beams, the stronger the bridge. We tested the students' theories by placing small plastic animals on top of the bridge. We then built an arch bridge. First, we placed the arch between two wooden blocks, but the elephant sunk down into the bridge. The students provided several suggestions for fixing the bridge and we tried each of them. It was discovered that when the blocks are closer together and a paper is placed perpendicular to the arch, the bridge is stronger and holds the elephant.
Finally, the students were given materials (paper towel and toilet paper rolls and poster paper). They were asked to work in a group to construct a bridge to hold several plastic animals. The children worked together, tested their bridges and then presented them to the class. Several of the bridges held eleven animals. It was a great afternoon of scientific inquiry!
Jack and the Beanstalk
The students did a great job acting out the story.
There were beans in the sensory table. Students explored by pouring and filling containers, finding hidden gold eggs, retelling the story, and playing with the castle.
In the playdoh center students tried to build their own beanstalk.
The Three Little Pigs
Students acted out the Three Little Pigs using cardboard as houses that could be blown over. The third house made of bricks was a stable box.
Three Little Pigs Building STEM activity
After discussing the time and effort the pigs put into building their homes and about the quality of their homes, students made suggestions for how they would go about building their own homes. Students were given a variety of materials from which to choose and were asked to build a home that would withstand the huffing and puffing of the Big Bad Wolf. The students made a plan, were given a small piece of cardboard and then set to work on building a house of straw, sticks or bricks.
Surprisingly, everyone chose different materials. Once the houses were built we tested them to see if the Big Bad Wolf (a hair dryer) would blow them down. Afterward, we discussed what made some of the houses sturdier than others and what would the children do differently next time.
Special Guests:
Mystery Reader!
We also celebrated another special birthday!
