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Social studies and science are alternated according to the time of the year and up coming holidays. For example, in October Columbus is taught to correspond with Columbus Day. In November the Indians and Pilgrims are taught in correlation to Thanksgiving. Washington, Lincoln and American symbols are taught in February.
Kindergarten
Classroom
Home PageScience Units:
Social Studies Units
GETTING READY
BOOKS:
Gather as many books as possible about Columbus.
Include books about Columbus as a boy and about his adventures to the new world. These can be displayed in the reading center for viewing by the students and used for oral reading by the teacher.
Examples of some very helpful books: follow links for description and cost at amazon.com.
In 1492 rhyming book for young children
Young Christopher Columbus : Discoverer... ages 9-12
Christopher Columbus (Step into Reading ages 4-8
Columbus Day : Let's Meet Christopher Columbus ages 4-8
Where Do You Think You're Going Christopher Columbus ages 9-12
- VIDEOS:
Gather videos about Columbus.
These can be viewed in ten minute segments when you are discussing a specific phase of the story.
- PICTURES:
Display posters of Columbus and his ships.
Display pictures of Columbus and his ships.
These can be labeled, mounted on construction paper and laminated.
Students can use these in the writing or art centers.
Teacher can use them when teaching about a specific phase of the story.
- GLOBE:
Display a globe and maps of the world that can be used to illustrate the trip to the new world.
- WATER TABLE:
Set up a water table or large pans of water with toy boats.
Wooden or Styrofoam blocks with paper sails on straws could be used for the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria.
- SHIPS:
Use large boxes cut low on three sides (for easy entrance) to make the Nina, Pinta and Santa Marie.We spray painted our ships brown to cover up the words on the refrigerator boxes.
To make the mast weave a tall strip of wide molding into four cuts made in the front of the box. I used the molding because it was in my husbands workshop. You could use a broom stick or any type of pole.
Attach a sail. The sail can be butcher paper or a piece of an old sheet, etc. We used a sheet of white packing foam we found in the refrigerator box. We stapled the sail onto the cross beam (a piece of screen molding) and tied it to the mast with a few simple knots.
Of course, we also added a cardboard anchor and compass.COLUMBUS CENTER:
Gather real and play compasses, real maps of anywhere, real and play binoculars and telescopes, sailors' bandanas, three cornered sailors' hats, eye patches, treasure chest and treasure, (in Louisiana we use Mardi Gras beads and doubloons) king's and queen's crown, bags of gold, and play food for the trip, etc. I built the treasure chest myself.
- BAGS OF GOLD:
Teacher or parent make a small cloth bag with draw string for each child to keep.
Children make the gold found in the new world by spray painting rocks.
Use the gold to act out the adventures of Columbus and his men as they look for gold in new lands. (Even if you don't make the bags, make the gold. The children really get excited.)
- ART CENTER:
Set out paper towel rolls for making telescopes, paper for making maps, scraps of flat Styrofoam, shoe boxes or other small boxes for making Nina, Pinta, Santa Marie, straws or dowels for the mast, roll of string or yarn for ropes, tape, etc.
- COMPUTER CENTER:
Before introducing the unit, teacher search the internet for useful information and pictures.
Save the pictures and information to a disk. (Check for copyrights.)
Copy some of the pictures to a editing program such as Paint where you can add labels to the pictures.
Print out and laminate the labeled pictures for the bulletin board and writing center.
Start a disk collection for each unit you teach.
Find information about Columbus on any of the multimedia encyclopedias.
READING READINESS ACTIVITIES FOR COLUMBUS UNIT
Numerous methods are used to teach and reinforce letter recognition and phonetic sounds. The methods are varied day to day depending on the children's progress through out the year. The method is not important. The fact that the children do some writing using phonics every day is important.
The following are examples of just a few methods for teaching letter recognition and phonetic sounds.
- WRITING:
Children draw or paint Columbus and his three ships.
Label each ship using labels on the bulletin board or writing center.
- COMPUTER SLIDESHOW TO REINFORCE READING READINESS SKILL AND FACTS ABOUT COLUMBUS:
Children draw any part of the Columbus story using Paint or Kid Pix Classic Ages 3-12. If you don't have Kid Pix, you can find it at Amazon.com.
Children use words from the writing center to label the picture or write one or two words about the picture.
Teacher combine the pictures into a slide presentation in PowerPoint or KidPix.
Each student tells one important fact about his slide as it is being played.
Students will learn to read the words on each slide and as well as remember the facts.
- USING THE INTERNET:
Children and teacher view pictures of Columbus, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. Teacher read interesting facts as students view the pictures.
Students learn educational uses of the internet. See list of sites below.
- PHONICS:
Rhyming words; children give rhyming words for ship, 1492, gold, queen, king, map, wave, sail, etc.
Write the words on a chart.
Add new words throughout the unit.
- LISTENING:
Teacher read the poem In 1492 (from Amazon.com) by Jean Marzollo .
After several readings, pause in various locations to allow the children an opportunity to recall and recite the missing word or phrase. (The rhyming words give the students a clue to the missing word.)
- JOURNAL:
After seeing pictures of Columbus and his ships, listening to oral readings or viewing a video about Columbus, the students draw a picture about any part of the story.
Encouraged students to add words or letters to the picture.
Allow each child the opportunity to share his picture and his story with the group.
This will reinforce the facts the children have learned about Columbus and his journeys.
- USING THE COMPUTER TO REINFORCE READING READINESS SKILLS AND TEACH FACTS ABOUT COLUMBUS:
Use a digital camera to take pictures of the children acting out the adventures of Columbus and his men.
Take one picture for each child.
In the picture the child will be with a group of other students, acting out a selected sentence from the poem In 1492 (from Amazon.com ) by Jean Marzollo.
Teacher puts the pictures into the computer and adds a sentence from the poem.
All of the pictures are them combined into a slideshow using Power Point of Kid Pix.
Teacher record each child telling a part of the story.
The children will want to see this over and over.
They will learn to recognize some of the words and remember facts about the adventures of Christopher Columbus.
If you use a digital camera, add the words on the computer.
If you don't have a digital camera, use a scanner to scanner the pictures into the computer where you can add words.
The computer lab in your school will have a scanner or a digital camera. The computer teacher will be glad to help you.
If not, just type or print the words under the picture.
Another application could be to print the pictures with the sentences and bind them together as a book to be viewed and read throughout the year. At the end of the year give each child his page for his journal.
- MAP SKILLS:
Learn that maps are pictures that show locations of land and water.
Learn the directions on a map for North, South, East and West.
Learn there is an ocean between America and Europe and another ocean between America and Asia.
Learn that the people of Columbus' day did not realize there was another continent between Europe and Asia.
Learn there are other countries in the world. Hear the names of other countries.
Learn the general location of China, India, Spain, and Portugal, West Indies and America.
Learn the world is round and covered with more water than land.
- VOCABULARY BUILDING:
Use and learn the meaning of new words such as boat, ship, sails, mast, deck, port, ocean, country, new world, India, China, continents, Native American, Indian, adventure, journey, compass, telescope, binoculars, spices, hammock, etc.
- LISTENING FOR FACTS:
Children learn about the adventures and journeys of Columbus by listening to oral reading and discussions explaining the events.
Children listen to one another retell parts of the story.
MATH READINESS ACTIVITIES FOR COLUMBUS UNIT
- COMPARISONS:
*Columbus had three ships. Which was the largest? Which was the smallest?
*Which was the slowest? Which was the fastest?
*Draw a small ship, a middle size ship, and a large ship. Discuss the sizes.
*Make different size Styrofoam sail boats. Which one is the fastest? Slowest?
Teacher break sheet Styrofoam into random sizes. Allow students to choose a piece of the Styrofoam to make a boat for a race. Students use a straw for the mast and paper for the sail. Use the top of the table as the racing surface (ocean) and students blowing on the sail for wind power. Compare boat size with ease of moving the boat.
- SEQUENCING:
What happened first?
What did Columbus have to do before he left for the new world?
Draw a story with three parts. Number the three parts.
Show something that happened in the beginning of the story, something that happened in the middle of the story, and something that happened at the end of the story. Everyone's story will show different events.
Allow each child the opportunity to share his pictures and story with the group.
This will reinforce the facts the children have learned about Columbus and his journeys.
- LONG AGO:
How long ago was 1492?
What is the year now?
What were houses in Europe like long ago in 1492?
What were schools like in 1492?
What was the government in Europe like in 1492?
Learn about the power of a king.
What was America like in 1492?
Could Columbus still be alive?
Could any of the people that lived then still be alive?
- SIZE OF EARTH: How big is America?
How long would it take you to drive across America?
How long would it take you to go across the ocean in 1492?
How long would it take in a ship today?
How long would it take to go across the ocean in a jet?
Looking at maps and globes to see the different size continents and oceans.
- MORE THAN/ LESS THAN:
Compare the oceans of the world to the land of the world. Which is more? Which is less?
Use object found in the class to compare more than and less than.
- COUNTING:
Columbus had 90 men on the trip to the new world. How many is 90?
Use blocks, toys, or math manipulatives to show 90.
Children work in groups to gather and count 90 objects. ( Good time to practice counting by 10's.)
Keeping the ninety objects, group the objects to show how many where on each ship. How many men were there altogether?
Point out adding means putting the objects together.
How many returned? Take away the number of objects to show how many men returned. Point out subtraction means take away.
Columbus had three ships. One was wrecked. How many ships returned safety?
WEB SITES / COLUMBUS Back to Columbus Reading Readiness
- A Christopher Columbus Timeline 1451-1506
- 1492- An Ongoing Voyage. A Library of Congress exhibit of photos and discussions about Columbus' discovery of America.
- Columbus Navigation Homepage picture of Columbus and information
- Columbus's Ships pictures and information
- Keith A. Pickering author of Columbus Navigation Homepage
- Site Map for Keith Pickering's collection of Columbus information including link to "The light of October 11"
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