LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Children will:

1. Learn about the school environment
2. Review the classroom rules
3. Practice the routines of a typical school day

SERVICE PROJECTS

• Children will make their class and own Culture/Community pictorial book using pictures taken around the school.

LEARNING STYLES

• Visual
• Auditory
• Kinesthetic
• Interpersonal

What to Prepare Before the Lesson

What You Will Need

• Puppets (stuffed or created on a Popsicle stick)
• Pictorial Poster Board of all of the children's pictures, titled “We Are Family” with the classroom rules
• Slips of paper for the "school rule" hunt
• Camera
• Laminated pictures of people/places around school

Set up the Dramatic Play Station as a school equipped with a small desk, chalkboard, calendar, writing tools, paper, backpack, lunch sack, play food, and teacher dress-up clothes. Allow the children play time at the puppet station. 

Engage

Using a mother and a preschool child hand puppets, the mother tells a story about going to a new school and making new friends. Children who have severe separation anxiety might need to sit close to the teacher and be given a special stuffed animal to hold onto during the school day.

Introduce

Say: "God created our physical environment (the world and nature), but did you know that He gave us the power to create too? We have a CHOICE about creating our home, classroom, playground environments. It is important to make good choices about our environment. Our new school family consists of… (Name all of the children. Go over the family rules - RT click to save image and paste to a Word document and print). 

Apply

Go on a "school rule" hunt of the school facility. This activity helps the children become familiar with their new school environment. Each child and staff member will have a slip of paper with one of the school rules. The children will match the given rule with the rules posted on the walls of the office, bathroom, and class. The teacher will take pictures of people, places, and school tools for the class Photo Book.

Expand

Recap the new vocabulary and concepts learned. Reiterate that school is a safe place where we foster new friendships and become a family. Sing “The More We Get Together.” Have the children practice taking pictures of their new friends with a disposable camera.

Assessment

During the Exploration Station rotations, children match laminated pictures of places in the school, classroom tools, staff members, and their new friends. At the end of the week, assess if the children are understanding the new vocabulary words by playing a matching game. 

WHAT TO PREPARE FOR NEXT TIME

• To create the pictorial book, print all of the pictures and make 2 sets of 10 laminated picture vocabulary cards of choice (i.e. pencil, crayon, teacher, bathroom, etc.) to keep in the Culture/Community Exploration Station until the end of the unit.
• Print an additional picture for the children's photo book. Use 4 x 6 sized foamies or card stock. Gather book rings to bind individual photo books.
• Have a photo book with plastic overlay and fast stick page inserts ready to use.