Element



Book List:

The following books are included in this unit as read-alouds; copies will be provided to each classroom.

|Trashy Town |Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha |

|Career Day |Anne Rockwell |

|A Chair for My Mother |Vera B. Williams |

|Caps for Sale (Se venden gorras) |Esphyr Slobodkina |

|Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel |Virginia Lee Burton |

|The Dumpster Diver |Janet S. Wong |

|Recycle! A Handbook for Kids |Gail Gibbons |

Additional Resources:

The following books are not required, but could be used to complement and enrich this theme, if teachers have access to these or similar titles:

|My Community |J. Jean Robertson |

|Helpers in My Community |Bobbie Kalman |

|(Ayudante de mi comunidad) | |

|Pig-Pig Gets a Job |David McPhail |

|The Three Little Pigs | James Marshall |

|Fire Trucks and Rescue Vehicles |Jean Coppendale |

|Garbage Trucks |Terri DeGezelle |

|I Stink! |Kate & Jim McMullan |

|Don't Throw That Away! |Lara Bergen |

|The Three Rs: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle |Nuria Roca |

|We Need Custodians (Helpers in our Schools) |Jane Scoggins Bauld |

| |Week 1 |Week 2 |Week 3 |

|Big Idea(s) |What and who are in our neighborhood? In the first week of |Children will continue their exploration of neighborhood and |Students will conclude their study of “Neighborhood” by delving|

| |this new theme, children will explore ideas about |jobs through read-alouds and dramatic play related to a |deeper into concepts of trash and recycling. |

| |“neighborhood” by focusing on the key places in our community |particular neighborhood place. We will also begin a | |

| |and the variety of jobs that people do. |“decomposition bin” experiment, as part of a deeper | |

| | |investigation into trash and recycling that will continue | |

| | |through the second half of this theme. | |

|Read-Alouds | | | |

|Mon |Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha |A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams |Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina |

|Tues |Career Day by Anne Rockwell |A Chair for My Mother |Trashy Town |

| | | |The Dumpster Diver by Janet S. Wong |

|Wed |Trashy Town |Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina |The Dumpster Diver |

| |Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton | | |

|Thurs |Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel |Rereading (child choice) – A Chair for My Mother or Mike |Caps for Sale / Se venden gorras |

| | |Mulligan and His Steam Shovel | |

|Fri |Career Day |Rereading – the other book from yesterday |Rereading (teacher’s choice) |

|Small Groups | | | |

|Mon |Group 1 – Building a Neighborhood |Group 1 – Neighborhood Props |Group 1 – Patterns with Caps |

|Tues |Group 1 – Community Helpers in the Block Area |Group 1 – Moving Heavy Objects |Group 1 – Sorting Recycling |

|Wed |Group 1: Buried Letters |Group 1 – Counting Coins |Group 1—Garbage Art |

|Thurs |Group 1 – “Favorite Jobs” Class Book |Group 1 – Decomposition: Part 1 |Group 1 – Decomposition: Part 2 |

|Circle Time | | | |

|Mon |Question of the Day (QOTD): What part of our neighborhood do |Question of the Day (QOTD): Where did you go in the |Question of the Day (QOTD): Did you throw something in the |

| |you like best? |neighborhood this weekend? |trash today? (Yes/No/Not Sure) |

| | | | |

| |Intro to small-group time: “What do you think I have in my |Previewing dramatic play: Remind children of last week’s |Decomposition bin: Bring bin/jar to meeting area and ask |

| |bag?” Have community helpers hidden in the bag. |discussion about having a neighborhood place in Dramatic Play. |children what changes they notice since last week. Explain that|

| | |Show a few examples of new items you’ve added to this area. |some items won’t ever decompose – that’s why we need to recycle|

| | | |them! |

|Tues |QOTD: Which job would you most like to do? (Police officer, |QOTD: Would you like to work in a _______? (Y/N) Customize |Song: “One Bottle of Pop” |

| |fire fighter, garbage collector) |this question to reflect the neighborhood place in your | |

| | |Dramatic Play area. |Movement: “Trashy Town March” |

| |What do we know about jobs? Start KWL chart or have an | | |

| |open-ended discussion. |Song: “People in Your Neighborhood” | |

|Wed |QOTD: Which job would you most like to do? |Discussion: What have we learned about jobs? |Song: “One Bottle of Pop” |

| | | | |

| |Song – “People in Your Neighborhood.” |“Decomposition Bin” (see instructions in Activities packet) – |Nursery Rhyme: introduce new one and/or revisit old favorites.|

| | |Show children the bin/jar, explaining that this will help us | |

| |Song – “Wheels on the Bus.” |see what happens to things that people throw in the garbage! | |

| | | |Introduce Small-Group Activity: Show children a few of the |

| |Movement: Trashy Town March | |materials available for “garbage art.” |

|Thurs |Song – “People in Your Neighborhood.” |Morning Message: |Nursery Rhyme: Repeat new one (see Wednesday) and/or revisit |

| | |There are 3 things in our decomposition bin: |old favorites. |

| |Morning Message: |Bread | |

| |Next week we will turn Dramatic Play into a special |Apple |Morning Message: |

| |neighborhood place. Can you help me? |Plastic bottle |Mr. Gilly keeps Trashy Town clean. What are some ways we can |

| | |I wonder if any of them have changed? |keep our classroom clean? |

| |Talk about the place you will create in Dramatic Play next week|Customize this message as appropriate. |Have follow-up discussion, inviting children to share ideas |

| |(doctor’s office, restaurant, etc.). Ask for children’s ideas | |about keeping the classroom clean. |

| |about how to do this: |Movement: “Monkey See, Monkey Do” | |

|Fri |Songs – “People in Your Neighborhood” and/or “Wheels on the |QOTD: Do you have a T in your name, like Trashy Town? (Y/N) |QOTD: What would you like to find in a dumpster? [Provide 2-3|

| |Bus.” | |choices, with visual examples if possible] |

| | |Debrief Dramatic Play: Talk about what children have been doing| |

| |Continue discussion about “Planning a neighborhood place for |in the “neighborhood place” this week. If possible, show some |Song: “One Bottle of Pop” – teach new verse related to |

| |Dramatic Play.” |photos you’ve taken of children playing there. |recycling, if desired |

| | | | |

| | | |Discussion: What have we learned about trash and recycling? |

|Centers | | | |

|Blocks |Photos of neighborhood places (actual ones from your |Buildings children created last week (from milk cartons, etc.) |Garbage trucks |

| |neighborhood, or generic ones you find online) – e.g., pizza |Photos of children’s block play last week and/or from your |Small containers to serve as “trash cans” |

| |parlor, fire station, park, doctor’s office. |neighborhood walk |Pictures of garbage or recycling trucks, litter/trash, |

| |Community-worker figures, vehicles | |dumps/landfills, etc. |

| |Mid-week: Add buildings children constructed during small-group| | |

| |(from milk cartons/etc.) | | |

|Dr Play |Career hats/uniforms – e.g., police, firefighter, doctor, chef | “Neighborhood Place” – Create the community place that you |Keep: “Neighborhood Place” |

| |Tools related to community jobs – e.g., toolbox, stethoscope, |discussed with children last week – doctors’ office, |Add: |

| |prescription pads, etc. |restaurant, fire station, etc. |Wastebaskets/trash cans, recycling bins |

|Toys-Games |Community helpers puzzles (if available) |Picture-cards showing community jobs and their corresponding | |

| |Community Helper Memory (see ) |vehicles/tools. (See Activities packet from Week 1 of this | |

| | |theme) | |

| | |Pennies or other coins, number lines, baggies – see “Counting | |

| | |Coins” small-group activity | |

|Art |Playdough with people-shaped cookie cutters | |Recycling bins |

| | | |Recycled objects or reusable trash – see “Garbage Art” |

| | | |small-group activity |

| | | |Newspaper |

|Library/Writi|Read-aloud books from this unit | |Materials to make recycling labels/signs (including examples of|

|ng |Non-fiction books about jobs, if available | |recycling symbol – find images online) |

|Discovery |Add to collections with findings from neighborhood walk. |Mid-week – “Decomposition Bins” to observe | |

|(Science) | |Journals for recording/drawing observations | |

|Sand-Water |Sand molds | |Shredded paper, scissors, hole punches, small containers to |

| |Construction vehicles/garbage trucks | |fill and sort |

|Music-Movemen|Instruments used by the children and families in your |Containers with lids, such as oatmeal containers, coffee cans, | |

|t |classroom. |or cups with lids. | |

|Computer | | | |

| | | | |

|Outdoors |Neighborhood walk – Go on a walk to look for people doing jobs |Extend the Dramatic Play “neighborhood place” into outside |Take a neighborhood walk – ideally on trash pick-up day – to |

| |in the community, or buildings that relate to different jobs. |time, if possible. Engage children in deciding which items and|see trash/recycling in action. Count trash cans, look for the |

| | |props they could take outdoors! |recycling symbol, or perhaps even see the trash/recycling truck|

| |Wagons/wheelbarrows/carts – and heavy objects (e.g. large | |and talk to the sanitation worker! Alternatively, take a |

| |blocks) to transport. | |“clean-up walk” to pick up litter (wearing disposable gloves |

| |Career props – “hoses,” nets, whistles. | |and being careful of sharp or dangerous objects). |

|Other | | | |

|Family |Invite parent volunteers to join you on a neighborhood walk. |Ask families to donate items for small-group activities, such |Ask custodians to come talk to the students about recycling. |

|Involvement /|Talk to families to find out what buildings or areas in the |as building materials (paper-towel tubes, fabric scraps) and |Make plans for neighborhood walk to observe trash/recycling |

|communication|neighborhood are important to them. For example, are there |recyclables (paper, cardboard, plastic bottles – should be |pickup (if possible – see Outside Time, below). |

| |certain parks or stores that children are familiar with? |empty and reasonably clean!) |Talk to families about the different aspects of “Neighborhood” |

| |Encourage parents to point out any community workers they pass |During arrival or departure times, encourage children to tell |you have explored during the past few weeks – for example, |

| |on the way to school. |their parents about important activities from this curriculum |specific buildings or places in the community; jobs that |

| |Encourage parents to discuss their jobs with children at home. |unit. For example, children could show the buildings they’ve |children were interested in; trash and recycling. Different |

| |If any family members have community jobs – e.g., police |created, the dramatic play area, or the decomposition bin. |children will respond to different aspects of the curriculum |

| |officer, firefighter, bus driver, pizza store manager, etc. – |Investigate opportunities for children to see trash/recycling |and you can share those individual experiences with families. |

| |invite them to come in and talk to children about what they do.|in action during the final week of this theme; Could you go |Encourage families to continue exploring and talking about |

| |OR ask if they can arrange a “walking field trip” (if feasible)|outside on a certain day/time to see trash being collected on |their neighborhood even after this theme ends! |

| |to that community location! |your street? Perhaps you can even convince the | |

| |Ask families to donate items for “Building the Neighborhood” – |garbage/recycling collector to take a quick break to talk to | |

| |milk cartons, paper towel tubes, cardboard, etc. – or to lend |the class! | |

| |items that will help you transform Dramatic Play into a | | |

| |neighborhood place next week. This will vary, depending what | | |

| |your children are interested in; see ** note above. | | |

Materials Needed:

The following list compiles any new, unusual or important materials needed for this unit. (Materials are also listed under the appropriate small-group activity, read-aloud guide or lesson plan for that week.) Items are listed only in the first week they are used, but may be re-used in a later week of the theme.

|Week 1 |Week 2 |Week 3 |

|Magnetic letters, magnetic wands (OR any small letter |Heavy objects (rocks, large blocks, bucket of sand, etc.) |Small objects to represent caps—counters, coins, foam circles, |

|manipulatives) |Wheelbarrow, wagon, dolly, or other device with wheels and a flat |etc.—in at least 3 different colors |

|Photos of neighborhood buildings (actual ones from your |surface |Pattern cards |

|neighborhood, if possible – or generic ones printed from internet)|Materials to create props for neighborhood place in Dramatic Play |Recycling: A Handbook for Kids by Gail Gibbons |

|Community helper figurines and related vehicles (if available) |(will vary): 3D materials, e.g. paper-towel tubes, popsicle |Variety of recyclable items (collected from classroom or donated |

|Materials to create buildings (collected or donated from families)|sticks, cardboard, pipe cleaners; fabric for costume items; |by families) – plastic bottles, milk cartons, aluminum cans, |

|– e.g., clean, empty milk cartons, paper-towel tubes, cardboard |pictures of this neighborhood place / related jobs |newspaper, cereal boxes, glass jars, etc. |

|scraps, popsicle sticks, toothpicks, etc. |Large quantity of coins – real pennies if possible, or play |Multiple bins/boxes for sorting materials |

|Career hats/uniforms – e.g., police, firefighter, doctor, chef |coins/counters |Collage materials—scrap paper, ribbon, cotton balls, etc. |

|Tools related to community jobs – e.g., toolbox, stethoscope, |Plastic baggies |Example of recycling symbol (find online) |

|prescription pads, etc. |Number lines |Shredded paper |

|Community helpers puzzles (if available) |Decomposition Bin(s) – see | |

|Community Helper Memory () | | |

| |Magnifying lenses | |

| |Science Journal for each child | |

| |Containers with lids (oatmeal boxes, coffee cans, etc) | |

| |Picture-cards of community jobs and their tools/ vehicles (see | |

| |Activities packet) | |

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