Kindergarten Fall Units:

 Sunshine and Shadows:

 By the end of the unit, students will:

  • understand that a shadow is created when an object blocks the flow of light from a light source (the sun, a flashlight)
  • understand that their shadow changes depending on what time of day it is and what month it is
  • have been exposed to the fact that their shadow changes on an hourly basis because of the earth’s rotation and on a weekly/monthly basis because of the tilt of the earth on its axis. (These concepts are pretty abstract for children this age and I don’t expect them to fully comprehend these ideas. I simply want to lay a foundation to come back to when the children are older.)

 

 Myself and Others:

 (Myself and Others is a curriculum developed by the Education Development Center, Inc. © 1997, 2003 by Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company)

 From the Introduction to Myself and Others:

            “In the Myself and Others learning experiences, children look at themselves and their classmates; they gather information about characteristics such as height, eye color, and hand size; and they explore their similarities, differences, and variations. These learning experiences help to create a positive, supportive atmosphere in which children can realize and appreciate that although each one of them is unique, they all share many similar characteristics. They become aware of the many ways they are similar to children whom they may see as different because of physical characteristics such as skin color. They also realize how they are different from those they see as similar. At the end of the module, they turn their attention to the concepts of growth and development as they think about themselves in the past, the present, and the future.

      This module also provides an opportunity for children to use a variety of science thinking and process skills. As children explore, they are encouraged to observe closely and to use rich descriptive language to share experiences and perceptions, and to clarify ideas. Children organize their observations as they measure, compare, and classify, and they record these observations and thoughts on graphs, murals and in their science notebooks.” (p. I-2)

 By the end of the unit, students will understand:

  • There are many similarities and differences in the physical characteristics of people.
  • There is variation in physical characteristics such as height, hand size, eye shape, hair length and skin color.
  • Variations in physical characteristics make each person unique.
  • People grow and change from babies to adults.