PRESCHOOL LESSON PLAN WHICH INTEGRATES COMPUTER USE
Linda Benton, Technology Coordinator
Early Childhood Education Center
Albany, New York
The following are suggestions for using computer programs during a week-long classroom theme on the concept of "Big and Little". A booklet of 17 original preschool lesson plans that incorporate computer use is available for $5 from the Early Childhood Education Center:
518-456-4466.
Activity: BIG AND LITTLE
Skills: Visual Discrimination and Classification
Objectives: Students will discriminate differences in size between objects that are big and little, and will label both three dimensional objects and two dimensional pictures appropriately as either big or little.
SOFTWARE CHOICE #1: BIG AND LITTLE (UCLA E. I. Project)
Pre-Computer Phase:
Purpose: Introduce children to common big and little objects in the classroom.
Materials: A big and little ball, block, chair, car, book, etc.
One large laundry basket
One small plastic storage basket
Activity: Call children to circle. Talk to children about concept of big/little, showing them a big and little ball. Show children that the big ball goes into the big basket and the little ball goes into the small basket. Have children take turns placing the larger objects in the big basket and the smaller in the little basket.
Computer Phase:
Purpose: Have each child identify big/little via pictures on the computer screen. Develop turn-taking with peers.
Materials: "Big and Little"
Apple Computer
Echo Speech Synthesizer
Switch, switch interface as necessary
Activity: Select a group of 2-3 children to come to the computer. Adult facilitator demonstrates how children should operate the switch and demonstrates program use. Use verbal cues such as , "When the bear is on top of the BIG one" after the program cues through the Echo to make sure children understand the directional prompts.
Post-Computer Phase:
Purpose: Reinforcement and generalization of concept of "big/little" through literacy activities.
Materials: Children's Story Books:
"The Little Fish that Got Away" by Bernadine Cook
"The Littlest Duck" by Judy Dunn
"The Biggest Sandwich Ever" by Rita Golden Gelman
"The Fat Cat" by Jack Kent
Activities: During reading circle, read one of the above books each day, discussing with children the concept of big/little as it arises in each story.
SOFTWARE CHOICE #2: MILLIE'S MATH HOUSE (Edmark)
Pre-Computer Phase:
Purpose: Have children experiment with shoe sizes
Materials: Adult shoes, children's shoes, doll's shoes
Activity: During circle time, teacher presents children that shoes in a group in the middle of the floor will fit either an adult, a child, or a doll. Teacher demonstrates trying on doll-size and child-size shoe and asks the children to find one that will fit the teacher. Children then take turns deciding who the shoe will fit as teacher holds up each shoe in the pile. Teacher fits shoe to child's choice to see if it fits. If not, class discusses which shoe in pile would fit better.
Computer Phase:
Purpose: To extend concept to include "middle" or "medium". To develop concept of comparative sizes through matching.
Materials: Macintosh Computer
MILLIE'S MATH HOUSE- Little, Middle, Big activity
Touch Window, Switch, or Intellikeys as necessary
Activity: Pairs of children use program together in turns during free-play time. Program offers feedback and cueing for mistakes and is self-correcting and self-teaching. After children use activity a few times in Explore and Discover mode, teacher should set it up in Question and Answer mode and note which children are having difficulty with the concept.
Post Computer Phase:
Purpose: Extension and generalization of concept through a non- manipulative, auditory -verbal activity
Materials: None
Activity: Teacher has children gathered in circle and plays guessing game using size comparison and size words. Teacher, for example, says, "I spy something smaller than my desk, but larger than my finger". Teacher continues offering size clues by narrowing size comparisons ("It's smaller than your desk but bigger than this book"), till someone guesses what the object is.
SOFTWARE CHOICE #3: GROWN UP AND SMALL (Learning Well, Inc.)
Pre-Computer Phase:
Purpose: Have children note big/little in context of mother and baby
animals
Materials: Children's book, "Runaway Bunny" by Margaret Wise Brown
Activity: During story-time, teacher reads above book to children noting size differences of mother and baby bunny
Computer Phase:
Purpose: Have children apply concept of big/little to mother animals and baby animals. Turn-taking and peer cooperation.
Materials: GROWN UP AND SMALL
Apple Computer
Regular keyboard with Return or Space Bar color-coded or highlighted for ease of input
Activity: Group 2 to 2 children at computer with facilitator. Demonstrate how program screen changes with press of Return or Space Bar. Have one child identify if animal on screen is the mother or baby animal. Have next child advance screen to bring on the mother or baby counterpart to animal in first screen. Have third child tell which is big and which is little.
Post Computer Phase:
Purpose: Generalization and expansion of concept to real world
Materials: None
Activity: Field trip to a petting zoo or farm to have children observe mother and baby animals or big/little animals.
*Note: Evaluation of all activities can be through observation or charting at teacher's discretion. Purpose is to use the computer to expand, enhance, reinforce and generalize skills/concepts.