Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000102

Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 2

Lesson 2: I Go to School

Big Ideas of the Lesson

Children go to school.
School is a place where children learn.
Classrooms have regions.
Stories have a beginning, middle, and end.

Lesson Abstract:
In this lesson students begin to explore their role as a student. The lesson begins with the teacher posing the
following question: How did you feel about coming to kindergarten this year? Students share their responses.
The teacher then shares one or both of the following books: Molly McSholly Conquers Kindergarten or Off to
Kindergarten. (Note that students are guided to make text to self connections and if both books are used
students can be guided to make text-to-text connections as part of language arts.) As the book is read the class
identifies how the main character prepared for kindergarten, how she/he felt during kindergarten, and how
she/he felt at the end of kindergarten. The teacher creates a 3-column chart labeled: Beginning, Middle, and
End. Using one or both of the books, students help fill in the chart. Returning to the book the teacher shows
students the illustration of the main characters classroom. Students will describe the classroom in the story and
compare it to their own. As they describe the classrooms, the teacher introduces the concept of region.
Classroom regions include the reading area, play area, etc. Finally, the students return to their I Am a Person
drawings from the previous lesson and add a picture of something they like about their classroom.

Content Expectations
K - H2.0.3: Identify the beginning, middle, and end of historical narratives or stories.

K - G2.0.1: Identify and describe places in the immediate environment (e.g., classroom, home, playground).

Integrated Content Expectations

R.NT.00.03: Discuss setting, characters, and events in narrative text. (English Language Arts)

R.CM.00.01: Begin to make text-to-self and text-to-text connections and comparisons by activating prior
knowledge and connecting personal knowledge and experience to ideas in text through oral and
written responses. (English Language Arts)

Key Concepts
geographic theme of place
school
sequence

Instructional Resources
Equipment/Manipulative

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Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000102
Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 2

Butcher (chart paper), 2 large pieces

Computer (optional)
Crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc. (class set)
I Am a Person pictures from previous lessons
Internet access
Markers (for teacher use)

*Pimp it up* Upgraded resources include: pictures of a happy face, nervous face, and sad face-all
retrieved from Google Images. Upgrades must also include the use of the book Wemberly Worried by
Kevin Henkes, as well as the website: http://www.watchknowlearn.org/

Student Resource
Going to School is Your Job. United Learning. 1998. Discovery Education. 12 August 2009
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>.

Here in the Classroom. Songs for Teachers. 2008. 7 August 2009.

<http://www.songs4teachers.com/classroom1.pdf>.

Johnston, Tony. Off to Kindergarten. New York: Cartwheel Books, 2007.

Uttley, Tracy. Molly McSholly Conquers Kindergarten. Edina, MN: Beavers Pond Press, 2004.

Welcome to our Classroom. Songs for Teachers. 2008. 12 August 2009

<http://www.songs4teachers.com/backsample.pdf>.

Teacher Resource
Clark, Jennifer. Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 2). Teacher-made material. Michigan Citizenship
Collaborative Curriculum, 2009.

Lesson Sequence
1. Ask the students, How did you feel about coming to kindergarten this year? Provide students ample time
to share their responses.

*Pimp it up* To upgrade the introduction of this lesson, the teacher would begin by showing the
students three images. The first image would be one of a happy face, the second would be that of a
nervous face, and the third would be that of a sad face. The teacher would ask the students to look at
the three pictures and use them to help identify which emotion they were feeling on their first day of
Kindergarten. The teacher would prompt by asking: So looking at these three faces, which one were
you feeling as you came to your first day of Kindergarten? How did you feel about your first day?
Can you tell me why you were feeling this way?

Images:

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Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000102
Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 2

2. Read a book such as Molly McSholly Conquers Kindergarten or Off to Kindergarten. Before beginning to
read, tell the students to listen for clues that identify how the main character feels about kindergarten in the
beginning, in the middle, and in the end of the story. As the students share responses, write (or draw pictures
to represent their responses) on a 3-column chart labeled: Beginning, Middle, End. There is a sample
chart provided: Beginning, Middle, End (Story 1) located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson
2). Beginning, Middle, End (Story 1) Answer Key located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson
2) has been provided for your reference as well.

3. Guide students to make text-to-self connections as they identify similar personal feelings about going to
kindergarten and the characters in the book have.

4. If time permits, read the second book to the students. Again, point out how the main character feels about
kindergarten in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end of the story. Have students respond to how the
main character feels in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Again, record the students answers in
words or pictures on a second 3-column chart called Beginning, Middle, End (Story 2), located in the
Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 2). Beginning, Middle, End (Story 2) Answer Key is provided in
the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 2) as well.

*Pimp it up* Upgrade this lesson by reading the book: Wimberly Worried by Kevin Henkes. This is
a fabulous book that may resonate with the way that many of the students were feeling prior to
their first day of school, too.

5. If both stories are shared with the class, guide students in making text-to-text connections that identify how
both characters felt about kindergarten in the beginning, middle, and end of the stories. Using the charts
that were created earlier in the lesson, the students help circle all the similarities and underline all the
differences they see between the two characters and their feelings about going to school in the beginning,
middle and end of the stories. (Several other stories are suggested under Teacher Resources if further
development of beginning, middle, and end is needed.)

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Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 2

6. Return students attention to one of the books. Have students look at the illustrations to describe the
classroom from the story. Using a Venn-diagram, guide students in comparing their classroom to the one
being described in the story. For example, The classroom in the book has a drinking fountain. We also
have a drinking fountain in our classroom. Another example might be, The classroom in the book has
desks. When I look in our classroom, I do not see desks. I see tables. Allow time for students to identify
similarities and differences between their classroom and the classroom in the story.

7. As the students are comparing classrooms, introduce the concept of regions by identifying regions of the
students classroom (play area, reading area, work area, etc).

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Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000102
Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 2

*Pimp it Up* Upgrade this portion of the lesson by focusing more attention and time on the concept of
the classroom region. Have the students create their own visual representations of their classroom region-
this can be done through the use of drawings. Give the students roughly 15-20 minutes to complete their
visual representations, and from there, compare their classroom region to others in different countries.

- Provide the students with a picture of a classroom region found in China. Give the students several
minutes to view the image, and then discuss the similarities and differences from this classroom
region to that one their own classroom region.

Images of classroom region found in China:

Image retrieved from Google Images

- Provide students with a second image that shows a classroom region found in Spain. Similar to the
first images, give the students several minutes to review this image and then compare it to the
classroom region found in China, as well as their own classroom region. Discuss and record the
similarities and differences of the three classroom regions on the white board.
o To make this more interactive for students, have them come up and write some of the
similarities and differences that they notice-provide help if needed.

Image of classroom region found in Spain:

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Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000102
Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 2

Image retrieved from Google Images.

8. Show the Going to School is Your Job video from Discovery Streaming
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=423FDB79-F3AA-4683-BBC2-
FC25E99C2119 . Remind students that being a student is one of their roles.

*Pimp It Up* To upgrade this portion of the lesson, show students a video from
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/ . This website can be used to show valuable videos that incorporate
the importance of going to school.

9. Teach the song Here in the Classroom or Welcome to our Classroom located in the Supplemental
Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 2). After singing Here in the Classroom, ask students to look around as the song
says and describe or draw things in the classroom.

10. The students will continue to build their I Am a Person bodies that they started in the previous lesson.
Remind students in the last lesson they drew an outline of their body. They also described what they like
about themselves and a role they have. In this lesson instruct the students to add something that shows their
role as a student. In addition, have students draw or describe their favorite part of the classroom.

Assessment
The chart that the students create together can be used as an assessment to determine who understands the
concepts of beginning, middle, and end. The pictures added to the students body outlines can also be used as

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Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000102
Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 2

an additional assessment to determine if the students can describe their favorite parts of the classroom. If
needed, students can create vocabulary cards, or picture cards, similar to the Word Cards located in the
Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 2).

*Pimp it Up* To upgrade the assessments of this lesson, assess the students on their responses to
comparing and contrasting the different classroom regions.

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