Pre-K

The World Around Me

Pre-K students focus on experiencing and making observations of the world around them. They are beginning to learn about their own environment as they observe plants and animals, the Moon and the Sun, and the daily weather. They experience their world through their senses and body parts and begin to recognize that animals also use their senses and body parts to meet their basic needs. They investigate pitch and volume, shadow and light, liquids and solids, and how things move. They sort materials by simple observable properties such as texture and color. They share their understanding of these concepts through discussion as they develop their language and quantitative skills. Pre-K students build awareness of the wide variety of natural phenomena and processes in the world around them.

ESS1. Earth’s Place in the Universe

PreK-ESS1-1(MA). Demonstrate awareness that the Moon can be seen in the daytime and at night, and of the different apparent shapes of the Moon over a month.

PreK-ESS1-2(MA). Observe and use evidence to describe that the Sun is in different places in the sky during the day.

What this looks like in the classroom:

Build a sundial
Measure lengths of shadows at different times of the day
Draw the moon over the course of a month
https://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/teachers-plus-students/teacher-resources/curriculum-resources/playing-with-shadows

ESS2. Earth’s Systems

PreK-ESS2-1(MA). Raise questions and engage in discussions about how different types of local environments (including water) provide homes for different kinds of living things.

PreK-ESS2-2(MA). Observe and classify non-living materials, natural and human made, in the local environment.

PreK-ESS2-3(MA). Explore and describe different places water is found in the local environment.

What this looks like in the classroom:

Habitat Sorting Boxes: Provide tubs with materials representing different environments (pond = water with toy ducks/frogs, forest = leaves/sticks/animal figures, desert = sand/rocks/lizards). Children place animals in the “home” they belong to.

Sensory Habitat Play: Create small sensory bins—mud for worms, water for fish, leaves for bugs. Add toy animals and let children match creatures to their habitats while describing why.

Rock, Stick, and Toy Sort: Gather natural materials (rocks, sticks, leaves) and human-made items (blocks, bottle caps, plastic spoons). Children sort into two baskets: “Natural” and “Made by People.”

PreK-ESS2-4(MA). Use simple instruments to collect and record data on elements of daily weather, including sun or clouds, wind, snow or rain, and higher or lower temperature.

PreK-ESS2-5(MA). Describe how local weather changes from day to day and over the seasons and recognize patterns in those changes.

Clarification Statement:

Descriptions of the weather can include sunny, cloudy, rainy, warm, windy, and snowy.

PreK-ESS2-6(MA). Provide examples of the impact of weather on living things.

Clarification Statement:

Make connections between the weather and what they wear and can do and the weather and the needs of plants and animals for water and shelter.

What this looks like in the classroom:

https://www.pre-kpages.com/weather-activities-for-preschoolers/

ESS3. Earth and Human Activity

PreK-ESS3-1(MA). Engage in discussion and raise questions using examples about local resources (including soil and water) humans use to meet their needs.

PreK-ESS3-2(MA). Observe and discuss the impact of people’s activities on the local environment.

What this looks like in the classroom:

Students cultivate a school garden using seeds, soil, sunlight, and water
Seed Sprouting in a Bag
Students place bean seeds in a damp paper towel inside a clear zip bag taped to the window. They observe roots, stems, and leaves over several days.
Classroom Plant “Doctors”
Give groups plants in different conditions (with/without sunlight, water, or soil) and let children observe changes.

LS1. From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

PreK-LS1-1(MA). Compare, using descriptions and drawings, the external body parts of animals (including humans) and plants and explain functions of some of the observable body parts.

PreK-LS1-2(MA). Explain that most animals have five senses they use to gather information about the world around them.

PreK-LS1-3(MA). Use their five senses in their exploration and play to gather information.

Clarification Statement:

• Examples can include comparison of humans and horses: humans have two legs and horses four, but both use legs to move.

What this looks like in the classroom:

Divide the students into small groups.
Give each group some pictures of animals and plants to examine, or do a nature hike and observa different trees and plants.
Ask the students to draw and label the external body parts they can see.
Encourage them to compare the external body parts of animals and plants and make notes about the similarities and differences.
After about 15 minutes, have the groups switch pictures with another group and repeat the activity.

LS2. Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

PreK-LS2-1(MA). Use evidence from animals and plants to define several characteristics of living things that distinguish them from non-living things.

PreK-LS2-2(MA). Using evidence from the local environment, explain how familiar plants and animals meet their needs where they live.

Clarification Statements:

Basic needs include water, food, air, shelter, and, for most plants, light.
Examples of evidence can include squirrels gathering nuts for the winter and plants growing in the presence of sun and water.
The local environment includes the area around the student’s school, home, or adjacent community.

PreK-LS2-3(MA). Give examples from the local environment of how animals and plants are dependent on one another to meet their basic needs.

What this looks like in the classroom:

Pollination: Bees, butterflies, and other insects depend on flowers for nectar and pollen as a food source. When they visit flowers, they inadvertently transfer pollen from the male to the female parts of the plant, which enables the plant to produce seeds.
Seed dispersal: Some animals, such as birds and squirrels, eat fruits and seeds and then disperse them in other areas through their droppings. This helps new plants grow in different locations and increases their chances of survival.
Shelter and habitat: Animals depend on plants for shelter and habitat. For example, birds build nests in trees, while rabbits and other animals burrow in the ground among roots and vegetation.
Food chain: Plants are the primary producers in the food chain, and they provide food for herbivores such as deer, cows, and rabbits. In turn, these herbivores become food for carnivores such as foxes and eagles.
Oxygen production: Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce oxygen through photosynthesis. This oxygen is essential for animals to breathe and survive.

LS3. Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

PreK-LS3-1(MA). Use observations to explain that young plants and animals are like but not exactly like their parents.

Clarification Statement:

• Examples of observations include puppies that look similar but not exactly the same as their parents.

PreK-LS3-2(MA). Use observations to recognize differences and similarities among themselves and their friends.

What this looks like in the classroom:

. Classroom Trait Graph

Make a big chart (e.g., eye color, hair color, whether you can roll your tongue, left/right handed).
Kids place a sticker or drawing in the correct column.
Discuss similarities and differences.
Focus: "We are alike in some ways and different in others."

3. Sorting Dolls / Pictures

Use dolls, animal figures, or printed pictures with varied traits (long/short hair, tall/short, glasses/no glasses).
Children sort them by a single trait.
Then mix them and sort by a new trait.
Focus: Traits can be grouped and compared.

PS1. Matter and Its Interactions

PreK-PS1-1(MA). Raise questions and investigate the differences between liquids and solids and develop awareness that a liquid can become a solid and vice versa.

PreK-PS1-2(MA). Investigate natural and human-made objects to describe, compare, sort, and classify objects based on observable physical characteristics, uses, and whether something is manufactured or occurs in nature.

PreK-PS1-3(MA). Differentiate between the properties of an object and those of the material of which it is made.

PreK-PS1-4(MA). Recognize through investigation that physical objects and materials can change under different circumstances.

Clarification Statement:

• Changes include building up or breaking apart, mixing, dissolving, and changing state.

What this looks like in the classroom:

Ooey Gooey Science

PS2. Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

PreK-PS2-1(MA). Using evidence, discuss ideas about what is making something move the way it does and how some movements can be controlled.

PreK-PS2-2(MA). Through experience, develop awareness of factors that influence whether things stand or fall.

Clarification Statement:

• Examples of factors in children’s construction play include using a broad foundation when building,

considering the strength of materials, and using balanced weight distribution in a block building.

What this looks like in the classroom:

https://www.exploratorium.edu/tinkering/projects/balancing-sculptures

PS4. Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

PreK-PS4-1(MA). Investigate sounds made by different objects and materials and discuss explanations about what is causing the sounds. Through play and investigations, identify ways to manipulate different objects and materials that make sound to change volume and pitch.

Here are some ideas:

Drum kit: You can create a drum kit by using different sized containers like plastic buckets or coffee cans, which can be decorated with stickers, paint, or markers. Then, use wooden spoons or pencils to create drumsticks.
Tambourine: A tambourine can be made by using a paper plate or a plastic lid as the base. Add some dried beans or beads inside the plate or lid, and then attach some jingle bells around the edges. Kids can then shake the tambourine to make music.
Kazoo: A kazoo can be made by using a toilet paper roll or a cardboard tube. Cut a small hole in the top of the tube and cover it with wax paper, securing it with a rubber band. Kids can hum or sing into the tube to make music.
Guitar: You can create a guitar by using a cardboard box or a tissue box. Cut a hole in the box to make the sound hole, and then attach rubber bands or strings across the box to create the guitar strings. Kids can pluck the strings to make music.
Maracas: Maracas can be made by filling plastic Easter eggs with rice, beans, or small beads. Tape two eggs together to form a handle, and then decorate them with paint or markers. Kids can shake the maracas to make music.
Xylophone: You can create a xylophone by using different sized glass bottles or jars filled with water to create different pitches. Kids can use wooden spoons or pencils to hit the bottles and create music.

PreK-PS4-2(MA). Connect daily experiences and investigations to demonstrate the relationships between the size and shape of shadows, the objects creating the shadow, and the light source.

What this looks like in the classroom:

Tinkering Studio-Light and Shadow explorations
https://www.exploratorium.edu/tinkering/projects/light-shadow-explorations

Shadow Puppets

My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson

From Child's Garden of Verses

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,

And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.

He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;

And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--

Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;

For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,

And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all.

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,

And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.

He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see;

I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,

I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;

But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,

Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

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