Big Picture 7: Community

Wow! It’s been a loooong time since I posted, but this summer kept me super busy with travel, family and friends. I hope you also enjoyed your time these last few months, whether it be summer or winter where you are. But now that the children are back in school, and there is some semblance of a routine, it’s time to get back into my work!

Chronicle Books published Old MacDonald Had a Truck in 2016, but I want to feature it because it has been a favorite with all three of my children. Ripped pages and dangling covers are a testament to well-loved books, and believe me, our copy has both! Steve Goetz’s book combines the familiar tune of Old MacDonald Had a Farm with construction vehicles, making it a perfect book for toddlers and preschoolers, but let’s face it: who isn’t fascinated by heavy machinery?

Not only do children enjoy the fun rhymes and vocabulary in this book; they also get a kick out of the storyline depicted in the illustrations. Eva Kaban did an excellent job telling a story in the pictures that cannot be found in the text alone. When Old MacDonald and his wife bring home a red truck with an engine in the back, all the animals in the farm community work together to help Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald prepare the farm and the truck for a really fun ending.

Essential Questions

• How do we work with other people?
• Why do we work together?
• How do machines help us?

Standards

Since the Common Core Standards start with Kindergarten, I am referencing the Illinois Early Learning Standards.

• ELS 1.A Demonstrate understanding through age-appropriate responses.
• ELS 1.B Communicate effectively using language appropriate to the situation and audience.
• ELS 1.C Use language to convey information and ideas.
• ELS 2.A Demonstrate interest in stories and books.
• ELS 2.B Recognize key ideas and details in stories.
• ELS 2.D Establish personal connections with books.
• ELS 5.B Use writing to represent ideas and information.
• ELS 18.A Explore people, their similiarites, and their differences.
• WIDA Early Language Development-2 Multilingual children communicate information, ideas, and concepts for learning and development in the content area of early language development and literacy.

Vocabulary

• excavator
• front loader
• bulldozer
• motor grader
• dump truck
• steam roller
• cement mixer
• community

Companion Activity Suggestions for Pre-School

• Fill your sensory bin with kinetic sand and mini construction machines.
• Work on gross motor skills by pairing movements with each machine. See suggestions below:
  • Excavator (DIG DIG) –> Use 2 hands to hold an imaginary shovel and “dig” to the rhythm of “with a DIG DIG here and a DIG DIG there, here a DIG, there a DIG, everywhere a DIG DIG.”
  • Front Loader (SCOOP SCOOP) –> Curve your hands and “scoop” the air like you would when swimming freestyle.
  • Bulldozer (PUUUSH PUSH) –> With flat palms facing away from you, “push” the air.
  • Motor Grader (SCRAPE RAKE) –> Spread your fingers so they look like claws and “rake” the air. Alternatively, gently scratch your thigh or your child’s thigh if they are sitting on your lap (not to be done with a student!).
  • Dump Truck (DUMP THUMP) –> Use an open palm to pat your thighs when as you sing “dump thump.”
  • Steamroller (SQUISH SMASH) –> Use an open palm to “squish” something on your thigh. Alternatively, clap hands together and move them back and forth as if you were squishing something.
  • Cement Mixer (SPIN WHIRL) –> Use your finger to make mini circles in the air. Reverse direction on the word “whirl.” Alternatively, make fists with both hands and circle them around each other.
• Check out this blog for more construction-theme ideas, including literacy and math!

Teach Sheet

Here is your FREE worksheet for Old MacDonald Had a Truck.

Comments

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