WITC Activity Plan

Your Name: Danielle Anderson

Learning Experience Title: Dinosaur circle time
Book: Dinosaurs Love Underpants by: Claire Freedman
Song and creative movement activity: We are the Dinosaurs Ages of Children: 30-42 months
Dinosaur group matching game
Dino Egg Hunt
Type of Learning Experience: (check all that apply)
 Creative Art  Social Studies  Social
 Sensory Play
 Literacy & Language  Gross Motor  Emotional
 Health/Safety
 Dramatic Play  Fine Motor  Community Building
 Cooking/Nutrition
 Music & Movement  STEM  Other:
 Nature/Outdoor

Learning Experience Presentation Type: (check one)

 Large Group—all children  Small Group—a portion of  Activity choice during free play
participating at the same the children participating
time at the same time
Number of children participating at the same time: 8-10
Skills:
Sits and enjoys short stories for up to 5 minutes
Recognizes and produces rhyming and repetition words
Uses non-verbal communication
Makes comparisons
Reads/listen to stories to gain information
Increasing large motor function
Children can sort/group by colors, shape, size

Concepts:
Letters come together to form words
Books can be read and contain information
There are many different kinds of dinosaurs
The muscles in our bodies help us move in many different ways.
I can sort into many different groups.
This learning experience has been planned to feature the following WMELS performance standards:
Health and Physical Development
B. EL. 1a and 1b Moves with strength, control,balance, coordination, locomotion, and endurance.
B. EL. 2 Exhibits hand eye coordination, strength, control, and object manipulation.
Social and Emotional Development
B. EL. 2 Demonstrates self-awareness.
Language Development and communication
B. EL. 2 Uses vocalizations and spoken language to communicate.
C. EL. 3 Shows appreciation of books and understands how print works.
Approaches to learning
A. EL. 1 Displays curiosity, risk taking, and willingness to engage in new experiences.
Cognition and General Knowledge: Scientific Thinking
A. EL. 2 Understands new meanings as memory increases.
C. EL. 1 Uses observation to gather information.
C. EL. 2 Uses tools to gather information and seek answers to questions through active investigation.
Cognition and General Knowledge: Mathematical Thinking
B. EL. 1 Demonstrates an understanding of numbers and counting.
B. EL. 3 Explores, recognizes, and describes, shapes and spatial relationships.
B. EL. 4 Uses the attributes of objects for comparison and patterning.

Why have you chosen to do this experience? What observations have you made about the development, interests,
needs of individuals or groups of children in your care?

I have had some children to ask me about dinosaurs. I am currently making many observations in my work and I often
ask them to stomp, climb, and walk like a dinosaur. Children become engrossed in large motor activities that use their
favorite subjects. I also need to do observations on other areas of development and this group time will offer many
opportunities for learning and observation in different domains. Information is retained when it is of the child’s
interests and is relevant. In this case, we have been making Dino prints in the soft spring ground outside on the
playground. This circle time will fit with the curve of class interest.
Specific list of space and/or materials needed including colors, amounts, sizes, etc.
 The Laurie Berkner Band – “We Are the Dinosaurs” song from YouTube to be played on my laptop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPrmY7labLA
 Book: Dinosaurs Love Underpants by: Claire Freedman
 Dinosaur flash cards set of 2 or 3. Can print if needed
 Plastic Easter eggs 20-40
 Tiny sorting dinosaurs from Math center 20-40
 Space needed is large area for dancing and circle time rug/space. Use whole room for egge hunt.

Source of materials:
 All are available at the center/in the classroom
 Provided, in part, by cooperating teacher
 I am providing the following:

Teacher preparation needed before activity presentation, i.e. mixing paint, cutting paper, construction of flannel
board characters, etc.
Set up song on lap top before class
Hide eggs during songs and book
Print, cut, and laminate images of dinosaurs and make 2 to 3 copies.
Teaching Sequence of the Learning Experience
Set-up and arrangement of materials and equipment
Lap top at group time rug.
Book at group rug.
Large motor activities in large open space in class.
Egg hunt all over classroom.
Sorting at rug.
Transition Planning: Describe how the children will transition into the learning experience. Transition in to the
activity (preschool) OR Incorporation of individual child routines (infant/toddler).
“One little, two little, three little dinosaurs” song
Also, sing in Spanish: “Un pequeno, dos pequeno, tres pequeno dinosaurios”
Sing before book time as they are finding their spot. Have them hold up the correct number of fingers as they are
counting with the song. They can also stomp like dinosaurs to their spot on the rug and continue stomping until they
are ready to sit (or not sit).
 1. Have co-teacher hide eggs during transition song and story or you can hide during “we are the dinosaurs”
song.
2. Sing the transition song as children find their spots.
3. Ask children 2-3 open-ended questions about dinosaurs. (can be from list of questions below)
4. Read story to children. Remember to talk about book as you read.
5. Have children say the names of the different kinds of dinosaurs as you read.
6. Talk about the happenings of the book with children.
7. After story, have children stand up and pretend to be dinosaurs as you play “We are the Dinosaurs” video on
smart board/tablet/computer (can use just sound). Act out actions in song. (Stomping, eating, sleeping,
snoring.)
8. Gather group to mat for matching game and repeat original transition song while they gather.
9. Hand everyone a flash card with a different dinosaur. May need to make doubles if there are a lot of children.
10. Sit in the front of class and hold up a card. Say the name of the dinosaur on the card and ask the children who
has this dinosaur. They will race up to give you their card. (can pretend to be the dino as the come up.
11. When all cards are on the teachers pile, the game is over. (You can ask the children to play amongst
themselves as a variation so that you can observe their interactions with each other and take notes on the
skills they are attempting during choice stations)
12. Ask children to locate the tiny Dino eggs that are all hidden in “nests” all over the room.
13. Children will locate 2 eggs and bring them to the rug, open the eggs to find Dino babies inside! Sort into piles
based on an objective such as color, size, and type of Dinosaur. (use dino math sorters from classroom.)
14. Count how many dinosaurs they have found in the “wild”
15. Always room to end it with a few critical thinking questions from list below
Questions to support inquiry and discussion and vocabulary words to introduce.
Herbavore, Carnavore, Omnivore.
How are you able to move like a dinosaur? What muscles can you feel while you move your this part of your body/
how does it feel to you?
What do you think Dinosaurs ate? Where did they live? Why don’t we see them in zoos?
What do you know about dinosaurs? Can you think of where (what type of environment) dinosaurs liked to live?
How will the learning experience area be cleaned up? (How will the children help in this process? Where will the
leftover materials be put? Where will the children’s art work be placed?)
Children will help to put all dinos and their eggs in the buckets they belong. They can begin with one color at a time
finding all the yellow eggs and moving on to blue ones etc… then placed back on shelving by children.
Book is kept out for exploration all day.
Cards are collected by teacher as part of the game and are placed in science area for exploration.
Transition Planning: Describe how the children will transition out of the learning experience.
After the final discussion, children will go outside for free play. Have them line up and exit by pretending to be one of
the dino’s they learned about. (maybe they are fa new dino zachodon or Lillysorus)

Notes on Differentiation, Guidance, Family Culture, and other group-specific considerations.

All activities are designed to allow the children to explore and experience at their own level of ability.
There are many opportunities for movement for children who are not able to sit for longer piriods of time. Small
fidget toys are always available for use.

This completed plan must be submitted to your instructor for grading prior to implementing.
/2 Activity plan is developmentally appropriate
/2 Activity plan is comprehensive
/1 Professional presentation/spelling & grammar is correct
Self-Evaluation of Learning Experience: The following questions should be answered as soon as possible after
presenting the activity in the classroom.
Reflect on your success. Describe what went well.

Did the learning experience support the developmental skills, concepts, and standards that you planned to support?
How do you know?

What changes would you make in the space and/or materials used in this learning experience? All recommended
changes should be supported with examples of the children’s participation. If you said, “no change,” support your
response.

What changes would you make in your teaching of this learning experience? Support each change you list. If you said,
“no change,” support your response.

Would you do this learning experience again? Why or why not?

TOTAL SCORE FOR THIS ACTIVITY: /5 points

Cooperating Teacher Evaluation of Learning Experience: The following questions should be answered during or as soon
as possible after student presented the activity in the classroom.
Reflect on the successes. Describe what went well.

Did the learning experience support the developmental skills, concepts, and standards that the student planned to
support? How were you able to tell that the learning goals were met?

What changes would you suggest for the space and/or materials used in this learning experience? Please support all
recommended changes with examples. If you said, “no change,” pleae explain why not.

What changes would you suggest for the teaching of this learning experience? Please explain each change you list or if
you said, “no change,” support your response.

Do you think this learning experience should be repeated? Why or why not? Any other suggestions or tips or
comments?

TOTAL SCORE FOR THIS ACTIVITY: /5 points

Adapted from The Registry (2018)