Aa is for Ants

I am taking a class called Creative Learning Environments and one of my assignments was to "describe a manner in which each of the eight learning styles can be promoted to learn about a single simple topic." This is the lesson plan that I turned in.

 I really enjoyed developing this plan and am planning to use this format for future lesson plans. This plan was intended to be carried out over the course of a week. The next one will be Bb for Butterflies.

 Aa is for Ants

ART

1. Goals for children's learning and development.

• practice fine motor skills
• review colors black, brown and red
• appreciate the variety of color and form in nature

2. Brief description of planned learning experiences

• look at pictures of different kinds of ant, noticing colors and other characteristics
• color pictures of ants using crayons and chalk
• make a model of an ant from egg cartons and pipe cleaners
• make a construction paper ant
• make a book of the drawn and colored pictures of ants to share with the class and parents

3. Accommodations for special needs and differences

• help and encouragement with fine motor activities as needed
• age appropriate cutting utensils
• variety of choices in activities presented 

4. Materials needed

• realistic pictures of ants
• printed pictures of ants to color
• drawing paper
• crayons/chalk
• scissors
• egg cartons
• pipe cleaners
• 3-ring binder
• sheet protectors
• construction paper
• glue sticks

5. Learning styles

• Visual-Spatial
• Bodily-Kinesthetic

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT

1. goals for children's learning and development

• learn to follow instructions in a fun way
• children will learn to listen for different tempos in music - fast, slow - and move accordingly
• children will enjoy learning together through song

2. Brief description of planned learning activities

• learn the song "The Ants Go Marching"
• March in time to do the differing tempos in the song - slowing down and speeding up the tempos on different verses in the song
• sing the ant song and the As song together

3. Accommodations for special needs and individual differences

• children may sing along or listen as desired
• children may march to the beat or clap as desired

4. Materials needed

• song sheets
• CD player

5. Learning styles

• Bodily-Kinesthetic
• Musical
• Interpersonal
• Linguistic

DRAMATIC PLAY

1. Goals for children's learning and development

• children will reinforce learned concepts and information through play
• children will play together cooperatively or will enjoy time playing alone - understanding that both choices are acceptable ways of spending time

2. Brief description of planned learning activities

• Plastic ants in block area as well as in the sensory area (rice/bean table).
• Ant puppets in the puppet area.

3. Accommodations for special needs and individual differences

• various sizes of play ants will be used 
• children will have choices between block  play, sensory table and puppet area

4. Materials needed

• blocks
• rice/beans for sensory table
• ant toys in various sizes
• ant puppets

5. Learning styles

• Bodily - Kinesthetic
• Interpersonal
• Visual-Spatial
• Intrapersonal
• Logical-Mathematical
• Naturalistic

LIBRARY

1. Goals for children's learning and development

• to foster literacy and the joy of reading
• to reinforce tracking from left to right when reading
• to allow children to enjoy and share the class book alone and with classmates and parents

2. Brief description of planned learning experiences

• stock class library area with books, both fact and fiction, relating to ants. (Including the class book).

3. Accommodations for special needs and individual differences

• provide a variety of book types and reading levels

4. Materials needed

• a wide variety of books about ants

5. Learning styles

• Verbal-Linguistic
• Intrapersonal
• Interpersonal
• Naturalistic

SCIENCE/MATH

1. Goals for children's learning and develpment

• observe and learn about ants as they work and grow in ant farm as well as in their natural environment
• practice observation and counting skills

2. Brief description of planned learning experiences

• set up and observe ant farm
• go outside and look for and count ants
• "Ants on a Log" snack - count the ants on each log

3. Accommodations for special needs and individual differences

• providing a variety of activities to ensure that different needs and learning styles are addressed
• providing assistance and direction as each child needs and desires

4. Materials needed

• ant farm
• ants
• snack supplies - celery, peanut butter, cream cheese, raisins

5. Learning styles

• Bodily-Kinesthetic
• Interpersonal
• Logical-Mathematical
• Naturalistic