Welcome! Below is my lesson plan for a circle time based on one of my favorite childhood stories...Mortimer! This story is a classic and kids love interacting with the story. The story also experiments with a scale of high and low sounds, so it is a good way to expose children to basic concepts of music. Thank you for reading and let me know in the comments below if you used any activities from this lesson or if you have ideas for other extension activities for the story Mortimer!
Mortimer Circle Time Plan
Transition in: Before we began our story, we used the finger play "Open, Shut Them" to settle children down. We also buckled on our listening ears to prepare for the story :)
Hook: Have children guess what the story will be about by presenting two clues (my clues were a pajama top and eye mask, which I wore over my regular outfit)
Body: Next we read “Mortimer”, providing opportunities during the story for singing and movement. For example, we tapped our hands on the floor, mimicking the characters going “thump, thump, thump” up and down the stairs. When reading these sections, my voice would go up in pitch when someone went up the stairs in the story, and down in pitch when they went down the stairs. By the end of the story, children were ready to sing with me as I sang Mortimer's song.
Transition out: Last, stand up with the class and act out the song “Ten in a Bed”. Instead of saying “One fell out”, substitute each child’s name as a way of excusing them from circle. For example:
"number of children in the bed and the little on said"
"Roll over! (turn in a circle) Roll over! (turn in a circle)"
"So they all rolled over and ______ fell out!"
Possible extensions:
-Exploration with musical instruments
-Dancing with scarves to music
-Make a picture: "What helps you fall asleep?"
Comments
Post a Comment