Worms Like to Wiggle :: Planning Matrix

Date: Week One
Theme (optional): Farm
Book Title: Worms Like to Wiggle

For a printable version of the matrix, CLICK HERE

Play Area	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thrusday	Friday
Reading the Story	Read the story and discuss thing we would see on the farm.	Read the story. Have the children name the animals in the story.	Read the story. Talk about what animals do on the farm.	Read the story. Talk about what sounds animals make.	Read the story. Use the animal props to retell the story.
Dramatic Play	Show the kids the areas. Model what they will act out.	Let the children use prop animals to recreate the story with help.	Use animals to sequence story. Let the kids act out what they would do on the farm.	Let children practice making different sounds and animal noises with stuffed animals.	Let the kids act out the story with less prompting from adults.
Literacy Center	Record story on audio tape. Let the kids listen. Make a book of “Things I like to do”.	Continue making the “Things I like to do book” by labeling the pictures.	Use jumbo size magnetic letters to match up to animal words.	Animals on the farm collage. Take pictures and either tear or cut out (depending on skill level).	Finish collage and label some animals.
Science & Math Center	Have children look at a worm farm. Talk about where the live and go outside on a worm hunt.	Look at a fish tank. Have different pictures of fish and ask what colors the different fish are.	Have different cow stuffed animals available to talk about colors of cows and how they feel.	Have plastic rooster manipulatives at the center. Talk about the colors and have children sort into groups.	Bring in a cat. Talk about the cat and what the cat does and all the colors cats can be.
Art Area	Make a worm out of tissue paper.	Make a fish.	Make a cow.	Make a paper plate rooster .	Color a cat.
Sensory Area	Have a table with dirt. Have children dig holes and look for gummy worms.	Have the water table out. Have children use a magnetic fishing rod to catch fish.	Have straw available to make bales of hay.	Have plastic eggs full of gack to symbolize what is inside eggs.	Take the cat made in art area and add sand paper to the feet and soft fur to the sides of the cat.
Motor Area	Have chairs set up on top of a wooden stage. The kids must climb up into the tractor seat.	Have the kids use pull levers to get the tractor to “drive” the tractor around.	Set up a farm obstacle course and the children must get the food to the animals on the farm.	Change the obstacle course to go to feed a different animal.	Have children remake the path. Each child will have one object to place on the course.
Floor Play	Create a miniature scenario with farm things and animals.	Repeat scenario. There are animal puzzle to play with.	Repeat the scenario. Farm animals.	Repeat scenario. Play Wiggle game.	Repeat Wiggle game.
Table Play	Making animals with play dough.	Sorting animals in a 3x3 grid.	Repeat sorting game. File Folder: Match Mom and baby animals.	Make animals from play dough. Repeat file folder.	Repeat making animals from play dough. Repeat sorting.
Outdoor Play	Find outside objects that you might see on a farm.	Play “Duck, Duck, Goose”.	Play “Duck, Duck, Goose”.	Worms. Dig a hole and then release the worms. Free play.	Animal hunt. Hide the stuffed animals and have the kids find them.
Snack	Oral motor song every day this week. Gummy worms in pudding and water.	Goldfish in colors and water.	Milk and wiggly jello in the shape of cows.	Water and Ritz crackers with peanut butter.	Juice and baked layes.
Books & Music	Sing the Wiggle Song. Introduce companion book.	Sing the Wiggle Song. Go through companion book together.	Sing the Wiggle Song. Use interactive parts of the companion book.	Sing the Wiggle Song. Give kids an animal and have them put it in the companion book.
Technology	Website: www.wormsliketowiggle.com	Same	Same	Same	Same

Date: Week Two
Theme (optional): Farm
Book Title: Worms Like to Wiggle

Play Area	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thrusday	Friday
Reading the Story	Let children help read the story. The children tell which animal the like best.	Let the children help tell the story. Talk about the flower in the picture with the worm.	Let the children help tell the story. Use our bodys’ (or something) to make the wiggle movement when the story says wiggle.	After reading the story, let each child have a turn to show everyone how they wiggle.	Let the children tell the story or help tell the story. Give the children an animal sticker.
Dramatic Play	Repeat dramatization.	Repeat dramatization. Let children add new farm animals that wiggle if they choose.	Repeat dramatization with what the children decide.	Repeat dramatization.	Repeat dramatization.
Literacy Center	Tape is still available to listen to. Look at the collage and try to name the animals and the sounds they make.	Give the children the words from the story and they can color or make their own illustrations on the pages.	Continue making the story book. Sequence the animals with picture cards.	Finish making the story book. Repeat sequencing the book with animal picture cards.	Children take turns reading their books.
Science & Math Center	Bring in a dog. Play with the dog and talk about the colors a dog can be.	Talk about what color a pig is and what sounds pig makes.	Have dolls and practice naming the parts of a doll and a body.	Repeat naming body parts.	See if the children can name the colors on certain animals given a visual.
Art Area	Paint a dog.	Make a pig from tissue paper.	Trace the kids body.	Kids color themselves.	Paste all animal pictures around the child’s body!
Sensory Area	Have children give dogs and other water toys a bath in the water.	Have the children use sand and dirt and water to make mud.	Put hay and bird seed and corn in a trough and have the kids feel and smell what animals eat.	Finger paint your favorite animal in the story.	Finish favorite animal finger painting.
Motor Area	Practice wiggling in different size squares (big to small).	Use the Wiggle Song to wiggle while touching your mouth, belly button, ect.	Set up obstacle course and play farm music while they complete the different tasks.	Repeat obstacle course.	Repeat the Wiggle Song to wiggle while touching your arms, legs, and feet.
Floor Play	Repeat scenario. Play Wiggle game.	Repeat scenario. Play find the lost farm animal.	Repeat the scenario. Play with animal puzzles.	Repeat scenario. Repeat the find the lost animal game.	Repeat scenario. Repeat Wiggle game.
Table Play	Making animals with clay.	Finish clay animals.	Paint clay animals.	Finish painting clay animals. Play farm animals memory.	Repeat farm animals memory.
Outdoor Play	Repeat Animal Hunt.	Repeat “Duck, Duck, Goose”.	Walk like an Animal. Free Play.	Repeat Walk like an Animal.	Free Play.
Snack	Oral Motor Song every day this week. Pretzels and water.	Animal crackers and water.	Cheese and crackers with water.	Fruit and water.	Muffins and milk.
Books & Music	Sing the Wiggle Song. Introduce companion book.	Sing the Wiggle Song. Go through companion book together.	Sing the Wiggle Song. Use interactive parts of the companion book.	Sing the Wiggle Song. Give kids an animal and have them put it in the companion book.
Technology	Website: www.wormsliketowiggle.com	Same	Same	Same	Same

Text on this page has been taken from and adapted to use for instructional purposes in Virginia classrooms. To access to Virginia Foundation Blocks for Early Learning: Comprehensive Standards for Four-Year-Olds go to:
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/Elem_M/FoundationBlocks.pdf. The acutal lesson plans are copyrighted by Curriculum Enrichment Publications LLC.