Reading: Ages 4-6
Descriptive Strips
Today's Snack: What words could describe an
apple? Crisp? Fresh? Red? Juicy? Tasty? List as many more as you can, as you
bite into and eat up a lovely, cold apple. The red ones aren't called
"Delicious" for nothing!
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Supplies:
Strips
of colorful construction paper, different colors
Black
marking pen
Gather together three things that
are really different and striking looking, and that stimulate the senses.
Examples: a specially knit sweater, a loaf of freshly-baked bread, and a bucket
full of pond water with dirt, sticks and algae.
One by one, point an item out to
the children. Let them look closely at it, touch it, smell it, and so on. Talk
about the object. What does it look like? What does it remind them of? Is it
big? Is it little? Is it soft? Is it hard? Is it smooth? Is it warm? Is it
cold? Is it mushy? Does it smell like heaven . . . or someplace else?
Every time someone brings up a new
descriptive word, write it down on a strip of construction paper, and place
them around the room. Teach the kids that an "adjective" is a word that
describes something else. Like, a red stop sign describes a sign that is the
color red. "Red" is an adjective that describes something. Adjectives help your
mind picture the ideas that you are reading. Good descriptive words help you
understand text a lot more clearly.
As the children keep talking, keep
placing the strips around the room. They can suggest descriptive words that
don't have anything to do with your three examples, but just come to mind.
When that is done, then spend the
rest of your time together going around the room to the adjectives, and naming
other things that match that adjective. Let's say it's the adjective "gross."
What else is gross? The boys restroom . . . meatloaf . . . having to get up at
6 a.m. Can you come up with three things for each adjective? Keep this stack,
and do this project again after a while, and see if the children can list more
adjectives now that they are familiar with them.
