themed units

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themed units
By Julianne

Elisa,
Common practice with the younger students would be to teach these subjects "from the child out". In other words, teach what is closest to the child first, then move to things further from his experience. While
I have never seen a set-in-stone order for these units, I can tell you how I would teach them and why.
1. Personal hygiene
2. Weather
3. Plants and vegetables
4. Systems of the body
5. Dinosaurs
6. Space (sun, moon and stars)
My reasoning is that every preK student should understand the personal hygiene of handwashing, nose blowing and sneezing. They should be

made aware of what to do when they get a scrape on the playground. So this is our first unit. I chose weather second because it affects students' daily choices. It gives us a chance to try out our observation skills. Studying plants next makes sense as the weather affects plant growth. (In my first grade classroom I actually teach these two units side by side.) Systems of the body could be taught anywhere in the first three years or so, depending on how in-depth you want to get. Because it can be disconcerting for some younger students to discuss blood and other body related subjects, I would prefer to teach this unit in late first or early second grade. Dinosaurs is another unit that could be taught anytime as most preK through 3rd grade students love dinosaurs. Older students are ready for classifying, comparing and contrasting, discussions about extinction, etc. So second grade is appropriate. I left space for last because it includes some concepts that are difficult for younger minds to grasp. The distances in space, for instance, are immense. Also, when we deal with dinosaurs and space we often are quoting theories rather than facts. Your students must be able to differentiate between the two. Also, by third grade science has ceased to be "magic" so you want to make sure you have subjects that really fire the imaginations of your students. Space will do that.