Getting Ready for School Mini Books: Preschool CT Activity

Summary

Children will create mini books to tell the story of their getting-ready-for-school routine. They will focus on problem decomposition as they identify the big task (routine) and break that big task into smaller, easier parts (e.g., get dressed, eat breakfast). As children break down their routines, they will have opportunities to count and compare the number of smaller parts.

CONTEXT: Small group

LENGTH: 15 minutes

MATERIALS:

• Mini books (pre-made or fastened together with yarn)
• School routine cards (see printout with examples)
• Glue
• Markers or crayons

In this activity, children will engage in:

Computational Thinking

• Break a complicated/bigger problem into a set of easier/more solvable sub-problems, before working to solve them.

Mathematics

• Count objects (one-to-one correspondence).
• The last number counted represents how many (cardinality).
• Compare quantities (more/less).

Activity Steps

1. Explain and define problem decomposition.

• Problem decomposition is breaking a big problem or task down into smaller parts. This can make those bigger, more complex problems or tasks easier to solve or help us solve them faster.

2. Invite children to think about what they do to get ready for school. Discuss how this big task could be broken into smaller parts.

• What are the things you do at home when you get ready for school?

3. Invite children to make a book that shows all the parts of their very own getting-ready-for-school story. Place the cards with images of the smaller parts of the getting-ready-for-school book on the table. Note: Example images are provided below. You may use these to create images/cards for children or make up your own ideas! Explain to children that they will choose each picture/card that shows something they do when they are getting ready for school.

• Let’s look at these different pictures. Do you see pictures that show something you do when getting ready for school? Do you get dressed? Do you brush your teeth? Do you put on shoes?

4. Once children have chosen the pictures/cards that show each step in their getting-ready-for-school routine, they can glue the cards into their mini book. Each page of the book will show a smaller part of their getting-ready-for-school story.

5. Encourage children to count how many small parts they have in their routines and compare with other friends.

• How many smaller parts are in your story? How many small parts does the friend next to you have? Whose story has more?

6. Once children have glued each image, invite them to color their books.

7. Read the books together! Invite children to tell the story of their getting-ready-for-school book (big task) and notice all of the smaller tasks that are included.