LEARN NC

Nursery rhyme illustration: dish running away with spoon.

Mother Goose in use: Rhymes that teach

By Lisa Wright

1 Sorting with Little Boy Blue

Learning outcomes

Students will practice sorting objects into groups.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

40 minutes

Materials needed

  • Sheep and cow plastic toys (one toy for each student) or sheep or cow shapes cut out of construction paper
  • Laminated pictures of corn and a fence (You may need to create these before the lesson.)
  • Two chairs
  • Masking tape
  • Farm Flu, by Teresa Bateman and Nadine Bernard Westcott
  • Recording of “Little Boy Blue” from nursery rhyme CD, such as 100 Songs for Kids or text version from nursery rhyme book
  • Nursery Rhyme Flip Chart or large chart paper with the nursery rhyme “Little Boy Blue” written on it
  • Optional: Nursery rhyme felt board, available from the Felt Source website

Pre-activities

  • Make — or find — and laminate a picture of corn and a picture of a fence.
  • Before beginning the lesson, tape the corn picture on the back of one chair and the fence picture on the other.
  • If you’re using paper sheep and cow shapes instead of toys, cut them out before the lesson.
  • If you’re not using a flip chart, write the nursery rhyme on chart paper for students to see.

Activities

  1. Anticipatory set: Ask the students what keeps animals in one place on a farm.
  2. Listen to the song “Little Boy Blue” on the nursery rhyme CD or read the rhyme to the students.
  3. Give each student a toy sheep or cow, or a paper cutout sheep or cow.
  4. Have students recite the rhyme from the chart. If you’re using a felt board, add pieces as necessary.
  5. When you get to the line about the “sheep in the meadow and cows in the corn,” have the students place their toys or cutouts on the correct chair a few at a time.
  6. Read the story Farm Flu to the students.
  7. Conclude the lesson by asking the students the following questions:
    • Why did the sheep go in the meadow?
    • Why did the cows go to the corn?
    • What is the horn for?

Assessment

Assess by oral answers to the concluding questions. Make sure students place the animals in the correct chairs.

Extension

You may extend the lesson by serving popcorn as a snack. Discuss what created the popcorn. (Kernels from ears of corn)

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Mathematics (2004)

Kindergarten

  • Goal 5: Algebra - The learner will model simple patterns and sort objects.