Caps, Hats, Socks, and Mittens
By Louise Borden
Illustrated by Lillian Hoban
Book Summary:
What are some of the things that make winter different from spring? Or summer different from fall? In winter, children wear hats and mittens and ride red sleds down snowy hills. They drink hot chocolate from mugs and at night they curl up in bed under a warm winter quilt. In spring, children watch as the grass gets cut and birds fly to their nests of eggs. They wear raincoats when it rains, and on sunny days enjoy picnics in the grass. Under the hot summer sun, children swim at the beach or in a lake. They play baseball and catch a jar full of fireflies. They race to be the first off the school bus in the fall. They see the frost on the grass before the sun is up and dress up for Halloween when the sun goes down. This book explores the differences that would be most apparent to children such as the activities and clothing that vary from season to season.
Lesson: Season Site Word Clotheslines & Silly Seasons Sprint.
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Lesson Duration: 45 minutes
Standards addressed: Science, Language Arts, Math, & Physical Education:
Standard: K-1: The student will demonstrate an understanding of scientific inquiry, including the processes, skills, and mathematical thinking necessary to conduct a simple scientific investigation.
Indicator: K-1.1: Identify observed objects or events by using the senses.
Standard: K-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of seasonal weather changes.
Indicator: K-4.2: Compare the weather patterns that occur from season to season.
Standard: K-2: The student will begin to read and comprehend a
variety of informational texts in print and non-print formats.
Indicators: K-2.2: Analyze texts during classroom discussions to
make inferences.
K-2.6: Understand graphic features (for example, illustrations and
graphs).
Standard: K-3: The student will learn to read by applying
appropriate skills and strategies.
Indicators: K-3.1: Use pictures and context to construct the
meaning of unfamiliar words in texts read aloud.
K-3.19: Use prior knowledge and life experiences to construct
meaning from texts.
Standard: K-6: The student will demonstrate through the mathematical processes an emerging sense of organizing and interpreting data.
Indicator: K-6.1: Organize data in graphic displays in the form of drawings and pictures.
P.E. Standard: 1: The student will
demonstrate competence in
motor skills and movement patterns needed
to perform a variety of
physical activities. (Psychomotor Domain)
Indicator: K-1.2: Move in general space in a controlled manner to
avoid contact with people and objects and be able to stop in control
on command.
P.E. Standard: 5: The student will exhibit responsible personal and
social behavior that respects self and others in physical-activity
settings. (Affective Domain)
Indicators: K-5.1 Share physical-activity space and equipment
willingly with others.
K-5.2: Interact positively with others in physical-activity settings
(for example, treating others with respect during physical activity
regardless of personal differences, including gender, skill level, or
ethnicity).
K-5.3: Work independently and with others on physical-activity
tasks.
K-5.4: Participate appropriately as a member of the class by
following directions and classroom rules and using safe physical
activity practices.
Lesson Objectives:
-The student will complete a Seasonal Clothing Venn Diagram, with the help of the teacher.
-The student will identify the characteristics of the seasons through visualization and using the 5 senses.
-The student will comprehend and explain why we wear different kinds of clothing in each season.
- The student will identify at least three clothing items that are worn in each season.
-The student will follow directions and safety/behavior rules.
-The student will identify which season has clothing that is generally takes longer and is harder to put on.
Materials:
- Borden, Louise. (1990). Caps, hats, socks, and mittens. New York, NY: Scholastic
- Pencils.
-Clothes templates for each of the pieces needed for each season’s clothesline (can be drawn my teacher and photocopied).
-Venn Diagram template handouts.
-Yarn.
-Clothes Pins.
-Sentence Strips.
-Tacks (or some way the site word clotheslines can be hung).
-White board.
-Dry erase marker.
-Markers.
-Crayons.
-Scissors.
-4 large paper/plastic bags.
-Access to relay lanes/a track (can also be done on a field or blacktop with cones).
-4 sets of seasonal clothing with about 6 clothing items in each (number of items can be altered as long as each group has the same number of items in their bag).
*Example:
- Winter: Earmuffs, boots, hat, ski pants, large ski jacket, mittens.
-Spring: cap, t-shirt, shorts, skirt, headband, belt (Velcro).
- Summer: goggles, Sun hat, swim trunks, tank top, towel, worn around the neck.
- Fall: Pants, sweater, vest, scarf, leg warmers, shoes.
- A class list/matrix for observations/notes.
-A clipboard.
-Pens.
-First aide kit.
-Cones.
Introduction:
1. The teacher will address the class, seated on the carpet in a circle. The teacher will tell the class that they are going to be doing their best thinking today, which means that everyone needs to use good listening skills, raise his/her hand, and sit the way they are supposed to on the carpet. The teacher will ask the students to come up with the behavior that is important if the class is expected to do their best thinking.
2. The teacher will explain to the class that they will be doing a brain exercise called visualization. The teacher will write visualization on the board and ask the student if he/she has ever heard that big word or a smaller word that is similar.
3. The teacher will cover art part of the word on the white board and read it as “visual”. The teacher will as the student if he/she knows what that word means, and then proceed to explain that it has to do with seeing or picturing.
3. The teacher will tell the student that visualization is when you picture something in your mind. The teacher will give an example: Think of what you did for your last birthday. Did you have a party or no? If no, what did you do? If yes, who was there? What kind of cake did you have? Did you get a present/presents?
4. The teacher will ask the student if he/she created images in his/her mind to help remind him/herself of his/her birthday and created images from memory.
5. The teacher will explain that visualization is like playing a movie clip in your mind or painting a picture of series of pictures and it is a very useful tool. For example when writing or reading, the teacher will explain how it can be very helpful to generate writing ideas (especially in creative writing) and also to help comprehend texts.
6. The teacher will explain that the students can also use their 5 senses when visualizing, like what it smells like and what it feels like. The teacher will explain that the smell of cinnamon and evergreen reminds her of winter holidays like Christmas and the smell of sunscreen reminds her of the summer. She will tell them that whenever she eats shortbread cookies she thinks of her mom and that whenever she smells paint she thinks of her dad because he was an architect and is always touching up things around the house. She will explain that whenever she hears a song from the movie “Dirty Dancing” she thinks of her sister, etc.
7. The teacher will explain that she is going to read a book to the students and she wants them to visualize the different seasons that the authors writes about, using the 5 senses.
8. The teacher will ask the student to name the 5 senses and write on the board with a symbol next to each (an eye, a nose, a mouth, an ear, and a hand).
9. The teacher will introduce the book, Caps, Hats, Socks, and Mittens, and ask the student based on the title what he/she thinks it is going to be about.
10. The teacher will read the book aloud to the class.
11. After reading the book, the teacher will ask the student if he/she had any mental images/visualized anything when the story was read. The teacher will respond to what the student reports.
12. The teacher will explain that the class will be doing a quick exercise to visualize each of the four seasons. The teacher will ask the student to close his/her eyes. The teacher will name a season and then ask the student to visualize the season: how it feels, the weather, what he/she sees, what kinds of clothes people are wearing, what sounds he/she hears, smell, and what kind of things might the person eat during this season (taste). The teacher will give the student about 1 minute for each.
13. The teacher will then ask the student to open his/her eyes and the teacher will have written each of the seasons on the board when the student had his/her eyes closed. The teacher will ask the student what he/she imagined for each season. The teacher will make a list of things.
14. The teacher will be sure to point out the clothing that the student said they visualized people wearing for each season.
15. The teacher will create a 4 circle Venn diagram on the board with the seasons in order and explain that where they overlap is what clothing can fall in more than one season.
16. The teacher will tell the student that he/she can return to his/her desk to create a Venn diagram with the class working together and that each student will be his/her own worksheet to fill out.
17. The student will return to his/her desk.
Procedure:
1. The teacher will hand out a Venn Diagram template to each student and activate prior knowledge of what these graphs are used for, how to fill one out, and what each section means.
2. The teacher will go through the seasons and fill in about 6 separate clothing items for each season, as the student mentions them and also the clothing that falls into more than one season. The student will follow along and fill in his/her Venn diagram.
3. The teacher will then take the 4 seasons lists and assign them to 4 separate groups of students in the class.
4. The teacher will explain that the group will be making a clothesline (teacher will explain what this is for those who do not know) and the student will be cutting out and designing pieces of clothing on that list and writing the name of the piece of clothing really big in the middle of it.
5. The teacher will explain that each student will be assigned to making one of the pieces of clothing in each group and the teacher will assign those so that groups are not fighting over certain ones.
6. The teacher will explain that then the teacher will hang these in the classroom as new vocabulary words that the student will be practicing and looking at in other books that will overlap into next week’s theme.
*The season lists might look like:
Winter-mittens, hat, boots, scarf, coat, socks.
Spring-Dress, shorts, sneakers, belt, t-shirt, cap.
Summer-bathing suit, sandals, skirt, tank top, jumper, swim trunks.
Fall-shirt (long sleeve), jacket, vest, sweater, pants, stockings.7. The teacher will then hand out clothing templates to cut out, color, and write on to each student, and in doing so, will assign each student to a piece of clothing.
8. The teacher will explain that once he/she is done the teacher will help the student use clothespins to attach their clothing to a string of yarn and then hang their clothesline in the classroom where everyone can see it. The teacher will label each “clothes line with the correct season with a symbol that represents the season drawn next to the season that has been written out alphabetically (“winter”+ snowflake symbol, “spring” + flower, “summer” + sun, “fall” + orange leaf).
9. Once each group is done the teacher will tell the student that he/she has been sitting for a long time and done a great job focusing, but now they would get to do something fun outside.
10. The teacher will ask the class to line up and collect her 4 bags to take with them outside.
11. Once outside on the asphalt/playground, the teacher will ask the class to split up into his/her season’s group that he/she was in for the assignment inside. The teacher will then hand out one bag to each group of the same season that he/she had inside.
12. As the teacher hands the season bags out the teacher will deem each group as the expert on that specific season now.
13. The teacher will instruct the students to open their bags and they will find a series of about 5 or 6 clothing pieces in the bag that would be worn in their specific season.
14. The teacher will then explain that in each of the groups’ bags are clothing pieces that are typically worn in that season.
15. The teacher will ask the groups to look through each piece of clothing and make sure that each group member knows what it is and how it is worn. The teacher will tell the groups if they are not sure about one clothing item that a student in the group should remain standing with his/her group but raise his/her hand and the teacher will be able to assist the group.
16. The teacher will tell the groups that once they have gone through all pieces of clothing that they should put the clothing back into the bag and as a whole group sit down until all groups are done and seated.
17. The teacher will give the groups a couple of minutes to go through the clothes and the teacher will walk around to monitor, take down observations/notes, and answer questions.
18. Once all groups are seated, the teacher will explain that the groups will be doing a full relay race with the members in their group. The teacher will tell the students that because in each bag the clothes are different, it automatically means we cannot compare the groups based on how fast they are and who finishes first or last. The teacher will explain that this is not a competition but instead we will be doing this relay to see what season has the hardest clothes to put on and take off.
19. The teacher will explain that the students will use the relay lanes (50 yards) that are painted on the blacktop. Since there are 8 lanes, they will alternate every other lane so there is a little distance between each group.
20. The teacher will explain that each group will have half of its member on one end of the lane and the other half at the other end.
21. The teacher will tell the students and demonstrate some what the students need to do for the relay. The teacher will explain:
When the teacher yell, “GO!” the first student in line will take the clothes out of the bag and put them on over his/her clothes. Then the student will run all the way to the other end of the relay lane to one of his/her other group members. Once to the end, the student will take off his/her season’s clothes that he/she has put on over his/her other clothes. The student should NOT take off his/her clothes that he/she came to school in (only the dress-up clothes). The teacher will note that if there are shoes of any kind in the groups bag then that is the one exception and the student will have to remove his/her shoes to put the others on, but socks should be left on. As that student is taking off the clothing pieces, he/she will be handing them to the next group member, who will start putting the pieces on. Once the first student has removed all of the dress-up clothes and the second student has them all on, the first student will go to the end of the line on the side that he/she rain to and sit down. The seconds student will do just as the first student did, only running to the other end, and then taking off the dress up clothes and giving them to the next person in line at that end. The second student will then sit down on that end of the lanes, at the end of the line behind his/her group.22. The teacher will tell the groups that they will keep doing this until all students have had a turn to run and everyone is seated in a line at either end of his/her lane. The teacher will explain that in order to be counted as having finished, all group members must be seated in a line, and quiet.
23. The teacher will, again, emphasize that this is NOT a competition since some groups clothing is much harder to put on that others and therefore will take much more time. The teacher expects some groups to take much longer. The teacher will explain that because of this she wants to only hear students cheering teammates or students on other teams on, and any negative or hurtful comments will result in their team being disqualified, and the student with the inappropriate and hurtful behavior will spend his/her next recess picking up trash around the playground as a punishment. The teacher will explain that she has no toleration for bullying and that in her classroom and even though the students are separated into groups for this activity, in her classroom everyone is on the same team. The teacher will ask the class, “If everyone is on the same team, and therefore teammates, how should they be treating each other?”
24. The teacher will call on students to answer and emphasize the key ideas of respect, support, as a friend, positive feedback, cooperation, togetherness, encouragement, etc.
25. The teacher will then talk to the students about safety in this activity, pointing out that the student must be very careful putting on and taking off clothing and make sure when he/she is running that he/she does not trip on anything hanging lose and that safety is more important than finishing first or being fast, ESPECIALLY since this is NOT a competition.
26. Before the groups line up to start their relay, the teacher will then ask the class if any student has a prediction of which clothes will be the hardest and take the most time to put on and which clothing will be the easiest and quickest to get on. The teacher will call on several students to answer and encourage them to explain why it is he/she thinks this.
27. The teacher will ask each of the groups to split in half and go to either end of the relay lane. The teacher will stand at the midpoint of the 50-yard lanes on one side.
28. Once each team is lined up and ready, the teacher will yell, “GO!” The teacher will watch and listen to the students carefully, making sure there is no bullying or hurtful things said and that the students are being safe.
29. The teacher will wait to record anything she notices on the class list/matrix for her observational assessment once back inside and she has a small break because this activity is moiré risky than others and demands too much of her attention for safety reasons and protecting the student from any kind of emotional abuse or bullying.
30. The teacher will remind the students again as groups are getting close to finishing their relay, to sit down when they are done.
31. Once all groups are done, the teacher will then read off the order that groups finished in and compare the order to the order that the students predicted prior to the relay. The teacher will then go through each group and have the group members name and hold up each piece of clothing piece that he/she had to put on. This will serve as a good review with the Venn diagram and sight word part of the lesson that was done inside.
32. The teacher will ask the students to put all clothing back in the bag and hand the bags to the teacher.
33. The teacher will then walk with the class back to the room.
34. Once back in the classroom and as students are transitioning to the next activity/lesson, the teacher will then jot down any observations she noticed while outside doing the relay activity onto the class matrix.
The simple, but imaginative worlds within picture books, and all literature, can provide students with an excellent and motivating introduction to complex curriculum topics. It is a great way to introduce a topic, especially to struggling learners, in that it allows you to work from concrete, simplified examples, before moving onto more abstract and complex examples (Carr, 2001, p. 148). 
The use of literature to teach curricular concepts helps relate the concept being taught to real-life situations, bringing the concept into the child's world (Whitin, 1992, p. xii).
