Out-of-This-World Writing in Pre-Kindergarten

Doherty Pre-kindergarteners in Karen Lawrence’s class are taking their knowledge of language arts, math, and science to infinity and beyond! The students are writing a multi-faceted space book. “Each page is an area of focus, whether it be a particular planet or the Earth’s moon,” said Lawrence. “We will answer the questions, ‘Why do we have days and how does that happen? How long is a year and why does that happen?’” Lawrence said her students are using writing skills, letter recognition, and word formation, as well as an illustration, which really taps into their creativity and how to relate what they picture in their minds with how they want to show it to people.” Lawrence said the project also incorporates math as the students learn to use different sizing techniques to relate the size of each planet and the distances between the planets. Lawrence said the rich unit is one that allows her students to apply deep knowledge while taking steps into lesser-known skills. “We are getting ready to count all the moons that the outer planets have in order to understand just how amazing this planet is with its atmosphere, gravity, water, good distance from the sun, and particular rotation and revolution schedule,” she said.