Free pre-K lesson plan · Unit 5: Animals
Pre-K 4, week 19: the letter u and AB patterns
This week your learner will hear the short u sound, as in up and under, find what comes next in an AB pattern and learn which animals live up in trees and under the ground. Each activity takes about 10 minutes. Print the pages, or do them with things you already have at home.
Week 19 of 36 · See the Pre-K 4 year map · Not sure of the level? Take the 3-question Pre-K 3 or Pre-K 4 picker
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5-minute parent prep
- Write a big U and a small u on a sheet of paper.
- Gather 6 spoons and 6 cups, or two kinds of blocks.
- Print pages 2 to 5, or skip printing and use the no-supplies swaps.
Household supplies only: Paper, crayons, 6 spoons, 6 cups or two kinds of blocks, a table to crawl under. No supplies? Every activity has a no-supplies swap.
The week at a glance
| Day | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Letter u | Letter u page, Up and under card |
| Tuesday | Math | What comes next page, Clap and stomp card |
| Wednesday | Explore | Up or under page, Bug look card |
| Thursday | Make and move | Worm paths page, Bird and worm moves card |
| Friday | Story and review | Song of the week, Parent notes page |
| Every day | Read, sing, play | Read a picture book together, sing the song of the week, play outside and check in on feelings with the free feelings cards. |
Printable pages
Letter u
Say: "U says u, like up and umbrella. Listen for u in bus and duck too." Your learner traces the big U and the small u, then colors the pictures. Umbrella starts with u; bus and duck have u in the middle.
umbrella
bus
duck
umbrella
bus
duck
What comes next?
Say: "Cat, dog, cat, dog. What comes next?" Your learner says each pattern out loud, then draws or tells what goes in the box with the question mark.
Up or under
Say: "Some animals live up in trees. Some live under the ground." Your learner tells where each animal lives, up in a tree or under the ground, and colors the pictures.
Worm paths
Say: "Help the worm wiggle to the end. Start at the green dot." Your learner traces each path from left to right with a crayon, holding it with fingers and thumb.
Activity cards
Up and under
- Say "u, u, up" and reach up high.
- Say "u, u, under" and crawl under the table.
- Say a word. If it starts with u, your learner reaches up. Try: up, cat, us, sun, under.
Easier: Use only up and cat.
Next step: Say the sounds s, u, n slowly. Your learner says the word: sun.
Say this: "Us starts with u. Reach up."
No supplies: Reach up and crouch down instead of crawling.
Literacy: phonological awareness
Clap and stomp
- Clap, stomp, clap, stomp. Your learner copies the pattern.
- Ask "What comes next?" and keep it going.
- Make the same pattern with things: spoon, cup, spoon, cup.
Easier: Do the clap and stomp pattern only.
Next step: Try an ABB pattern: clap, stomp, stomp.
Say this: "Spoon, cup, spoon, cup. What comes next?"
No supplies: Make patterns with your body only.
Math: patterns
Bug look
- Look up in a tree for birds or nests. Listen quietly.
- You gently lift a rock or log while your learner looks under it for worms or ants. Look, don't touch.
- Put the rock back gently and wash hands after.
Easier: Look up only.
Next step: Count the bugs you see.
Say this: "The worm lives under the ground. Let's put its rock back."
No supplies: Look at animal pictures in a book.
Science: where animals live
Bird and worm moves
- Flap your arms like a bird. Wiggle on the floor like a worm.
- Make a pattern: flap, wiggle, flap, wiggle.
- Your learner leads a new pattern.
Easier: Do flap and wiggle slowly.
Next step: Try flap, wiggle, wiggle.
Say this: "Flap, wiggle, flap, wiggle."
No supplies: Needs nothing but space.
Physical: gross motor
Song of the week: Up and under
U, u, up, I reach up high,
Birds and owls up in the sky.
U, u, under, down below,
Worms and ants, wiggle slow.
Actions: Reach up on the first two lines and wiggle low on the last two. Try next: Sing it as a pattern: one line loud, one line soft.
Parent notes for Friday
Not a test. Notice what your learner does this week, and practice the rest later. Nothing here is sent to UpOnly Learning.
- Says the short u sound
- Finds u on a page
- Says what comes next in an AB pattern
- Tells an animal that lives up in a tree or under the ground
Want the bigger picture? Use the free kindergarten readiness checklist.
Safety for this week
- Use objects too big to fit in your learner's mouth, and stay close during any counting with real objects.
- Child-size scissors only, with an adult watching. Hand scissors over handle first.
- Choose crayons, markers and paint labeled for young learners (look for the AP seal).
- Adults handle anything hot or sharp.
Questions parents ask
Start with sounds and moves, like clap, stomp, clap, stomp, then make the same pattern with things, like spoon, cup, spoon, cup. Say the pattern out loud together and ask "What comes next?" When AB is easy, try ABB: clap, stomp, stomp.
An AB pattern has two things that take turns over and over: cat, dog, cat, dog. The A and B are just names for the two parts. Spotting and continuing patterns helps your student notice order and rules, which supports math in kindergarten.
Yes, with an adult close by. Look rather than touch, lift rocks gently and put them back, and wash hands afterward. Skip spots near water, roads or plants you do not know. Looking from a distance teaches care for living things too.
Paper, crayons, 6 spoons and 6 cups or two kinds of blocks, and a table to crawl under. Every activity also has a no-supplies swap, such as making patterns with claps and stomps, so you can start with what you already have at home.
Related pages
- Free Pre-K curriculum for 4 year olds, week by week
- Child development guide: preschoolers, 3 to 5
- Free kindergarten reading practice and kindergarten math practice for when your learner is ready for more
Recommended for your student
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