Immerse preschool students in the letter E by teaching lessons with an egg theme. Using a theme or unit is an effective way to engage students’ interest and teach a number of topics at once. This egg unit focuses on the letter E while incorporating music, art, math, science and movement concepts.
Objectives
- Students will identify the letter E.
- Students will make an egg puppet and use it to act out a song.
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of the vocabulary word dozen using plastic eggs in an egg carton.
- Students will make observations identifying the differences and similarities between raw and hard boiled eggs.
E is for Egg Bulletin Board
Create an interactive bulletin board that identifies the letter E and the spelling of egg.
- Using a piece of poster board draw and cut out a large basket. On the face of the basket write, “E is for Egg.”
- Have the students each decorate an egg.
- Attach the eggs to a basket using Velcro after labeling each one.
- Encourage the students to take the eggs off and use them in pretend play.
- Have the students find the E on the eggs and verbally identify them.
Eggbert the Easter Egg Song and Puppets
Use an Easter song to teach students about how baby chicks hatch.
- Teach the students the song, “Eggbert the Easter Egg” and have them practice it during circle time.
- Discuss how baby chicks hatch from eggs. Have the students make their own Eggbert chick puppets.
- Cut eggs out of white felt and cut a zigzag line across the middle of the eggs.
- Fold the top of the sock over and glue the top part of the egg onto the top fold of the sock and the bottom part underneath it on the face of the sock.
- Unfold the sock and add googly eyes and an orange felt nose above the bottom part of the egg to make the chick.
- Use the puppet to act out the song as the students sing. Show them how to keep the egg closed and then open it up when Eggbert hatches.
- Have everyone sing and act it out together.
12 Eggs in a Dozen Math Lesson
Use plastic eggs and an empty egg carton to create an E-themed math manipulative.
- Paint the egg carton a solid color and write, “A Dozen Eggs” across the top.
- Gather 12 plastic eggs and use a permanent marker to write a number from one to twelve on each egg.
- Use the marker to write the same numbers, in order, on the inside of the egg cups.
- Explain to the students that the math word for twelve is dozen. Have them practice counting to twelve aloud and then saying, “One dozen!”
- Add the math term to the word wall in the classroom and review it with the students.
- Place the egg carton in the grocery or house play center in the classroom and encourage students to use the dozen eggs in their pretend play.
Egg Observations and Comparisons
Gather the students and tell them they are going to be egg scientists.
- Draw and label an egg on name tag stickers and pass them out for each student to wear during the experiment.
- Hang up a white poster board and draw a large egg shape on it; title one side of the egg Raw and the other side of the egg Hard Boiled.
- Show the students the raw egg and pass it around for them to briefly hold. Tell them how a hard-boiled egg is cooked and pass that egg around for them to hold.
- Spin, roll, weigh, float and drop each of the eggs and record the students’ observations.
- Use the think-aloud method to model how to compare the two types of eggs. For example, say to the students, “I noticed that the hard boiled egg rolled faster than the raw egg.”
The games, manipulatives and activities that accompany the lessons continue to teach and reinforce the target concepts long after the initial lessons are over. You’ll be amazed at how fast the students will be identifying the letter E and using the word egg and vocabulary word dozen in their everyday play.
More interactive, multimodal letter recognition ideas and activities: The Letter F, The Letter O, The Letter W
Megan Sheakoski - Megan Sheakoski is a teacher, mom and writer whose ideas have been featured in college text books, graduate courses, on websites and on ...
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