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Playdough Lesson Plans

Hungry Playdough Caterpillar Retelling

Activity:  

Hungry Playdough Caterpillar Retelling

Lesson plan developed by:  Aurora Tollestrup, BS Ed

Age Group:

• Kindergarten

Objectives:  

Children will:

• use playdough to retell parts from a popular children’s book.

Washington State Common Core Standard:

Reading Standards for Literature K–5
Kindergarten Students
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.2
Key Ideas and Details

• RL.K.2 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.

Hungry Playdough Caterpillar Retelling

Materials: 

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar book by Eric Carle
• playdough

Procedure: 

1. Gather the children in the usual reading area and read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle.
2. Pause at important parts of the story and show pictures often to engage the children.
3. After finishing the story, recap the events and show the pictures to the children one more time to reinforce their understanding.
4. During small group instruction time, distribute an assortment of playdough to the children.
5. Encourage them to retell “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” story using the playdough. They can create the caterpillar, the food it eats, and its transformation into a butterfly.
6. Have the book readily available for students to reference, if needed. This will help them recall the story and its sequence.

Assessment: 

• Assess children’s ability to retell the story and its key elements through the use of playdough. Look for their understanding of the story sequence, the caterpillar’s diet, and its transformation into a butterfly.
• Encourage children to explain their playdough creations and how it relates to the story. This will provide insight into their comprehension and recall of the story.

 

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What to Know About Playdough

Special needs children can also benefit from playdough play as can children with sensory aversion/challenges. The dough can be manipulated in many ways and sometimes even just the squishing and pulling of the materials can benefit the child.  

The small motor skill practice that playdough presents is inherent in the pinching and grasping of the materials. It is also found in the rolling, shaping and building of the dough. Building these small muscle groups make pencil and scissor use easier.

The sensory aspect of playdough is often enjoyed by children of all ages. Infants through school-age children enjoy the feel of different doughs and can participate with appropriate adaptations. When children use all five of their sense they are discovering their environment and creating scientific discoveries about the world around them. This allows them to process information about the materials and environment that they are in and test hypotheses, make predictions, and analyze data.

Playdough also brings a calming activity for stress or anxiety relief. Some teachers will use playdough as an entrance activity for their students, or on the first day of school or child care. It is a wonderfully calming sensory practice and benefits many children.