Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Lesson Plans

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Listen to the Rain Rainstick

Lesson Plan:

​Activity:  ​Listen to the Rain Rainstick
Lesson plan developed by Aurora Tollestrup, BS Ed.

Age Group:

Mobile Infants

* Lesson plan objective and assessment can be adapted to use this activity with toddlers or preschoolers.

Objectives:  

Child will:

• react to new sounds​

CDA Competency Standard:   

II.4.3a

• Activities and materials encourage children to develop their senses
  • a) Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch experiences are encouraged through a variety of developmentally appropriate materials and activities
    

Listen to the Rain Rainstick

Materials: 

•     Listen to the Rain book by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by James Endicott
  
•     Empty water bottle
  
•     Toothpicks
  
•     Cornmeal, lentils, beans, or beads
  

Procedure: 

1. Create a rain stick by putting toothpicks and cornmeal into an empty water bottle. Cover the outside of the bottle with colored duct tape (optional). Read Listen to the Rain to students.
   
2. Upon finishing the book, tip the rain stick upside down slowly, letting students listen to the noise that it makes. Do this several times, watching for their reaction and excitement to the new noise.
   

Assessment: 

• Assess child’s reactions to the noise. Did you notice a change in eye movement, kicking of the feet, or cooing? Record the reactions and make detailed note of them to send home with parents. For example, you may write “Johnny was so delighted by the sound of the rainstick at story time that he kicked his feet and cooed loudly each time that he heard it!” Perhaps give the parents instructions to make their own rainstick if they are interested.

Online Early Childhood Education

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Rhyming Words

​Phonological awareness is the ability to hear sounds that are in spoken words. Rhyming words largely support phonological awareness, which is a basic building block to early reading and writing spells. Phonological awareness begins with the breakdown of recognizing phonemes, or individual letter sounds. Children will begin to recognize and isolate the letter sounds, or phonemes, in words that they hear. With guidance and practice, they will begin to understand that different letters make up different words. They will understand the sounds that create words such as /b/ /a/ /t/ for bat.

Bill Martin Jr. works are helpful in developing phonological awareness and phonemes because the books allow children to identify the rhyming words and identify the actual phonemes within the words.