Preschool Kite Lesson Plan: Teach Patterns and Shapes with a Preschool Kite Craft

Preschool Kite Lesson Plan: Teach Patterns and Shapes with a Preschool Kite Craft
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Materials

  • Book, Kite Flying by Grace Lin or other book about kites
  • Pictures of different kinds of kites
  • Unifix Cubes
  • Large poster of a diamond-shaped kite with an long string for the tail drawn on it.
  • Die cut medium triangle shapes in different colors to put on the kite tail.
  • Large sheet (12" x 18") of light blue construction paper, one for each child
  • White diamond for the kite, one for each child
  • Die cut small triangle shapes in different colors, twelve per child
  • Glue
  • Crayons

Prior Knowledge

Before beginning this preschool kite lesson plan, read the book Kite Flying by Grace Lin. Talk about kites and show the class some pictures of different kinds of kites, including a diamond-shaped kite. This can be done a day or two or earlier or during story time the day of the lesson. Students should also be familiar with patterns and shapes, specifically diamond and triangle.

Teach

Review the shapes diamond and triangle. Talk about the number of sides and corners. Show the students how you can put two triangles together to make a diamond. Review patterns if you have taught them before.

Procedure

Begin by asking students if they know what a pattern is. Using Unifix cubes make a simple pattern such as red, blue, red, blue. Explain that a pattern is something that repeats. Show them a few more simple patterns. You can try a harder one such as red, blue, blue, red, blue, blue if you think they are ready. Tell them that they are going to play a quick pattern game. Give each table a basket of Unifix cubes in different colors. Use the Unifix cubes to start a pattern, hold it up for the class to see and have the students find the color cube that goes next and hold it up. Do this a few times to review or practice patterns.

Now show the class your kite poster. Point out the diamond shape of the kite and the empty tail. Tell them that you have some triangle that you want to use to make the bows for tail. Give each student two triangles and give them a few minutes to see if they can make a bow out of the two triangle. You might remind them how to make a diamond shape with the two triangles first. After they have had some time to try, show the whole class how to make a bow and let them make one with their triangles.

Tell the class that you want to make a pattern out of the bows for the tail for your kite. Show the the colors you have and let a few students give ideas for the pattern. Choose one and show them how to glue the triangles into bows on the poster and make a pattern.

Now it is the students turn to make a kite picture. Give each student a light blue sheet of construction paper, a white diamond, crayons and glue. Have them decorate their kite and glue it on the paper near the top. Show them how to draw a line for the kite tail. Give each table an assortment of different colored triangles and tell them to use them to make the bows on their kite tail. Remind them that the bows should be arranged into a pattern.

Assess

A quick and easy method for assessing this kite lesson plan is to simply look at the finished kites. Could they arrange the triangles into the bow shape? Did they make a pattern?

Extend

These kites would make a cute spring bulletin board. To continue working on patterns have the students play the pattern game with the cubes in pairs of two. Play the same game with pattern blocks or other math manipulatives.

You preschool students will have lots of fun learning about patterns and shapes with this kite lesson plan. Try this kite lesson plan too!