The Scarecrow’s Wedding: A 4-Week Learning Unit for Karen
Big-Picture Goals
By the end of the unit, Karen will be able to:
- Retell the main events of The Scarecrow’s Wedding using pictures, props, or her own words.
- Name and describe important characters, settings, and story events.
- Identify feelings and explain how characters show friendship, kindness, and problem-solving.
- Explore farm life, plants, seasons, counting, patterns, and simple measuring through play.
- Create and present her own scarecrow wedding celebration.
- Use drawing, dramatic play, movement, music, and early writing to communicate ideas.
Unit Materials
- The Scarecrow’s Wedding by Julia Donaldson, or a read-aloud recording or library copy
- Paper, crayons, washable markers, paint, glue, child-safe scissors, and stickers
- Paper plates, paper bags, cardboard, craft sticks, yarn, fabric scraps, and recycled materials
- Small toy animals, dolls, blocks, or homemade story props
- Scarecrow-making materials such as old clothes, a hat, pillowcase, straw, or crumpled paper
- Calendar, weather chart, counting objects, measuring tape, and pattern blocks
- Seeds, soil, a small pot or cup, and water
- Music for movement and a simple camera or recording device, if available
- Optional: pretend invitations, paper flowers, play food, ribbons, and a tablecloth
Success Criteria
Karen is successful when she can tell or show what happened in the story, name at least two characters, describe one feeling, participate in a hands-on activity, count or sort objects, and explain or present something she created.
Week 1: Meet the Story and Its Characters
Weekly focus: Listening, story sequence, character identification, and feelings.
Day 1: Story Hook and First Read
Show Karen a hat, a small bundle of straw, or a paper scarecrow and ask, “Who might wear this?” Read the story aloud, pausing to notice the characters and setting. Tell Karen, “This week we will learn what happens in the story and how the characters feel.”
Day 2: Who Is in the Story?
Look at the story pictures and name the main characters together. Karen can draw a favorite character or make one with paper, yarn, and craft materials. Ask, “What does this character look like?” and “What might this character say?”
Day 3: Beginning, Middle, and End
Use three papers labeled “beginning,” “middle,” and “end,” using simple pictures or symbols instead of words if needed. Help Karen place drawings or props in story order. Say, “First this happened, then this happened, and finally this happened.”
Day 4: Feelings in the Story
Make simple feeling faces for happy, worried, surprised, and proud. Karen can match a feeling face to a story moment and act it out with her face and body. Ask, “What could help someone who feels worried?”
Day 5: Act It Out
Use toys, paper characters, or stuffed animals to act out one short part of the story. Let Karen choose whether to be a character, narrator, or prop helper. Praise her for using words, movements, or pictures to show what happened.
Simple Check for Understanding
Ask Karen to name two characters, show where the story takes place, and put three story pictures in order. She may answer by speaking, pointing, drawing, or acting.
Week 2: Farms, Seasons, and Growing Things
Weekly focus: Nature, farm life, sequencing, counting, and observation.
Day 1: What Is a Farm?
Talk about things found on a farm, such as fields, animals, plants, tools, and fences. Karen can build a pretend farm with blocks or draw one on paper. Ask, “What might a scarecrow do on a farm?”
Day 2: Plant a Seed
Help Karen place a seed in soil and gently water it. Talk about what plants need: soil, water, light, and time. Karen can draw what the seed looks like today and make a prediction about what may happen next.
Day 3: Seasons and Weather
Look at the calendar and talk about today’s weather. Connect weather to farm work by asking, “Would a farmer want rain, sunshine, or both?” Karen can make a four-season tree or choose colors and materials to show one season.
Day 4: Count and Sort
Give Karen small objects such as buttons, blocks, leaves, or toy vegetables. Have her sort them by color, size, or type and count each group. Create a simple pattern, such as red-yellow-red-yellow, and invite her to continue it.
Day 5: Scarecrow Science and Movement
Explore how a scarecrow stands up by making a simple figure from craft sticks, paper, or clothing stuffed with paper. Compare objects that are light and heavy, soft and hard, or bendy and stiff. Finish with a scarecrow movement game: stand still, stretch, wave, and turn.
Simple Check for Understanding
Ask Karen to name two things a plant needs, identify today’s weather, and sort or count a small group of objects. She can demonstrate her answers with the planted seed, objects, or movements.
Week 3: Friendship, Kindness, and Problem-Solving
Weekly focus: Relationships, emotions, communication, and creative problem-solving.
Day 1: What Makes a Good Friend?
Talk about friendly actions such as helping, listening, sharing, inviting, and saying kind words. Karen can choose one action to draw or act out. Ask, “How can we help a friend feel welcome?”
Day 2: Solve a Story Problem
Choose a small problem from the story or create one, such as, “The scarecrow needs something, but it is far away.” Invite Karen to think of two possible solutions. Discuss which solution might be safe, kind, and helpful.
Day 3: Role-Play Conversations
Use puppets or stuffed animals to practice asking for help, saying “thank you,” apologizing, and taking turns. Karen may choose the characters and make up the dialogue. Give specific feedback, such as, “You listened while the puppet was talking.”
Day 4: Make a Friendship Card
Karen can make a card for a family member, friend, or story character. Encourage her to draw a picture, add stickers, and dictate or copy a short message such as “You are kind” or “Thank you.” Talk about how cards can help people feel loved and remembered.
Day 5: Cooperative Building Challenge
Work together to build a farm, garden, wedding space, or scarecrow home with blocks and recycled materials. Take turns adding one piece and explaining what it does. If something falls down, model saying, “We can try again,” and help Karen choose a new plan.
Simple Check for Understanding
Present a pretend problem and ask Karen to show one kind solution. Listen for or observe her ability to take turns, use a friendly phrase, and explain how a character might feel.
Week 4: Plan and Celebrate a Scarecrow Wedding
Weekly focus: Planning, creativity, early literacy, counting, and presentation.
Day 1: Plan the Celebration
Ask Karen what a scarecrow wedding might need, such as a place, guests, decorations, food, music, and flowers. Make a simple plan using drawings or a picture checklist. Let Karen choose at least two parts of the celebration to create.
Day 2: Create the Scarecrow Characters
Make one or two scarecrow characters from paper, craft materials, or stuffed clothing. Karen can choose their names, clothing colors, and facial expressions. Invite her to describe how each character feels about the celebration.
Day 3: Make Decorations and Invitations
Create paper flowers, flags, place cards, or a pretend invitation. Karen can count the decorations and make repeating color patterns. She may dictate an invitation or copy a few letters from her name, such as “Karen.”
Day 4: Practice the Story and Celebration
Help Karen rehearse a short presentation: introduce the characters, tell one or two story events, and explain what she made. Practice a song, dance, or movement for the celebration. Offer choices such as speaking, holding props, acting, or showing artwork.
Day 5: Scarecrow Wedding Celebration
Set up the celebration with the finished characters and decorations. Karen can act out a short story, serve pretend food, share a song, or explain her favorite creation to a family member or guest. End by celebrating her effort and asking, “What was your favorite part?”
Simple Check for Understanding
Ask Karen to identify the characters, explain what the celebration is for, and tell one thing she made. Check that she can use her props, pictures, or words to communicate at least one story idea.
End-of-Unit Project and Assessment: Karen’s Scarecrow Wedding Story
Karen will create and present a small scarecrow wedding scene using handmade characters, decorations, and props. She will retell the story or create a new version with a beginning, middle, and end.
Project Choices
- Act out the story with puppets or toys.
- Create a paper or block wedding scene and explain it.
- Make a picture book with three to five pages.
- Record a short narration, song, or dramatic presentation.
Assessment Checklist
- Names or identifies at least two characters.
- Shows or tells the beginning, middle, and end.
- Describes one character’s feeling or action.
- Uses counting, sorting, patterns, or measuring during the project.
- Creates at least one original prop, picture, decoration, or character.
- Shares the project using words, gestures, pictures, or dramatic play.
Reflection
Ask Karen, “What did you learn about scarecrows, farms, or friendship?” and “What would you add to the story?” Record her answer in her words and celebrate her creativity, communication, and problem-solving.
Differentiation and Flexibility
- For extra support: Use picture choices, repeat the story in short sections, model answers, and allow pointing, movement, or drawing instead of speaking.
- For additional challenge: Invite Karen to create a new character, count beyond the activity number, write more words, compare two solutions, or retell the story without picture prompts.
- For limited materials: Use household objects, blankets, socks, paper scraps, and natural items such as leaves or sticks.
- For different learning settings: Activities may be completed with a caregiver, sibling, small group, or online partner, with the celebration shared in person or through a recording.