Us Time Introduction

Lesson Goals

  1. Introducing the structure of Us Time
  2. Introducing the purpose of Us Time
  3. Sharing the songs!

Lesson Description

Us Time is a framework for classroom community meetings for young students, encouraging teachers to use activities, songs, and stories from Sparkler and our partners to grow kids’ hearts. In this lesson, teachers introduce the idea of “Us Time” to their students and start practicing the skills they will use as they dive into rich classroom discussions.

Lesson Plan: Us time Introduction

Play "Us Time" Song

(1 minute)

Open Us Time with the “Us Time” song. Sing it together or play the video. 

Introduce the Idea of "Us Time"

(1 minute)

Sit down in a circle. Tell your students when they hear the “Us Time” song, they know that it’s Us Time — a time for community thinking, feeling, helping, and sharing.

Introduce Agreements

(3-8 minutes)

Agreements are rules that people decide, together, to follow.

Ask the students to brainstorm a list of agreements like:

  • Paying attention to each other;
  • Keeping our hands to ourselves; and
  • Giving everyone a turn to speak.

As the students share, write down their ideas, or draw pictures to represent their ideas.

Ask the students to raise their hands or say “I agree” to show that they agree to the list of agreements. 

Tell the students that you can return to the list of agreements in the future to add or recommit.

Thank You: Share the Us Time Closing Song

(2 minutes)

Conclude with “Thank You,” the Us Time “goodbye” song. This song marks the end of Us Time. Invite children to share what they want to say “thank you” for! Find the song online at playsparkler.org/UsTimeSongs.

Standards

Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Goal P-SE 1, Goal P-SE 2, Goal P-SE 3, Goal P-SE 7, Goal P-SE 11, Goal P-ATL 2, Goal P-ATL 5, Goal P-ATL 11, Goal P-LC 1, Goal P-LC 2, Goal P-LC 4, Goal P-LC 5, Goal P-LC 6. 

CT ELDS: CT:ELDS: SE.36.1, SE.48.1, SE.60.1, SE.36.6, SE.48.6, SE.60.8, SE.36.13, SE.48.12, SE.60.15, SE.36.7, SE.48.6, SE.48.7, SE.48.8, SE.60.9, SE.60.10, SE.60.11, SS.60.1, L.36.5, L.48.5, L.60.5, L.36.7, L.48.7, L.48.11, L.36.14, L.48.13, L.48.15

Vocabulary

Agreements – rules that people decide, together, to follow

What You'll Need
  • Physical Space: during Us Time, students gather together on a rug or in a corner of the classroom 
  • Us Time Songs
  • Paper or board for writing/drawing agreements
Lesson Quick Links

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