All the companion teaching guides in the Cabinet of Wonder program share the same basic format. You’ll find an outline of that template below.

Contents
At the top of the colorful main navigation bar, you’ll find CONTENTS. This prompt will lead you to a page with a grid of character portraits on the website. As you roll over the images, animated graphic titles will appear. Use these to navigate to the various teaching guides. Each teaching guide is a subsite broken down into the seven sections listed below.

Rhyme, Song, Portrait
Each module begins by introducing the title, teaching guide number, and the rhyme, along with a large portrait of the featured character(s). You’ll find an embedded music player for listening to the song, and below that, two embedded video players. The video on the right features Miss Natalie teaching the rhyme to children, and the music video is on the left.

Menu
A menu of color-coded buttons is located in the middle of the page to navigate the following sections.

Introduction
The introduction is a detailed outline of the themes explored in the teaching guide, divided into short paragraphs with colorful subheadings.

Discussion
Our discussion prompts provide a selection of thoughtful questions to engage children in a dialogue. You’ll notice that they are written in a casual, conversational tone. A few examples: What color is a pumpkin? Did you know birds are not the only animals that lay eggs? Do you know how many legs a spider has? Have you ever seen a bird building her nest? What do you think it means to have “a change of heart”? Are there still kings and queens? What does “nimble” mean? What plants and animals have shells? What does it mean to “clear the cloth”?

Language
The language section is broken down into several categories (rhyming words, vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and parts of speech). Teaching assets are primarily arranged as lists for quick reference.

Language: Rhyming Words
Using the key rhyming pairs in the featured poem, we have compiled lists of other related rhyming words.

Language: Vocabulary
For the vocabulary section, we have identified words that appear in the rhymes that may be unfamiliar to young children. In some cases, we have provided examples of these words as they are used in common expressions.

Language: Idioms
Mother Goose rhymes are filled with well known idioms. These figures of speech can build language skills, strengthen cultural literacy, and increase awareness of history. Interpreting these expressions may demystify some of the riddle-like phrases often found in English (especially for your ESL students).

Language: Parts of Speech
Mother Goose rhymes offer many opportunities to study language arts (parts of speech, grammar, poetic devices, etc.). We have compiled useful lists to help build your children’s language skills including: opposites, synonyms, homonyms, prefixes, suffixes, prepositions, and alliterations. Use these to teach how language concepts are structured and applied.

Activities
We’ve created many fun activities and games that will inspire creative play, build physical coordination, sharpen reasoning skills, foster cooperation, and strengthen your classroom community. Each is explained with step-by-step instructions and lists of materials.

Music: Listening
We encourage you to listen to the Cabinet of Wonder songs with your children. Take time to talk about how the music makes them feel. It may make them feel excited or peaceful. They may want to get up and dance or curl up for a cuddle with a soft toy. Sometimes, children will describe seeing a particular color, place, object, animal, or person in response to hearing music. You may all gain new insights through these discussions.

Music: Instruments
Musical instruments are categorized into four families based on their materials and the way in which they make their unique sounds: WOODWINDS, BRASS, PERCUSSION, and STRINGS. Nearly every symphonic instrument can be found in the Cabinet of Wonder arrangements: flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, piano, timpani, marimba, drums, guitar, harp, violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Children will learn to recognize these instruments by sight, sound, and name, and learn about their construction and their mechanics.

Music: Genre
All the Cabinet of Wonder music is original and inspired by many different musical traditions (folk, classical, jazz, funk, etc.). You’ll find the name of the musical style or genre of each song in this section.

Related Rhymes
For each of Mother Goose’s rhymes there are others from her pen with similar characters or themes. We’ve searched for these related rhymes and collected them for you.

Standards
Our educational partner, the National Head Start Association has reviewed the Cabinet of Wonder teaching guides and identified the ways in which they align with their Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF). The button labeled standards will lead you to a table that outlines how our teaching materials can enhance your standard school curriculum.