Sunday 16 February 2014

Stranded on a Desert Island


IMAGINE that your students were on a cruise to some remote islands in the Pacific.
ASK them to tell you what they have packed for their holiday.

BUT THEN something terrible happens...
Your students find themselves shipwrecked after a terrible storm on a sandy shore. 
Their ship has hit a reef and it will probably sink in a couple of hours. 
Show them the photo for inspiration. 
Can they see a lifeboat in the background?



They don't know if somebody else lives on the island.
They have a few minutes to decide which objects they will need to take from the ship to help them survive and find a way back home.
Will they need any of the things they had packed in their suitcases?

 Students form groups of 4-5 and think about the use of the objects shown in the flashcards. Each team is allowed to take 5 objects.
They have to consider how to signal their presence on the island,
find shelter, water, food, light a fire etc.
Then the teacher presents them with different scenarios and they have to find ways to cope with the new situations:

a. They see a plane flying above the island.
b. A cargo ship passes in the horizon.
c. It starts to rain.
d. They hear a roar coming from the forest.
e. They find footprints on the shore.
f. They decide to explore the island.
g. Pirates arrive on the island to hide their treasure.
h. One of them gets sick.
i. They find a box on the shore.
j. They write a message in a bottle to tell the world where they are.
k. They discover another island a few miles on the north.

TIME FOR...

The wheel of activities can be used by both teacher and students,
it adds variety to the lesson and helps with time management.

Thursday 13 February 2014

All about Nutrition

NUTRITION THEMATIC UNIT (3rd-4th grade)

LESSON   PLAN   IDEAS

1.   Use flashcards-realia-plastic toy foods- playdough  to teach the food items vocabulary (+Food Words Handout)
2.  Make a food wheel-healthy-unhealthy habits
3.  Make a food Pyramid
4.  Create a mini book with favourite food items (food alphabet)
5.  Make a colourful flap book with words used in cooking procedures
6.  Sing food songs or read some ‘’Tasty Poems’’
Let's make some pizza
            Five Crispy Pancakes
  Ten Fat Sausages
   Pea Soup
7.  Show kids a cookery book (imperative)
8.  Discuss food label info
9.  Make a shopping list , a fridge or a minimarket store and role play shopping
10. Perform a short play in a restaurant setting (Arthur- Mary and Bruce)
11.  Read story books:


         ‘’ The Stone soup’’
        ‘’The little red Hen’’
        ’’ One Hungry cat
    ’Mr Wolf’s Pancakes’’
‘’Goldilocks and the three bears’’
        ‘’The Hungry Caterpillar’’
      Mr Wolf and the three Bears
  Who’s   been eating my porridge?
        Brown Bear gets in shape
        Not now Mrs Wolf
‘’The Giant Jam sandwich’’
    ‘’Cloudy with a chance of meatballs’’

12. Make a nutrition  lapbook LB

Healthy Habits

































15. On a sunny day have a picnic
16. On a cloudy day do some puzzles and crosswords about food
17. Solve some food riddles
18. Work on some food worksheets (www.bogglesworld.com)
19. Watch a you tube recipe
20. Role play: Pretend you are a cook showing a recipe on TV
21. Make a recipe (tortilla sandwich)
22. Learn some food proverbs
25. Play memory- bingo with food pics or words
26. Teach countables-uncountables
27. Create a food ad
28. Have a tasting contest
29. Plan and cook a meal for your family
30. Have a party at school



All about the weather

WEATHER THEMATIC UNIT (3rd-4th grade)

LESSON   PLAN IDEAS

1.   Use flashcards to teach the weather vocabulary (+Weather Words Handout)
2.  Make a weather wheel (template from ‘Learning About the Weather’ Evan-Moor book)LB
3.  Create a mini book with the days of the week and say what the weather was like LB
4.  Make a colourful flap book with the 12 months and describe the weather or any special events  LB
5.  Talk about what kind of clothes we wear on a cold day/on a hot day
6.  Make a paper doll with paper clothes and a washing line  LB
7.  Talk about what activities we do depending on the weather
































8.  Sing weather songs:
·        Five little snowmen
·        I’m a little snowflake/snowman
·        Rain rain go away
·        Incy wincy Spider
·        Pretty leaves are falling down
·        To the beach
9.  Talk about the water cycle
10. Perform a short play about the water cycle (www.enchantedlearning.com)
11. Read  story books
·      ‘’ The Sun and the Wind’’
·      ’’ Wild Weather Soup’’
·      ‘’Molly and the storm’’
·      ‘’Oh say! Can you say what’s the weather like today?’’
·      ‘’The weather forecast’’
·      ‘’Cloudy with a chance of meatballs’’
12. Make a weather lapbook LB
            Find pictures of weather phenomena to decorate the cover.
            Add minibooks, flapbooks , wheel and washing line etc











































13. On a windy day make a wind experiment
14. On a rainy day measure how much rain falls with a rain gauge
15. On a sunny day have a picnic
16. On a cloudy day do some puzzles and crosswords about the weather
17. Solve some weather riddles
18. Work on some weather worksheets (www.bogglesworld.com)
19. Watch a you tube weather forecast
20. Roleplay: Pretend you are a meteorologist telling the weather forecast on TV
21. Make a wind vane, an anemometer or a pinwheel using a straw , a pencil, a pin and paper
22. Make a weather calendar
23. Learn some weather proverbs
24. Play weather pantomime
25. Play weather games (www.busyteacher.org)
clothing relay-20 questions-I’m going on vacation





Saturday 8 February 2014

Travel and Marvel!

Expand students' imagination by creating a TRAVEL AGENCY FAIRyland.
Make travelling brochures inspired by fairytale means of transport.
Travel on foot using PUSS in BOOTS boots
Take CINDERELLA's carriage.
TRY flying with DAEDALUS' wings or MARY POPPIN's umbrella!
Use Robinson CRUSOE's raft.
Go horseriding on a UNICORN or on PEGASUS.
Explore the Oceans with CAPTAIN NEMO's submarine.
Sail on a PIRATE ship.
Fly on ALADDIN'S magic carpet or on a witch's broom...
And finally travel in the comfort of an armchair reading a book in front of a fireplace.



Thursday 6 February 2014

Who will be my guest?

A witch at school can teach creative writing.
Magic potions and spells are my speciality!





What a wonderful way to learn!

Creating  lapbooks...


Nutrition unit


 A lunch box game with healthy options! Something between MEMORY and BINGO!
Teach about food, drinks, fruit, snacks and have fun at the same time!
Talk about your favorite food or what you don't like.
Role play buying food from a grocer.
Sing food songs.
Read stone soup story.