PHYSICAL EDUCATION - ANIMALS

This game had students imitate various animals that they learned in science class.
We used different colored jerseys or handkerchiefs.
The students used two jerseys and imitated fish, birds, and a lion. They used their handkerchief or jersey to imitate the movement of each animal. To finish the activity, students played a game of ¨tail tag¨. They imitated a lion and had to catch other students´ tails. At the end each student counted how many tails he/she had caught.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION - WARM UP

We decided to incorporate vocabulary that the students study in science in P.E. games. We begin the warm-up by sitting in a circle and then having the students follow a simple set of directions. This is either in the form of a song or a physical activity. Some of the songs we use are:

“if you´re happy and you know it”. This song adapts well to any set of vocabulary (we have used the parts of the body, the five senses, and animal parts unit)


“head, shoulders, knees and toes”. We review key parts of the body and also practice going fast and slow. At times we will pick a student who knows it well to start the song.

For physical activities we have students perform simple exercises such as walking, running, skipping, jogging, walking backwards, jumping, and doing jumping jacks.

UNIT - PLANTS

This unit builds on the living/non-living things unit and focuses on plants. Students learned about what plants need, how to grow them, how to differentiate their parts, and how they change with the seasons. They conducted their own experiment to determine whether or not plants can live without one of their basic needs (water, air, sunlight, soil).

Students reviewed the “A plant needs…” and “A plant/tree has got…” sentence structures. For the corner games vocabulary we made a “plants need” crossword puzzle and a “plants/trees have got…” dice (students roll the dice and draw and/or write part of the plant. The first student to complete his/her plant wins). We played both games as a class beforehand and made a set of simple written directions for reference.

For corner games sentences and whiteboard the students had loose words that they used to make sentences as well as whole sentences that they copied on their whiteboards.

UNIT - PLANT EXPERIMENT

Before starting the experiment, we reviewed what plants need to survive. We also introduced the vocabulary for what we need to grow a plant. We divided the class into four groups each of which received five ¨pots¨ (clear plastic cups). We removed one basic need from four of the plants (plant 1 had no water, plant 2 had no sunlight, plant 3 had no air, and plant 4 had no soil) and left the last plant with all of them. The students recorded their findings as the plants grew (or not) on the first, fourth, and seventh days. They were very excited about growing their own plants and although some of the plants grew without a basic need, they were able to see how a plant grows.

UNIT - MEALS

In this unit students learned about the different kinds of foods and when they eat them during the day. They learned to differentiate meals of the day and which foods are appropriate for each. They used the sentence structure " I have... (food) for... (meal)".

As part of the their final project, students wrote at least four sentences using the structure describing what foods they eat for which meal. In a picture of a blank plate previously printed on the paper, students drew the foods they described.

UNIT – LIVING and NON-LIVING THINGS LANDSCAPE

For the final project, we made an air, land, and water landscape with non-living (the sun, rocks, a cloud) and living things (mammals, fish, and birds). Each student then wrote a small description using the structures “This is…”, “It can…”, and “It has got”. When they were finished they posted their animals in the appropriate place on the landscape.

UNIT – LIVING and NON-LIVING THINGS ANIMAL PUZZLES

We used animal puzzles to introduce different parts of animals. They were very popular with the students so we converted them into a corner game. Each puzzle piece contained one part of the animal. After making a puzzle as a class, students received images of different animals of the same group and worked in small groups to label their parts.

UNIT – LIVING and NON-LIVING THINGS

In this unit we distinguished between living and non-living things. Aside from learning new vocabulary, the students learned how to differentiate living from non-living things using the structure “Can it…?” and “It can…” (move, reproduce, eat, and grow). After this simple classification, we focused on mammals, fish and birds. Students learned to recognize different parts of animals using the structure “It has got…” (legs, wings, a tail, feathers, scales etc)

UNIT - THE FIVE SENSES PROJECT

For the final project, each student made his/her own book of senses. We made the book in advance and stapled it together so that each page had one sense on it. Students wrote sentences using the structure ¨I can ... with my...¨ for every sense. Here is a list of the things we put into the book.

Sight: students colored a butterfly in a frame.

Touch: students pasted a small rock, fuzzy paper, cotton, and rough paper and wrote sentences using the structure ¨it´s rough/smooth/hard/soft¨

Taste: students colored two pictures of food. Then they wrote sentences using the structure ¨it tastes sweet/salty¨

Smell: students glued a perfumed cotton ball. Then they colored a picture of a garbage can and wrote sentences using the structure ¨it smells good/bad¨

Hear: students colored a picture of a sound and wrote sentences using the structure ¨It is loud/quiet¨

UNIT - THE FIVE SENSES EXPERIMENTS

Students learned about the five senses and their characteristics. They experimented with each sense to understand how they work and used the structure “I can … with my …” to express what part of the body is used for each sense.

The touch box
After introducing the vocabulary (rough, smooth, soft, hard), we separated the class into two groups. Each group received one box with a small opening at the top and each student an experiment sheet. One at a time, we placed an object (a pine cone, a rock, ball of yarn, a pencil, and a rubber) in the box and had students touch it without looking. We recorded our findings on the experiment sheet.

Scents
We used four Actimel bottles (long, plastic bottles) and put coffee, vinegar, orange peels, and perfume in each one. First, students smelled the contents of each bottle and tried to guess what each substance was. Then, they learned to distinguish between things that smell good or bad.

Listening to music
We had students sit in silence and asked them if they could hear anything. We then turned on the radio that we had previously hidden behind the teacher´s desk so that students could hear music without seeing where it was coming from. We increased the volume and taught students to differentiate between loud and quiet.


I-spy and I can see
We played a game of I spy using flashcards of different colored objects: a plane, a butterfly, a sun, a bird. Students used the structure ¨I can see with my eye something...¨ The teacher then placed one of the flashcards on the blackboard and had students draw what they saw in a frame (a half sheet of paper with a frame on it).


Taste
We used salt and sugar to determine what was salty and sweet. We started the experiment by asking students what they thought each substance was. As they couldn´t see the difference, each student tasted a pinch of both and as a class we determined which was what. As an extension, students used the previous’ unit food flashcards and distinguished between sweet and salty foods.

Corner Games

We started the corner games for early finishers and rainy days in P.E. We made four boxes (for the number of student groups in each class) and rotate groups each week. Each corner game has activities and games that change along with the units.

The morning routine

Every morning we review the date, the weather, and the number of children. A designated student (the assistant for the day) picks the correct date, month, and weather card from the display on the blackboard. Sometimes we sing the days of the week song as a refresher. He/she will also count the number of girls and boys in the classroom and write the number on the board . As a class we then add the total number of students. Some of the students have started writing the date on the blackboard.