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Fall Is Almost HereFall is around the corner. I don't know about you, but we had a beautiful summer. Some days it was a little hotter than we liked, but for the most part, we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was a great time to get outdoors and enjoy nature. Now that fall is arriving, this doesn't have to end. There is still time to get outdoors and do things before the weather gets too cold or wet. This is also a great time to focus on nature and science in the classroom using the outdoors as your source for material and data. There are also many opportunities for math and literacy activities.  Fall leavesFall colors are so beautiful. Driving along the streets, the different colored leaves create a wonderful backdrop. Kids love to explore the different kinds of leaves and collect them as they begin to fall off of the trees. There are many different activities that can be done with the leaves such as math activities, science activities, writing activities, and art activities. You can use the colors and shapes for creating art projects, do sorting and classifying activities in math, investigate how the colors change and why as a science activity, or maybe use the collecting of the leaves as a story prompt. These are only a few ideas. Get creative.
Beach StudyBeach walks can still be done in the fall, and different activities can be included that explore the sea life there. It is always fun to watch the kids explore the seashore and search for the different sea animals and plants there. They can be found in the tide pools collecting shells, crabs, seaweed, and other things for scavenger hunts. The sea stars and sea cucumbers are always a big hit as well. I remember taking along lots of magnifying glasses so they could get a closer look at the different things they found. Note: We were careful about handling the sea life and we made sure that we were able to return them back to their environment safely. We always put everything back before we left. It is important to leave the sea creatures in their environment.  Exploring Parks And ForestsGoing for walks in the parks and forested areas can also be fun to do in the fall. Taking a look at how things might have changed during the different seasons, what different animals might be around, what different plant life looks like, checking out the streams or creeks, etc. are just some of the possible things that can be investigated.  Geocaching is also a fun activity to do. It is difficult to do with a large group because it is supposed to be stealthy and not attract attention, but it still can be done in certain settings. A modified scavenger hunt could also be done that mimicks geocaching but is set up for a specific group instead of the public.
Farm VisitsMost people think about planting seeds in the spring and watching them grow throughout the summer, but there are also many things that can be planted for the fall. Checking out some of the fall harvests and taking a field trip to a pumpkin patch or farm could also be fun to do. Perhaps some plant investigations can be done now and even compared with plant investigations in the spring.  This is only a sampling of things that can be done in the fall that get kids outdoors. The key is to find ways to keep them actively exploring and learning both inside and outside the classroom. The more connections to real life, the richer the learning will be.  I hope you find some of these ideas helpful for your students. I would love to hear about some of the things you do outdoors with you class. Let me know in the comments.   Related Posts
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Marathon Of HopeTerry Fox's Marathon Of Hope has been happening for over 40 years now. I still remember when we were shown a movie of his journey. He wanted to go across Canada to raise money. His goal was to raise $1.00 for every Canadian. He ran the equivalent of one marathon each day. It is hard to imagine running a marathon every day with two good legs, let alone with one good leg and an artificial leg. Most people would train for months to do one marathon.  That movie really made an impact on me. Terry Fox was around my age and he had his life cut short because of cancer. He didn't feel sorry for himself, but instead put his effort into making a difference. He started the Marathon Of Hope in 1980 and Canadians have been continuing this marathon every year. I remember when it became a yearly event here in our city and our family participated in either the community run or the run with our schools. It is hard to believe that it has been 41 years since he first dipped his foot in the Atlantic Ocean and started his marathon of hope.  Terry Fox: A Canadian HeroTerry Fox is a Canadian hero because he didn't think about himself and feel sorry for himself when he lost his leg. Instead, he decided to help others by raising money for cancer research. He endured pain and suffering for 143 days as he ran across Eastern Canada striving to make a difference. Some days were better than others, but no matter how difficult it got, he didn't give up. He had days when he saw very few people and raised very little money, and he had days where crowds came out to run alongside him and volunteers were needed to help gather up the donations. When Terry had to stop due to cancer in his lungs, he still wanted to make a difference. He said, "Even though I'm not running anymore, we still have to try to find a cure for cancer. Other people should go ahead and try to do their own thing now."  His Legacy ContinuesThe Terry Fox Run was established in 1981 to continue Terry's Marathon of Hope. September 13th was designated as Terry Fox Marathon of Hope Day. Every September different communities held a Terry Fox run. Schools would choose a day in late September to do a school run for Terry Fox. Whenever we did a Terry Fox run at the school, time was spent telling Terry's story and sharing stories about how cancer has affected many people that we know. It is frightening to think that almost every family has been affected by cancer in some way. After sharing the stories, we chose people to run on behalf of. Posters were made and feet were posted along the hallways to show how we were in this together, even if it was only for one day a year.  I created some activities and posters for my students. They are available here. Hopefully they will inspire kids to do something that makes a difference just as Terry did.  I hope that you will be inspired to participate in the Terry Fox Run in your area and that you will help others to continue to share Terry's dream and keep it alive. Let's all work together to help stop cancer.  For free resources, tips, and ideas, sign up for my newsletter.  Related Posts My Teaching JourneyI have been sharing lots of tips and strategies for getting started with back to school lately. I think it is time to shift gears. This week I am going to share a bit about my teaching journey, what I've been doing lately, and how I have stayed motivated throughout the pandemic.  I have wanted to be a teacher since I was five years old. I still remember teaching my stuffies, my pets, my siblings, and even the neighborhood kids. We would set up "school" in my basement and we would practice doing some of the things I was learning at school. I find this very interesting now as I look back because I was very shy when I was young. I remember finding it difficult to join in during activities and I was often found playing alone in the dollhouse during free time at kindergarten. I gradually began to make friends and participate more readily and as I grew older, I was able to widen my group of friends and join different groups. In high school I joined the future teachers club and started tutoring young children. When I first started teaching, communicating with parents was the most difficult thing for me. I had no problem being animated and teaching the kids, but speaking to adults still scared me. I had to learn to do this and become more comfortable with adults if I was to be able to effectively communicate during conferences and other interactions. It took work, but I learned to do so. I am now retired and I am able to strike up conversations with others, even people I don't know. My grandkids often say that whenever they go anywhere with me we meet someone I know. My daughter even asks me if I know a person after she sees me talking to someone. They find it hard to believe that I was shy and afraid to talk to adults because they see me interacting easily now. It goes to show that you can learn to do things that are uncomfortable when necessary. I would venture to guess that there are many other teachers who can identify with this. You can be an introvert and still be a good teacher. You are there to make a difference for the kids, and if you feel strongly about this, you will work through the uncomfortable things to make it happen.  From music to primary classroomI began my teaching career teaching elementary music. My husband was an elementary music teacher, so it was a common interest for us. (We still teach several ukulele groups.) I ended up teaching French Immersion music at 2 schools. I continued with this for a few years, and finally had the opportunity to teach part time in a primary classroom teaching grade 1/2 and part time French Immersion music at one school. Although I enjoyed teaching the music, I loved teaching primary and finally moved full time into a grade 2/3 classroom. I continued to teach a noon hour ukulele group as well.  Projects For KidsThroughout the years, I became passionate about finding ways for my students to share their learning in different ways. Projects became a regular part of my instruction. We would have at least one big project, if not two, to share with the school and families each year. It was amazing to see how the kids thrived with this approach. You can find out more about some of these projects here.  Small group instruction and reading centersI also became fairly adept at creating and running centers for guided reading and math. I enjoyed being able to provide a wide variety of activities for the kids and I learned early in my career that it was important to work with small groups and differentiate because there was such a wide range of needs in the classroom and whole group instruction wasn't reaching everyone. When I had parent helpers, or educational assistants available, that was bonus, but often there was a shortage of extra help and I had to figure out how to still make it happen. You can find out some of the tips for doing this here.  Student led conferencesStudent led conferences were a new thing back in the nineties. Not many teachers were willing to give them a try. I decided to do so, and I didn't look back. I found them empowering for the kids, and the parents seemed to find them beneficial. It was so good to see the positive interaction between the kids and their parents. If you want to learn more about student led conferences, check them out here.  Keeping motivatedFast forward many years, and I am now retired. I was tired of the politics, but I still loved teaching, so I began volunteering at the school. I did reading and math groups until the pandemic hit and volunteers were no longer allowed into the school. I had also been tutoring in math, reading, and French. When they stopped allowing others into our homes, this had to stop as well. This was really tough for me because I wasn't ready to stop teaching. I needed to find a way to keep going. Luckily, I was able to stay connected to a couple of the teachers in the school and provide them with help and resources. This motivated me to continue sharing tips and strategies. I started to create resources to complement these strategies and I continued to communicate with my friends. I also took some courses that helped with my product creation and blogging.  Final words and a tipNow that some of the restrictions have been lifted, I am hoping to be able to return to my volunteering in the fall. I miss being with the kids and seeing them light up when they understand something. Well, there you have it. A brief history of my teaching journey and where I am now. Next time I will continue to share more tips and ideas with you. I wish you well as you continue to venture into a new year with a new normal. Before you go, here is a final tip. Remember to take what you learned throughout the pandemic and use it to enhance your future teaching. Don't dwell on what didn't work, focus on what good came out of it. If you look closely, you will find some positive things. Happy teaching!  Week 6 Focus: Summer Support For Primary KidsHave you ever worried about your child forgetting what was learned during the school year because of the long summer break? This is often referred to as the summer slide. Maybe you have had some experience with that yourself if you have taken a course and then not looked at the material for a long time. Although there will be some lag after a break, if we do things to help make connections with the skills and concepts during the break, the lag will be short lived and with a bit of review, learning can continue. Here are some different ideas for summer support for your child.  Take a break from academicsJust as we need to recharge and refresh, so do children, especially this year after a much more stressful and different type of year. Taking a break from the academics and doing something different for awhile may actually help with improving learning and retention. Fresh ideas and more attention will be easier after a break as long as the break isn't too long.  Connect activities with real lifeDo activities that connect the real world with the skills and concepts taught at school. If you would like more details about the various subjects, you can check out my previous blog posts in this series. Week 1 Focus: Primary Language Arts Week 2 Focus: Primary Math Week 3 Focus: Primary Science Week 4 Focus: Primary Social Studies Part 1 Week 5 Focus: Primary Social Studies Part 2  Make activities engaging and funKids want to feel like they are having a break from school. There are many ways to help them continue learning without making them feel like they are doing schoolwork. Using games and hands on activities help to engage them and the concepts get reinforced while they are having fun. Here is an example. This is a blog post I wrote about using manipulatives and games in math.  Enjoy the outdoors while learningLet them get outdoors and soak up the sun while learning at the same time. There are so many ways that learning can be done in the real world. Here are some examples. Try having races and using stopwatches to see how fast they can go. Compare with others. See if they can better the times. Go geocaching as a family and search for treasures. This is a great way to learn about places around the community that you may not have known existed. It is also a good way to practice using coordinates and mapping skills. Collect rocks and sort them by different characteristics. Then find ways to use them for other activities such as graphing, crafts, and rock studies. Let your child help plan a camping trip. They could help with planning meals, doing the grocery shopping, making lists of what equipment is needed, and looking at routes and distances.  History, Family Heritage and TraditionsLearn about local history by visiting museums, historic landmarks, interviewing long time residents or doing research at the library. Help your child learn about your family heritage, culture, and traditions. Create a pictorial timeline of the family.  Get creative practicing academicsIt is important to sometimes do activities that specifically reinforce and review skills and concepts in order for them to be maintained. This is the time to get creative with the academic activities. Mix them up with active games and brain breaks to keep learning fun. Try to avoid too many worksheets and drills. Engage your child in reading and writing activities that have themes or special hooks to make them interesting. Perhaps the library has a summer program where different authors visit or they may have incentives for reading a certain number of books. Puppet shows are a great way to practice acting out stories. Maybe your child could write some different stories and then create puppet shows to present to the family. Try using nursery rhymes or simple songs and using them as the springboard for writing new lyrics based on a variety of themes. There are many different examples floating around on the internet this year that are parodies using popular themes. Check out my blog posts for struggling readers, writers and learners for more ideas. Motivating Reluctant Readers Tips For Helping Struggling Writers In The Classroom How To Engage Your Reluctant Learners In The Classroom
Math is definitely an area where I suggest using hands on activities and making things as visual as possible. Math is abstract and therefore hard for many young children to understand if they don't get lots of practical exposure first. I have worked with many older children that struggle with understanding how to do basic operations and more complex math because they haven't figured out how it works. By doing lots of games and hands on activities with them, they have been able to move on and be successful in more difficult math situations. Check out some ways that I have worked with them to help math make sense. Tips For Helping Math Make Sense  These are just a few ideas that may help to keep the learning going throughout the summer. Remember to have fun and the learning will happen.  Week 5 Focus - Social Studies Part 2Last time I focused on inquiry processes, geography, history, culture and heritage. This time I would like to look at rights and responsibilities of people and regional leaders, relationships between people and the environment, multicultural awareness and diversity, and the interactions of First Nations people and early settlers. These are all large topics, so I will only be touching on them, but depending on the age and understanding of your kids, you can dig in deeper.  Rights, roles, and responsibilitiesRights, roles, and responsibilities of people change depending on where they are and who they are. In the home, parents and children have different roles. The parents are the caregivers and they have the role of looking after their children and the responsibility of raising them to be responsible citizens. They are the role models. Children have different roles and responsibilities depending on if they are the only child or if they have siblings. Where they are in the group of siblings also affects their roles and responsibilities. They may be left in charge of others if they are the oldest. They may need to listen to older siblings if they are younger. In the community, roles and responsibilities could be different. Community leaders make decisions that affect those in the community. They have the responsibility to listen to the members of the community and make decisions based on what is best for the community. Different groups have different degrees of responsibility. Adults have the opportunity to vote for different leaders and laws or bylaws. It is important to have discussions about what the different roles and responsibilities are for at home, at school, and in the community. This might also be a good time to talk about how these roles and responsibilities have changed over time. For instance, when parents and grandparents were children, they would probably have had different roles and responsibilities than children today. They could share these changes with the kids and maybe talk about why they might be different. Along with roles and responsibilities, come rights. This is more difficult for young children to understand. They should be informed of some of these rights as they are old enough to understand, and as they gain more maturity and understanding, these rights can be explained further. One of the big ones for me is that everyone has a right to a safe, inclusive environment at school, in the classroom, on the playground, and in the community. This can be tied in with responsibility during discussions. Another one is that everyone has a right to be heard, but that also comes with a responsibility to listen when others want to be heard. A big part of classroom management and class rules is based on the rights and responsibilities of those in the classroom as they work together. If they are mutually understood, this will make it easier for them to be followed. Here are some posters and ideas for routines and manners that will help kids with these. Classroom Manners Dos And Don'ts Posters Dos And Don'ts Manners For Home Classroom Routines
Relationships between people and the environmentRelationships between people and environments is also an important aspect of social studies and ties in with our personal and community responsibilities. Depending on the type of community, different industries and services are an important part of the livelihood of the community members. Along with these industries and services comes the responsibility to make sure that they are not negatively impacting the environment. This can be a difficult balance at time. It might be an interesting angle to look at as kids get older. For young children, learning about the different industries and services in their community, region, or country would be a possible research project. Here is a resource that I have successfully used with late primary grades in the past. Industries and Services project Protecting our environment is a focus that is often a main topic around Earth Day, but should be considered throughout the year. Maybe it could be a family event to do a beach cleanup or a neighborhood walk and check for litter. It is amazing how much litter is just tossed even when garbage cans are nearby. Plastic is everywhere. Maybe the focus could be to see how many ways plastic can be replaced in daily life. Or perhaps, how many different ways we can reuse containers instead of using one use type ones. These are only a couple of suggestions. There are many different ways that we can help our environment. It might be fun to come up with ways that the class or families can do things to make a difference.  Multicultural awareness and respect for diversityOur countries are made up of many different cultures and beliefs and it is important to respect these various cultures and beliefs. This is what makes our country rich in traditions, celebrations, holidays, special foods, music and many other things. Cultural differences can be acknowledged, but the diversity of people needs to be respected. We do not have to all have the same beliefs and values, but we all need to be respectful and responsible citizens. Mutual tolerance and acceptance is what leads to a peaceful existence. We spend time teaching kids about acts of kindness, and spreading peace. It is important that we model the same behavior for them. Kindness is huge. It goes a long way in maintaining a peaceful existence.
Right now in Canada, there is a lot of attention being focused on the First Nations people because of the injustices inflicted on them in the residential schools and the multi-generational impact it has had. In other places it might be racial prejudice towards other ethnic groups. In order for healing to begin, it is important that this be acknowledged and that changes happen. We need to be the change and not pass off blame. This may be a tough thing to accept, but if we are to move forward, we need to show our children that wrongs sometimes happen, but they should be made right. When we say Every Child Matters, we need to take action to show that we mean it.  This poster demonstrates the impact that one person can make by being kind and respectful. Imagine if we all did this. If you would like a copy of this poster, click on the image above. First Nations People And Early SettlersPrior to teaching at my last school, I didn't have much of an idea of how life was for our First Nations people. I didn't have any First Nations children in my classes. I understood the importance of celebrating our heritage, and I did lots of projects and activities with my students, but this was one area that was missing and I hadn't even realized it until I moved schools and had several First Nations children in my class. I made it my mission to learn more and to make sure that my lessons were inclusive and respectful of these kids as well. I had the good fortune to have a student's parent come and make bentwood boxes with my class. Her father also had a longhouse which he invited us to visit. We used birchbark disks for plates and had salmon and bannock while there. It was a wonderful cultural experience for my students as well as myself, and my student and his family were proud to share their culture with us. Here is a book that I found very useful when talking about the First Nations people and helping the children to understand some of their contributions to making our country special. I discovered lots too. If you would like to find out more or download a copy of the lesson plans and the book, click on the image below. It will take you to the government website where all the information is available.   I also created a unit that focused on ways the early settlers and the First Nations people might have worked together. We looked at what life might have been like in the Pacific Northwest and on the Plains. We researched types of dwellings, types of canoes, food sources, trade, and life as a child and what it might have been like. The contributions of each group was looked at and the projects created were to reflect this. It was interesting to see which groups were chosen and what elements were represented in the project models. It was interesting to see how my First Nations children were able to add some of their own heritage into the projects. I have to admit, because my students were young, I didn't go into much detail about what happened later or about how the children were sent to residential schools. In recent years, this has been addressed more in the young grades and discussed in detail in the intermediate grades. There are some good books available that help to talk to kids about residential schools. Here is one source. We are lucky to have a good relationship with some of the elders of the band and there have been many different activities and sessions that have helped with understanding the culture and traditions. Several of our students participate in the dance celebrations and drumming and singing. Language classes are also a part of the week. One of my favorite activities was a nature study in the nearby forest where we learned about the different trees and plants and how they were used for clothing, medicine, food, and even transportation. If you would like to find out more about the project that we did, you can check it out here.
I hope that the tips and activities I have shared with you will help to make connections with social studies taught at school. There are many opportunities for expanding and enriching understanding through discussions, research, and activities done at home as well. There is much more to social studies, but hopefully these ideas will be a springboard to further learning.  Related Posts
Week 4 Focus: Primary Social Studies Part 1For the next couple of posts, I will be focusing on social studies, what it is, and how to help primary kids with tips for learning for school and home. What is social studies? In simple terms, it is the study of people and their relationships to other people and the world. For young children, it starts with family and then spreads out to community, regions, provinces, states, or territories, and from there, to countries and the world. It can be broken up into 5 different categories: geography, history, culture and society, civics and government, and economics. I will be focusing on some of these categories today, and some others next time.  An important part of social studies is developing inquiry processes and skills for asking questions, gathering information, interpreting and analyzing it, and communicating effectively. It can involve mapping skills, learning about the world around them, and researching and reporting findings. For primary kids, the focus is on family, neighbourhoods, communities, and perhaps larger regions such as provinces, states, or territories. As they get to later primary grades, they begin to investigate their country, other countries, and the world.  GeographyGeography is the study of places and the relationship between people and the environment. For simplicity we will be focusing on the study of places right now. This starts with looking at the neighborhood, the community, the town or city, the region, province, state, or territory, the country, the continent and the world. Mapping skills, designing and creating a community, or doing research on a city, region, or country all help kids to better understand the world around them.  Mapping skills start with being able to recognize that maps are used to represent real places, and symbols or pictures are used to represent real locations. This progresses to being able follow a map to a destination, use cardinal directions, interpret symbols and legends, create simple maps, and read more complex maps. There are many different types of mapping activities that can be done to practice these skills. I wrote about many of these here. Here are some resources that can help with these skills. Mapping Skills Using Grids Mapping Skills Using Grids (online version) Creating A Community  A fun extension to mapping is geocaching. This is like a scavenger hunt with added technology. The goal is to locate hidden containers by using a gps device to follow coordinates to specific locations. It is something that can be done as a family and lets people explore areas around them that they might not visit otherwise. Geocaches have been hidden all over the world, so it can be done when traveling as well. HistoryHistory is the study of past events, stories, and people in different places. This includes the significance of various events, objects, people, and places in the past and how they may impact our lives today.  Then And NowWith young children, it is important to start with events that they can relate to. One way, is to look at the community they live in and find out how it has changed over time. There are many different ways to learn about the past and how things have changed over time. One way is to visit the local museum. I often booked field trips to our local museum. There were also video or slide show presentations there that showed how the city had changed over time. The kids loved seeing what it used to look like where current landmarks now sit. I also borrowed the kits they made available to use in the classroom that included artifact replicas that the children could handle and even try to use. Another place to find out information is the library. There you may be able to look at old newspaper articles or books that may have been written. Interviewing grandparents, seniors, or elders and looking at old photo albums will also provide some understanding of how life has changed over the years.
Timelines and order of eventsCreating picture timelines of families are great ways for young children to see how their families fit together. These could start at any point: when their parents met, when they were born, when they moved to a certain place. Community events timelines are a good way to help understand what events are significant in a community. These could be annual events, historic events, or even one time events that mark important happenings in the community. As children get older and begin to study a bigger part of their world, timelines could be done for larger regions, such as provinces, states, or territories, or even countries or the world. These timelines can be less pictorial and more detailed with dates and specific events listed.  Culture, heritage, and traditions in societyDiverse cultures make up our communities and countries. They provide a rich blend of customs, art, music, traditions, holidays, food, clothing, and dress. It is important to value the many different aspects of culture that make us who we are as well. These characteristics of various cultures need to be acknowledged and better accepted in our communities. Research activities can be done and families can be involved in them. Several years ago, I had a student that was afraid to let people know about part of her heritage. Apparently, in another school she had been teased and she was afraid of this happening again. It made me sad to see a child so young feeling this way. I decided to create a project that would help her, and any others who may feel the same, to celebrate who they are and how their heritage made them the unique people they are. By the end of the project, she was excited to share that she had a mixed heritage and she began to feel proud of it. Here is the project we did.
Another fun activity we did was a flat family project. It was based on the story of Flat Stanley and it came about after learning of a teacher who started send Flat Stanley on trips. In our case, we sent our flat families to other parts of the country and across the world to visit family members. You can read more about it here. As you can see, there are many different aspects to social studies. These are just some of the ideas and activities that you can try. I hope they are helpful for you. Next time, I will focus on other aspects of social studies.  Related Posts
Part of learning about the world around us in primary grades is learning about different kinds of communities. One of my favorite activities to do with primary kids is create a 3D community in my classroom. This is a very child centered unit and involves many different aspects before the community is actually created.  Steps For Creating A CommunityHave you ever thought about creating a community with your class? I have done this a few times and it has always been a favorite memory for my students. First of all, it is important the children understand what a community is and what kinds of communities there are. We look at resources that represent urban, suburban, and rural communities and we talk about what makes them the same or different. We talk about what they look like, what kinds of services they might have, and what different kinds of community helpers might be involved there. We also talk about where we might find these types of communities.
Next we take neighborhood walks and we look at the area around us. We take note of the various types of buildings, services, parks, etc. We also think about where they are located in relation to each other. We discuss what other services might be nearby and why they might be important.  We also think about other services that might be in the community, but located in different areas. For example, the essential services might be located in the center of the community, but an airport might be located on the outskirts of the community.
We then think about what services are needed, and what services might be nice to have, but are not essential. For example, some shopping centres are needed, but it is not necessary to have several different ones. Planning The 3D CommunityOnce we determine that some services are needed and some are maybe just nice to have, we decide which ones will be included in the community that we create. This is where the neighborhood planning come in. We decide on what our community will be like, what is needed, whether there will be a river or other body of water nearby, what type of traffic grid is needed, and where certain types of services and buildings will be located.  We talk about scale and how that will be important when creating the 3D community. In my classes, I use a small milk carton as the guide. The carton is the size of a typical home. Each child is given a piece of cardboard as their lot, and a milk carton as the basis of their home. It is important that they understand that anything they add to the property should be scaled to fit the proportions of the home. For example, a toilet paper roll would not work as a tree because it is way too big, however, a straw might work.  Once the plan is decided on by the class, then I divide up the different services so that each student is responsible for creating one. If there are more children than services, I will pair them up on larger projects such as the hospital or the school. I include things like parks and playgrounds as different extra places to create as well.
Putting It All TogetherAfter all the planning and discussion, the fun begins. Each child takes home their materials and begins to create their properties and service buildings or parks, etc. While this is going on, the area where the community will be placed is prepared. it is fun to watch the children take ownership of the space and the excitement mounts as the land and water areas are added. We then create a storyboard of our journey through the planning process and the completion of the project.  Upon completion, it is time to share. Classes are invited to come and take a look, and families are invited for an afternoon of activities and a big celebration.  I have created this activity for those wishing to create a small neighborhood map. Click the image to get your copy.  If you would like to see a copy of the plan that we used and some of the materials included, check it out here. My class had a great experience creating this community. I wish you success as you venture to create one in your classroom. I would love to see pictures or hear about it if you do create one. Don't forget to get your free copy of the booklet, Creating a Neighborhood Map.  Related Posts
Mapping skills are fun to teach and they are important skills for kids to learn. They will be skills that can be used throughout life for reading and interpreting maps, travel, navigation, and understanding the vastness of a country and the world.  What are some of the different skills needed? There are many different elements to understand in mapping. Primary children are able to learn how to use grids, directions, legends, symbols, and scale. One of my favorite ways to teach using a grid and coordinates is to play Battleship. We didn't own the game, but my father used to draw out grids on paper and we would play the game. I used to have 4 or 5 sets of the game in my class, so it was a popular choice for free time.  Once they become familiar with using the grid, they can move on to identifying objects on a grid and writing down the coordinates. It is important to practice this until they are able to easily find items and also explain where they are. Children need to understand how the coordinates work and how to be able to locate spots on the grid. This can then be transferred to actual maps.  Next Steps For Teaching Mapping SkillsHere are some of the next steps that I cover when teaching mapping skills. Some of the materials and terminology and what they represent: There are different ways to represent the world we live in. A globe is a sphere that represents the earth and shows the various continents and bodies of water. Paper drawings of places are called maps. There are many different types of maps. Maps have symbols on them. These are pictures or shapes that represent real objects or places. Legends are guides that show the symbols and explain what they are. Most maps have legends to help with identifying objects and places.
Learning to understand directions and how to follow them is important if you want to make sure you are going the right way. A compass rose is used to show where to find north, east, south, west, and the places in between.  Maps can be used for fun activities also. Imagine finding a treasure map and having to follow the directions to locate the treasure.  Distance is another important thing to understand when learning mapping skills. In order to know how far away things are, a scale is used. For example, 1 inch could be 50 yards, or 2 cm could be 30 m.  Neighborhood maps are great for learning about areas where people live. Check out a few different types of neighborhoods and then maybe try to create one of your own. It is a good way to practice using the skills learned in a practical way.  People use maps to plan trips, travel to different locations, and find specific places. Some people use paper maps, and others use electronic devices. It is important to learn how to read maps and follow directions.  A Freebie To Remember Different SkillsIf you are interested in checking out some mapping skills using grids, here is a sampler for you. I also created this little mapping skills booklet that explains many of the things written about here in kid friendly language. You can check it out here.  Here are a couple of sample pages to check out.
Well, there you have a basic outline of how I teach mapping skills to my students. If you are interested in getting some of the mapping resources pictured above to use in your classroom or for online teaching, check out my social studies section in my TeachersPayTeachers store.  Canada is a big country with many different provinces and territories with special places and activities that make them unique. Learning about the many cultures and interesting facts can be fun, but depending on the resources and activities, it can also be difficult for some children. Informational text and reference materials often use much more technical language than some children are used to and this makes it hard for emergent readers to handle. That doesn't mean they can't do the job, but it does mean that they may need some extra support and resources that are less difficult to read.  Provinces And Territories BookletsI have created a series of books about the provinces and territories in Canada that are suited for doing basic research and usable by students in late primary and early intermediate grades. They were created to help those who were overwhelmed with reference materials.
French is Canada's second language, and French Immersion is taught in many places. It is also the main language in some places on the east coast of Canada. I have created these materials in both English and French for this reason. Here is a video preview from one of the books in the series. Click on the image to view it.  More Canadian ResourcesI have also created other materials for working with symbols of Canada. Here is a bingo game that I created. It has 6 different boards and is available in English and French. These 24 symbols represent Canada from coast to coast. There is one card that has the words with the symbols as well. I have created separate vocabulary cards as well that can be used for various activities.
I Have, Who Has? games are fun and help kids focus on both images and vocabulary. These task cards are 24 symbols of Canada. They are a great supplementary activity for your Canada unit.
If you are looking for some cute number cards for calendars or other activities, here are some with Canadian kids and some with Canadian animals.
If you are looking for a more in-depth study of Canada, check out my Canadian Social Studies section to find more materials. Here is one project in the section.
Well, there you have it. If you are looking for some resources for your late primary/early intermediate classroom check these out. Have fun studying Canada with your students.  Earlier this month I wrote about having 2 secret strengths in teaching and I shared my first strength of teaching guided reading. My second super strength was using projects with my students to help demonstrate learning. My super strength evolved from a need to help students share their learning in a variety of different ways. I discovered early in my classroom teaching experience that some students had a wealth of knowledge, but that they were unable to truly share it in written activities. I decided to try using projects for representing their learning, and I never looked back.  Creating A 3D CommunityThis 3D community project was a class project where the class created the community from beginning to end based on what we learned during our study of what a community needs. Our celebration was our chance to share what was learned during this unit. Here are some images of one of the communities. I have also included a storyboard as well. Click on it if you would like a copy for yourself.   Our Solar System ProjectOur Solar System was one of my first school/home projects that required the children to choose from a variety of activities to share their learning. It also contained a criteria marking sheet so that they knew what was expected and how it would be graded at the beginning. It was amazing to see how they rose to the challenge. Including the families when it came time to create the projects was a great way of communicating what we were doing at school. Here is a copy of the letter that I send home.
Check out some of the projects that my students created. The greatest part was when they shared them with the families and other guests. Their pride and the positive atmosphere made it all worthwhile.  Social Studies ProjectsI found that Social Studies lends itself well to projects. Most of my projects dealt with Canada and the provinces and territories, but I also did some projects that are more global. My heritage project came from a need to help a child feel proud of who she was because she was embarrassed to let others know her heritage. By the end of this project, she was sharing with everyone and she was excited to tell others about all the countries that made her special.  Money Lessons For KidsI love how ideas come from students and their needs. One year my class was learning about money and we ending up creating a money unit together. It was great using real life experiences for creating the unit. We even ended it with a big fundraising event to raise money for our year end field trip. Here is a sample lesson from the unit.
I always looked forward to the new ideas that were provided by my students. If you would like to see some of the other projects that I have created, they are available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I would love to hear if projects are part of your teaching.   |
About Me Charlene Sequeira
I am a wife, mother of 4, grandmother of 9, and a retired primary and music teacher. I love working with kids and continue to volunteer at school and teach ukulele. 
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