Sharing Early Literacy Learning Journeys

Archive for the ‘Language Experience’ Category

Science experiments, action and a touch of magic

Last week the children were enthralled for fifty minutes with science experiments, dramatic action and a touch of magic in an Arts Council event: H2Whoa!   Richard, the scientist, worked with water to:
• make ‘elephant toothpaste’
• fire small ‘rockets’
• display water-logged animals
• create a cyclone in a bottle
• make and throw fake snow and
• blow enormous bubbles 

Guess which ones were the children’s favourites? 

Elephant toothpaste

Water-logged animals

 

Enormous bubbles

On our return to the classroom, and this time, without discussion or brainstorming, the children chose either A3 or A4 paper to draw and/or write about the show. As always, the variety of responses amazed me because I am never sure what will appeal most.

 We do not know what children like about an experience unless we give them the chance to talk  and freely respond to that experience.

The biggest bubbles in the world!

More bubbles...

… and more bubbles.

It was exciting to share a live performance and the ensuing spoken, written and visual languages were about the activity.  With pictures, sentences, words and a cup of fake snow displayed in our room, the event continues. 

Please leave your comments

Which experiment was your favourite?

What experiments can you do with water?

Category:

Children talking, Drawing, Language Experience, Writing

Football fun with Fish?

Today my Year 1 class played AFL football with a footballer nick-named ‘Fish’. Coincidentally, we are doing ‘f’ this week, so that fitted nicely. Fish worked on their fitness in a fast and furious fashion – which the children said was ‘fun’!  I took photos (ph – not ‘f’) and we made a class book entitled: Football Fun with Fish.  It WAS fun!

'Fish' gives footballs to the children.

Back in the classroom, the children talked about how much fun they had with the footballs. Our shared writing became: We had fun with Fish at AFL football.

Shared writing about our time with 'Fish'.

 The children drew about playing football with ‘Fish’ and I scribed their sentences.

A child's drawing of 'Fish' and the scribed story.

We made a class book of photos and sentences entitled: Football Fun with Fish.  This became another home-reading book.

Our class book, 'Football Fun with Fish'.

We added ‘four footballs’ to Our F  f Book.

Four footballs for 'Our F f Book'.

It was a fantastic Fursday!

How do you use school experiences to add to children’s literacy and numeracy?

Category:

Language Experience, Teaching letters and sounds