Shifting Shadows!!

Hello!

I find this activity very useful when teaching about varied shadow lengths and their positions during different times of the day.
What I like best about this activity is that I can integrate Art skills with Science (Light and Shadow) and Math (Measurement and Time).

You will need:

• some tin-foil sheet
• 1/4th of a KG card sheet (any colour)
• glue
• colour pencils/felt pens
• a ruler
• a pair of scissors

You could begin by demonstrating the steps to make a tin foil puppet. Once it's made, stick it on the KG card sheet using some glue.

I find this YouTube video very useful for making the tin-foil figure. It demonstrates the steps very clearly.

https://youtu.be/eDOOqdm_9jc

Ask your class to make a tin-foil figure for themselves. You could do it with them in class or play the above video in your class and ask them to follow it step by step.

It is important that they stick their puppets in the centre of the KG card sheet. This will ensure they have enough space to outline the shadows.

Now, take them to the playground or any open area at three different times of the day: morning, noon and later in the afternoon.

Ask them to observe the shadows carefully and outline them using 3 different colour pencils, They should then measure the shadows using a ruler and write the measurements and time beside the respective outlines.

Students will see that the shadows formed due to sunlight have different lengths and positions.

I too did the activity at home. I hope you find the images useful.

                             

Shadow in the morning:

Time : 9:30 am. 
Length : 12 cm
Position of the shadow: in front of the figure

Shadow at noon:

Time : 12:30 pm. 
Length : 5.5 cm
Position of the shadow: under the figure

Shadow in the evening:

Time : 4:00 pm. 
Length : 14 cm
Position of the shadow: behind the figure

To sum up:

The shadows are longer in the morning and evening; whereas, they are shortest at noon as the sun is overhead. 

Connecting Texts

Hello!

Kids comprehend better when they make connections with the books/texts they read.
By comprehension I mean, 'making meaning' of texts. A purpose for engaging with the text becomes necessary to be able to enjoy it.

Building connections is a strategy that can help kids comprehend and relate with the text better. 

There are mainly three types of connections that a child can make:

• Text-to-Self - connecting the text to yourself and your experiences
• Text-to Text - connecting the text with another book that you might have read
• Text-to-World - connecting the text with events in real-world

Text-to-self connections are personal connections that a reader makes between a piece of reading material and the reader’s own experiences or life. 

Example:  "This story reminds me of the time when I visited my grandmother's house and we cooked biryani together."

Sometimes while reading, students make connections with other similar texts/stories/books that they have read. These are text-to-text connections. 

Example: "The cover of this book reminds me of  the book, 'Granny Torelli Makes Soup', which I read last year in grade 04."


Text-to-world connections are larger connections that goes far beyond our personal experiences. 
Students here make connections with the events happening in the world which they may have come across through television, newspapers, movies, etc.

Example: "I was watching a program on T.V. last night, it talked about similar events as in this article."

To effectively used this strategy, demonstrate or model for students how to make connections. 

The simplest is text-to-self, so we can start with that. You could read a book to your kids and use phrases like, 'this reminds me of a time.....' or 'this reminds me of...' to make connections between the book and your life. In a similar way ask the kids to build such connections and share with all.
Once they are familiar with making connections with self, move on with the other two types.  

I am sharing a few connecting statements that you could use as prompts for class discussions.

This part reminds me of....

I felt like...(character) when I....

If that happened to me I would....

This book reminds me of...(another text) because....

I can relate to...(part of text) because one time....

Something similar happened to me when....

You could also use the following questions to help kids connect.

                                                     Text-to-self:

What does this remind me of?

How is this different from what happened with me?

Has something like this ever happened to me?

How did I feel?

                                                     Text-to-text:

Which other books of the same author have I read?

How is this text similar to other texts I’ve read?

How is this different from other books I’ve read?

Have I read about something like this before?

                                                     Text-to-world:

What does this remind me of in the real world?

How is this text similar to things that happen in the real world?

How is this different from things that happen in the real world?

How did that part relate to the world around me? 

Keep Reading, Keep Connecting!!

Subtraction Poem

Hello!

When it comes to subtracting numbers, it may be a little confusing for young ones. For my class of 7-8 years old, I used this wonderful subtraction poem to help them understand the concept better.
It also made my lesson interesting and enjoyable.

The poem goes like this:

Now, the first rule is for subtraction without borrowing. 

Write a problem on the board and the rule beside it. Ask your class to look only at the ones/units place to be able to apply the rule. You can circle/highlight the units place as done in the picture.

Ask them if the digit in units place is more on the 'top' (point at the digit) or on the 'floor' (point at it). Then let them repeat the rule together and tell them that they don't have to 'stop' and they can subtract 6 from 8 (as in the picture).

The second rule is for subtraction with borrowing. This might take some time.

Have another subtraction question on the board. Write the second rule beside it and ask them to check only the units place. You could question them if the unit on the 'floor' (point it out) is more or less than the unit on the 'top' (again, point it). In the above case, 8 is more than 2 hence the rule applies. Tell them that since there is more on the 'floor' they will have to go next door and borrow 10 (1 ten) more.

Kids should understand that we are borrowing 1 ten or 10 and not 1 or a unit.
Once you borrow 10 more the tens place loses one ten and hence 6 tens become 5 tens whereas the units place gets 1 ten hence 2 becomes 12 (1 ten + 2 units OR 10 + 2).

The third rule is the simplest of all!!

Write another subtraction question with the same digits in the units place for both 'top' and 'floor'. Ask them to read aloud the rule and check if it applies to the question you have written. In case of the above example, both the units place have 3 and hence 0 is the game (3 take away 3 is 0).

With the help of the Subtraction Poem, teaching subtraction with borrowing became very simple for me. Kids recited the rules while doing the problems and the steps became pretty clear.

The strategy worked wonders for us and I hope it does for you as well! 😃

Mysterious Mummies!!

Hello!
I have always been curious about the Egyptians and the mummification of bodies. The more I come across the history of Egypt the more I am intrigued. 

In one of the reading classes, my co-teacher and I had started reading about Cleopatra to our students. The discussions thereafter were never-ending and they wanted to know more about the ancient Egyptians, their writings, their food, mummies and pyramids.

While surfing the net, I came across 
https://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/ . It was just what I needed! 

The content was simple and apt. The activities were engaging and guess what, kids could also make their own 'mummy'! 

The home page of the website looks like this: 

Choose Ancient Egypt and start exploring. You will come across many sub topics.

Depending on the age group and your class strength, you could cover all the sub topics in  one class or spread them across 2-3 classes.

Some of the activities have audio as well hence, you might need headphones.

As a teacher, what I like best about the website is there is no need to sign up. Although, the topics are limited; I find them very effective and gripping. The slides are informative,  illustrative and colourful.

P.S. Would you like to write like an Egyptian? 
       Just click on the link below and type your name. :-)  
   
       https://www.penn.museum/cgi/hieroglyphsreal.php


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Writing a POEM

Hello!

I came across this particular style of poetry writing through one of the lessons in my 2nd grade. It's fun to read and simple to compose.

For this, kids should have some previous knowledge about common nouns and verbs. It's a good idea to revisit them with your class before beginning the lesson. 

Once they are familiarised with the concepts, show them a sample of the poem that they are expected to write and discuss the pattern in it.

 Sample:   

                        

Busy Birds                                                                          

                                                                                         The pattern is:

Birds chirping,                                                     Noun verb,

Birds singing,                                                       Noun verb,

Birds flying, flying, flying.                         Noun verb,verb, verb.

                                                                                               

Birds eating,

Birds drinking,

Birds fluttering, fluttering, fluttering.

Birds brooding,

Birds resting,

Oh look! The sun has set!

Birds sleeping, sleeping sleeping.

Now, to begin with, ask your class to choose a noun and tell them that they will be composing a class poem using the noun they suggest (I always like doing a class poem before individual ones). 

Write the noun in the center of the board and draw a cloud around it. Then, ask them to brainstorm and suggest the verbs that can be used with the noun chosen.

Example:

They should come up with at least 9 verbs if they are required to write a 3-stanza poem.

Once we have the verbs ready, we can start writing our poem. Ask them to place the action words in way that builds a connect between the lines.

 

For example - playing and hiding can go together in one stanza whereas studying, talking and asking in the other. 

Their class poem may look like this:

Children hiding,
Children running,
Children playing, playing, playing.

Children talking,
Children asking,
Children studying, studying, studying.

Children yawning,
Children sleeping,
Here comes the Tooth Fairy!
Children dreaming, dreaming, dreaming.

Ask them to give a title to their poem and finally, have them read it together. 

Suggest a title for the class poem in the comments section if you like the post... :-)

Money Spent Well!

Hello!

This activity will take you outdoors with your class! 

As part of the unit on money in Mathematics, I took my class for some shopping. The trip was planned to give them a realistic experience in dealing with money. It also helped them use their skills of adding and subtracting two-digit numbers, effectively.

You will need some planning beforehand:

• I suggest that you inform the parents a week before the trip and ask them to send a shopping bag and some money with the kids in an envelope/purse (we kept it to 50 rupees for all).
• A demo of the shopping activity in class before the actual trip helps. Students get a practice in calculating the money spent (addition) and the change they would get back (subtraction).
• Discuss some of the points to remember; like: asking for a bill, checking the price of an item before buying and being courteous to the staff.

Let's go!!

On the field trip day our excitement levels knew no boundaries!! 

It was a short yet fun ride to the departmental store. On reaching there, we divided ourselves into smaller groups, each accompanied by a teacher. The aim was to buy a few items within our budget keeping in mind to bring back some change.

Kids enjoyed exploring the different sections and picked up the items they needed. They were thrilled to shop and at the same time careful with checking the prices before adding them into their shopping bags. I too bought something for my kitchen. 👧

At the billing counter, they calculated the money spent (adding up the numbers) and the change they should get back (subtracting the total from 50).
Like good customers, they asked for their bills! It was a pleasure to see them spend their money wisely!

We had an exciting time and we came back with a feel-good shopping experience.

P.S. - If you are unable to take your kids out then, you could set up a shop in your class or at home using empty cartons, wrappers, stationery items, etc and the kids could experience something similar indoors.