Early Themes - Me, Space, The Sea and Dinosaurs: Me by Teacher Superstore

Published by R.I.C. Publications速 www.ricgroup.com.au

RIC-6285 3.6/489

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Foreword Me is one of a series of books based around popular themes written for students in the early years of schooling. The wide variety of activities in this book extend across many learning areas, particularly society and environment, science, and health and values. The four sections of the book (‘All about me’, ‘My body’, ‘My places’ and ‘My family, friends and neighbours’) aim to motivate students to explore aspects of self and their interactions with others.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Titles in this series are:

Me — Ages 4–6

The sea — Ages 4–6

Dinosaurs — Ages 4–6

Contents

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Space — Ages 4–6

Teachers notes ................................................... ii – iv Curriculum links.........................................................v

Look at me! .....................................................2–3

My favourite places .....................................34–35

People of many colours ..................................4–5

Job pinwheel ..............................................36–37

My feelings......................................................6–7

My classroom ..............................................38–39

Needs or wants? .............................................8–9

Class rules ...................................................40–41

Let’s celebrate! ............................................10–11

My teacher ..................................................42–43

Look what I can do! .....................................12–13

School is special ..........................................44–45

Things I treasure..........................................14–15

Jobs for the teacher ....................................46–47

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Being safe ...................................................32–33

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All about me .......................................................2–15

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School likes and dislikes..............................48–49

My body ............................................................16–27 Living or non-living? ....................................16–17

My family, friends and neighbours ...................50–65

How I have changed ...................................18–19

How we are different ...................................50–51

I’m a clean machine! ...................................20–21

Finger puppet family...................................52–53

Sensing my world ........................................22–23

Handy helpers .............................................54–55

A face for me ..............................................24–25

Time together .............................................56–57

My clever body ...........................................26–27

Umbrella law ...............................................58–59 A recipe for a friend ....................................60–61

My places ..........................................................28–49

My friend’s house ........................................62–63

Rooms in my house .....................................28–29

Who are my neighbours? ............................64–65

My garden ...................................................30–31 R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

Teachers notes Me (Ages 4–6) investigates topics most relevant to students in the early years of schooling—awareness of self including their bodies and feelings, the people and things in the immediate world around them —including friends, families and neighbours. The four sections aim to develop the following concepts:

All about me I am unique. My background may be different from that of others. I have feelings. I need and want things. I celebrate important events. I can look after myself. I have things which are important to me.

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My body

I am a living thing. My body grows and changes. I can look after my body. I use my senses to explore the environment. I have personal features which differ from and are similar to those of others. I can do things with my body.

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I am familiar with my own house. My home has built and natural features. I can recognise safe and unsafe places and things at home and at school. I have favourite places at home and in my yard. I have jobs to do at home. My classroom has features. My classroom has rules. I have people who help me at school. I have special places and games to play at school. I have jobs to do at school. I enjoy/don’t enjoy school because …

o c . che e r o t r s super My family, friends and neighbours

The people in my family are different from each other. My family is important to me. The people in my family have roles and responsibilities. My family does things together. My family has rules to follow. I have friends and they are important to me. I am familiar with my friend’s house. I have neighbours.

Early themes — Me

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Teachers notes The format of the book Each student activity page is accompanied by a corresponding teachers notes page.

Teachers notes pages The title of the corresponding student page is given.

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Answers are supplied, where necessary.

Additional activities to support or extend the concept are supplied. These extend across other learning areas.

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The concept being developed is stated.

Relevant background information is given concerning any necessary preparation, how to introduce the activity or how to use the worksheet with students.

Resources to support the concept are supplied; including songs, poems, stories, relevant websites or references to pages in other books.

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Clear, concise instructions for completing the student activity are supplied.

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Also included is some background information which teachers may require to answer students’ questions.

The title of the student page is given.

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* Teachers are encouraged to enlarge worksheets to A3 size where necessary, to allow enough space for beginning writers to complete their responses. ** Some students may require assistance to write, copy or spell words. Others may need an adult to scribe words for them. R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

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Early themes — Me

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Curriculum links Society and environment NSW

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Qld

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1.10

CI 1.5

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R 1.1

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NSW

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NSW

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COES1.1

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KU F

1.3

PHIC 1.1

ALES1.6

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PHIC 1.3

GDES1.9

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EPD 1.1

IRES1.11

SMS 1

1.6

EPD 1.2

1.7

EPD 1.3

PHES1.2 SLES1.13

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Early themes — Me

Look at me! Concept: I am unique. Indicators: • Chooses correct words to describe appearance. • Records different personal features. • Draws picture of self.

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Background information:

• Discuss differences in physical appearance. Determine students’ awareness of their personal features by playing, ‘Hands up!’; e.g. ‘Hands up everyone with straight hair’.

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• Discuss special features which the students may have such as freckles, birthmarks, dimples or wearing glasses or hearing aids.

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• Talk about how strange it would be if everyone looked the same. How would you tell the girls from the boys? How would parents recognise their children? How would children recognise brothers and sisters, mums and dads?

• Explain that it is great that we are all different. The differences between us add variety, which makes life more interesting. There are many different personality types. Some people are quiet and shy, others are chatty and sociable. • Discuss the importance of what we are like on the inside; how our behaviour, the things we do and how we care for others is more important than what we look like. • Carry out investigations to determine information about the students; e.g. birth months, length of hand spans, cubits, colour of eyes and hair, length of hair and whether it’s straight, curly or wavy, things they like and dislike. Present the results in appropriate graphical forms.

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Additional activities:

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• Students complete the ﬁrst three questions on the sheet by colouring in the correct answers. On the board, write all the hair colours in the class for students to copy. Students will need adult help to measure their heights. Special features can be anything extra that describes a child, such as small ears, long nose, fringe, glasses. Students draw and colour a picture of themselves, focusing on the features discussed.

• With students sitting in a circle, play ‘Who am I?’ Student A secretly chooses another student, B. The rest of the class ask questions about B’s identity, to which A can answer only ‘yes’ or ‘no’. As the answers reveal who is not the chosen student, these students move to the outside of the circle. Eventually, Student B is revealed.

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• Students make ‘This is me’ booklets, including photographs, personal statistics and information about hobbies, likes and dislikes etc. • Using body templates about 30 cm tall and a selection of tab-on paper clothes and hairstyles, students dress the templates to match themselves. These can be labelled and used to make a class display.

Resources: • Story: Toddworld: Hi I’m Todd! by Todd Parr • Story: Luna and the big blur: A story for children who wear glasses by Shirley Day • Story: I like myself! by Karen Beaumont • Poetry: I like being me: Poems for children about feeling special, appreciating others and getting along by Judy Lalli

Early themes — Me

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Look at me! 1. I am a …

2. I have …

boy

girl

brown

eyes

blue

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curly hair

eyes

wavy hair

4. The colour of my hair is 5.

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green

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This is me.

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6. Something special about me is … .

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Early themes — Me

People of many colours Concept: My background may be different from that of others. Indicators: • Traces a shape onto folded paper or card and cuts it out. • Decorates ‘people’ using colouring and gluing scrap materials.

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Background information:

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• Before the lesson, fanfold sheets of A3 paper into three equal sections—one sheet of A3 paper for each student. Parent or adult helpers may assist. Students will also require thick, brightly coloured crayons (or paint if allowed time to dry!), scissors, glue and scraps of paper, materials, wool or rafﬁa. NOTE: The template may be traced onto more solid card for students to trace around.

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• Display a picture from a magazine or book or a poster which shows a family from another country doing things together. Discuss who the people may be, where they may live, what they are doing and how they are the same or different to them.

• Ask students, ‘Who has parents or grandparents who were born in another country?’ Find out who is clever enough to speak a different language, who may eat different types of food or has different customs or traditions. Emphasise the concept that being from different backgrounds (cultures), enriches the lives of others. • Students cut out the ‘person’ shape and place it very carefully onto the folded A3 paper, ensuring that the hands and feet touch or extend over the edges. Check this step with all students before proceeding any further. Students trace around the shape, holding it carefully in place, then remove the template and cut around all thick, solid lines. Students must make sure that they do not cut along the dotted lines. They must cut straight off the edges of the paper at the hands and feet. Discard any scrap paper and carefully open out. Students should have three (3) people joined at the hands and feet. Students colour (or paint) each person a different colour and decorate with scrap paper, wool etc. to make three different ‘people’. Join all the ‘people’ together and make a chain of people of many colours to display around the room.

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Additional activities:

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• Students trace around hands in different colours and arrange them as a display, placing them in a circular shape. Label with a sign which says ‘Join hands around the world’ or ‘We all live in the same world’.

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• Display a large world map. Use large, brightly-coloured pins to identify countries where students may have a connection through parents or grandparents. Photos of parents or grandparents loaned from students may be joined to the relevant coloured pin with a length of wool or string.

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• Create a class-made big book. Students cut pictures from magazines relating to different pages. For example, ‘We wear different clothes.’, ‘We like to eat different foods.’, ‘We have different coloured skin.’, ‘We have different kinds of people in our family.’ etc.

Resources:

• Fingerplay: I am different … <http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/multicultural.htm> • Story: Whoever you are by Mem Fox • Story: The colors of us by Karen Katz

• Story: We’re different, We’re the same (a Sesame Street book) by Bobbi Kates

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

People of many colours

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1. Trace the shape onto folded paper. Cut out through all layers of paper.

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2. Colour each ‘person’ a different colour and decorate using scrap materials. R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

My feelings Concept: I have feelings. Indicators: • Colours faces showing feelings in the appropriate colours. • Draws and writes about his/her own feelings.

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Background information:

• Students will require coloured pencils to complete this activity. Photocopy one worksheet for each student. An adult may be required for those students who need assistance to write words. A picture or story may be used to introduce the activity.

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• Display a picture of a child looking really angry or sad. Ask students to name the feeling. Relate a variety of situations (e.g. losing a toy, winning a game, doing jobs at home, getting lost, celebrating a birthday with family or friends) and ask students to use their faces and bodies to show how they might feel in each situation. Select the best students to role-play for the class. Ask students to relate personal experiences where they have felt sad, happy, angry or worried. • Read the instructions with the students. Students select the correct colour to complete each face then complete the sentences.

Additional activities:

• Have the students create a set of four faces showing sad, happy, worried and angry expressions to display on their desk each day to show how they are feeling. Encourage students to express WHY they are feeling that way. Offer suggestions for solving problems or activities to change feelings where appropriate.

• Write new words and actions for a well-known song, such as ‘If you’re angry and you know it ...’. Students offer appropriate ways to express each feeling. Other suggestions include ‘Happy little spider’ for ‘Incy wincy spider’ etc.

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• Tape strong cardboard copies of each face around ring toss pegs. When students throw their rings over a face, they use their own faces to show the emotion OR relate a time when they have experienced that feeling. • Find and cut pictures of people showing different feelings from magazines. Sort into groups.

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• Song: ‘If you’re happy and you know it …’

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• Story: The way I feel by Janan Cain

• Story: I like myself by Karen Beaumont • Story: Rain romp by Jane Kurtz

Early themes — Me

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My feelings 1. Colour the faces: sad — blue happy — green angry — red

r o e t s Bo r e p ok 2. Draw and write. u S (a) I feel sad when ... (b) I feel happy when ...

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worried — yellow

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(d) I feel worried when ...

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Early themes — Me

Needs or wants? Concept: I need and want things. Indicators: • Understands the differences between a need and a want. • Sorts a selection of pictures with labels into needs and wants.

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Background information:

• A need is something we use to survive, such as food, water, shelter, clothing, air, exercise and love. A want is something we would like to have but is not necessary for our survival, such as a skateboard or a packet of sweet biscuits.

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• Use real items, pictures and words to discuss and identify needs and wants with the students. Point out that while we need food, we don’t need food such as unhealthy hamburgers and cream cakes. • Discuss the pictures on the worksheet with the students before they colour, cut and sort them into needs and wants. This could be done individually, in pairs or as a whole class. Compare answers and ask students to explain their decision. The pictures could be sorted and glued onto another sheet of paper or into a scrapbook.

Answers:

Needs: food, exercise, water, clothes, house, air, sleep, hug Wants: bike, chocolate, ice-cream, soft drink, dog, chips, ball, TV

Additional activities:

• Find pictures of foods and drinks in magazines to sort into those that we need and those that we want. • Discuss the needs that different animals require. Students could help to look after a classroom pet such as a ﬁsh, rabbit or mouse and attend to its needs. They could also decide on supplying the pet with a ‘want’.

Resources:

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• Workbook: Society and environment – Book A by R.I.C. Publications®

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• Students create a personal collage of things they want by ﬁnding pictures in magazines and drawing.

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• Blackline: Me! – A cross-curricular theme by R.I.C. Publications® • Story: A house is a house for me by Mary Ann Hoberman

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Needs or wants?

exercise

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bike

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ball

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TV Early themes — Me

chips

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Let’s celebrate! Concept: I celebrate important events. Indicator: • Draws pictures to represent a favourite celebration.

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Background information:

• The students will require scissors, glue and colouring pencils.

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• Before the students commence the worksheet, hold a class discussion about favourite celebrations. Talk about special parts of these celebrations—food, ‘faces’ (people who are at these celebrations) and ‘fun’ (special things that are done at these celebrations; e.g. opening presents).

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• Read the directions on the worksheet with the students. They can then draw in each of the shapes on the cone template and write the name of the celebration on the handle strip. Encourage them to colour the handle using colours they associate with the celebration; e.g. for Christmas, a student might choose red and green. • Once the templates are ﬁnished, help students to glue the cone together and attach the handle. The ﬁnished cones could then be used to stimulate discussion about what the students chose to draw, how different people celebrate important events and what the students could put in the cones to give to their guests; e.g. confectionery, small decorations.

Additional activities:

• Discuss special symbols of different celebrations; e.g. love hearts for Valentine’s Day.

• Read and discuss how children from other countries celebrate different special events. This might include occasions that are common throughout the world, such as birthdays.

Resources: • Story: Children just like me – celebrations! by A & B Kindersley

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• Story: Birthdays around the world by Mary D Lankford

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• Song: various traditional celebration songs; e.g. Christmas carols.

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Early themes — Me

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Let’s celebrate! Everyone celebrates important events. Make a gift cone for the guests at your favourite celebration. 1. Draw pictures on the half circle. 2. Write the name of the celebration on the handle. Colour it.

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Glue here

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3. Cut out the half circle and handle. Glue them together.

Early themes — Me

I celebrate

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Glue here

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Faces

Look what I can do! Concept: I can look after myself. Indicator: • Draws and writes about some ways he/she can look after himself/herself.

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Background information:

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• Before the students commence with the worksheet, have them visualise all the things they do during a day to look after themselves. It might be useful to take them through a school day; e.g. ‘When you get up in the morning, what do you do to look after yourself?’ Also focus on safety aspects such as crossing the road with an adult, not playing with matches etc.

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• Make sure the students understand that just one example is needed to complete each sentence on the worksheet; e.g. ‘I can brush my teeth’.

Additional activities:

• Provide simple ‘looking after yourself’ props—e.g. a hairbrush, plastic fruit, toy safety signs—and have the students prepare a short role-play, with a partner, that uses one of the props. • Discuss all the things the students might need help with to look after themselves now and what they will be able to do for themselves when they are older.

Resources:

• Song: ‘This is the way we …’ (to the tune of ‘Here we go round the mulberry bush’)

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• Story: All by myself by Mercer Mayer

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Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Look what I can do! Draw and write about what you can do to look after yourself. I can eat healthy food.

I can keep clean and tidy.

Draw

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I can

I eat

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Draw

I make sure

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I can stay safe.

I can exercise.

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Draw

I like to . R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

Things I treasure Concept: I have things which are important to me. Indicator: • Identiﬁes possessions and people which are important to him/her.

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Background information:

• The students will require scissors, glue and colouring pencils.

• Before the students commence the worksheet, discuss the word ‘treasure’ and what it means to treasure something. Ask the students to give examples of the things and people they treasure.

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• For Question 1, the students may cut out the pictures given and/or can draw their own pictures. If, for example, they want to include a pet cat as a treasured item, they might prefer to draw the cat rather than cut out the ‘pet’ picture provided.

• For Question 3, organise the class into pairs and allow the students to brieﬂy compare the items in their treasure chests. The class can then come back together. Each pair can report what items they had in common and a list can be made of the common things treasured by the class.

Additional activities:

• Write class stories about characters who own special possessions and why they are special to them.

• Make treasure chests from card for the students to store their favourite pieces of schoolwork in.

Resources:

• Song: ‘My favourite things’ by Rodgers and Hammerstein

• Rhyme: ‘Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone’ (special items can be substituted)

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• Story: Maisy’s favourite things by Lucy Cousins

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Early themes — Me

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Things I treasure 1. Colour and cut out the things you have which are important to you. Glue them into the treasure chest. Draw any others. 2. Which of the things in your treasure chest is the most important? Write a sentence about it.

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same as yours? Tell the class.

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r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S 3. Find a partner. Which things in his/her treasure chest are the

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family R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

pets

friends Early themes — Me

Living or non-living? Concept: I am a living thing. Indicators: • Understands the differences between a living and non-living thing. • Sorts a selection of pictures with labels into living and non-living things.

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Background information:

• All living things breathe oxygen from the air or water; need food to grow and for energy; need water; produce young; grow and change; and produce waste which they must get rid of.

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• Use real items, pictures and words to discuss and identify the differences between living and nonliving things.

Answers: Living:

cat, tree, baby, ant, dog, shark, girl, plant, boy

Non-living: ball, ice-cream, water, hat, house, chair, teddy bear

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• Discuss the pictures on the worksheet with the students before they colour, cut and sort them into living and non-living. This could be done individually, in pairs or as a whole class. Compare answers and ask students to explain their decision. The pictures could be sorted and glued onto another sheet of paper or into a scrapbook.

Additional activities:

• Create a collection of living and non-living things on a display table in the classroom. Students can bring objects from home or photographs of pets, plants or family members. Living creatures, such as snails or worms, that are brought should only be displayed for a short time and returned to their habitat. Names of items can be written on cards and matched by the students.

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• Students can draw pictures of things they should do to grow strong and healthy as a living thing, such as eating the right food and getting enough sleep and exercise. They could then draw things that pets or plants need to stay alive.

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• Take the students on a nature walk around the school grounds to identify living and non-living things. Write the names of their discoveries on rectangular strips of paper and join as a paper chain. See which list is longer—living or non-living.

Resources:

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• Workbook: Primary science – Book A by R.I.C. Publications®

• Workbook: Living things—Scienceworks for kids by Evan Moor • Story: A wetland walk by Sherry Amsel

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Living or non-living?

baby

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cat

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teddy bear R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

dog

shark

chair

girl

plant

boy

Early themes — Me

How I have changed Concept: My body grows and changes. Indicators: • Draws pictures of self now and as a baby. • Writes things he/she can do now that he/she could not do as a baby.

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Background information:

• Collect a selection of baby clothes. Discuss the difference in size between baby clothes and clothes the students wear now. Put the baby clothes on a doll and explain that, once, we were all this small.

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• If someone has a baby in the family, the mother could be asked to bring the child in and talk about the daily routine of the baby; feeding, bathing, changing, playing, sleeping. How does the baby’s dependency compare with the students’ independence? Compare the number of hours a baby needs to sleep in a day with how much sleep the students need. • Collect a selection of clothes students have grown out of, but can still ﬁt into. Discuss how our bodies grow as we get older. How can we tell that we are growing? Shoes feel tight, trousers and jackets are too short etc. Allow students to dress up in small clothes and explain why they don’t ﬁt any more.

• Encourage students to bring in photographs of themselves at various stages. Discuss how physical appearance alters; e.g. size, loss of chubby cheeks, arms and legs.

• Discuss how our bodies change as we get older. We can move independently and in different ways, speak, sing, shout, eat different foods, control toilet habits etc. We have better control of our emotions, consider the consequences of our actions and learn how to deal with situations involving others.

• Discuss the activities on the student worksheet before they complete it independently.

Additional activities:

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• For each student every term, record the height on a strip of paper and a drawing of the handspan to show how much he/she has grown over the year. Keep each record and any other evidence to present to them in a ‘How I have grown’ booklet at the end of the year. • Each student makes a zigzag book collection of photographs showing various stages of his/her development. On each page, record ‘This is me at … months/years’.

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• Students bring in a favourite garment they used to wear as a baby or younger child. They explain to the class why this garment is so special.

Resources:

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• Story: Titch stories by Pat Hutchins

• Story: When you were a baby by Ann Jonas

• Story: Big boy, little boy by Betty Jo Stanovich

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

How I have changed 1. (a) Colour red the things you can do now. I can run. I can write my name.

(b) Draw a picture of how you look now.

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I can help at home.

2. (a) Colour blue the things you could do as a baby. I could walk.

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I can dress myself.

(b) Draw a picture of how you looked as a baby.

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I could cry. I could sleep.

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I could feed myself.

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

I’m a clean machine! Concept: I can look after my body. Indicator: • Copies words to complete sentences. • Creates a reminder for washing hands.

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Background information:

• Students will need pencils, crayons, scissors, glue, sheets of card, small bars of soap and sticky tape to complete the activity.

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• Introduce the activity by singing the song ‘This is the way we wash our face/clean our teeth’ etc. Add any verses which students may like to suggest.

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• Display a variety of products, such as deodorant, a comb, a brush, talcum powder, shampoo, a bar of soap, a handtowel, washer and bath towel. Discuss each item and when and how they are used. Have students indicate if they keep themselves clean or if Mum or Dad help.

• Read the sentences and discuss which words belong in each. Students copy the words to complete the sentences. • Students colour and draw dirt on the hand, then cut along the dotted line. Glue the sheet to stronger card and attach a small bar of soap using tape.

Additional activities:

• Make ‘germs’ by folding a square of coloured paper or newspaper into halves or quarters and using scissors to cut out sections. (Similar to making a snowﬂake.) Display above an area where students wash their hands regularly. Label with a sign which says, ‘Keep germs away — remember to wash your hands’.

• Use ‘fringed’ pieces of coloured paper attached to coloured craft sticks to create toothbrushes.

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Resources: • Songs:

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We wash our hands (to the tune of ‘The ants go marching’)

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We wash our hands before we eat, Hoorah, hoorah! We wash our hands before we eat, Hoorah, hoorah! We wash and wash, And scrub and scrub And dry and dry our hands Real well! We wash our hands before we eat, Hoorah, hoorah!

Wash your hands

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• Create a mobile from a large mouth shape (with white teeth showing) and hang pictures of foods which help to keep teeth clean or help to grow strong, healthy teeth.

Early themes — Me

Wash your hands Before you eat A good health rule That’s hard to beat For better work, For better play, Eat three good meals Every day

Brushing (to the tune of ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’) Here’s my toothpaste, Here’s my brush, I won’t hurry, I won’t rush. Working hard to keep teeth clean, Front and back and in between, When I brush for quite a while, I will have a happy smile. R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

I’m a clean machine! 1. Copy the words to complete the sentences. toothbrush

water

shampoo

(a) I use a

r o e t s Bo r e I use soapp and ok u to keep Smy body clean. to keep my teeth clean.

2. Draw dirt on the hand, then attach a piece of soap to remind yourself to always clean your hands.

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(b)

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Attach soap here

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

Sensing my world Concept: I use my senses to explore my environment. Indicator: • Associates body part with the purpose for its use. • Draws or writes about an item identiﬁed by each sense.

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Background information:

• Introduce the activity with the game ‘I spy with my little eye something that begins with …’. After a few turns, change the game to ‘I smell with my little nose something which begins with …’, then ‘I hear with my little ear …’ , ‘I feel with my little hands …’ and ‘I taste with my little tongue …’.

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• Consider each sense individually. Identify which body part is used to see, hear, smell, touch and taste. Discuss favourite sights, sounds, smells, touches and tastes. • Read the instructions with the students and allow them to complete the sheet by writing, drawing or both.

Additional activities:

• Students sit in silence for ﬁve minutes. At the end of the time, they report all the things they heard by drawing or writing. Compare and ﬁnd who the best listeners are. • Smell covered jars or containers of mystery substances—for example, vanilla, peppermint, eucalyptus, garlic, coffee—for students to identify.

• Hold a taste test party where students taste and identify sweet, sour, salty and bitter foods which they have brought from home. (Ensure that students with allergies are catered for!)

• Have each student bring in a variety of materials which feel different from each other to create their own ‘feely’ book. Students should write words or sentences to describe how each material feels.

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Resources:

• Story: My ﬁve senses by Aliki • Story: My ﬁve senses by Margaret Miller

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• Story: Squishy, squishy: A book about my ﬁve senses by Cherie B Stihler

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• ‘What’s in the jar?’ Fill small covered containers with a variety of materials for students to guess what is inside each.

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• Song: ‘The ﬁve senses song’ <http://www.preschooleducation.com/ssenses.shtml>

• Song: ‘My Senses song’ and ‘The ﬁve senses’ <http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/ﬁvesenses/songs.htm>

• Song: Other songs about the senses may be found at <http://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/faculty/kkvre/units/2002/rick/songs.html>

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Sensing my world

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Next to each body part, draw or write about something you like to see, hear, smell, touch and taste.

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

A face for me Concept: I have personal features which differ from and are similar to those of others. Indicator: • Follows steps to create a self-portrait.

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Background information:

• Introduce the activity with a class elimination game. Instruct the students to stand up. Choose one student and name an attribute of that child; e.g. brown hair. All the students with brown hair remain standing, while the others sit down. Next, choose another attribute and continue the game.

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• Provide small mirrors for students to view their faces if possible. Call out features such as ‘nose’, ‘mouth’ for students to view, feel the shape of, wiggle etc. • Read each step on the student page and encourage students to think carefully about which colour is the correct one to use and HOW to draw each added feature. Encourage students to include details which they may have noticed when looking at their features in the mirror, such as the line which shows the eyelid or the cheekline. • This activity may also be completed by adding squares of crumpled paper for eyes and strips of paper for hair to give a more 3-D effect.

Additional activities:

• Use paper bags or plates to create puppets by gluing on wool for hair, buttons for eyes etc. Use the puppet for an oral presentation by each student to tell about himself/herself. • Take digital pictures of each student. Print large copies, have the students glue them onto card and cut into large pieces to create ‘Me’ jigsaw puzzles.

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• Make a recipe card for ‘me’. Fold lined sheets of paper in half to form recipe cards. On one side, students draw or write things which make them special (ingredients); for example, a nice smile, lovely manners, strong running legs, shiny hair. More capable students may use the back of the sheet to tell how they used their ‘ingredients’ during the week; for example, ‘I smiled at my baby brother when he was crying and he smiled back’, ‘I walked to school with my friend and his mum’. • Create individual books ‘All about me’ and include pages which include a self-portrait, ﬁngerprints, cut-out magazine pictures showing a favourite colour, a handprint, a page detailing the student’s age, height and weight and a drawing of the student’s family.

Resources:

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• Song: ‘Put your ﬁnger on your nose’ by Woody Guthrie • Song: ‘Do your ears hang low?’ (Composer unknown)

• View other poems and songs at <http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems76.html> • Story: My book about me by Dr Seuss

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

A face for me Follow the steps to complete a portrait of yourself. • Colour the eyes the correct colour. • Draw eyebrows and eyelashes in the correct colour. • Choose the correct colour for hair and draw it long, short or in-between, curly, wavy or straight.

r o e t s Bo r e p details such as freckles okand ears. Draw other important u S

• Colour the lips.

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

My clever body Concept: I can do things with my body. Indicators: • Identiﬁes activities he/she can do independently. • Colours pictures.

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Background information:

• Introduce the activity by singing the song, ‘Heads, shoulders, knees and toes ...’

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• Discuss things students can do and role-play doing them. Count the number of students who can do any particular activity independently and record on the board next to a simple relevant picture; e.g. a toothbrush for cleaning teeth.

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• Discuss some things which students could not possibly do; for example, drive a car, ﬂy to the moon.

• Read each sentence in Question 1 with the students and allow them to tick the box to show if they can do it independently. When the students have completed the sentences, they may colour the pictures carefully.

Additional activities:

• Invite a mother with a young baby to visit, to show all the things she has to do for the baby because it can’t do anything for itself. Conversely, invite a Year 7 student to show things he/she can do, such as create great projects using computer resources, play a musical instrument, earn a sporting medal or trophy, create an artwork etc.

• Students compare a piece of work from the previous year or term to a piece done recently to see improvements.

• Students draw pictures and write words to show other things they can do. Repeat, showing things Mum, Dad and other family members can do. Staple the pages together to make a small book.

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• Song: ‘This is the way we … so early in the morning’ • Nursery rhyme: ‘Polly put the kettle on’ • Nursery rhyme: ‘Diddle, diddle, dumpling …’ • Self-help rhyme:

My Toothbrush I have a little toothbrush I hold it very tight I brush my teeth each morning, And then again at night.

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Resources:

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Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

My clever body 1. Tick the circles to show things you can do with your body. (b)

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(a)

I use my body to dress myself.

I use my body to tie my shoelaces.

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

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I use my body to walk to school.

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I use my body to play games.

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I use my body to show Dad that I love him.

I use my body to clean my teeth.

2. Colour the pictures. R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

Rooms in my house Concept: I am familiar with my own house. Indicators: • Uses scissors to cut out pictures. • Places and glues pictures in the correct place.

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Background information:

• Talk about the exterior features all houses have in common; i.e. roof, walls, windows, doors. Discuss the protection each feature gives; e.g. against weather, intruders.

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• Explain that although houses can be very different, they generally have a kitchen, a bathroom, a laundry, a dining room, a lounge room and bedrooms. Discuss how houses can be different; e.g. bigger rooms, more rooms, different designs, one or two storeys. Ask students to describe their houses using these criteria.

• Discuss the features of each room. Some features and furniture can belong in different rooms—e.g. tables, chairs and shelves—while some is speciﬁc to a particular room; e.g. oven, washing machine, shower. • Play ‘Where does it belong?’, placing cut-out pictures of furniture and features from magazines onto an outline plan of a house with four rooms, a lounge room, a bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom.

• Discuss favourite places in the students’ homes. Students take turns to explain why these places are special; e.g. garden because the ﬂowers are so pretty, dining room because we all eat together and talk about our day.

• Students complete the activity sheet by cutting out the pictures at the bottom of the page and putting them in the appropriate room in the house before gluing them in place.

Additional activities:

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• Students bring in photographs of their families in different rooms of their homes to compile ‘My house’ booklets. On each page, they record, for example, ‘This is my kitchen where Mum cooks my favourite things’. • Students choose one room in their house and complete a chart with the headings, ‘Who uses the room?’, ‘What can you do in the room?’, ‘What furniture is in the room?’.

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• Each students describes his/her bedroom/toyroom and talks about what is in there, what he/she does in there and how he/she keeps it tidy.

Resources:

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• Story: A vacation in the village by Pierre Yves Njeng • Story: A country far away by Nigel Gray

• Story: Just like home by Elizabeth I Miller

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Rooms in my house bathroom

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lounge room

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bedroom

kitchen

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

My garden Concept: My home has natural and built features. Indicators: • Understands the differences between natural and built features. • Identiﬁes and draws natural and built features in his/her own garden.

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Background information:

• A natural feature is something that has been created by nature; e.g. sand, rocks, ocean, animals, plants and humans. A built feature is something that has been built by people or animals; roads, buildings, playground equipment or a dam built by a beaver.

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• Take the class outside and discuss the differences between natural and built features, asking them to identify examples of each. • Teachers may prefer students to look in their garden at home the evening before they complete the worksheet, after the discussion above. They may see some features they may not have thought about by relying on their memory alone. Point out that features such as reticulation and a waterfall feature into a swimming pool are actually built, even though the ‘water’ part is natural.

Additional activities:

• Create a class mural of a garden, city or country scene using recycled boxes, paper towel rolls, other human-made products and natural materials such as grass, leaves and bark. Students can attach ‘N’ cards to natural features and ‘B’ cards to built features.

• Students bring photographs from home of places they have visited. Display appropriately and identify natural and built features.

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Resources:

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• Take the students on a nature walk around the school grounds and/or visit a local park or shopping centre to identify natural and built features. Write the names of their discoveries on rectangular strips of paper and join as a paper chain. See which list is longer—natural or built. Photographs could also be taken of the features identiﬁed and treated similarly as outlined in bullet point two.

• Workbook: Primary society and environment – Book A by R.I.C. Publications® • Story: This is the house that Jack built

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There are many versions of this old story. Simms Taback has written one with a different twist, while Pam Adams follows the traditional version.

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• Song: Use the song ‘Old Macdonald had a farm’ to point out natural and built features.

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

My garden Draw two things that are natural in your garden and two things that are built.

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These things are natural.

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These things are built.

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

Being safe Concept: I can recognise safe and unsafe places and things at home and school. Indicators: • Identiﬁes safe and unsafe practices in a variety of scenes at home and school. • Matches sentences to the correct picture.

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Background information:

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• Use the following scenario or similar to reinforce the concept of being aware of safe and unsafe practices. Ask the students to imagine that a ball they were kicking on the school oval rolled out of bounds and onto the road. Would their decision be (a) to run and get it, (b) to look carefully both ways before walking onto the road and getting it, or (c) ﬁnd a duty teacher and tell him/her about the ball.

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• Ask students to give examples of other safe and unsafe situations at home and school. Discuss the pictures and sentences on the worksheet and what is safe and unsafe. Ask students questions, such as, ‘What could happen if you didn’t use a bathmat in the bathroom?’; Why is it a good idea for the handle on the pot to be turned that way?’ • Students colour the pictures then cut out and glue the sentences under the correct picture. Some students will need help in re-reading the sentences and matching them to the pictures.

Additional activities:

• Identify areas at home or school that could be made safer or suggest rule changes on using equipment etc. • Role-play scenarios from the worksheet and students’ suggestions with safe and unsafe consequences.

• Choose a room in their house or part of their garden and draw pictures or write about things they should do to be safe in that area. Compare answers.

Resources:

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• Workbook: Safe at home: Indoor safety (What would you do? Game book) by Smart Kids Publishing

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• Tally similar accidents that have occurred in their home and make a graph to show the results. Examples could be cutting themselves on a knife, slipping in the bathroom or tripping over a toy left on the ﬂoor.

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• Workbook: Safe at play: Outdoor safety (What would you do? Game book) by Smart Kids Publishing • Workbook: Society and environment – Book A by R.I.C. Publications® • Workbook: Me!—A cross-curricular theme by R.I.C. Publications®

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Being safe

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Match the sentences below to the correct picture.

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Be careful crossing the road. Use a bathmat in the bathroom. Be careful of hot pots and sharp knives. R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Don’t leave clothes too near the heater. Wear a helmet. Play on playground equipment properly. Early themes — Me

My favourite places Concept: I have favourite places in my home and yard. Indicator: • Draws and writes about his/her own favourite places in his/her home and yard.

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Background information:

• Encourage students to bring in photographs or pictures of places they may have visited to show and talk about. At the end of each presentation, ask the student, ‘What was your favourite place that you visited on your holiday?’

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• Teachers could relate favourite places in their own home or yard, such as in the beanbag in front of the television, in the sunroom looking out at the garden or in the hammock in the shade of a tree. • Sit the students in a circle and ask each to tell of one favourite place in his/her home and yard.

• Read each sentence on the worksheet for the students to complete. Discuss reasons why students would like particular places. Cut along the dotted lines and fold along the solid line, with the pages facing each other. On the cover have students copy the words ‘My favourite places’ and decorate the cover with a colourful picture of a favourite place in the class or playground.

Additional activities:

• Survey the students about their favourite places, tally and graph the results on a bar or pictograph.

• Create home pictures using the four basic shapes in bright colours. Add drawings of trees, plants and ﬂowers etc. to represent the garden. • Construct houses using recycled boxes and cardboard. Paint and decorate. Add playdough or plastic toy people.

Resources:

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• Story: A house is a house for me by Mary Ann Hoberman, Betty Fraser

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• Song: ‘How many people live at your house?’ by L F Wood, ABC (from The new useful book book) • Song: ‘Here’s a house’ by J Fox & W Carr, ABC (from The new useful book book)

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Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

My favourite places Draw and write to create a booklet about your favourite places.

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My favourite place in my home is

because …

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

My favourite place in my yard is

because …

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Job pinwheel Concept: I have jobs to do at home. Indicator: • Draws pictures on a pinwheel of jobs which he/she could do at home.

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Background information:

• Introduce the activity by saying one of the action rhymes listed below.

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• On the board, list as many jobs as possible which have to be done at home. Cross or rub out any that a child could not possibly do. Discuss the jobs remaining on the board. Children should indicate by standing up or raising their hands if they already do the job at home or have at some time tried to do the job. Count and write the number of children next to each remaining job. • For the best results, photocopy the worksheet onto coloured paper and encourage the students to use oil pastels, bright crayons or chalks to create an interesting pinwheel. Alternatively, ask the students to draw their illustrations in oil pastel and paint over the entire pinwheel with runny paint. • The students cut out and fold the pinwheel sections towards the centre then attach to a craft stick or ruler, securing all points together at the centre. • The students may like to discuss the illustrations on their pinwheel with a partner.

Additional activities:

• Use the tally of the most common jobs above to create a simple pictograph about household jobs.

• Cut out pictures of people doing things with their hands; e.g. dusting, ironing, trimming a hedge, pruning bushes. Glue the body of one person to a large sheet of paper and add lots of arms to the body to create a person who can do everything.

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Resources:

• Action rhyme: ‘Things to do from’ by Yvonne Winer • Action rhyme: ‘Busy ﬁngers’ by Yvonne Winer

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• Action rhyme: ‘My hands’ from Of frogs and snails by Yvonne Winer

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• Have the students fanfold a strip of paper to make a book with many pages. On each page, students write and draw about people in the family doing different jobs at home.

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• Workbook: Values education toolkit 4–6, ‘Being helpful at home’, p. 22, by R.I.C. Publications®

• Workbook: Primary society and environment – Book A, ‘Family jobs’ p. 19, by R.I.C. Publications® • Song: ‘Do the chores’ Daddy a go go: Mojo a go go—Real rock for kids © 2004 John Boydston/Boyd’s Tone Tunes

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Job pinwheel Each member of a family can help the others by doing jobs at home. 1. In each section of the pinwheel, draw a picture of a job which you could do at home to help.

r o e t s Bo I can help too! r e p ok u 3. Join your pinwheel S with a stick. Poke through all the layers. 4. Take your pinwheel outside on a windy day.

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2. On the back of the pinwheel, write or copy the sentence:

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

My classroom Concept: My classroom has features. Indicators: • Draws given features on classroom picture. • Adds other features from own classroom.

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Background information:

• Write a list of all the features in the classroom. Discuss the purpose and position of each. What are the advantages and possible disadvantages of each position? Could any be moved to a better place?

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• For each feature not listed on the activity sheet, draw a simple representation on the board next to the word. Explain that for this type of picture, features are not drawn exactly as they appear. • Use positional language to discuss the location of each feature. Complete an enlarged example of the worksheet with the students before they do their own. Begin by placing doors and windows, followed by features situated around the walls of the classroom. Ask, ‘Where are the ...?’ questions, so that students are involved and thinking about where each feature belongs. Ask, ‘Does it go here?’ questions, making a few deliberate mistakes to ensure they are concentrating.

• By seeing the completed, enlarged example, students will witness how everything ﬁts into the picture. They may still experience difﬁculties with scaling down their drawings, but this will develop as they regularly practise. If students complete the page using a light pencil, they can use an eraser as necessary.

Additional activities:

• Using junk material, students create a 3-D classroom picture.

• Students make zigzag booklets about their classroom features; for example, a picture of a bookshelf followed by the sentence, ‘I go to the bookshelf to choose a book to read’.

Resources:

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• Play ‘What feature am I?’ Student A thinks of a feature within the classroom. The other students ask positional questions to discover which feature it is. Student A can answer only ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The person to discover the answer becomes the next Student A.

• Workbook: Make mapping fun by Helen Martin on <www.qca.org.uk/geography>

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• Workbook: Primary society and environment – Book A, ‘School life’ pp. 34–37 R.I.C. Publications® • Workbook: Reading maps – Ages 5–7 by R.I.C. Publications®

• Workbook: Mapping and atlas skills – Ages 5-7 by R.I.C. Publications

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

My classroom Draw these things in your classroom: desk

chair

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cupboard

mat

white board

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bookshelf

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2. Draw some other features in your classroom. R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

Class rules Concept: My classroom has rules. Indicators: • Identiﬁes rules for his or her own classroom. • Selects and illustrates the class rule considered to be the most important.

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Background information:

• Discuss what a rule is and ask students to talk about some of the rules people in their homes have to follow. Compile a list of home rules.

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• Explain that people who use our roads need to follow rules too and discuss what happens when road rules are broken. Encourage students to talk about any road rules they know about, any they have seen broken and the consequences. • Explain that whenever there are groups of people together, rules are needed to keep people safe and happy and to try to make sure that everything is fair for everyone. Rules are important at school too. Discuss some school playground rules and why they are important. • Read the class rules on the worksheet with the students who decide if each rule applies to their classroom and tick the appropriate boxes. They then need to identify which rule is the most important (the best), to copy it and draw themselves (and perhaps others) following this rule.

Additional activities:

• Discuss trafﬁc lights and the rules we all have to know about them. Make some using coloured cellophane paper glued behind three cut-out circles. The colour-coded rules could be written below. Red – stop, amber – take care and green – go. • Students work in pairs to tell each other about the rules of any game they play.

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Resources:

• Workbook: Society and environment – Book A by R.I.C. Publications® • Workbook: Values education toolkit – Ages 4-6 by R.I.C. Publications® • Rhymes:

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• ‘King or queen for a minute’ – Appoint this title to a student who has one minute to make a wise rule for a particular class activity. The rule should be fun, fair and ensure that all class members are safe.

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Rules can help us. Rules are good.

Let’s put up our hands when we want to speak,

They teach us to do

Let’s all sit quietly in our seats.

the things we should.

Let’s keep our voices soft and sweet,

If we follow the rules

Let’s keep our desks all clean and neat.

and do no wrong,

Let’s be helpful, friendly and fair

We’ll all be happy

when we smile, take turns and share.

and get along.

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Class rules 1. Tick your class rules. Be kind

Look after your things

Say please and thank you

Look at the teacher

r o e t s Bo r Don’t call out e p ok u Walk, don’t run Take turnsS

Put up your hand

Talk quietly

Look after books

2. (a) The best school rule is:

Work hard

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Listen to others

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

My teacher Concept: I have people who help me at school. Indicators: • Identiﬁes ways in which teachers and others help students and what they learn at school. • Understands teacher’s title and copies this and his or her name.

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Background information:

• Discuss why children go to school.

• Identify the people who work at school, what they do and how they help children.

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• Students draw their teacher in the classroom and should be encouraged to describe what he/she is doing in their drawing. They then colour and decorate the word ‘school’.

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• Following discussion about the meaning of the titles, Miss, Mrs, Ms and Mr, students should copy their teacher’s name and title in the spaces provided. • Students should discuss and compile a list of the things their teacher helps them to learn before completing the ﬁnal activity.

Additional activities:

• Cut out pictures of ‘People who help us’ from magazines to make a class collage. Each student can explain who they have chosen and how this person helps children.

• Display photos of people who work in the school. Students can select one photo and tell the class who it is and how this person helps them. • Discuss ways that students can let the people at school know that they appreciate their help; e.g. smiling, saying please and thank you, being polite to them and complying with their instructions.

Resources: • Story: My dog ate my homework by Bruce Lansky, Meadowbrook Press

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• Story: Patchwork of poems by Moira Andrew, Belair Publications, 2000

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Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

My teacher This is my teacher.

r o e t s Bo r e p oname is My teacher’sk u S

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My teacher helps me at

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My teacher helps me to learn about lots of things at school.

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This is me. I am learning about R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

School is special Concept: I have special places and games to play at school. Indicator: • Categorises places at school according to how they are used.

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Background information:

• The students will require scissors, glue and colouring pencils.

• Before the students commence the worksheet, hold a class discussion about special indoor and outdoor places at school the students visit or use regularly.

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Indoors – library, classroom Outdoors – playground, grass

Additional activities:

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• For Question 2, the students could write more than one letter for each picture; e.g. the library might be used for both learning and playing games. Their choices could be discussed as a class when the worksheet has been completed.

• Discuss the games played by the students at school and sort them into different categories; e.g. running games, ball games, noisy games, quiet games, board games. • Create a very simple map of the classroom. With the help of the class, label each area.

• Chanting/singing game ‘Kangaroo, skippy roo’ • Chanting/singing game ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’

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• Chanting/singing game ‘I wrote a letter to my mother and on the way I dropped it’

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Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

School is special School is full of special places to eat, learn and play games. Some places are indoors and some are outdoors. 1. Cut out each special school place at the bottom of the page. Glue it under the correct heading. Draw and label one special indoor and outdoor school place of your own.

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Indoors

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Outdoors

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o c . Write l on places you learn. chwhere e r e o t r s su Write p on places where you play games. r pe

2. Write e on places where you eat.

playground R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

library

classroom Early themes — Me

grass 45

Jobs for the teacher Concept: I have jobs/chores to do at school. Indicator: • Counts and represents numbers up to 15. • Recognises some jobs and chores that need to be done in the classroom.

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Background information:

• You could discuss the picture with the class before the students commence the worksheet, focusing on the jobs that are done and what other jobs need to be done in the students’ own classroom. This will also help them to answer Question 8.

1. 2

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Answers: 2. 1

3. 12 4. 6

5. tidying up

6. giving out books 7. Teacher check

• Discuss the word ‘monitor’ and what it means to be a good monitor.

• Have the students role-play doing different jobs or chores. Focus on using good manners.

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Resources:

• Song: ‘Whistle while you work’ (Churchill/Morey)

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• Song: ‘Heigh ho, heigh ho’ (Churchill/Morey)

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• Song: ‘Johnny works with one hammer …’

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• Have the students draw how they feel when they have done a job well.

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Jobs for the teacher

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Look carefully at the children doing jobs for the teacher. Count to answer the questions.

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1. How many children are carrying the lunch basket? 2. How many children are cleaning the board?

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o c . chejobs are being done? 4. How many different e r o t r s s r u e p 5. 4 children are

6. 3 children are

3. How many children are doing jobs?

7. Circle any jobs you have done to help the teacher. How many did you circle? 8. Draw yourself in the picture doing one other job. R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

School likes and dislikes Concept: I enjoy or don’t enjoy school because … Indicators: • Represents feelings about different aspects of school life. • Identiﬁes a favourite activity at school.

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Background information:

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• Teachers could discuss some of the emotions that could be represented by the faces for Question 1 (e.g. happy, bored, worried, excited) before the class commence the worksheet. The students may discuss their choices with a partner or their answers could be used to stimulate class discussion. Some students may be reluctant to share their reasons for drawing a particular face; in this case, teachers should ask them to share just one or two of their answers.

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• The answers to Question 2 could be shared with the class. A tally of the most popular activities could be conducted.

Additional activities:

• Role-play moments of playground conﬂict to show the students some simple ways to deal with problems they may encounter.

• Create greeting cards addressed to the school in which the students describe why they enjoy being there.

Resources:

• Story: The teacher from the black lagoon by Mike Thaler • Story: Amanda Pig, schoolgirl by Jean van Leeuwen

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• Story: Morris goes to school by Bernard Wiseman

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Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

School likes and dislikes What do you like most about school? What do you like least? 1. Draw a face to show how you feel about each thing. Tell a partner or the class why you drew each type of face.

a story.

It is lunchtime.

It is time for maths.

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r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Your teacher reads

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2. Draw a picture of yourself at school doing something you like. Write why you like it.

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you to write.

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This is me

I like it because . R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

How we are different Concept: The people in my family are different from each other. Indicators: • Glues photograph in space provided. • Adds information to a table.

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Background information:

• Discuss the different people in each family; mums, dads, brothers and sisters.

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• With some families, it’s easy to see that everyone is related because they all look so similar. But even though they look the same, they may be quite different. For example, some may be quiet and shy while others may be very sociable.

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• In other families, everyone might look very different. However, if you get to know them all, you will notice that a lot of things about them are the same, such as the way they move, laugh or speak. • Different people within a family may have different talents such as sport, art or music. They may also shine in different academic subjects such as reading, writing, maths or science. • People from the same family may have very different tastes in food, music, hobbies, choice of books, ways to relax etc.

• Using people templates, build up a story about members of a ﬁctional family who look the same but are different in a number of ways.

• Encourage students to think of the differences within their own families.

• Students bring in and glue a photograph of their family onto the activity sheet.

• In the table, students write and/or draw examples of the likes and dislikes of each family member. They can draw a picture of each person as well as writing his/her name.

Additional activities:

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• Look through supermarket brochures and cut out pictures of foods enjoyed by different members of the family. Make zigzag books in which each member of the family has a page. The student glues the favourite foods in place and writes a sentence; for example, ‘My Dad likes steak and chips’. • Cut out cardboard circles which have been divided into equal parts, depending on the number of people in each student’s family. Students colour each section with the favourite colour of each family member. Pierced through the centre with a used matchstick, the circle can be used as a spinner.

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• Each child makes an A4 montage of the different things each family member likes to do. Use department store brochures and magazines for appropriate pictures.

Resources:

• Story: The relatives came by Cynthia Rylant

• Workbook: Primary society and environment – Book A, ‘My family’ pp. by 12–21 R.I.C. Publications® • Workbook: Primary health and values – Book A, ‘We are all different’, p. 75 by R.I.C. Publications®

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

How we are different

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

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Here is a photograph of my family.

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dislikes

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person

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

Finger puppet family Concept: My family is important to me. Indicators: • Understands his or her own family structure. • Appreciates what his or her family means to him or her through role-playing with puppets.

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Background information:

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• The students in the class will come from a variety of family structures. Some will have two-parent families; others may have one-parent, extended or blended families; while others may be in foster, adopted or step-families. There will be a difference in the number of brothers and sisters, some will have grandparents and other relatives who they see regularly and some will have access visits to a separated or divorced parent. Students should appreciate that different family structures do not change the quality of being a family. • Show some photographs of your own, those students have brought or those in magazines of different families. Discuss the similarities and differences among them. Encourage the students to talk about their family structure.

• Ask the students what their family means to them and what they like to do with different members of their family. Brainstorm to list the different names students call their grandparents; e.g. Nanna, Gran, Granny, Oma.

• The puppet outlines on the worksheet have been left blank for the students to ﬁll in facial features, hair and clothes of the family members they choose to represent. The aim of the activity is for the students to role-play familiar activities they do with individual, or a group of, family members to show what their family means to them. Students may need more than one worksheet if they wish to represent more than the given number of adults and children; e.g. they may have two sisters and two brothers, or they may wish to include cousins. Students can practise their role-playing and share it with a partner, small group or the whole class.

Additional activities:

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• Create a frame for a picture they have drawn about the favourite thing they like to do with their family. • Write or draw a ‘promise’ of something they would like to do for different immediate or extended family members; e.g. help a grandparent weed the garden or help a sibling make the bed.

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• Write an acrostic or shape poem about what their family means to them.

Resources:

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• Story: The family book by Todd Parr

• Story: You are my I love you by Maryann Cusimano Love • Story: Are you my mother? by P D Eastman • Story: Who’s in a family? by Robert Skutch

• Story: Counting kisses: A kiss and read book by Karen Katz

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

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Finger puppet family

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

Handy helpers Concept: The people in my family have roles and responsibilities. Indicators: • Identiﬁes jobs different family members do at home. • Writes about a job of his/her own.

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Background information:

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• Discuss jobs which mums and dads may have outside the home. Introduce the activity by asking what jobs must be done at home. Have students stand up if the job mentioned is one that they help with. Role-play a variety of jobs done at home, such as washing the dishes, picking up toys, making the bed. Accompany the actions with appropriate verses to ‘This is the way we ...’, if desired or as suggested by the students.

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• Read the sentence at the top of the worksheet with the students, then explain Question 1. Allow students time to select a different colour for each family member. NOTE: ‘Other’ in Question 1 may refer to other brothers, sisters or other relatives living with the family. Teacher or helper scribes the family member next to the box. • Read the instructions for Question 2 with the students, then, as each job is read, students colour the box using the appropriate colour. Continue until all the jobs in the boxes have been coloured in some way. Discuss any jobs which are not relevant, such as drying dishes (if the family uses a dishwasher to do this). Students may also relate any other jobs which may not have been included and tell who completes that job.

Additional activities:

• Cut pictures from magazines of people doing jobs at home. Sort them into groups indicated by the person who does the job. Investigate overlaps (such as Mum and Dad both doing the cooking) and discuss possible reasons such as, ‘Mum gets home late on Thursdays so Dad cooks’. • Create a bar graph of jobs and the people who do them after surveying the class.

Resources:

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• Song: ‘Cleaning’ Composer: Sullivan & Adams, Publisher: Youngsong Music (from The new useful book book)

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• Extend the use of the worksheet by having the students tally the number of jobs done by each person. Give reasons for the number of jobs done by different people. For example, ‘Mum does more of the cooking because she works part-time OR is home from work before Dad’.

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• Song: ‘Do, do, do’ by Vanessa and Karina Johnston

• Workbook: Primary society and environment – Book A, ‘Family jobs’, p.18 by R.I.C. Publications® • Story: The little red hen (Traditional)

• Story: The little yellow chicken by Joy Cowley

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Handy helpers The members of a family can help each other by doing jobs at home. 1. Choose a different colour for each family member and colour his or her box. Mum

brother r o e t s Bo r e p ok yourself u S Dad

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sister

(other)

washing clothes

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2. Colour the boxes to show the jobs that each family member does. (If more than one person does that job, colour the box using more than one colour.) hanging out wet clothes

vacuuming

sweeping

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clearing away dishes

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washing dishes

washing the car . temopping o c . c e gardening mowing the lawn her r o t s super ironing

taking out the rubbish

tidying rooms

drying dishes

bringing in the mail

grocery shopping

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

Time together Concept: My family does things together. Indicator: • Draws a picture to represent each sentence. • Cuts out and secures 3-D shape.

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Background information:

• Ask students why they think it is important to do things together; e.g. to help one another, to learn how to interact with others, to cooperate, to compromise, to learn about and from each other’s strengths and weaknesses, to strengthen the bonds that hold the family together.

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• Discuss different activities the students’ families do to have fun, work and relax together.

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• Discuss what students like and/or dislike about these activities. What other things would they like to do with their families? Give reasons. • Work through a common activity to show how each member of the family contributes; for example, having a picnic or barbecue. People have to help prepare the food and to remember all the equipment for seating and playing games etc. If everyone lends a hand with the work, everyone can enjoy the activity. • On the rectangles of the triangular prism net, students draw and colour pictures showing their families doing things together. They cut out the shape and fold along the dotted lines before gluing the tabs and making the 3-D shape.

Additional activities:

• Perform dress-ups and role-plays of a family doing something together.

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• Students prepare a talk about something they do with their whole family.

Resources:

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• Make a collection of pictures from magazines showing families doing things together. Sketch two trees, each with enough branch space to accommodate a sentence for half the students in the class; e.g. ‘Nicola’s family play cricket, prepare meals and watch TV together’. Cut the pictures into leaf shapes and use to decorate the branches. Leftover leaves could be left around the base of the trees.

• Workbook: Primary society and environment – Book A, ‘Family and fun’ pp.12–15 by R.I.C. Publications®

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• Workbook: Society and environment 1 – Ages 5–6, ‘Themes for lower primary’ by R.I.C. Publications® • Workbook: Values education toolkit – Ages 4–6, ‘Be kind to others’ pp. 25–44 by R.I.C. Publications®

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Time together 1. Draw a picture in each rectangle to show your family doing things together.

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My family works together.

My family has fun together.

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2. Cut out the shape and make a triangular prism.

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

Umbrella law Concept: My family has rules to follow. Indicators: • Writes four family rules. • Draws family members protected by the umbrella.

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Background information:

• Children need to appreciate that, generally, household rules are made for the care and consideration of all family members. Most rules involve looking after personal hygiene, helping to keep the house clean and tidy, helping each other and developing socially acceptable manners.

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• Learning to abide by rules in the home helps children to adapt and ﬁt in with other social groups. This learning process begins very early in life and continues as the child matures. • Many rules are based on cultural habits passed down through each generation. While some may not seem relevant to contemporary living, they are a link with the past that many parents do not want to sever; for example, mealtime rituals and dress codes.

• Discuss reasons for particular rules; e.g. washing hands before eating. If students understand the reasons for a rule, they are more likely to remember and follow it. • Make a list of common family rules. • Talk about the consequences of not following rules.

• Explain that the house rules umbrella is protecting the family from the problems that would occur if the rules were not followed. • Enlarge the worksheet to A3 size and photocopy one for each student.

• Students write one of their house rules in each section of the umbrella. Underneath, they draw the members of their family.

Additional activities

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• Display an outline of a house with a section for each type of room. Determine the most common family rules that apply for each room. Write these rules in the appropriate room. • Write a simple skit of a string of domestic disasters that occurred because one house rule was not followed. Students act out the skit.

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• Write a class poem about the need for rules at home.

Resources:

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• Workbook: Primary society and environment – Book A, ‘All about me’, pp. 22–25 by R.I.C. Publications®

• Workbook: Primary health and values – Book A, ‘Classroom and playground rules’ p. 45 by R.I.C. Publications® • Poetry: Mind your manners by Bruce Lansky

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Umbrella law

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Here are four important rules for my family.

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My family are standing underneath the house rules umbrella. R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

A recipe for a friend Concept: I have friends and they are important to me. Indicator: • Completes a ‘recipe ﬁle’ to tell why a friend is important.

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Background information:

• Students sit in a circle and, in turn, stand up and state the name of their best friend and why they like them. • Ask the question, ‘What makes a good friend?’

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• List some ‘ingredients’ for the friends of students on the board. The list may include items such as ‘is funny’, ‘always plays with me’, ‘has a nice smile’, ‘likes to play the games that I like’, ‘is a good runner’, ‘shares with me’ etc.

• Students draw a picture of their best friend, write his/her name and list some ingredients which tell why their friend is important to them. • Students may like to share their ‘recipe ﬁle’ with their friend.

• Display the ‘recipe ﬁles’ on a large red heart or on card in a recycled box covered with pictures of friends cut from magazines.

Additional activities:

• Friendship flower: Students form pairs. Give each pair a flower which has had the stem split lengthwise by a sharp knife. Students choose and stand their section of the stem into containers of different-coloured water. Observe as a ‘Friendship flower’ appears. • Carry out maths activities with a friend. Measure the height and weight of each other. Compare sizes of hands and feet. • Bake heart cookies and share one with a friend.

Resources:

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• Make ‘Friendship fruit salad’ by having all students contribute a different kind of fruit as allocated by the teacher.

• Workbook: Values education toolkit – Ages 4–6 p. 67 ‘My friend’ by R.I.C. Publications®

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• Story: Animal friends by Laurence Anholt

• Story: Do you want to be my friend? by Eric Carle • Story: My friend Isabelle by Eliza Woloson

• Story: Toot and Puddle: The new friend by Holly Hobbie

• Songs relating to this theme may be found at <http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/friendship/songs.htm>

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

A recipe for a friend Write ‘ingredients’ on the recipe ﬁle which tell why your friend is important to you.

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Draw your friend.

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Ingredients:

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Early themes — Me

My friend’s house Concept: I am familiar with my friend’s house. Indicator: • Writes name and address of friend accurately. • Records information about friend’s house.

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Background information:

Teac he r

• Talk about visits to a friend’s home. How is his/her home similar to and different from their own? Are routines and rules the same or different? How many people live at their friend’s house? Are there more or less than at their own? What type of food do they eat? How does it compare with their own? What things do they do at a friend’s house that they don’t do at their own? • How often do they visit a friend’s house? Do the rest of the family visit as well?

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• Discuss sleepovers. How many have spent the night with their friends or had friends to stay with them? What are the good and bad things about sleepovers? What do they take to sleepovers to prevent homesickness?

• Where does their friend live? How close is it to their own home? Could they walk or do they have to drive? What places of interest does the journey to their friend’s house take them past? • Students may require help spelling street and suburb names.

• Students draw and write the names of the people who live at their friend’s house.

• Students draw a picture of where they play at their friend’s house. It may be the garden, toy room, friend’s bedroom or any other room in the house.

• On a large map of the local area, locate the different houses. On the map, include all the places of interest suggested by the students.

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• Make a recipe book of different meals eaten in different homes. Parental help may be required. With each recipe, include a photograph of the student who brought it in.

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• Conduct a survey of the most popular games played in each house. Present the results graphically.

Resources:

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• Workbook: Primary society and environment – Book A, ‘Places and spaces’ pp. 68–73 by R.I.C. Publications®

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• Workbook: Primary society and environment – Book A, ‘‘Things we need’ pp. 98–102 by R.I.C. Publications® • Story: Friends at work and play by Rochelle Bunnett • Song: ‘You’ve got a friend in me’ (from Toy story story)

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

My friend’s house My friend’s name is

My friend’s address is

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r o e t s Bo r e p ok u The people who S live at my friend’s house are …

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This is where we play at my friend’s house.

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R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me

Who are my neighbours? Concept: I have neighbours. Indicator: • Thinks about who the neighbours are. • Records information about close neighbours.

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Background information:

Teac he r

• Explain that neighbours are the people we live close to. Even though we may not always know our neighbours, by living in such close proximity we do learn some things about them; for example, their names, the size of the family, if they enjoy gardening, if they have lots of visitors, the cars they own. • Discuss numbering of houses: odd numbers on one side, even numbers on the opposite side.

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• Discuss phrases such as, ‘next door but one’, ‘over the road’, ‘down the street’.

• Discuss how neighbours can help each other in practical ways, such as moving heavy loads or watering plants and collecting the mail when they are on holiday. • Discuss why it is nice to have friendly neighbours; for example, having impromptu social gatherings.

• Students think about ways their neighbours help them and ways in which they have helped or could help their neighbours.

• On the activity sheet, students add information to each house, starting with their own. They may either draw pictures to demonstrate what they know or write facts, such as names or number of people who live there, how old they are, what they do, what they like, whether they go inside their houses, chat outside or never speak.

Additional activities:

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• On a map of a ﬁctional neighbourhood, place paper houses, one for each student (coloured by the students with ‘ ____________’s house’ written on). Add other features, such as shops, parks, bus stops, school. Use directional and positional language to answer questions about routes and journeys within the neighbourhood. • Students present a talk about their neighbours, including any amusing anecdotes or examples of times when they helped or were helped by them.

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• Students draw and label pictures of their neighbours in a familiar situation, such as gardening, washing the car, playing cricket.

Resources:

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• Workbook: Primary society and environment – Book A, ‘All about me’ pp. 22–29 by R.I.C. Publications®

• Workbook: Multiple intelligences: a thematic approach – Ages 5–7 ‘Community’ pp. 89–110 by R.I.C. Publications® • Workbook: Values education toolkit – Ages 4–6, ‘Be the community kind’ pp. 97–114 by R.I.C. Publications®

Early themes — Me

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

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Who are my neighbours?

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o c . che e r o t r s super

R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricgroup.com.au

Early themes — Me