Glenys Deutscher www.phonics.site

Glenys Deutscher www.phonics.site

Glenys Deutscher www.phonics.site

Glenys Deutscher www.phonics.site

Which one is different?

Tutor Notes for the booklet, “What is inside this Easter Egg?”

© Glenys Deutscher www.phonics.site

The following Easter Activity integrates reading for a purpose, comprehension, art and craft,

following instructions, development of fine motor skills, English (discuss the use of the

question mark, use a full stop), Oral English (class and group discussions), Mathematics

(spatial awareness), Physical Education (bunny hop like the Easter Rabbit), Society and

Environment (the celebration of Easter and Easter symbols).

Materials needed for each child for this activity:

The 3 printed A4 sheets to make the booklet

coloured pencils

felt pens (optional)

scissors

staplers (1 per group ?)

Record keeping:

Observing the children during this activity could help you with your records.

Activity:

(consider two lessons to complete the activities associated with the making of this booklet)

1. Give each child a copy of the three sheets of A4 paper that will make up the booklet.

2. Without giving any instructions let the children peruse the pages.

o Listen to the comments – they can be quite illuminating. You may be able to

gauge how many of the words the children can already read and observe the

strategies they use to work out the words they are not familiar with (eg use of

the picture clue, use of the ‘sense of the sentence’, listening to their peers,

trying to ‘sound the word out’).

3. Lead into a time of class discussion.

o eg. What season of the year is this booklet about?

Point to the title page. How do we know this is the title page?

Who can read the title page?

Ask everyone to read the title page.

Discuss the use of the question mark – why is it used here?

When do we use a question mark in our writing?

4. Ask each child to write his/her name on the line provided.

Small neat letters will have to be used (space awareness).

5. Look at the next page.

Discuss the picture.

Read the question.

Why do you think it is a question and not a statement?

Tutor Notes for the booklet, “What is inside this Easter Egg?”

© Glenys Deutscher www.phonics.site

6. Ask the children to join the dashes to complete the chicken.

Hint: Use a felt pen to join the dashes – it creates a firm outline to good effect.

Discuss with the children what coloured felt pen would be suitable for the

chicken.

Emphasise neat work and ‘sticking to the dashes’.

Using ‘effort’ to control a pen (or pencil) helps to improve fine motor skills.

Colour in the chicken using coloured pencils (optional - just the coloured

outline looks specky).

Hint: I don’t let children use felt pens to colour pictures – they rarely give

a satisfactory finished result.

Outlining with felt pen and colouring in with pencils creates a pleasing effect.

7. Repeat Nos 5 and 6 (above) with the pages that contain the Easter Bun, the Easter

Rabbit and the Easter Chocolate.

8. Look at the last page.

Explain to the children that this is going to be their secret page.

Each person is going to secretly draw something inside this egg.

It may be one of the four Easter symbols already in the booklet or they may be able to

think of a different Easter symbol to draw.

Discuss what ‘symbol’ means and how the chicken, rabbit and hot cross buns have

become symbols of Easter.

Can the children think of any other symbols we have for Easter – you may like to have

pictures to provide ideas to help with this discussion.

9. Ask the children to (carefully) cut out each Easter Egg.

o Emphasise that the more carefully they cut out the better the completed

booklets will look.

Using concentration to cut out ‘on the line’ helps to improve fine motor skills.

10. Ask each child to put the Easter Eggs in the correct order to make a booklet.

o Discuss if it matters what order the pages are in.

Give them time to decide that the title page obviously has to be the cover page.

Why?

The blank egg has to be the last page. Why?

Does the order of the other pages matter?

11. Staple the pages into a booklet.

Tutor Notes for the booklet, “What is inside this Easter Egg?”

© Glenys Deutscher www.phonics.site

o You may like to use a second lesson time for the following activities – (you

know the concentration span of your child/ren.)

It will take time to draw a detailed picture, outline it and colour it in,

and it is most beneficial not to rush point No 12 of this activity.

12. Ask each child to turn to the last page of his/ her booklet and draw his/her secret

Easter symbol.

o Children love secrets.

Try and organise them so that each child can draw in secrecy.

o Drawing a picture in a confined space can help improve spatial awareness.

Before the children start drawing ask each child to look at the space they have

for their picture.

Decide what she/he is going to draw (don’t tell anyone) and without actually

drawing, work out in her/his mind how she/he is going to fit her/his picture

into this space.

13. Each child completes the sentence, ‘It is an Easter ________.’

(don’t forget the full stop to complete the sentence).

14. When the booklets are completed divide the children into groups of two.

o Before they proceed explain to the children how to ‘play this game’.

One child in each pair reads the title of his/her book, and the next four pages.

Before turning the 4th

page his/her partner guesses what is in the last egg.

When he/she guesses the reader turns the page and reads,

‘It is an Easter _____.’

Look at and discuss the picture the child has drawn in his/her Easter Egg.

15. The second person in each pair repeats No 14 (above).

16. If time allows children can pair with a different person and repeat Nos 14 and 15

(above).

The children will enjoy taking this booklet home and reading it to their parents, siblings or

any other person they can interest in their work.

Enjoy.