key stage 1 years 3 & 4 let’s celebrate -...

Ideas for Connecting Learning (ICLs)

‘Let’s Celebrate’ explores children’s experiences of celebrations at home, with friends, in school and in the local and wider community. They begin to appreciate and respect the diversity that exists in society and the positive contributions of various cultural and religious groups.

focus

Let’s CelebrateKey Stage 1 Years 3 & 4

focus

The World Around Us•changeovertime•place

Physical Education

•personalandgroupstrengths•self-confidenceandself-esteem•developFundamentalMovement

Skills

•celebrategoodtimes•relationshipswithfamilyand

friends•celebrateownsuccessesand

strengths

Personal Development and MutualUnderstanding

The Arts•makebooks•celebrations

1

This ICL booklet ‘Let’s Celebrate’ contains the following:

Suggested Learning Intentions and Activities for: • The Arts 3• Personal Development and Mutual Understanding 7• The World Around Us 11• Physical Education 15

Contribution to the Development of Skills:• Communication 17• Using Mathematics 17• Using ICT 17• Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities 18

Suggested Resources 19

Contents



focus

The Arts• make books• celebrations

Personal Developmentand Mutual Understanding

The World Around Us

Physical Education

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Ideas for Connecting Learning Let’s Celebrate

Memories

Suggested Learning Intentions• Select appropriate media to express personal ideas.• Develop use of visual elements to communicate ideas.• Use a range of materials, tools and processes to create a book.

Suggested ActivitiesMake a collection of different types of books, for example, pop-up, 3D construction, books with windows and doors, books with textures or made from recycled paper. Observe, handle and discuss the books to discover what they are made from. Brainstorm how to make a unique book.

Make a personal memory book. It could take the form of a zigzag book, a fold out book, a miniature book or a stitched fabric book. Brainstorm and record the different types of celebrations or happy moments that you might want to talk about in the book, for example, birthdays, Christmases, the birth of a brother or sister or winning a race. Make simple drawings in order to plan the contents of each page, noting colour, media and any special details such as flaps or windows. Select the most appropriate media for each of the memory drawings and record the best memories of happy times on each page of the book. Talk about the work as it is being made in order to clarify your thinking and learning.

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A Good Old Knees-Up

Suggested Learning Intentions• Work creatively with sound.• Understand how music can express ideas, emotions and atmosphere.• Sing simple songs and play instruments.• Listen and respond to your own and others’ music-making.

Suggested ActivitiesListen to extracts of music associated with well-known celebrations, such as, birthdays, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Burn’s Night or weddings. Discuss what the music represents, what emotions it evokes and how it does this. Discuss how we celebrate different events in our lives and what music we have at these celebrations, for example, at a birthday party, we have upbeat dance music, at a wedding, we have a march at the start, and at a confirmation, we have hymns. Find out how music, dance, songs and instruments are used locally in celebrations.

Focus on dance music and look at a range of dancing music, for example, waltzes, jive, Charleston, Céilí, disco, rave, line-dancing or rap.

Design and make a wind-chime or other type of musical instrument from junk material.

Sing and perform simple folk or traditional music and songs. Compose simple accompaniments for the songs and use appropriate instruments. Invite musicians to the school to perform different types of music.

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Serious Fun

Suggested Learning Intentions• Explore drama.• Develop and use strategies for drama.• Describe imaginary situations.• Use appropriate quality of speech and voice.• Recognise the way that text is structured.• Use imagination to express thoughts, feelings and opinions.

Suggested ActivitiesExperiment with a variety of ordering systems within the classroom, for example, lining up in order of height (tallest-smallest) or in order of birthdays (January – December). Generate ideas for grouping, for example, eye colour, shoes with/without laces or girls/boys.

Identify groups of people from photographs in newspapers and magazines and look at how they are grouped (for example, football teams, families or classmates). Consider what makes a good photograph. In groups, use imagination to create a ‘still picture’ or ‘freeze-frame’ to reflect a celebration, for example, a wedding or birthday and discuss what works well. When the teacher prompts you, keep your posture the same but experiment with a change in expression or gesture.

In groups, share ideas for a simple mime, for example, ‘The Surprise Birthday Party’. Decide what needs to be done in order to develop the mime into a short drama. Create a basic script. Discuss ideas for the setting. Use negotiation skills to organise, structure and present the ideas. Perform the play and afterwards reflect on how the work was carried out and what aspects could be improved.


focus

Personal Development and MutualUnderstanding• celebrate good times• relationships with family and friends• celebrate own successes and strengths

The Arts

The World Around Us

Physical Education


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What Can I Celebrate About Me?

Suggested Learning Intentions• Identify own specific strengths that could be celebrated.• Identify qualities and skills associated with different people.• Identify and discuss a range of celebrations.• Discuss similarities and differences.• Express personal opinions, acknowledge those of others and respond

respectfully to them.

Suggested ActivitiesBrainstorm the significant events that have been celebrated in your life to date. Sort the responses and identify the key words, phrases and categories. Record these responses using either a list, table or graph. Discuss the celebrations people have in common, for example, birthdays, weddings, Christmas, New Year.

Identify any of your specific individual strengths that could be celebrated. Use traditional and/or digital resources to compile a personal profile (in a range of media) describing your characteristics, feelings, talents, skills, abilities, strengths, successes and what you would like to be good at in the future. Present the profile to the class.

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Who Will I Invite To My Special Celebration?

Suggested Learning Intentions• Appreciate personal strengths, abilities and characteristics.• Be aware of the similarities and differences between people in the local

and wider community.• Appreciate the positive contribution each person in our school/community

can make.• Recognise the diversity of cultures and people in school and in the local

community.• Be aware of how differences amongst people can enrich our world.

Suggested ActivitiesUse a suitable picture of a family celebration as a stimulus for discussing who attends a celebration. Brainstorm why certain people are invited to celebrations; for example, they’re a best friend, a neighbour, a relative, a godparent, a grandparent, a colleague, someone in the same sports team, they’re very kind, they’re funny or they’re really musical.

In pairs or groups, compile a ‘wish list’ of people and personalities you would like to invite to an imaginary celebration. Discuss what things you need to keep in mind when inviting guests to a celebration, for example, total number of guests allowed, is the celebration just for family, should everyone come in fancy dress.

Use ICT software such as ‘Pawprints’ to design and create personalised invitations for a party, stating clearly to the invitees, why they are invited. In pairs or groups, talk about your newly made invitations.

Reflect on why celebrations are important.

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How Can I Plan A Celebration?

Suggested Learning Intentions• Identify different roles and responsibilities.• Identify the contribution made by different peoples at special times.• Recognise the importance of taking time to celebrate together.

Suggested ActivitiesDiscuss what people do at a celebration, for example:• What do they wear?• What do they eat and drink? • What do they do for entertainment? • What other things do people do at celebrations (give gifts, make speeches,

decorate the room)?

Talk about the different but interdependent responsibilities that family members can have at a celebration, for example, preparing food, setting the table, hanging decorations, welcoming guests, serving food/drinks, entertaining (song/dance), tidying up and/or writing thank you letters for gifts.

Display photographs, invitations or pictures of the different celebrations the class have attended.


focus

The World Around Us• change over time• place

The Arts


Physical Education

1111

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Birthdays

Suggested Learning Intentions• Find out about their own and other children’s personal history.• Be able to sequence events and achievements.• Design and assemble simple models by exploring different ways of joining

materials and by testing.• Compare and contrast lives and homes now and in the past.

Suggested ActivitiesMake a personal timeline, recording significant events and achievements. Consider any achievements that you could make within the next year. Make a simple action plan of how to achieve the goal set. Review this action plan on your next birthday.

Collect, record and present the months of everyone’s birthday in the class using ICT. Discuss how birthdays are celebrated and share memories of your favourite birthday parties. Imagine winning the birthday party of a lifetime – what would this be like?

Plan a party and brainstorm all the preparations needed. Explore simple problem-solving activities around the planning, for example, list cake ingredients for x number of people, how many glasses of coke will you get from a 1-litre bottle, what is the best value – large packets of crisps or multi-packs?

Consider personal qualities and choose various roles, for example, ‘I am good on the computer so I would like to be involved in making the invitations’, or, ‘I am good with figures so I would like to work on the budget’. Each group works together to fulfil their roles for planning the party.

Have a class party. Review how well it went and what made it a success. Use a digital camera to record the party and place the film in a time capsule to be opened in Year Seven. Interview older relatives about their birthdays when they were young.

Take part in ‘show and tell’ about your favourite toy. Compare and contrast presents and toys we receive today with those received by older members of the community, for example, record player versus mp3 player. Sort a collection of toys from today or the past, into those which are designed to move and those which are not. Design and make a push or pull toy and test how well it works.

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Celebrating Nature

Suggested Learning Intentions• Be aware of the variety of living things in the local environment.• Consider ways of caring for and improving the environment.• Be able to sort living things into groups.• Be able to grow and tend a plant from seed to fully-grown.

Celebrating NatureVisit a local woodland or wetlands trust to find out about the variety of living things in the local environment. Find out how we can look after living things in our environment. Use ICT software, such as ‘Through My Window’, as a stimulus for discussion on the stages in the growth of a plant.

Plant a seed and care for it. Use a digital microscope to observe and record its growth, labelling the main parts as it grows. Use ICT to design a poster or newsletter to inform the rest of the school community.

Consider ways in which we can improve our school grounds to include a greater variety of living things, for example, plant a wild flower garden to attract insects or design and make a birdseed dispenser to attract more birds to the school grounds. Find out what is the best way to realise these ideas, include aspects of measuring, budgeting and simple problem-solving.

Use ‘Roamer’ or ‘Blackcat Logo’ to explore features of the school environment. Experiment with pressing flowers (place the flower head between blotting paper and press between books) and think of ways to use them, for example, making bookmarks or greeting cards.

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One World - One People

Suggested Learning Intentions• Identify the causes and consequences of change over time.• Compare and contrast their own environment with an environment

elsewhere and/or in the past.• Understand and appreciate cultural diversity.• Explore and investigate aspects of the immediate locality.• Talk about designs and the qualities of different materials.• Label, record and observe the growth of a plant from seed to fully grown.

Suggested ActivitiesMake a timeline of celebrations throughout the year, for example, Pancake Tuesday, St Patrick’s Day etc. Research and discuss how and why we celebrate on these occasions. Find out the origins and traditions of these festivals, for example, by visiting the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum or researching on the Internet or in a library. Choose a celebration, for example, Christmas and compare what happens at Christmas today and what happened at Christmas in the past. Examine how food, decorations and presents have changed in particular celebrations over time.

Choose another local community group and find out about their celebrations and festivals. Invite a local member of the community to talk about a particular celebration. Design and make a greetings card for another community’s celebration, for example, Chinese New Year or Diwali. Find out what pictures and symbols would be appropriate for this celebration.

Consider celebrations that people from all community groups celebrate, for example, success in exams or a new job.

Visit a museum’s Ethnographic gallery to see objects used for celebrations and ceremonies by many different cultures.

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focus

Physical Education• personal and group strengths• self-confidence and self-esteem• developing Fundamental Movement

Skills

The Arts


The World Around Us


15

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Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) Fun Festival

Suggested Learning Intentions• Be able to celebrate personal and group successes and strengths.• Appreciate the positive contribution each person can make to a group

activity.• Be able to enjoy fun activities and physical challenges.• Understand safe practices.• Develop self-confidence and self-esteem as individuals and as members

of small groups.• Develop responsibility, respect, honesty and fairness.• Develop positive attitudes and values towards physical activity.• Value the importance of fair play and good sporting behaviour.

Suggested ActivitiesPlan, design and prepare a multi-skill event to celebrate a selection of Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) that have been learned over the last three or four years.

In mixed ability groups, negotiate and agree on a group name. The event will comprise of eight to ten stations and each station will focus on a different FMS skill. Each group rotates around the different stations and spends three minutes at each one. Rest stations should be interspersed between activity stations where you can have a drink of water. Music will play at the start of the activity and as each group moves on to the next station.

Pupils from Year 7 help record and monitor each activity by staying beside each station.

Suggested stationsListed below are two examples of activity stations. Plan additional stations as a class.

Station 1 – ‘Teddy Bear/Skittle Tumble’FMS Skill – Underarm throwA number of teddy bears or skittles are placed at various distances from a line. In turn, each group member has three throws to try to knock down as many teddies/skittles as they can. The teddies/skittles are replaced and the next group member takes his/her turn. The Year 7 pupil records how many teddies/skittles each group member knocks down and adds them together to form a group total.

Station 2 – ‘Slalom Hop’FMS Skill – HopSet up a ten-metre long slalom course with a start line and five cones placed at two-metre intervals.

StartEach group member takes it in turn to hop around the cones on one foot and back on the other. The Year 7 pupil records the total number of slaloms completed.

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Contribution to the Development of SkillsThroughout the areas within this ICL there are opportunities to provide experiences which help to develop the skills of Communication, Using Mathematics, Using ICT and Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities.

Communication• Use a developing vocabulary to talk about and express their thoughts,

feelings and experiences.• Sort and collate information in different forms.• Organise ideas simply and appropriately.• Respond to what they have read, beginning to give opinions.• Comment on what they have done and give reasons for their choices.• Contribute to shared writing activities to produce a collaborative piece.• Begin to use appropriate form, showing a sense of structure and

organisation.

Using Mathematics• Select and use with help appropriate forms of mathematical

representation to present findings.• Gather information relevant to a topic and record results in a variety of

ways, including the use of ICT.• Explore movement and direction and demonstrate an understanding of

angle as a measurement of turn, in a range of ways, including the use of ICT.• Suggest ways of recording information.• Select and use with help appropriate forms of mathematical

representation to present findings.• Discuss possible approaches to solving a problem, building on one

another’s ideas.• Explore mathematical concepts in other contexts.• Explore different ways of sorting, comparing and recording.

Using ICT• Compose and edit text on-screen to communicate and develop ideas.• Select and use appropriate images or sounds and adding text and/or own

voiceover.• Access, select and use information from a given electronic source.• Collect and enter data, present it in a graphical form and making

observations.• Carry out and edit a series of instructions using digital devices or

environments.

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Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities Managing Information: Asking deeper and wider questions to clarify the task, to plan and to set goals. Having a sense of audience and purpose. Developing methods for collating and recording information and monitoring progress on a task.

Thinking, Problem-Solving and Decision-Making: Identifying patterns and relationships. Explaining and justifying methods, opinions and conclusions. Making and testing predictions, and linking possible causes and effects. Discriminating between fact and opinion. Understanding more than one point of view. Examining options and weighing up pros and cons. Trying alternative solutions and approaches.

Being Creative: Experimenting in playful ways. Seeking out problems and challenging the routine method. Seeing opportunities in mistakes and failures. Building on own and others’ ideas and experiences, using all the senses. Experimenting with different designs, actions and outcomes. Valuing other people’s ideas.

Working with Others: Becoming independent. Understanding and responding to feedback. Taking responsibility for tasks and roles in groups. Working to reach agreements and beginning to manage disagreements.

Self Management: Becoming self-directed by working on their own. Working towards personal targets. Evaluating what they are learning and comparing their approaches with others. Identifying how their learning might be the same/ different in different contexts.

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Digital Resources

ICT Software Suggested Websites

Interlinks

Pick a Picture – Blackcat

Pawprints – Blackcat

Through My Window-Anglia

Make Your Own Booklibrary.thinkquest.org/J001156/makingbooks/makeown.htm

Making Books With Childrenwww.makingbooks.com

Museum and Galleries of Northern Irelandwww.magni.org.uk

One World Centre Citizenship websitewww.bigpic.biz

Traditional Resources

Books/ Teaching Materials Audio/Visual (Media Texts)

Creating Music Around the World Paul Stuman (Cambridge University Press:1998)ISBN: 0521569079

Developing Fundamental Movement Skills (CCEA:2006) ISBN: 1-84639-083-4

Fundamental Movement Skills teacher Resource (Kit)(Western Australia Minister for Education:2004) ISBN: 1-905232-10-1

Living. Learning. Together. (CCEA:2007)

4Learning Videos: ‘The Four Seasons’ Order Code: 187758 (see website)

Organisations

Useful Contacts Places to Visit

Ulster Folk and Transport MuseumHolywoodCo. DownBT18 0EUTel: (028) 9042 8428

Ulster MuseumBotanic GardensBelfastBT9 6TSTel: 028 9038 3030

Suggested Resources

Please note that the above resources are those that have been recommended by teachers who havecontributed to the development of this ICL. At the time of printing, the suggested websites were live.



focus

Let’s CelebrateKey Stage 1 Years 3 & 4

focus

The World Around Us•changeovertime•place

Physical Education

•personalandgroupstrengths•self-confidenceandself-esteem•developFundamentalMovement

Skills

•celebrategoodtimes•relationshipswithfamilyand

friends•celebrateownsuccessesand

strengths

Personal Development and MutualUnderstanding

The Arts•makebooks•celebrations

key stage 1 years 3 & 4 let’s celebrate -...

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