Kindergarten 2
Theme for Term 2: Animal Kingdom.
Topic: Aquatic Animals.
At Little Explorers Preschool, the Kindergarten 1 and Kindergarten 2 levels share a common theme every term.
However, the topics for each week is chosen by the respective class teachers to meet the needs of the children in their classes. The children will ask questions pertaining to the topic at the beginning of the week. The teachers, children and their parents will work together towards finding the answers to the children's questions. This can be done through researching for answers online, exploring the world around them and going for field trips.
The Aquatic Animals Project:
What Animals Can We Find Underwater?
Objectives:
Find out at least 10 other aquatic animals (animals that live underwater).
To revisit an art technique that the children learnt the previous week; Cotton Bud Printing.
Activity:
Ms Aaris read the story, "The Rainbow Fish" by Marcus Pfister to the children.
In the story, there were some other aquatic animals such as a starfish and an octopus. After Ms Aaris had read the story, she asked the children, "Do you know of other animals that live in the water?" Ms Aaris introduced the children to the term "Aquatic Animals" which refers to animals that live underwater. Together with the children, they brainstormed a few ways they could go about finding out more about aquatic animals. Ms Aaris challenged the class to find out at least 10 other aquatic animals.
Together as a class, they came up with 2 ways that they could get the answers they needed:
Go on a field trip to the Singapore River Safari to observe the various aquatic animals there.
Search for answers on the internet with their parents.
After the field trip to the Singapore River Safari, Ms Aaris got the children to draw their favourite aquatic animal that they saw there and just like the Rainbow Fish, the children were to colour the animal that they drew as colourful as the rainbow. The children used an art technique that they learnt the previous week, Cotton Bud Printing, to colour their favourite aquatic animal.
Ms Aaris displayed the children's artworks on the classroom wall so that they could all take pride in their work as well as view what their friends have drawn.
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Scroll down to view photos and videos of our underwater journey!
Teaching Techniques
Demonstrating and Documenting
What is Demonstrating and when was it displayed?
"To demonstrate something is to show how it is done" (MacNaughton and Williams, 2009, p. 46). Demonstrating can be a very effective way of showing or reminding children how to approach certain tasks.
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It was displayed when Ms Aaris showed the children an art technique that they had learnt the previous week, Cotton Bud Printing.
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What is Documenting and when was it displayed?
"As a teaching technique, documentation refers to gathering and organising information to provide a written or pictorial record of children's learning" (MacNaughton and Williams, 2009, p. 296). Documenting allows both the teachers and students to revisit and reflect on what was learnt. Documenting is also a great and useful way for teachers to review and keep track of children's progress and learning.
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Documenting was displayed when Ms Aaris took pictures of the children during the art activity. Documenting was also evident when Ms Aaris displayed the children's artwork on the classroom wall with a verbatim description of each child's artwork.
