Hello everyone,
This blog contains two free lessons to use for your At-Home learning that I found have worked very well. They can also be found in the Free Resources section of the website.
The Revolution of the Earth and the Seasons
At-Home Edition
Montessori Physical Education
Introduction:
In this lesson, the students will play a game that demonstrates how sunrays, as well as the location of the Earth, affect what season a city or town is experiencing. The student will be the Earth, and the ball or balloon they are juggling will represent the sunrays. Depending on where they are receiving (juggling) the sunrays gives them clues as to what part of the Earth should have more sunlight, and therefore be warmer. This phenomenon is often demonstrated in class with a globe and flashlight. This demonstration can be very effective, especially because the tilt of the Earth is accurately represented either by the teacher or because the globe was made correctly. With this game, the student’s juggling of the ball (sun rays) at various points will make this demonstration more personal and possibly better understood by the younger students.
Materials:
· An area to play where there are not a lot of fragile objects
· A ball that bounces (about the size of a small soccer ball is best) or a balloon
· A computer or tablet with an internet connection
Prior Knowledge: While it is best for students to have had a lesson on the seasons, it is not required, as many students already know the seasons of the Earth. This lesson will work even better if the students have also had a lesson demonstrating the sun rays on the Earth and how it affects the seasons.
Presentation for Lower Elementary
· The students will be juggling a ball or balloon by kicking and hitting, so some space is needed for the student to do this safely. Preferably, the play area should be big enough for the student to clearly walk around without running into anything, and it would be best if the area were free of fragile objects.
· Begin by explaining to the student that they are Earth. Where their belly button is, or a where they wear their belt, is the equator line. Anything above the belt line is the northern hemisphere, and anything below the belt line is in the southern hemisphere. Ask the students to find a bouncy ball that is about the size of a small soccer ball. Any smaller will make it more difficult for the students to be able to juggle the ball. Too big and it will possibly cause damage to the surrounding area if not controlled properly. A balloon also works very well for this game.
· Ask the students what season it is where they are. For example, at the time of me writing this lesson, it was winter in Chicago. Ask the students to identify where their city is on the globe, either the northern or southern hemisphere. Since Chicago is in the northern hemisphere, and it is in winter and very cold, it is not receiving as much sunlight, which means more sunlight is going to the southern hemisphere. You may want to mention that while it is the winter in the northern hemisphere, it is summer in the southern hemisphere.
· Explain to the students that the ball or balloon they are using is going to represent sunrays. Since more sunlight is going to the southern hemisphere, we are going to juggle the ball or balloon only with our body parts below our belt line, which will be primarily our feet and knees. For students who are using a ball, allow them one bounce in between each juggle of the ball, but if they are using a balloon, they need to keep it in the air by kicking or kneeing the ball. Set a timer for about two minutes and ask the students to see how many juggles they can get in a row.
· After the two minutes, have the students stop and ask them what season comes after winter (or whatever season you may have started with). After one of the students says spring, explain that spring is not the coldest season, nor is it the hottest. Where do we think most of the sunrays are going on the Earth? To some students they may think this is a trick question, but some may be clever enough to say both the northern and southern hemispheres. In this round of the game, the students alternate hitting the ball with their feet and their hands. For example, the student drops the ball and lets it bounce, then kicks the ball in the air. The ball hits the ground and bounces up once again, and the student hits the ball in the air with hand. The ball hits the ground once more and then the student kicks the ball, and so on. Play this round for two minutes.
· With the next season being summer, the majority of the sunlight is going to the northern hemisphere, so the students are going to use their hands to hit the ball in the air. For those daring PE teachers, you could make this a mini unit of volleyball as well by introducing the bumping technique used in volleyball to keep the ball afloat. Play this round for two minutes.
· Finally, the last season is fall, and again there may be some clever students who realize that since fall is neither the hottest nor coldest season, the sunrays will go to both the northern and southern hemisphere. This round will be played identical to the spring round with the ball alternating between kicks and hits with the hands.
· If you have time, repeat through all the seasons again to see if the students can improve on their juggling abilities.
· At the end of the lesson, we can quiz the students on different cities in the world and what season it would currently be there. We can also ask the students what season it would be in (insert your town or city) if the sun rays were either both in the northern or southern, or if one if the sun rays were distributed somewhat equally.
Aims:
Direct: For the students to reinforce the concepts and order of the seasons.
Indirect: Listening to directions
Communication
Patience
Perseverance
Physical skills practiced:
· Kicking and juggling a ball or balloon
· Hitting or bumping a ball or balloon
Control Of Error:
The teacher will have to watch the Zoom screens to see if the students are using the appropriate appendages for each season.
Age: 6-9
Land and Water Forms
At-Home Edition
Montessori Physical Education
Introduction:
One of the most iconic materials in any lower elementary Montessori classroom is the land and water forms. Whether they are made on cards, tablets, or even three-dimensional pieces (either clay or plastic where water can be poured), they are attractive and pleasing to the student. One of the things that I love the most about this material is that it elegantly shows the relationships between certain land and water forms. This inspired me to make a lesson that highlighted that beautiful idea within a fun and engaging game.
This game will not only reinforce the names of the different land and water forms, but also demonstrate their similarity. While this lesson is designed for 6-9, I have commonly heard that 9-12 students still need practice with their land and water form definitions as well. This game also gets students a lot of throwing and tossing practice in a fun, fast, team based activity done over Zoom.
Materials:
· Container(s) (laundry basket, wastebasket, etc.)
· Some type of throwing ball (can be a sock ball)
· A Large Blanket
· Computer and internet access
· Timer
Prior Knowledge: The students should have been introduced to the land and water form cards and materials. The land and water form terms they should be familiar with are:
Island / Lake
Isthmus / Strait
Cape / Bay
Archipelago / Chain of Lakes
Presentation
Have the students collect the materials that they need to play the game.
A container – wastebasket, laundry basket, box, etc.
A ball that can fit into the container
A blanket
Optional (multiple containers to represent Archipelagos / Chain of Lakes
Explain to the students that they are working all together. They are going to be “throwing water,” which is represented by a ball, which will be thrown at different targets.
The first target is a single container mentioned above. The students are going to try and throw the ball into the container. The students should be a decent distance away from the container to increase the difficulty (10 steps away for example). Play a practice round to see what the students are capable or scoring and base the game objective score close to that number. It should be a high enough number that it is difficult for them to achieve, but it should be a plausible number. For example, depending on the number of students, they all together need to make a 100 shots in one minute.
If the students are successful, that means that they got enough water in the container. The single container would represent a lake because there is a body of water with land around it. If they do not achieve the score, that means that they missed the target and the “water” is surrounding the container. What we imagine is the water now surrounds the container, and the container is dry, so it is a landform, so the students made an island. Play several rounds of this version of the game.
We will repeat this process with the Isthmus and the Strait. The students should use a blanket to make an hourglass shape. The students will try and throw the ball into the hourglass shape. If they reach the game objective score, the water is in middle strip surrounded by two sides of land surrounded by land, which would be a strait. If the students do not meet the objective, than the majority of the water landed outside the hourglass blanket shape, so this creates a strip of land surrounded by water, which would make an isthmus. Play several rounds of this version of the game.
Next we will use the blanket to make a cape and a bay. The students lay the blanket out, and then make a bubble like projection by taking a side and scrunching it so a chunk of blanket is sticking out. The students will again try and throw a ball onto the blanket. If they are successful, they have made a bay. If the students are not successful, they will have made a cape. Play this version several times.
The last land and water form combination of an archipelago and chain of islands. This will require several containers, and may be harder to do if the bulk of students cannot get several containers to play, so this land round is optional. If the students get enough points, then they made chain of lakes, but if they don’t get the score, then they made an archipelago.
Aims:
Direct: For the children to learn the terminology for land and water forms
Indirect: Listening to directions
Teamwork and team building
Hard work
Persistence
Physical skills practiced:
· Throwing the ball at a target
Control Of Error:
The control of error is whether the ball goes inside the container or on the blanket. The students report their progress to the teacher, who tallies up the score to see what land or water form was created.
Points of Interest: The students are encouraged to make as many shots as possible because they are all working together.
Age: 6-9 and 9-12