5 + 5 Activity Resource (No. 8) – 5 Independent & 5 Cooperative Learning Activities to Try

 

Welcome to week 8 of our 5+5 Activity series.  Today marks Mother’s Day, so I hope all celebrating are having a wonderful day and being suitably spoiled. If you follow us on social media, you may have seen me share a word search with a floral theme as a nice activity to enjoy with your child. Download it here.

As ever, I cannot help but highlight the educational angle involved. Check how many of the flowers your child is already familiar with and use it to boost vocabulary. In addition, see how many other flowers your child can think of to add to the list. Perhaps continue the flower theme with a nature walk to smell some flowers or make some daisy chains or try some floral arts and crafts. 

 

And now, let’s get started with a selection of ideas and recommendations for the week ahead.

 

Independent Learning Activities

Art

S.Y on Twitter has been sharing lots of fabulous art ideas and providing plenty inspiration. I have picked one of her ideas to share with you today, but there may be others on her feed your child/ren would love to try. This simple idea involves drawing a self-portrait with an oversized pair of sunglasses. On these enlarged glasses, draw your ideal holiday destination. The image is one from Pinterest. I have been unable to source the origin to credit. If you know of the origin, please let me know.

 

 

 

Mathematics

Go Teach Maths features many useful resources which can be searched by theme. As we have discussed previously, regular review is essential in order to ensure learning is embedded in long-term memory. Why not have your child choose a topic and review it using one of the many PPTs available on this site? The content is aimed at upper primary and secondary learners.

 

Coding

It’s been a while since I share a coding recommendation. Code.org has various hour of code options available. Fans of Minecraft are bound to love their Minecraft adventure.

 

 

 

English Reading

Books for Topics have compiled some new book-lists for primary children of different ages. You can see the lists here.

 

 

 

Now could be a really good time to introduce your child to a new author. By encouraging him/her to browse the list and select a book of interest, we promote reading as a pleasurable activity. The book becomes a gift rather than a task.

 

Although I have categorised this activity as an independent one, it comes with a caveat, modelling your own interest in and enthusiasm for books is vital too! Ensure your children see you read widely and talk with each other about the books you are reading.

 

The website, as the name suggests, has lots more book recommendations to support various topics your child may be studying, so I think it is worth bookmarking as a useful reference tool.

 

P.E.

Movement breaks between study sessions are crucial for learners. Encourage your child to remember to take such breaks, step away from their desks and get up and active. Try some of the challenges on Jump Start Johnny. They are perfect for this purpose!

 

 

 

Cooperative Learning Activities

History

This week I have discovered a gem of a site for older pupils and those interested in history. Parents, I believe many of you will love it too. The Little History site documents books that explore the history of the world’s most remarkable people, events and ideas. One such book is A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich.

 

This book is explored further by Yale Books who are compiling an A-Z of bite-size introductions to historical figures, events or periods. At the time of writing, they are up to F in the alphabet. They use Gombrich’s words, together with links to free resources so that readers of all ages can discover more. I urge you to read and discuss with your child the Gombrich’s introduction which is a journey through time, from ancient history to modern, in just under 700 words. The imagery is stunning.  

 

Of course, there is much to learn and enjoy from the A-Z blog posts themselves, but another brilliant task would be for your child to choose one of the letters from the alphabet and write their own essay with links to helpful resources. I’ve categorised this as cooperative as I recommend having your child teach their chosen topic to someone else; this is a useful benchmark of their knowledge and understanding.

 

 

 

English Writing

Did you know that National Limerick Day is set on 12th May in the UK to mark the birthday of Edward Lear, the English writer known for his works of nonsensical prose and poetry?

 

As a family, why not read and enjoy some limericks on Tuesday this week? Even better if your child can create some of their own. For those who have forgotten the rhythms and rhyme of limericks, here is a useful teaching reminder courtesy of Kenn Nesbitt. And for those searching for limericks to share on Tuesday, you will find lots here.

 

Does your child know any famous Edward Lear poems? You can learn more about Lear and find his works on My Poetic Side. Did you know, for example, he was the youngest of 21 children?

 

Some other resources and ideas for teaching limericks are to be found on Teacher Planet.

 

 

 

Cookery

In the UK, National Vegetarian Week begins on May 11^th. Regardless of where you are, why not join in and encourage your children to make some new vegetarian dishes they have not tried before?

 

Promoting independence and life skills is something we can really use this lockdown period to do. The BBC Good Food site has a selection of vegetarian recipes for children. Another site your child may well enjoy is Nomster Chef  – a site dedicated to promoting meal prepping, family bonding, healthy eating, and featuring lots of recipes for children.

 

On the subject of life-skills and teaching cookery, the JFK Special School have shared some visual recipes on their site. These are also a great resource for young learners so do check them out. Try Accessible Chef for more visual recipes.

 

 

 

STEM

Why not sign up to Design Challenge Daily and commit to trying one activity each week? The site has lots of interesting daily challenges, many requiring few materials. It is possible to sign up to the site and access additional resources also.

 

 

 

CardEd

As always, I have a CardEd Activity book for the week ahead with lots of learning challenges therein. For example, did you know there are 17 combinations of prime numbers that combine to make the number 17? This week, I challenge your child to find them all. There are tasks to boost vocabulary, promote creativity and get your young learners thinking so be sure to download your free CardEd PDF today!

 

 

 

That concludes another 5 + 5 Activity Guide! Hope you all have a wonderful week. As always, let me know if you have any questions about teaching and learning as I am happy to offer tips and advice. If you enjoy these teaching guides, why not sign up to our blog to ensure you never miss a post?

 

 

 

Take care and stay safe all!

 

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Image Sources:

Dumond – 1, 10

Pinterest – 2

Books for Topics – 3

Pixabay – 3, 5-8

Whymaker – 9