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Literacy

Maths

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Story

Literacy

Maths

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Story

Literacy

Maths

SESE

Story

Literacy

Theme: The Airport

GillExplore downloadables for Unit 9 Aistear plan,

• ‘The Airport’ sign

• Signs for check-in desks, gates and flight times

• Passport template

• Luggage tags

Area 1: Socio-dramatic Play

You can set up a role-play airport at home by using the following:

• a desk, keyboard, screen, boarding cards, passports, bags/suitcases, weighing scales and luggage tags for the check-in desk/area.

• tables, chairs, various plastic food items for the café and items to sell in the ‘duty free’ area such as toys, sweets, books, magazines, sunglasses.

You can set up an aeroplane using a row of chairs, attaching wings to two of the chairs. Provide a pilot and a flight attendant’s hat and jacket.

Possible role-play scenarios include:

• checking passengers in: weighing bags, assigning seats, checking passports

• going through security: checking bags and passports

• buying something in duty free

• eating in the coffee shop

• flight attendant serving passengers tea and coffee and passengers paying (add tea set and chairs laid out in an aeroplane style).

Area 2: Construction

Google photos and pictures of airports with control towers and runways. Ask the children to plan and build a control tower for the airport. This will allow them to explore building vertically. Children could be supplied with Hi-Viz jackets, hard hats, tool belts, clipboards and paper for planning. When planning, the children could be asked to estimate how many blocks they may need to use or how high they think the control tower will be; for example, will it be taller or shorter than the library/desk/coat hangers/bin, etc. This can then be further extended by asking pupils to build a long or a short runway.

Area 3: Art

Make a beach collage using white paper, paint and sponges to create a beach scene. First, the children can sponge-paint a sea and sand background. Use green crêpe paper to add seaweed and grey sugar paper for rocks in the sea. Use scraps of fabric to make beach towels and umbrellas. Add sea shells made of pasta shells, sand shell turtles, handprint crabs, collage rainbow fish and so on. The children can add people to the beach scene.

Area 4: Sensory Play

Water play table: Provide a water table or large, shallow plastic boxes of water. Provide shells, toy sea creatures, rocks and pebbles. The children can experiment using a range of junk materials to make boats (lunchboxes, tubs, foil trays, yoghurt cartons, paper, etc.). Pupils can explore if their boats float or sink and they can load the boats to see how much they hold. They can use classroom objects to explore floating and sinking.

Sand play table: The children could use the sand tray to set up a beach scene using small figures, pieces of cloth as beach towels and plastic foods for a picnic. You could add a water tray for the sea.

Area 5: Small World

Supply some sheets of black A3 sugar paper taped together and chalk. Pupils can draw various runways and can use small buildings or Lego to create airport and control towers. Aeroplanes and various vehicles could be added for baggage handlers, etc. This could be further developed by adding small figures to represent different people going on holidays.

Further Resources

Books (Fiction)

Amazing Aeroplanes, Tony Mitton and Ant Parker (MacMillan Children’s Books, 2014).

Lucy and Tom at the Seaside, Shirley Hughes (Puffin Books, 1993).

Rainbow Fish to the Rescue, Marcus Pfister (North South Books, 1999).

Mr. Little’s Noisy Boat, Richard Fowler (Heinemann Young Books, 1999).

Online Stories

• Caillou Flies on a Plane: go to YouTube and search ‘Caillou Flies on a Plane’ (3:32).

• Tiny Airport: go to YouTube and search ‘Tiny Airport Video for Kids by Wonderkind’ (8:22).

Poems/Rhymes

‘The Airport’

Bags on the trolley

And off to check in,

Pass through security,

Let the holiday begin!

A look through the shops,

Then off to the gate,

The plane’s on the runway,

There’s no time to waste!

(Taken from www.tes.com/teaching-resource/transport-poetry-bundle)

‘The Sand Castle’

Sand castle on the beach,

I built you big and strong, [Raise arms high]

A wave washed in upon the sand,

Whoops! You were gone! [Swing hands down, then up]

(Taken from www.prekfun.com/themes/prekthemes/A-F/Beach/Beach_Songs.htm)

‘I Went to the Beach’

I went to the beach,

And what did I see?

A bird on the sand, [Using index finger, make thumb and index finger touch]

Looking at me! [Look at each other making a bird’s beak]

I went to the beach,

And what did I see?

A fish in the water, [Using hand make it swim like a fish]

Looking at me! [Make hand movements like splashing water]

I went to the beach,

And what did I see?

A shell in the sand,

Sparkling at me! [Make a fist with one hand and have the other hand’s index finger tap your fist]

I went to the beach

And what did I see?

A crab in its shell,

Waving at me! [Make a crab using all ten fingers, place hand over other hand and wriggle fingers]

(Taken from www.prekfun.com/themes/prekthemes/A-F/Beach/Beach_Songs.htm)

‘Five Cranky Crabs’

Five cranky crabs were digging on the shore,

The tide came in and then there were four.

Four cranky crabs were floating in the sea,

One got tangled up in the seaweed and then there were three.

Three cranky crabs were wondering what to do,

One dug a deep, deep hole.

Then there were two.

Two cranky crabs were warming in the sun,

One got scooped up in a cup.

Then there was one.

One cranky crab was smarter than his friends,

He hid between the jagged rocks.

That’s how the story ends.

(Taken from www.prekfun.com/themes/prekthemes/A-F/Beach/Beach_Songs.htmSongs)

Songs

• ‘I’m a Little Airplane’: go to YouTube and search ‘I’m a Little Airplane Song for Kids | Fun Songs for Children | The Kiboomers’ (1:47)

• ‘We’re All Going on a Summer Holiday’: go to YouTube and search ‘We’re all going on a summer holiday’ (2:27).

Lifeguard/Coastguard Interview

You might consider inviting a local lifeguard or coastguard into the classroom to be interviewed by the children about their job.

Preparation questioning

• Establish a genuine reason for conducting the interview. Ask the class, ‘Why do you think it would be a good idea to invite a lifeguard/coastguard to our class?’

• Prepare a list of questions before the interview and write these down.

• Tease through with the children what makes a good question. Highlight how asking open-ended questions rather than closed questions that only require a Yes/No answer will give them more information. For example, which would be better to ask: ‘Do you like being a lifeguard?’ or ‘Why do you like being a lifeguard?’

• Discuss that you may think of other questions on the day and that it is OK to do so.

• Assign different questions to different children.

Developing listening skills

• Discuss why it is important to show your visitor that you are listening.

• Discuss how you can show the visitor that you are listening: eyes looking, ears listening, lips quiet, hands still,

mind awake.

Closing the interview

• Discuss who will thank the visitor and what they will say.

• The class should inform the visitor how they will use all the information to set up a role-play area in the classroom.

Practice run

• It is possible to practise initial interviews with the teacher acting as visitor.