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Winter Fun Theme Unit In Wisconsin we have a fairly long winter. Our snow may begin in early December and last until March! Our winter fun theme unit will last for most of January. As you read on, you will see that we spend a week on quilts and we incorporate some science investigation into this theme as well. Enjoy the winter! I know we will! Vocabulary - snow, winter, snowman, snowflake, blizzard
Discussion Topics Dress for the Weather - Lead students through a discussion about the proper clothes to wear for various winter activities. (Skiing, ice skating, playing in the snow, etc.). Using old catalogs, students will find various articles of clothing for a winter activity. Glue the winter outfits onto construction paper. Then write a sentence or paragraph about the activity and types of clothing needed for the activity. Quilts - Include several stories about quilts in this section. We spend the entire week on quilts. I bring many of the quilts I've made to display in the room. Discuss the meaning of some quilt squares (this info can be found in quilting books or on line). Snowflakes - No two snowflakes are exactly alike! Look at the website for snowflake pictures. http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photos/photos.htm Notice how the snowflakes at this site have 6 sides. Melting snow - Prior to class fill 2 containers with snow. Place 1 in the refrigerator and the other sits out. Discuss which container of snow will melt first, why? What happens to the snow as it melts? Estimate how much water will be in the container when it melts. How long will it take the snow to melt? Be sure to write down the times. Winter Patterns - Supply students with several different kinds of snowmen, snowflake and mitten shapes. Students create assorted patterns with the shapes. Their last assignment is to create a pattern and glue it to a strip of paper. When everyone is finished have the other students figure out what the next figure in the pattern will be. The clipart below may be used for this activity.
Class Book - Create a sentence frame with the following sentence: My snowman _______. Students complete the sentence and illustrate it. Compile the pages into a class book. Visual Perception Activity - Give each student a page with a simple snowman drawing with only the left side of the snowman drawn. Students complete the snowman drawing in the missing side.
Poems
Worksheets Coming soon! Cooking Snowflakes - Students will need 1 large marshmallow, 6 small marshmallows and 6 pretzel sticks. Stick the 6 pretzel sticks into the large marshmallow. At the ends of the pretzels stick on the small marshmallows. Snowball Snowman Snack: Provide each student with a Snowball snack cake. Have them add raisin eyes, mini-carrot for the nose, raisins for the mouth, and a pre-cut scarf from a Fruit Roll-up. (Idea found at: http://www.thevirtualvine.com/snowman.html) Arts and Crafts Snowflake Rubbings - Give each student a piece of black or dark blue construction paper. Provide various cut out snowflakes. Students will make a snow picture by placing the snowflake under the construction paper and rubbing a white crayon over it. The effect is much like the dark background on this page. Matching Mittens - Give each student 2 construction paper mittens. Next the children decorate the mittens with matching patterns on each mitten. They could use: buttons, sequins, glitter, stars, yarn, ribbon, paper scraps, etc. Be sure they have the thumbs going in the correct direction! Crazy Quilts - Students will create their own quilt using lots of different fabric swatches and gluing them onto construction paper. Paper Quilt Squares - Supply the students with lots of squares, rectangles and triangles. Show many different quilt square patterns. Students will replicate one or more of the squares. Display altogether in a classroom quilt. Snowman - made from a tongue depressor. http://www.scoutinglinks.com/GSRC/crfts410.htm
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