Suggested Activities
This challenge reinforces how students can do their share in keeping the classroom tidy. This lesson assumes that students are already familiar with the routines for working in centres or at activity corners. To prepare for the lesson, take several photographs (a digital camera would be very convenient) at each centre (e.g., blocks, story corner, construction) while students are performing various actions (e.g., playing, stages of cleaning up and cleaned up). When introducing the lesson, stop the students before students have cleaned up their respective centres. Call them to the meeting place and ask them to consider why they clean up the centres (e.g., the building blocks get lost, so that the afternoon class can find the materials, so no one steps on the pieces). Introduce vocabulary such as "consider needs of others," "cooperation" and "doing our share." Ask students to return to their centres and show how they clean up the centres.
The following day help students create a booklet that shows the correct order and key steps in keeping the centres tidy. Model how this will be done by producing an enlarged set of the three or four photographs taken of actions at one of the centres (e.g., the blocks). Display the set of enlarged photographs, placing them in order on chart paper. Write a simple sentence describing each picture. Compile multiple sets of duplicated photographs for each of the other centres. Ask students to choose a set of photographs from one of these centres to make their own book. Staple four sheets of plain paper together to create each student's booklet. Use the front page as a title page. Ask students to paste one photograph on each page in the correct sequence. With support, instruct students to write a sentence for each photograph or enlist the help of an adult to scribe their sentence. Allow time for students to colour the cover and add additional drawings to the pages. After the books are complete, invite students to read them to each other or to a buddy from another class. On the back page (or back cover), paste a chart for students to keep track of how well they complete the task of tidying up. Explain that each day students will give themselves a happy face or sad face to show how well they did their share of work in tidying up the centre.
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