The story Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright (Author), Stephen Gilpin (Illustrator) is about a snowman who is so cold! To get warm he first drinks hot cocoa, melts, sits in a hot tub, melts, goes near a warm fire, & melts! The children in the end figure out to build him up again & make him feel comfortable with some yummy ice cream.
To set this invitation that extended the literacy experience, in our tuff tray we placed hot cocoa (that they mixed), "hot tub" with warm water, wooden fire, play ice cream, & sensory materials to make a melted snowman. First the children were invited to mix, pour, & create hot cocoa. Then after seeing the items that kept melting him in the story as props for story sequencing, we went all hands to create & explore a melted snowman. To make the snowman we poured cornstarch, water, & mini foam craft balls which made a textured oobleck. We also placed sticks, eyes, laminated cutouts of clothing, & fake carrots.
The children were invited to explore the oobleck mixture that is a great sensory material that has scientific elements. Oobleck is that it’s neither a liquid nor a solid. It’s actually a suspension (Non-Newtonian Fluid) & will behave like either, depending on the amount of pressure you apply. When the children squeeze it in their hands it will feel like a solid, but when they open their hand, it will flow over & between the fingers like a liquid.
Extending literacy through hands-on learning is a great way to actively engage children in experiences that directly build deeper comprehension, understand the literacy concepts through practical application, improve memory retention, further develop their vocabulary, enhance focus + motivation for learning, & all the while building lifelong lovers of reading!
Comments