Australia Project: Australian Aboriginal music

This song was such a big hit that I've been hearing it sung around the school all week.  Taba Naba is a traditional children's song from the Torres Strait Islands of the North coast of Australia. 

Here are the words and translation:

Taba naba naba norem
Tugi penai siri
Dinghy e naba we
Miko keimi
Sere re naba we
Taba naba norem (style)
(repeated 3 times)

Translation:
Come on let's go to the Reef
Get into the dinghy when the morning tide is low
Let us row to the edge of the reef
Come on let's go to the reef.

Most of you have probably seen the video performed by XuXa.  While she got the words right, unfortunately the costumes and music are from Hawaii NOT the Torres Strait.  Here is an Australian version:

Australia Project - Story: Ernie Dances To The Didgeridoo

This story tells the tale of a boy called Ernie who goes to live in a remote part of Australia where the lifestyle and people are very different to what he is used to.  He has a great time making new friends and learning new things.  The children at UPUERE did, too!  Each time we read the story we would follow up with a game or activity from the pages of the book.

• Playing Tin-Tin.
• Making a traditional Australian bread called Damper
• Face painting
• Learning the words and actions to a traditional Australian song: Taba Naba
• Dot painting
• Listening to Didgeridoo music

Here's a link to the recipe!  DAMPER

Learn more about this ancient art form here.

Australia Project - Story: Wombat Stew

Gooey, brewy, yummy, chewy...Wombat Stew!  This chant is from the book we read this week called Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan.  This hilarious story tells the tale of a group of Australian animals who try to save their friend Wombat from ending up in Dingo's stew.

To follow up our story, we played with some Australian animal puppets and pretended to make Wombat Stew in the sensory tub.

Australia Project - Inspecting, counting and sorting coins

I brought some of my coins to school today for the children to see.  They had fun looking at them with the magnifying glass and naming the animals they could see - platypus, kangaroo, echidna, and emu.  There were also some tongs to use to sort the coins by value.

I Like Bananas

This song originally came from the Robby Rabbit EFL textbook by Carol Read.  I use the words and melody to play a game which is similar to Duck, Duck, Goose.  Everyone loves this game and the song is extremely catchy.  Here is how we play…

The children sit on the floor in a circle.  One child is chosen to go around the outside of the circle tapping each child’s head in turn while the group sing…

I like bananas,

I like apples,

I like sandwiches,

I like biscuits, too.

At the end of the song, the standing child must ask the child sitting before him/her a question “Do you like (apples)?”.  The sitting child must answer the question before jumping up to chase the other. The objective is to get around the circle and sitting down without being caught.

Bean Bag Toss

For our outdoor game this week the children had to throw old socks filled with bean into hula-hoops and name the food flashcard inside.  It was a fun way to revise the vocabulary we had been learning that week.

Sometimes and everyday food

Our project on food looked at and compared the food which we should eat every day and that which should only be eaten sometimes. Through stories, songs, experiments, art and games the children learned the names of at least 15 foods as well reinforcing the importance of eating well to stay strong and healthy.

apple banana biscuit sandwich chicken meat cake
lollipop pasta tomato pizza juice water milk chocolate

 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This classic children’s book by Eric Carle tells the story of the lifecycle of a butterfly.  It also introduces the days of the week and the concept of healthy eating habits.  It was the perfect story for our unit of work on Sometimes and Everyday Food.

Group 5's Science Project

The children in Group 5 looked at Earth and Environmental Science - the study of the Earth and its materials and how we care for the natural world. We explored the key question: “How can we care for our world?”

In this project, we developed the following concepts:

• The weather can change every day
• The sun is powerful
• The sun can affect living and non-living things
• Sunscreen gives protection from the effects of the sun

These concepts were discovered through participation in the following activities:

• Observing, measuring and recording the weather and temperature in a collective weather diary
• Discovering the effects of the sun with an experiment using black paper and sunscreen
• Using different mediums (including recordings, photographing and creating artwork) which documents these experiences and discoverie

 

Group 3's Science Project

The Group 3 Project focused on Physical Science - the study of materials and energy in the non-living world.  We explores the key question: “How does it move and change?” 

In this project, the children in Group 3 explored the following concepts:

• The nature of materials
• Physical and chemical changes
• Force and movement of objects

 

These concepts were discovered through participation in the following activities:

• Observing the effects of cola on eggs, understanding how that applies to us

• Mixing different substances and observing the results – coloured ice cubes, bicarb of soda and vinegar, shaving cream and cornflour
• Playing with materials which encourage the exploration and discovery of magnets, measuring weight, and testing speed
• Use different mediums (including recordings, photographing and creating artwork) which document these experiences and discoveries

Group 4's Science Project

In this project, the children in Group 4 focused on Biological Science - the study of living things. We asked the key question: “What is alive?” As part of this project the children explored the following concepts:

• Living things have basic needs
• Plants grow from seeds
• Plants need sun and water
• Living things have life-cycles

 

 
These concepts were discovered through participation in the following activities:

• Use of stories, reference materials and live observation to discover the lifecycle of different animals and insects
• Examining the growth of seeds under different conditions
• An outdoor work station set up with activities which encourage the exploration and discovery of plants, flowers and seeds
• Observing the effects of bacteria on a slice of apple
• Use different mediums (including recordings, photographing and creating artwork) which document these experiences and discoverie