Exploring Australia – Shared Classroom – Prekinder

Our integrated project: “It’s a Small World†has taken us to amazing places like Egypt, Mexico, China, Israel, the United States, and this time, Australia. This country became the perfect scenery to develop engaging and meaningful activities that enriched our students’ learning process.

In the shared classroom, our goal was to provide students with a calm and funny atmosphere where the protagonist was the Australian wildlife.  We created a “reading corner†simulating a campsite in the Australian Outback. A small tent, some trees, and animals in the background, as well as a paper-made bonfire with some cushions around, invited children to sit down “by the fire†and read a book or play. We arranged some books related to Australian animals, which kept students connected with the project.   

The learning objective set was to get to know the most representative animals in Australian wildlife, developing language skills. To do so, students were exposed to the vocabulary through an action song that involved movement and pronunciation, relating every animal to an action. 

For the development of fine motor skills, students made models of koalas and platypuses using different materials, reinforcing cutting and painting. Also, they painted kangaroos using a dot painting technique, recognizing this Australian aborigines’ tradition.   

In order to reinforce everything they learned, students worked on different activities in a set of centers where they found a memory game, tracing exercises, puzzles, and a set of flashcards to make sequences. This way students were able to practice math skills as they practiced the vocabulary.

In the end, as a closure for this chapter in our project, students participated in an “Explorer Camp†where they completed four challenges to receive an animal badge. The challenges involved movement circuits and handcrafts, giving students the opportunity to enhance gross and fine motor skills.  

It was a great adventure and we are going for more!

Laura Vaquen Bilingual Shared Classroom Teacher of Prekindergarten

Resumen: Nuestro proyecto integrado: “It’s a Small World†nos ha llevado a lugares increÃ

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