Presentations in Y2 - homework help needed!

[lecce]

Ds was given this homework on the final day before half-term and it is due in on the first day back, leaving no time to clarify with the teacher what exactly he needs to do.

He has to give a presentation on an old toy. The only other guidance we have is that for Y1s, a short talk based around a picture would be ok, but for Y2s (like ds) a short presentation would be 'lovely' (he is in a mixed class). Now, I teach English at secondary school, and I am really not sure what the difference is between a 'talk' and a 'presentation' . Maybe it means providing a powerpoint to go with it, though I would have thought that would have been specified if it were the case (and we don't have powerpoint, anyway...)

I'm also not sure whether it means an old toy that he has, or that an older relative has, or whether he is just to research any old old-fashioned toy...? He has no old-fashoined toys (though we have the usual 'timeless' stuff - not sure whether this will do) so he will probably have to research, but, tbh, I don't really see the point in doing a presentation on some random toy he has never played with, and it will be limited without visual aids. The class are going on a trip to a toy museum after half-term and it strikes me this would have been better done after that trip.

I'm just a bit irritated that we have to spend time on this very short holiday doing this when we won't even be sure that we are doing the right thing. I wondered if any teachers around could let me know what they would expect from a Year 2 child doing a presentation in terms of visual aids, using a script or not etc etc.

[steppemum]

My guess is that they are doing something about toys through the ages. So an old toy would be one that was used by grandparents etc.

There was a great article in this weeks Sunday Times about Lego, how it started in 1950s and the 1950s lego still fits together with todays lego.

He could take in a pile of lego - plain stuff like the original (and say his granddad played with it in 19xxx) and fancy new bits like shaped pieces. Also show lego people (new when I was a kid - 70s) and then some random lego facts eg there are 50 billion pieces around the world (or something)
He could have the facts written on pieces of card and get his friends to come and hold them up
That is more than a talk, shouldn't take too long, nice visuals

[steppemum]

ps I feel your pain, I have to make supervise 2 dream catchers and one native american wall hanging

[steppemum]

could do a similar thing with teddy bears - old bears stiff moveable joints, new bears soft and cuddly, first called teddies in xx year famous bears (paddington, Winnie the Pooh)

[Beehatch]

We did some old toy topic last year. It seemed to be based on toys grandparents or otherwise parents played with. One task they had to interview an older person about the toys they played with and write down their answers. They also had to give a presentation, it amounted to taking in an old toy (or photo of a toy) and telling the class about it e.g. DD took in a wooden model car her Dad made with his dad, which they raced in a competition. That is pretty much what she said to the class.

[juniper44]

I would suspect the difference between a talk and a presentation is props. So even if you don't have PowerPoint, could he draw / print some pictures? Could he get his hands on an old toy?

Toys is both a QCA and an IPC topic. The school could have written their own themes too, so I can only guess what they're looking for. I know the QCA scheme is about comparing toys from the past and modern toys. Do you have anything that could pass for old fashioned, even if it's made out of brightly coloured plastic? Could you ask him to think about electronics, and why Victorians wouldn't have had DSs, for example?

[noramum]

We had this in Autumn term in Year one and had to show toys mummy and daddy played with. In our case it was more a list, but again they were Year 1. DD had lots of fun interviewing us and also her grandparents (WWII generation) for it.

This half-term DD, now Y2, has to do a poster of her favourite animal. It includes researching habitats, food, proper names of male/female/infant etc. So they have to design a poster and fill it with pictures and words. I would assume your DS has to do something similar for a toy.

I love the Lego idea, a great toy which developed over time into the sets we have now. He could try to find old posters on the internet showing old boxes and piles of "normal" bricks used for all kind of buildings and then the new City or Lego Friends ones with their bricks you can only use for one purpose.