Need ideas for ten minute activity for mixed y1/2 class on snowmen

[starrynight19]

Can anyone help? Thanks

Hi just a Mum:

But here are a few ideas...

Make snowman decorations but have the two circles of the snowman be part of a making circles exercise:

Teaching them how to make a circle with a compass
learning terms like diameter/ circumference.

Learning about pi (without really realising it) - have them see if they notice anything about the width of the circle (the diameter) - vs. the circumference of the circle (the edge of the circle).

They should notice that no matter what the size the circumference is a little over 3 x as long as the diameter. In fact this term is called pi (can't make greek symbol for the letter Pi).

Then let them decorate snowmen with glitter & draw faces. You can punch hole in top and put through ribbon to make them into ornaments.

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Baking?

why not get 2 circle biscuit cutters - one large for body/ one small for heard

have the children measure & make the dough
Roll out the dough
decorate snowmen (chocolate sprinkles, coloured sprinkles, etc...)
and
bake

Have more able Y2's calculate what time it will be when the biscuits are ready.

Have able Y1/ Y2 calculate how many biscuits made in total if each cookie sheet holds 12 cookies and X many sheets were baked.

Have Y1/ Y2 play game with simple division of snowmen biscuits. I have 12 snowmen cookies and want to share them to 3 reindeers. I also have promised them that they will all get the same number of biscuits. How many biscuits does each reindeer get?

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Lesson on properties of water

liquid/ solid/ gas (steam)

liquid: with hot chocolate
with squash

solid: freeze water (use shaped ice cube trays or moulds)
make jelly (in appropriate winter mold - ?snowman mold)

steam: have someone place a small mirror or their glasses over the hot chocolate mug (notice the steam) - talk about seeing your breath in the winter, etc....

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Read or Watch the Snowman (? whilst waiting for biscuits to cook/ jelly to set).

Whole class "guess who"

First talk about what snowmen might look like - what clothes they might wear, what their noses and eyes might be made of, whether they wear buttons.

Maybe write all these things on the board.

Then get everyone to draw their own snowman.

Then everyone stands up, and teacher names features the snowman might have, eg carrot nose. Everyone without a carrot nose sits down. You should end up with just one person standing up (unless some people have identical drawings).

What's it for? An observation?

I've just read 'the snowman' to dd1...you could read the page where James builds him and get children to discuss what they would use...scarf, orange for nose etc...

Or you could read page where he sits down next to the fire and starts to melt...could discuss melting/ temperatures...what else should the snowman avoid? What else is warm etc...

If not for observation and just for fun I say go with the decoration ideas!!!! although defo read them the snowman another time...it's lovely!

Hi back from coffee break

Friend at work said her Y2 DS just had a great 'shapes' lesson where all sorts of circles/ triangles/ squares/ rectangles were available and they were ask to make as many Christmas shapes as they could think of.

Things like

Angel (have to cut one circle in half for wings)
Snowman
Christmas tree
Father Christmas
Reindeer (glueing squares on paper & drawing antlers)

Went down really well apparently.

Then was used in a drawing lesson - where they were taught to break down a teddy bear into basic shapes (rectangles for limbs, circles for paws & ears, and triangle for face).

HTH

Thanks for these ideas I am going to read snowman book, yes will be observed. Probably about ten children.

You could read it, do all the language work...watch a clip (same part as page they've read) then do some role play as snowman 'getting dressed' or melting etc...bit of everything- whole class shared text, vocab (vuilding to sentences on whiteboard? in pairs on carpet?) role play....

Good luck :)

The way it's going here tonight you could take them outside to build one!

Making a snowman Christmas card - just pre cut cardboard glue and cotton wool. It might take more than 10 minutes though.

how about a game of duck duck goose....

this looks fun www.starfall.com/n/holiday/snowman/play.htm?f