Minibeasts for Y1/Y2 Literacy support goup - what do you think so far; would your Y1/2 child be interested?

[Hulababy]

Looking for ideas and inspiration for my morning study support group. I do 3 morning sessions a week - 30 minutes a day - with selected Y1/2 children who are struggling to meet their targets in Literacy.

Next term's theme is Minibeasts.

I have 5 week's worth of sessions to fill.
I will have 4 groups of children (approx 6 per group).

My plan so far include:

Week 1
Introduction to topic
Meet the ladybirds (going to do the "grow" your ladybirds kits over the 5 weeks) with some observation work and life cycle information
Related Stories/games in circle time

Focus on reading together (to get love of books as many don't have this yet) and games using initial letter sounds (such as Tell Me..an insect begingin with A, etc)

Weeks 2-5

1 group does 1 activity per week; rotate

Activity A: Bug Hunt

• they will plan their bug hunt & write a list of things they need and where to look for bugs

• they will go on a bug hunt in the school grounds
• they will record their observtions both as a graph and written/drawn

Focus on writing for a purpose (lists, observations, notes, etc)

Activity B: Making minibeasts

• classifying insects according to number of legs, etc.
• making a minibeast in habitat picture using cut out/stuck on foliage and insects
• labelling insects on their picture

Focus on reading and writing, including using initial/end/middle sounds in words depending on abaility/individual target

Activity C: Writing stories

• have made up a version on "going on a bug hunt" to read/show

• children to use computers to edit the text to change insects they encounter, to use adjectives (Wow words) to describe the insects and verbs to describe how they move
• to use ICT to add a relevant image, using search images to find correct image

Focus on writing, using verbs and adjectives tomake text more interesting

Activity D: Continuos Provision (i.e undirected independent play)

• have range of minibeast models to play with together
• big books to share

whiteboards and markers, and "tlking tins" for writing; will provide with laminated word cards

Focus on independent work, taking turns, sharing, talking, role play based on stories read

What do you think?
Anything I could add/change?
This is still in draft stages - so can add easily.

Also - any recommended books (fiction and non fiction)?

Ooops, forgot to add - in Activity D children will also observe our ladybirds growing with some observation record sheet work today inc drawings and writing

Sorry, not actually answering your question but why do schools insist on using the word 'minibeasts'? What's wrong with saying 'insects'? I find it really twee and annoying.

Mungarra....there's a good reason...snails, slugs, spiders and any other small creepy crawly will be studied too. Children will learn to classify these 'minibeasts' from Y2 upwards.

Whoops...sorry...your plans sound fab Hulababy. All the Eric carle books would be great
Hungry caterpillar (obviously!)
Quiet cricket
Bad-tempered ladybird
I think there's more too...there's certainly a chameleon one.

Yes...2 more,
The Very Busy Spider
The very Lonely firefly.
So long as you like Eric Carle..........

agree minibeasts is twee

dont' know what 'meet the ladybirds' thing is but I'd start with what they know - general brainstorm sort of thing

activity A will take a lot longer than 30 minutes. take a camera so they can take their own pictures. If you want more writing with this one you could do up a proforma ie this is my minibeast. I found it XXX. It has XXX legs. It is XXXX (colour) etc It is a XX

Mungarra - minibeasts covers the whole word of insects, spiders worms, etc - the whoe range of creepy crawies (can't use cc though as sound smore scary!) And it is something the chidren recognse these days too.

We have very limited time. the sessions are 30 minutes including registration, arrival and circle time. This means there is about 15-20 minutes for the actual activities, after circle time which is stories, q&a, chat, or similar.

Meet the Ladybirds:
I have got a Ladybird kit. So far we have a net and plastic home for them. I send away for the ladybird lava. We feed them as instructed and can watch the ladybirds develop and pupate into adult ladybirds. Whole process takes about 30 days.

Thanks for reminding me of the Author who does lots fo the story books. Why did I give all DD's books away - grrr!

We have just finished our Mad Science topic where we made lava lamps and did colour change milk, with literacy activities based around them, and the children seem to have realy enjoyed it all.

ramonaquimby - each activity is planned to last for 3 sessions - so 3 x ~20 minutes, (excluding the 10 minutes allowed for registration and circle time)

See if you can borrow a moth trap and empty it out in the morning to show them how many different kinds there can be.

Or grow some of the big silkworms--> moths that eat privet.

I am obsessed with moths.

Not sure I can dea with moths. That is why I shied away from the butterflu nets and went for ladybirds. We will cover then in the topic, just not real ones, uness some chdren manage to observe them on thir bug hunt.

Can I come - I really fancy that

the phrase 'minibeasts' makes me laugh too.

The more the merrier KatyMac - especially as one or two of my assistants seem to be a bit unreliable with coming in on a morning and without letting me know at times!

I don't have any suggestions to add but my Yr1 ds would absolutely love the work you're proposing.

That is good to hear coppertop

The chidren realy enjoyed the science topic I finished today It is sad that some fo the children I have in this group are simply not read o very much at home. At the start some weren't really enjoying books at all. Have aready seena difference with some of the chidren, even n the cassroom after the sessions. One girl who'd never used the schoo ibrary before went and got a book out about magnets last month - after doing the magnet activity in our group

We encourage parents to stay and work with their child too, to show them ways they can engage their chidren in activities which could help their literacy.

So many are getting really enthusiastic about coming; it is lovey

If anyone has a better name for the topic, that still covers all forms of these creatures, please suggest

If it's literacy based focus for the kids, would a short poem be possible? Non-rhyming, 5 / 6 lines - could do a writing frame for them if they aren't good at letter formation?

My Minibeast.

My minibeast has ........ legs
My minibeast is ..... colour
My minibeast moves like a ......
My minibeast is (wow words here)
My minibeast lives .........
My minibeast is a ........

The kids could guess which each mb is before the last line is read out...?

Thanks. Love that idea and would fit really well into week 1.

Invertibrates wouldn't really do it for Yr1/2 I guess

Or you could do a riddle..

I have no legs
I mostly like to live underground
For dinner I eat..
etc etc
Unless your Y2's do a riddle for SATS writing that is....!

For activity A you could also have a simple map/ plan of the school grounds for them to mark on where they found their bugs. with a simple key?
this will only work if it's not huge and you don't expect them to find hundreds lol.

Yes, I have a map for acivity A for them to plot their finds on. Luckily school grounds are not too big

Have ordered the ladybird kit and larvae

Nowt to add, but wanted to say that dd2 is Y1 and would love that!

She is bug-mad though and can often be found crooning to the snails and worms in the garden ...

That's great

My 7y DD (y2) also loves bug hunting and her and her 6y friend (y1) spend many an hour hunting for them in the garden nd looking after snils and woodlice.