Materials
- fruit (various colors; enough for entire group)
- large preferably nonslip board
- plastic knives
- string
Preparation
- Prepare as much fruit as is needed for age of group.
- Mark out a rainbow on the nonslip surface, using the string.
What to Do
1. Tell the children that they are going to make a fruit rainbow for today's snack.
2. Ask the children to sort the fruit into colors and to name both the fruits and the colors.
3. If you are using any fruits that have different color skin and inside, identify these beforehand.
4. Engage the children in a discussion about blue, indigo, and violet colors and decide which fruits will fit best into this category, such as grapes, blueberries, or plums. Discuss the fact that it is difficult to find foods that fit well into the bright blue category.
5. Ask the children to wash their hands and then wash the fruit.
6. Encourage the children to help chop fruit using plastic knives.
7. Ask the children to arrange the fruit in curved rainbow layers, following the colors of the rainbow.
8. Remove the string and let the children serve the snack to the rest of the class.
Assessment
To assess the children's learning, consider the following:
- Review the names of the fruits with the children.
- When they chop the fruit, challenge the children to cut pieces the same size as the rainbow bands on the boards.
- Can the children name the colors as they place the fruits on the correct band of the rainbow?
-Anne Adeney, Plymouth, England, United Kingdom
Instructions
What To Do
1. Talk with the children about how towns
and areas protect themselves from fire.
Ask the children if they know who to
call if there is a fire.
2. Explain to the children that there wasn't
always an emergency number, or even
a phone. Before phones, towns would
rely on town criers to make information
known. The town crier rang a bell to get
attention, and then told the neighbors
any important news. The fire engine
was pulled by horses.
3. Teach the children this poem about the universal lure of fire engines,
and how people have always wanted to see them.
Fire, Fire (Traditional)
"Fire! Fire!" yells the town crier;
"Where? Where?" says Mrs. Blair.
"It's downtown!" said Mrs. Brown.
"I'll go and see it!" said Mrs. Peewit.
"So will I!" said Mrs. Fry.
Assessment
To assess the children's learning, consider the following:
l Can the children tell you about the job of a town crier?
l How do people get information quickly today? (email,
texting, telephone)
